Curse of Strahd — Handouts & Lore

GM notes:
Scattered throughout Barovia are ancient treasures that can be brought to bear against Strahd von Zarovich and his fell servants. The locations of three of them—the Tome of Strahd, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and the Sunsword—are determined by the results of the card reading in chapter 1. The other items can be acquired as characters discover their whereabouts during the course of the adventure.

GM notes:

A Classic Retold

This adventure is a retelling of the original Ravenloft adventure, which was published in 1983 by TSR, Inc. In the years since, the original has gained a reputation as one of the greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventures ever, and it went on to inspire the creation of a campaign setting of the same name in 1990: Ravenloft, home of the Domains of Dread.

Module I6: Ravenloft, written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, broke new ground by presenting a D&D adventure that was as much story-driven as location-based, featuring a villain who was complex and terrifying. Castle Ravenloft, with its amazing three-dimensional maps, remains to this day one of the most iconic and memorable of all D&D dungeons.

This book includes the original adventure, as well as expanded material developed in consultation with Tracy and Laura Hickman. It expands what we know about the lands around Castle Ravenloft and sheds new light on the dark past of the castle’s lord. The lands of Barovia are from a forgotten world in the D&D multiverse, and this adventure gives glimpses into that world. In time, cursed Barovia was torn from its home world by the Dark Powers and bound in mist as one of the Domains of Dread in the Shadowfell.

GM notes:

S16. Wine Cellar

The stone steps descend twenty feet to a cellar that contains ten barrels of wine and an L-shaped wooden rack packed with wine bottles.

The barrels in the center of the room are empty. The wine names are emblazoned on the barrels, as is the winery’s name: the Wizard of Wines. The barrels against the east wall contain Purple Grapemash No. 3, a cheap wine. The four barrels against the south wall contain Red Dragon Crush, a fine wine.

The wine racks contain thirty-three bottles of Purple Grapemash No. 3 and twenty-four bottles of Red Dragon Crush.

Treasure

Among the wine bottles on the rack is one with no stopper and a label that reads “Champagne du le Stomp.” It contains a rolled-up spell scroll of heroes’ feast.

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S17. Loft and Belfry

Anyone on the curtain wall (area S18) who listens at this room’s door hear the soft tones of a stringed instrument.

The wooden stairs climb twenty feet to a loft with a pitched roof and a door in the center of the south wall. Unlit lanterns hang from the rafters, and a rope dangles from a bronze bell lodged in the belfry thirty feet overhead. The room is filled with the sound of beautiful music—a melody so enchanting that it adds a bit of much-needed warmth to the otherwise freezing room.

A black shroud covers a humanoid shape lying on a wooden table. The music does nothing to stir it.

A cot heaped with furs rests in the northeast corner, surrounded by empty wine bottles. An oil lamp burns atop a table nearby, silhouetting a squat creature that has two heads. It sits on the edge of the cot with a viol between its legs. With a crustacean, clawlike appendage, it grasps the neck of the instrument while running a bow gently across its strings with its human hand.

This loft is where the Abbot creates his flesh golems. Needles, thread, saws, and other tools lie on a small table in the northwest corner.

If anyone rings the bell, a cacophony erupts from the courtyard and the east wing as the mongrelfolk cry out, “Food!” The cries last until the creatures are fed.

Clovin Belview, the Abbot’s manservant, a two-headed neutral evil mongrelfolk, resides here. He plays the viol beautifully when he is drunk, and the music help puts his half-formed head to sleep. Hidden under the furs of his cot are three bottles of Purple Grapemash No. 3. Several empty wine bottles are strewn about the floor around the cot.

Roleplaying Clovin

Clovin stands 4 feet, 7 inches tall and has a barrel-like shape. His right head is fully formed and combines the features of a patchy-haired man with those of a goat, complete with stubby horns. His left head is about half normal size and has a soft, cherubic face partly covered with crocodilian hide. Clovin has a crab’s pincer in place of his left hand and a bear’s paw where his right foot should be. He wears an ill-fitting monk’s robe with a belt made of hempen rope.

Clovin is the Abbot’s faithful martinet, but he is despised by the other mongrelfolk, who accuse him of hoarding food and slowly starving them to death. He would let them starve, but the Abbot has forbidden it.

Clovin has the Two-Headed feature. His madness is embodied in the following statement: “Being drunk keeps me sane.” He is drunk most of the time, but not to the extent that it impedes his combat ability, and his musical performance improves when he is inebriated.

The larger head does all the talking. The smaller head has a forked snake’s tongue and can’t do anything except hiss and make other horrible sounds.

Teleport Destination

Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked T on the map.

Thing on the Table

If the characters lift the black shroud covering the larger table, read:

Beneath the shroud lies a creature made of stitched-together body parts. You recognize some of these parts as your own!

The creature on the table appears to be made from the body parts of the characters, which, of course, cannot be. Strahd’s will is playing a trick on them. If a character touches the horrid creature, its true appearance is revealed:

Your eyes play tricks, for what truly lies atop the table are chopped-up body parts, all of them taken from cold, gray, lifeless women, all of them waiting to be stitched together into something horrid.

The body parts were plundered from graves in Krezk. They are leftovers—pieces the Abbot didn’t use in the creation of Strahd’s bride

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S18. Curtain Wall

Scarecrows line the abbey walls, looking outward. They wear tattered chain shirts and carry spears with rusty heads. The courtyard below is blanketed with fog.

The scarecrows are lashed to wooden stands. Though fearsome from a distance, they have no life to them.

It’s a 15-foot drop from the top of the wall to the courtyard. Any creature that falls over the southwest wall tumbles 400 feet down the cliffside.

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S19. Barracks

Bunk beds that have disintegrated with age lie in heaps along the walls of this moldy, thirty-foot-square room.

Long ago, the abbey employed guards to defend its walls, and they were quartered here.

Ezmerelda d’Avenir

If the characters have not already encountered her elsewhere, the vampire hunter Ezmerelda d’Avenir is here, plotting her next move.

Ezmerelda crept into Krezk unseen under cover of darkness and made her way to the abbey, in the hope of gaining knowledge about Strahd and his domain from the residents there. Having met the Abbot and Strahd’s “bride” (area S13), Ezmerelda realizes the Abbot is insane. The Abbot told her that he is expecting Strahd to visit his bride-to-be. Ezmerelda has decided to wait for the vampire to come, so that she can destroy him away from Castle Ravenloft, far from his resting place. She is planning to create a magic circle in this room as an added precaution.

As the Abbot’s guest, Ezmerelda is free to come and go as she pleases. If the characters seem committed to fighting Strahd, she abandons her plan and offers to join forces with them.

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S20. Upstairs Office

A wooden counter shaped like an L stands at the front of this spacious office. All the other furniture has rotted away, leaving heaps of moldy wood and faded cloth.

The wood of the counter is old, soft, and easily broken. Nothing of value remains here. If the characters haven’t already cleared out the madhouse (area S15), they can hear the whoops, laughter, and screams of the mongrelfolk below. The clamor continues as they explore areas S21–S24 to the east.

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S21. Haunted Hospital

This spacious chamber contains bed frames of wrought iron arranged in two neat rows. Cobwebs and bits of rotten mattress cling to each frame.

Three doors are spaced along the south wall, each with a plaque mounted on it. From west to east, the plaques read OPERATING ROOM, NURSERY, and MORGUE.

Six shadows haunt this room. They are the remnants of dark souls that perished here long ago. The creatures wait until one or more characters are at least 10 feet inside the room before moving out from within the normal shadows to attack. The shadows can’t leave this room.

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S22. Operating Room

A bloodstained table stands in the middle of this otherwise empty room.

The first time a character touches the table, read:

A scream fills the room—a scream that echoes through time. It is followed by other, fainter screams of those who died under the knife. The screams fade until they are nothing more than haunting memories.

There is nothing of value here.

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S23. Nursery

This room contains the wreckage of old wooden cribs.

If the characters search the room, one of them (determined randomly) sees a figure reflected in the window glass: a nun in white robes, standing in the doorway. A look back toward the door reveals nothing there, and the reflection can’t be seen again.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is under the wreckage of one of the cribs.

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S24. Morgue

A raven perches on the windowsill of this otherwise empty room.

If the characters approach the raven, it flies to the shoulder of the nearest scarecrow in the garden (area S9).

A character who kills the raven is cursed. While cursed, the character has disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks. A greater restoration spell, a remove curse spell, or a similar effect ends the curse.

GM notes:

Areas of the Abbey

The following areas correspond to labels on the maps of the Abbey of Saint Markovia (above).

The mongrelfolk that infest the abbey are all descendants of one family—the Belviews—and all suffer from some form of madness. Whenever the characters interact with a mongrelfolk who isn’t detailed here, roll on the Indefinite Madness table (in the Madness handout) or choose from the available options on the table to determine how that particular mongrelfolk’s madness is expressed.

Most of the mongrelfolk in the abbey are locked up because they can’t be trusted to wander about unsupervised. The only mongrelfolk who are free to move about are the Abbot’s gravediggers, Otto and Zygfrek, and his faithful, two-headed manservant, Clovin.

Clovin Belview rings the abbey’s bell (area S17) when the Abbot decides it’s time for dinner. The toll of the bell causes all the other mongrelfolk in the abbey to hoot and holler with excitement as they wait to be fed.

The windows of the north wing are made of leaded glass that is translucent—good for letting in light but not good for seeing through. The windows of the east wing are broken outward and have damaged shutters.

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S6. North Gate

The road from the village climbs above the mist to the wide ledge on which the abbey is perched. A light dusting of snow covers the trees and the rocky earth.

The gravel road passes between two small, stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a five-foot-high, three-foot-thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear to be unlocked. Viewed through the gates, the stone abbey stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop of the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing gray smoke.

The iron gates are unlocked but squeal loudly when someone opens them.

Two gate guards are on duty, but they aren’t awake when the characters arrive (see below). Characters who succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check can climb over the low outer wall without waking them. If one or more characters fail the check, or if the characters open the gates, the guards rouse themselves and stumble forth to confront the trespassers.

The gate guards are Otto Belview and Zygfrek Belview, two lawful evil mongrelfolk. They sleep under piles of musty animal furs. Both are loyal servants of the Abbot, yet not so good at guarding. If the characters seem friendly, the mongrelfolk escort them to the courtyard (area S12) and ask the characters to wait there while they fetch the Abbot (area S13). If the characters seem hostile, the mongrelfolk let them enter but don’t accompany them willingly.

Hanging on the inside wall of each guard post is a net woven from twigs and pine needles, as well as a shovel. Otto and Zygfrek cover themselves with the nets when they skulk through the village at night in search of fresh graves to dig up.

Roleplaying the Mongrelfolk

Use the information below to roleplay the mongrelfolk guards, Otto and Zygfrek.

Otto Belview. Otto is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and squats instead of standing upright. He looks like a beardless dwarf with patches of donkey flesh covering his face and body. He has one human ear and one wolf’s ear, and a protruding wolf’s snout and fangs. His arms and hands are human, but his legs and feet are leonine, and he has a donkey’s tail. He can barely speak Common, and his laugh sounds like a donkey’s bray. He wears a plain wool cloak.

Otto has the Standing Leap feature. His madness is embodied in the following statement: “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”

Zygfrek Belview. Zygfrek stands 4 feet, 7 inches tall. The left side of her face and body is covered with lizard scales, the right with tufts of gray wolf fur. Between these tufts is pale human skin. One of her eyes is that of a feline, and her fingers and hands resemble cat’s paws with opposable thumbs. She has a gruff voice and wears a gray cloak with black fur trim.

Zygfrek has the Darkvision feature. Her madness is embodied in the following statement: “I don’t like the way people judge me all the time.”

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S7. Graveyard

Stunted pine trees grow out of the rocky earth in the graveyard near the foundation of the abbey’s north wing. The windows of the structure are cracked panes of leaded glass. Ancient gravestones burst from a thin crust of snow in the yard. Beyond the low wall that surrounds the graveyard, the ground falls away. The village lies four hundred feet below, and the view is breathtaking.

Carved into each gravestone is the name of a long-dead priest or nun. Some of the names include Brother Martek, Brother Valen, Sister Constance, and Sister Lenora.

Sun’s Grave

The gravestone marked X is carved with roses and bears a 3-inch-diameter sun-shaped indentation on its east side. Engraved beneath the indentation is the name Petrovna. If Tasha Petrovna’s holy symbol (see chapter 4, area K84, crypt 11) is placed in the indentation, both the holy symbol and the indentation vanish. Then read:

A ray of golden sunlight breaks through the clouds to the west and shines upon the grave. The fog and the gloom shrink from its brilliance as the sunlight causes the gravestone to crack and crumble, revealing a ring within.

The sunray lasts for 1 minute. If the characters smash the gravestone without placing Tasha Petrovna’s holy symbol in it first, they find nothing within its remains.

The ring is a ring of regeneration.

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S8. Garden Gatehouse

A gatehouse stands at the entrance to the abbey gardens.

The gatehouse is empty.

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S9. Gardens

Nestled between rising and plunging cliffs are four rectangular garden plots enclosed by a five-foot-high wall of mortared stones. White rabbits nibble on turnips uprooted by the cold. Two lifeless scarecrows with stuffed gullets and sackcloth heads hang from wooden crosses pounded into the cold, hard earth.

If the characters haven’t cleared out the east wing, add:

The abbey’s east wing looms over the garden, its shattered windows dark and disturbing. A door leads into this forlorn edifice, which apparently isn’t as abandoned as one might have hoped. From within come the laughter and the wailing of things that should not be.

The rabbits and the scarecrows are harmless. The gardens contain a meager assortment of root vegetables and squash. The door leading to area S15 isn’t locked.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, the item is hidden in the straw-filled gullet of the southernmost scarecrow. If the treasure is removed from the scarecrow, seven wights erupt from the gardens and attack. They wear tattered livery of Strahd’s house.

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S10. Abbey Entrance

A fifteen-foot-high curtain wall joins the abbey’s two wings. Behind its battlements, two guards stand at attention, their features obscured by fog. Below them, set into the wall, is a pair of ten-foot-tall, wooden doors reinforced with bands of steel. To the right of these doors, mounted on the wall, is a tarnished copper plaque.

The plaque bears the abbey’s name, under which appear these words: “May her light cure all illness.”

The “guards” on the wall are propped-up scarecrows that wear corroded chain shirts and clutch rusted spears (see area S18). A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check discerns the charade.

The double doors are heavy but unlocked. They can be pushed open to reveal a foggy courtyard (area S12).

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S11. Inner Gatehouses

These two empty buildings help support the curtain wall (area S18) that encloses the courtyard (area S12). The wooden doors that lead to them are unlocked.

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S12. Courtyard

The thick fog that fills this courtyard swirls, as if eager to escape. The courtyard is surrounded by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall on which stand several guards with their backs to you—or so it seemed at first. It’s clear now that these guards are merely scarecrows.

Wooden doors to the north and east lead to the abbey’s two wings. In the center of the courtyard is a stone well fitted with an iron winch, to which a rope and bucket are attached. Along the perimeter, tucked under the overhanging wall, are several stone sheds with padlocked wooden doors, as well as three shallow alcoves that contain wooden troughs. Two wooden posts pounded into the rocky earth have iron rings bolted to them, and chained to one of them is a short humanoid with bat wings and spider mandibles.

The quiet is shattered by horrible screams coming from the sheds.

If the characters are escorted here by Otto and Zygfrek Belview (area S6), they are asked to wait in the courtyard while the mongrelfolk fetch the Abbot from area S13.

S12a. Well

The well is 80 feet deep. Hiding 20 feet down is a chaotic evil mongrelfolk named Mishka Belview. He clings to the wall of the shaft and scuttles up to attack anyone who shines a light down on him.

Mishka Belview. Mishka stands 5 feet tall and has a wiry, spindly build. He has three red spider eyes on the right side of his face, while the left side appears human. He has a frog’s foot in place of his left hand and a taloned crow’s foot where his right foot should be.

He has the Spider Climb feature. In his madness, he’s discovered he enjoys killing people.

S12b. Old Troughs

These three horse troughs are badly rotted and fall apart if handled or jostled.

S12c. Chicken Sheds

Each of these sheds is fitted with an iron padlock. Clovin Belview (area S17) carries the keys to these locks.

If the characters open a shed, read:

This shed holds the shattered remains of several chicken coops. Shackled to the back wall is a wretched humanoid with bestial deformities.

There are nine of these sheds, each one containing a howling or mewling mongrelfolk.

S12d. Tethering Posts

Iron rings bolted to these wooden posts were once used to secure horses.
Chained to one post is a chaotic neutral mongrelfolk named Marzena Belview, the older sister of Mishka Belview (see area S12a).

If the characters approach Marzena, read:

The creature chained to the post flaps its leathery wings and takes to the air, but doesn’t get far before its chains go taut. She flutters about madly, screaming nonsense.

Marzena Belview is skittish and afraid of everyone and everything except for Clovin Belview (area S17), whom she allows to come close enough to feed her.

Marzena Belview. Marzena stands 4 feet, 5 inches tall and has a hunched posture. Long, stringy black hair hides much of her face, but clearly visible are the spider mandibles and teeth that replace her human mouth. She has the arms and wings of a bat, as well as a cloven hoof in place of her right foot. She doesn’t allow anyone to get close enough to undo her shackles, but if her bonds are magically unlocked or if her chains are somehow broken, she flies away and never returns.

Marzena has the Flight feature. Her madness is embodied in the following statement: “I am convinced that powerful enemies are hunting me, and their agents are everywhere I go. I am sure they’re watching me all the time.”

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S13. Main Hall

Gentle-sounding music trickles down from above, played on a single stringed instrument by some unseen master.

The ground floor is one large, fifty-foot-square room with arched, leaded glass windows. A cauldron sits on an iron rack above a fire in a hearth, while above the fireplace mantel hangs a golden disk engraved with the symbol of the sun. In one corner, a wooden staircase climbs to the upper level, while in another corner a stone staircase descends into darkness.

Several chairs surround a wooden table that stretches nearly the length of the room. Wooden dishware and gold candelabras are neatly arranged on the table, standing behind which is a young woman with alabaster skin dressed in a torn and soiled red gown. Her auburn hair is neatly bundled so as not to touch her soft shoulders. She seems lost in her own thoughts.

The Abbot is normally here. If he is here, add:

A handsome young man in a brown monk’s robe gently takes the woman by her hand. A painted wooden holy symbol that depicts the sun hangs from a chain around his neck. He moves with the grace of a saint.

The Abbot is a deva in disguise (see “Something Old” in Special Events: Chapter 8). He wears a holy symbol of the Morninglord around his neck. The woman in the tattered red gown is Vasilka, a flesh golem that has been exquisitely put together to serve as Strahd’s bride. Characters within 5 feet of Vasilka can see the seams in her powdered skin where disparate body parts stolen from Krezkite graves have been carefully stitched together.

The Abbot is teaching Vasilka the finer points of etiquette. He also intends to teach her how to dance. Vasilka obeys his every command. She can’t speak but lets loose an unholy scream if harmed. If driven berserk, she fights until the Abbot reasserts control or until she is destroyed. She has the supernatural strength of a typical flesh golem despite her smaller size.

The Abbot has no desire to harm the characters. He knows that Strahd has brought them to Barovia for a reason and doesn’t want to thwart Strahd’s plans for them. His calm, pleasant demeanor changes if they become hostile or if they threaten Vasilka. He sheds his disguise and assumes his true angelic form, hoping that sight is enough to make them back down.

The Abbot would like to find a proper bridal gown for Vasilka. If the characters seem friendly, he asks them for help in locating one. In exchange, he offers his magic, agreeing to cast raise dead up to three times on their behalf, or give them each the benefit of his healing touch. If they decline to help or behave rudely, he orders them to leave the abbey at once, attacking them if they refuse and doing his utmost to keep Vasilka safe.

The music comes from upstairs (area S17). The stone staircase leads down to the wine cellar (area S16). The wooden stairs climb to the loft and belfry (area S17).

The stew pot in the fireplace contains several gallons of hot turnip and rabbit soup, intended for the mongrelfolk imprisoned in areas S12c and S15.

Roleplaying the Abbot

The Abbot believes he is righteous. He regrets transforming the Belviews into horrid mongrelfolk, and he considers their imprisonment to be necessary, to contain their madness. With regard to Strahd’s bride, he believes that she is the key to freeing the land from its curse. The insane Abbot can’t be convinced otherwise.

The Abbot shares his beliefs openly, claiming that his decisions are based on the Morninglord’s guidance. He will give visitors a tour of the abbey if they seem friendly, but he turns hostile if they threaten him or his charges.

Treasure

The golden sun disk hanging above the fireplace is worth 750 gp. Taking the disk off the wall reveals a niche that contains a potion of superior healing in a crystal and electrum flask (worth 250 gp). Four gold candelabras (worth 250 gp each) rest atop the table.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is hidden in the niche along with the potion.

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S14. Foyer

This room used to be an office, as evidenced by the remains of a desk and a chair, both of which have been smashed to pieces. A hallway to the south leads to a staircase going up. A dark passage to the east is full of unnatural whispers, mad laughter, and bestial odors.

The stairs lead up to area S20.

If the characters enter this area making noise or carrying light sources, the golem in area S15 is drawn to them (unless they have already defeated it).

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S15. Madhouse

This lightless corridor has multiple doors behind which lie creatures that shatter the quiet with their mad cackles and whispered curses. The stench is overpowering.

Before he set out to create a bride for Strahd, the Abbot tried his hand at creating a more rudimentary golem. This creature paces the hall, tirelessly guarding the abbey’s madhouse and making sure no mongrelfolk escape. When the characters first see the golem, read:

Even in the gloom, you can make out a monstrous shape lumbering down the hall. When the darkness can no longer hide its true nature, your eyes are treated to a terrifying, 7-foot-tall assemblage of human body parts.

This flesh golem attacks anyone who isn’t in the company of the Abbot or Clovin Belview.

None of the doors leading from the hall are locked. If the characters open any and look inside, they see that the rooms on each side of the hall are dimly lit by natural light that filters through dirty, shuttered windows. The door at the east end of the hall leads outside and can be pulled open to reveal the gardens (area S9).

The sixty mongrelfolk confined here are fed at irregular intervals by Clovin Belview. Dinner is foretold by the ringing of the abbey bell (area S17). These mongrelfolk aren’t restrained, but they refuse to leave their rooms for fear of being killed by the golem or cast out of the abbey and forced to fend for themselves. In addition to a dagger, each mongrelfolk has its own wooden soup bowl.

S15a. Fearful Mongrelfolk

This room was once a shared bedchamber, but its furnishings have been destroyed. Three shrieking mongrels cower in the shadowy northwest corner. One of them cradles something shiny.

Three mongrelfolk are confined here. One of them cradles a polished brass candlestick as if it was a doll. Any attempt to take it causes the mongrelfolk to attack.

S15b. Quarreling Mongrelfolk

Four mongrel creatures brawl amid the wreckage of this bedchamber while a fifth watches and cackles behind a life-sized, painted wooden statue of a saintly woman in robes.

Five mongrelfolk are confined here. The four that are fighting aren’t trying to kill each other, but they are trying to assert dominance. They stop fighting if a character separates them.

The statue is a little over 5 feet tall and carved from a single piece of wood. It depicts Saint Markovia. Close inspection reveals that it is covered with bite marks.

S15c. Incanting Mongrelfolk

Seven mongrels are seated in the middle of this room, forming a ring. They appear to be chanting a spell.

These seven mongrelfolk are trying to cast a spell that will cause the abbey’s bell to ring, so that dinner will be served. They are speaking nonmagical gibberish.

S15d. Hungry Mongrelfolk

Nine mongrel creatures stand in the middle of this room, starting at the doorway in silence with hungry looks in their eyes.

These nine mongrelfolk haven’t been fed in days because Clovin doesn’t like them. They try to kill and devour any character who sets foot in the room.

S15e. Mongrelfolk Horde

This room is packed wall to wall with mongrels wallowing in their own filth. The floor is strewn with gnawed bones.

Sixteen screaming mongrelfolk are confined here. The bones are all that remain of mongrelfolk who perished and were eaten. The survivors beg for food.

S15f. Singing and Dancing Mongrelfolk

Eight mongrels caper about the wreckage of this bedchamber while singing a rhyme. One of them holds up a glittering gold statuette as it leads this mad parade.

The eight mongrelfolk sing the following rhyme:

The devil dwells in his dark house,
Upon the misty pillar.
First he’ll taste her sweet, sweet blood,
And then he’ll have to kill her.

They weep if their treasure is taken from them.

Treasure. The golden statuette depicts Saint Markovia and is worth 250 gp. It grants any good-aligned creature that carries it a +1 bonus to saving throws.

S15g. Mongrelfolk Babies

Filthy mongrels cradle screaming young in the debris-strewn corners of this room while several more hoot, holler, roll on the floor, and whack each other with sticks.

This room contains ten mongrelfolk, three of which are tendng to noncombatant mongrelfolk babies.

S15h. Mongrelfolk Fort

This room contains a fort made out of piled bits of shattered furniture and torn draperies. From within the fort, you hear a mischievous cackle.

Two mongrelfolk live in the “fort” but refuse to come out unless baited with food. While hidden under the wreckage, they have three-quarters cover.

GM notes:

Adventure Hooks

In the event that begins the adventure, the fates of Strahd and the adventurers are entwined as the characters are invited or forced into his domain. Different ways to get the adventurers to Barovia are described in the sections that follow. Use whichever one you favor.

In “Plea for Help,” a colorfully dressed stranger approaches the characters while they are staying at a tavern. The stranger delivers a letter from his master, inviting them to the village of Barovia with an urgent request for their assistance. If the characters take the bait, the fog engulfs them as they cross into Strahd’s domain.

In “Mysterious Visitors,” the characters are asked to scare off a band of rowdy travelers who are camped outside the town of Daggerford, on the Sword Coast in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The travelers welcome the characters to their camp and invite them to sit by their fire while their elder recounts a tragic tale of a cursed yet noble prince. The characters, lulled into a trance by the fire, awaken to find themselves on a foggy road, delivered to Barovia by their Vistani hosts.

In “Werewolves in the Mist,” the characters are drawn together by a series of werewolf attacks. The hunt for this pack of lycanthropes leads the characters into a forest, where they are swept into the land of Barovia. This hook assumes the use of the five factions featured in the Adventurers League.

In “Creeping Fog,” the characters are traveling a lonely road through the woods when the fog engulfs them, spiriting them away to the land of Barovia.

GM notes:

Alterations to Magic

The land of Barovia resides in its own demiplane, isolated from all other planes, including the Material Plane. No spell—not even wish—allows one to escape from Strahd’s domain. Astral projection, teleport, plane shift, and similar spells cast for the purpose of leaving Barovia simply fail, as do effects that banish a creature to another plane of existence. These restrictions apply to magic items and artifacts that have properties that transport or banish creatures to other planes. Magic that allows transit to the Border Ethereal, such as the etherealness spell and the Etherealness feature of incorporeal undead, is the exception to this rule. A creature that enters the Border Ethereal from Strahd’s domain is pulled back into Barovia upon leaving that plane.

For the purpose of spells whose effects change across or are blocked by planar boundaries (such as sending), Strahd’s domain is considered its own plane. Magic that summons creatures or objects from other planes functions normally in Barovia, as does magic that involves an extradimensional space. Any spells cast within such an extradimensional space (such as that created by Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion) are subject to the same restrictions as magic cast in Barovia.

While in Barovia, characters who receive spells from deities or otherworldly patrons continue to do so. In addition, spells that allow contact with beings from other planes function normally—with one proviso: Strahd can sense when someone in his domain is casting such a spell and can choose to make himself the spell’s recipient, so that he becomes the one who is contacted.

Cosmetic Spell Modifications

At your discretion, a spell can be modified cosmetically to enhance the horrific atmosphere. Here are examples:

Alarm: Instead of hearing a mental ping when the alarm is triggered, the caster hears a scream.
Bigby’s hand: The conjured hand is skeletal.
Find familiar: The familiar is undead—not a celestial, fey, or fiend—and is immune to features that turn undead.
Find steed: The summoned steed is undead—not a celestial, fey, or fiend—and is immune to features that turn undead.
Find the path: A child’s spirit appears and guides the caster to the desired location. The spirit can’t be harmed and doesn’t speak.
Fog cloud: Misty, harmless claws form in the fog.
Gust of wind: A ghastly moan accompanies the summoned wind.
Mage hand: The summoned hand is skeletal.
Maze: The surfaces of the demiplane’s maze are made of mortared skulls and bones.
Phantom steed: The steed resembles a skeletal horse.
Rary’s telepathic bond: Characters linked together by the spell can’t shake the feeling that something vile is telepathically eavesdropping on them.
Revivify: A creature restored to life by a revivify spell screams upon regaining consciousness, as though waking from some horrible nightmare.
Spirit guardians: The spirits appear as ghostly, skeletal warriors.
Wall of stone: A wall created by the spell has ghastly faces sculpted into it, as though tortured spirits were somehow trapped within the stone.

Resurrection Madness

In Barovia, the souls of the dead are as trapped as the souls of the living. They become caught in the mists and can’t travel to the afterlife.

When a humanoid who has been dead for at least 24 hours returns to life, either by way of a spell or some supernatural means, it gains a random form of indefinite madness brought on by the realization that its spirit is trapped in Barovia, likely forever. To determine how this madness is expressed, roll on the Indefinite Madness table.

GM notes:

Amber Sarcophagi

An amber sarcophagus looks like a rough block of solid amber 8 feet tall, 5 feet wide, and 5 feet thick. Trapped inside the block is a sliver or wisp of utter darkness no more than a few inches long. The darkness is the vestige of a dead and hateful god—a shard of pure evil with shreds of sentience and awareness. The vestige can’t be harmed or controlled, and it is immune to all conditions.

An amber sarcophagus has AC 16, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Destroying one causes the vestige trapped within it to disappear, leaving no trace. You choose whether it is banished or destroyed.

A creature that touches the amber sarcophagus forms a telepathic link with the vestige inside. The vestige offers the creature a dark gift. The creature must willingly accept the gift to gain its benefits. A dark gift is described to the creature in general terms; its precise game effect isn’t revealed until the creature accepts the gift. For example, a creature that touches Fekre’s sarcophagus in area X33a is offered the power to spread disease. That the gift grants the ability to cast the contagion spell is not articulated.

A dark gift functions like a charm. A creature doesn’t receive a dark gift if it is being manipulated or coerced, or if it declines the gift. Once it receives a dark gift, a creature can never receive that same dark gift again.

The instant a dark gift is bestowed, the creature receiving it undergoes a transformation, gaining a sinister physical trait or flaw, or one of each. Unless the text states otherwise, a trait or a flaw that accompanies this gift can’t be removed by anything short of a wish spell or divine intervention.

Each time a non-evil creature accepts a dark gift, it must make a DC 12 Charisma saving throw. If the saving throw fails, the creature’s alignment changes to evil. A character who turns evil becomes an NPC under the Dungeon Master’s control, although the DM can allow the player to continue playing the evil character.

GM notes:

Approaching the Den

When the characters first approach the werewolf den, read:

Above the tree line, carved into the side of a rocky mountain spur, is a wide, torchlit cave that looks like the gaping maw of a great wolf.

One hundred feet above the cave mouth (area Z1), farther up the sloping mountainside and not visible from the cave mouth or its vicinity, is a rocky ledge (area Z8). A character can scale the slope to reach the ledge without the need for a climber’s kit or ability checks.

GM notes:

Approaching the Mansion

A winding branch of the Old Svalich Road meanders up the forested slope of a mountain spur to the old mansion, which is perched on high ground overlooking the Svalich Woods and the Luna River valley.

When the characters first come within sight of Argynvostholt, read:

High above the river valley juts a quiet promontory upon which looms a sepulchral mansion, its turrets capped with fairytale cones, its towers lined with sculpted battlements. A third of the structure has collapsed, as has part of the roof, but the rest appears intact. A dark, octagonal tower rises above the surrounding architecture.

Out of the fog comes a distant peal of thunder, quickly accompanied by the howling of wolves in the woods below, but the house stands silent, seeming like the fossilized remains of some long-dead thing smote upon the mountainside.

GM notes:

Approaching the Ruins

The following boxed text assumes that the characters approach Berez from the north, along the trail leading from the Old Svalich Road. If they approach from a different direction, don’t read the first sentence.

The trail hugs the river for several miles. The dirt and grass soon turn to marsh as the trail dissolves into spongy earth pockmarked with stands of tall reeds and pools of stagnant water. A thick shroud of fog covers all. Scattered throughout the marsh are old peasant cottages, their walls covered with black mildew, their roofs mostly caved in. These decrepit dwellings seem to hunker down in the mire, as though they have long since given up on escaping the thick mud. Everywhere you look, black clouds of flies dart about, hungry for blood.

The fog is much thinner on the far side of the river, where a light flashes amid a dark ring of standing stones.

The river ranges in depth but is never more than 10 feet deep. Muriel Vinshaw, a wereraven in human form, lurks amid the circle of standing stones (area U6) and is using a lantern to signal the heroes. In the village proper, fog prevents a creature from seeing any other creature or object more than 120 feet away.

A few sections of dirt road have survived, and these places are not difficult terrain. The marsh, however, is difficult terrain. Whenever the characters take a short or long rest in the marsh, even if they barricade themselves in a ruined building, they are accosted by 1d4 swarms of hungry flies (use the swarm of wasps stat block in the Monster Manual). The swarms don’t trouble characters in areas U3 or U5.

Marsh Scarecrows

Seven scarecrows stand guard in the marsh. They appear to be ordinary, nonmagical scarecrows stuffed with raven feathers until one or more of them are attacked, until Baba Lysaga commands them to attack, or until someone activates the howling skulls that surround Baba Lysaga’s goat pen (see area U2).

GM notes:

Approaching the Tower

The Svalich Woods have swallowed up the road that once led to the tower. Now only a wide dirt trail remains.

You come to a cold mountain lake enclosed by misty woods and rocky bluffs. Thick fog creeps across the dark, still waters. The trail ends at a grass-covered causeway that stretches a hundred yards across the lake to a flat, marshy island with a stone tower on it. The tower is old and decrepit, with collapsing scaffolds clinging to one side where a large gash has split the wall. Timeworn griffon statues, their wings and flanks covered with moss, perch atop buttresses that support the walls.

Parked near the base of the tower, within sight of the entrance, is a barrel-topped wagon spattered with mud.

The tower stands 80 feet tall. It has four levels (each 20 feet high) and a mostly intact slate tile roof. The second, third, and fourth floors have arrow slits that are 6 inches wide, 3 feet tall, and 1 foot thick. The tower’s uppermost level overhangs the levels below it and has window boxes in addition to arrow slits.

The mossy griffons atop the buttresses are nothing more than decorative statues.

Khazan’s Spell Drain

Khazan warded his tower so that he alone could cast spells near or within it. The effect is identical to an antimagic field centered on the tower and extending 5 feet from it in all directions. The effect doesn’t apply to magic traps and constructs created by Khazan, including the trap on the tower door in area V2, the golems in area V4, and the animated suit of armor in area V7.

GM notes:

Approaching the Town

When the characters first approach Vallaki, read:

The Old Svalich Road meanders into a valley watched over by dark, brooding mountains to the north and south. The woods recede, revealing a sullen mountain burg surrounded by a wooden palisade. Thick fog presses up against this wall, as though looking for a way inside, hoping to catch the town aslumber.

The dirt road ends at a set of sturdy iron gates with a pair of shadowy figures standing behind them. Planted in the ground and flanking the road outside the gates are a half-dozen pikes with wolves’ heads impaled on them.

A 15-foot-high wall encloses the town, its vertical logs held together with thick ropes and mortar. The top of each log has been sharpened to a point. Wooden scaffolding hugs the inside of the palisade twelve feet off the ground, enabling guards to peer over the wall there.

Town Gates

Three tall gates made of iron bars lead into town:

• The north gate is sometimes called the Zarovich Gate, or “the gate to the lake,” because it leads to Lake Zarovich (chapter 2, area L).
• The west gate is referred to as the Sunset Gate, even though no living person in Vallaki has seen an undimmed sunset. A few abandoned cottages line the road outside this gate.
• The east gate is also known as the Morning Gate, or, as some locals like to call it, the Mourning Gate.

Heavy iron chains with iron padlocks keep the gates shut at night. During the day, the gates are closed but not typically locked.

Two town gate guards (LG male and female humans) stand just inside each gate. They carry pikes. These weapons are long enough to stab creatures through the bars of the gate. The guards greet all visitors with suspicion, particularly those who arrive at night. If the characters arrive at night, one or more of them must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma (Persuasion) check to convince the guards to unlock the gate and let them enter.

If trouble breaks out at one of the gates, the guards there cry out, “To arms!” Their shouts are echoed across Vallaki, putting the entire town on alert within minutes. Vallaki has twenty-four human guards, half of whom are on duty at any given time (six stand watch at the gates, six patrol the walls). The town can also muster a militia of fifty able-bodied human commoners armed with clubs, daggers, and torches.

GM notes:

Approaching the Village

When the characters first approach the village, read:

Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds everything. The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.

The sobbing comes from Mad Mary’s townhouse (area E3). With the exception of areas E1 and E2, all the shops in the village are permanently closed, and the unoccupied shops have been looted of anything valuable. Claw marks cover most of the walls.

When the fog eventually burns off, Castle Ravenloft looms over the village, like a lance piercing the sky.

House Occupants

If the characters explore a residence other than Mad Mary’s townhouse (area E3) or the burgomaster’s mansion (area E4), roll a d20 and consult the following table to determine the house’s occupants.

Occupants of Houses in Barovia

d20	Occupants
1-3	None
4-8	2d4 swarms of rats
9-16	Barovian villagers
17-20	2d4 Strahd zombies

Rats

A house infested with rats looks abandoned. The rats are servants of Strahd and attack if the characters explore the interior of the house.

Barovian Villagers

A house of Barovian villagers is home to 1d4 adults (LG male and female human commoners) and 1d8 − 1 children (LG male and female noncombatants). Characters who listen at the door hear low, muffled whispers from within. These villagers aren’t interested in speaking with strangers and never attack first, always fleeing from danger if possible. At night they cower by candlelight and keep makeshift holy symbols close at hand.

Strahd Zombies

When the characters open a door or a shuttered window of a house infested with Strahd Zombies, they are assailed by the stench of death. If the characters dare to enter, the zombies converge on their location.

GM notes:

Approaching the Vineyard

A branch of the Old Svalich Road leads to the vineyard. If the characters approach along this path, read:

After a half mile, the road becomes a muddy trail that meanders through the woods, descending gradually until the trees part, revealing a mist-shrouded meadow. The trail splits. One branch heads west into the valley, and the other leads south into dark woods. A wooden signpost at the intersection points west and reads, “Vineyard.”

If the characters head west on the trail toward the vineyard, read:

A light drizzle begins to fall. Unpainted fences blindly follow the trail, which skirts north of a sprawling vineyard before bending south toward a stately building. The fog takes on ghostly forms as it swirls between the neatly tended rows of grapevines. Here and there, you see rope-handled half-barrels used for hauling grapes. North of the trail is a large stand of trees. A man wearing a dark cloak and cowl stands at the edge of the trees, beckoning you.

The beckoning figure is one of nine wereravens (LG male and female humans) hiding in the grove north of the vineyard. If the characters ignore the cloaked figure and continue on to the winery, the wereravens keep their distance and wait to see what happens.

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The Martikov Family

If the characters head toward the cloaked figure, the other wereravens emerge from the stand of trees and greet them in human form. They wear dark leather rain cloaks and cowls.

One of them is the current owner of the winery and vineyard, Davian Martikov, who is an old and suspicious man. Until he trusts the characters, he says nothing about the stolen gems but tells them that evil druids and blights have attacked the winery and forced his family to take refuge in the woods.

If the characters rid the winery of its invaders, Davian is grateful. Only then does he tell them that the vineyard’s three magic “seeds” have been stolen. He describes them as gems the size and shape of pinecones, each one containing a glowing green light as bright as a torch. For the good of all Barovia, he urges the characters to travel to Berez (area U) and Yester Hill (area Y) to retrieve two of them. He has no idea what happened to the third gem.

Davian’s group includes the following people:

• Davian
• Adrian, his eldest son
• Elvir, his youngest son
• Stefania, his adult daughter
• Dag Tomescu, Stefania’s husband

All five are members of the Keepers of the Feather (see chapter 5, Blue Water Inn). Also present are Stefania and Dag’s four children: a teenage son named Claudiu, two young boys named Martin and Viggo, and a baby girl named Yolanda. The three youngest children are noncombatants; the boys are wereravens with 7 hit points each, and Yolanda is effectively a human with 1 hit point (she can’t assume other forms yet).

If the characters come to the vineyard looking to obtain wine, Adrian can confirm that there are three barrels in the loading dock (area W2), plus another three barrels and several wine bottles in the cellar (area W14). There is more wine still fermenting (area W9).

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Approaching the Winery

If the characters continue toward the winery, read:

Situated in the midst of the vineyard, the winery is an old, two-story stone building with multiple entrances, thick ivy covering every wall, and iron fencing along its roofline. The trail ends at an open loading dock on the ground floor.

A wooden stable of more recent construction is attached to the east side of the winery, next to the loading dock. West of the winery is a crumbling well and a wooden outhouse.

When the characters reach the winery, read:

You hear the rustle of dead vines all around you. Inhuman shapes emerge from the vineyard, their limbs cracking as they trudge forth through the mist and rain.

Thirty needle blights (in six groups of five) emerge from the surrounding vineyard and make their way toward the characters and the winery. The blights are 120 feet away when they first become visible, and they have a walking speed of 30 feet. Characters can either barricade themselves inside the winery, thus keeping the needle blights at bay, or stand and fight. If they stay outside and fight, druids and blights from inside the winery join the battle on the rounds shown below.

Round	Creatures
3	1 druid and 24 twig blights (from area W9)
4	1 druid and 5 needle blights (from area W14)
5	1 druid and 2 vine blights (from area W20)

The druid lurking in area W16 carries a Gulthias staff. If the staff is destroyed, all blights within 300 feet of it instantly wither and die.

GM notes:

Approaching the Windmill

The windmill’s stone walls are easily climbed. Wooden floors separate the various levels. There are no lights within, since the hags have darkvision.

The Old Svalich Road transitions here from being a winding path through the Balinok Mountains to a lazy trail that hugs the mountainside as it descends into a fog-filled valley. In the heart of the valley you see a walled town near the shores of a great mountain lake, its waters dark and still. A branch in the road leads west to a promontory, atop which is perched a dilapidated stone windmill, its warped wooden vanes stripped bare.

Closer investigation of the windmill yields a few more details:

The onion-domed edifice leans forward and to one side, as though trying to turn away from the stormy gray sky. You see gray brick walls and dirt-covered windows on the upper floors. A decrepit wooden platform encircles the windmill above a flimsy doorway leading to the building’s interior. Perched on a wooden beam above the door is a raven. It hops about and squawks at you, seemingly agitated.

A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check senses that the raven is trying to warn the party. After delivering its message, the raven flies off toward Vallaki, the town in the valley below (see chapter 5).

Beyond the windmill is the forest. Once atop the windmill’s hill, the characters can see a ring of four squat megaliths at the forest’s edge. Ravens can be seen circling in the air above the stones, which are described at the end of the chapter.

GM notes:

Areas of Barovia

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Barovia.

A. Old Svalich Road

Black pools of water stand like dark mirrors in and around the muddy roadway. Giant trees loom on both sides of the road, their branches clawing at the mist.

If the characters are walking along the road, they arrive at area B after 5 hours. If the characters are traveling in Vistani wagons, the travel time is halved.

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B. Gates of Barovia

Picture: Handout: Gates of Barovia

Two sets of these gates exist: one west of the village of Barovia and one east of the village.

The fog spills out of the forest to swallow up the road behind you. Ahead, jutting from the impenetrable woods on both sides of the road, are high stone buttresses looming gray in the fog. Huge iron gates hang on the stonework. Dew clings with cold tenacity to the rusted bars. Two headless statues of armed guardians flank the gate, their heads now lying among the weeds at their feet. They greet you only with silence.

If the characters are traveling on foot, the gates swing open as they approach, screeching as the hinges move.

The gates close behind the characters after they pass through. If the characters are riding in Vistani wagons, the gates open in front of the lead wagon and close when the rear one has entered.

The eastern gates don’t open for people trying to leave Strahd’s domain unless they are accompanied by Vistani. The fog chokes any non-Vistani that passes through the gates or skirts around them when they are closed (see “Mists of Ravenloft” in the Lay of the Land handout).

If Strahd is defeated, the gates of Barovia swing open, and the road east becomes clear of fog.

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C. Svalich Woods

Towering trees, whose tops are lost in heavy gray mist, block out all but a death-gray light. The tree trunks are unnaturally close to one another, and the woods have the silence of a forgotten grave, yet exude the feeling of an unvoiced scream.

If the characters are traveling in Vistani wagons, they can continue on to the village of Barovia (area E) without incident.

If the characters are following the road on foot, the party member who has the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score notices something:

You catch the scent of death on the air.

The character can follow the stench to its source:

The foul scent leads you to a human corpse half-buried in the underbrush about fifteen feet from the road. The young man appears to be a commoner. His muddy clothes are torn and raked with claw marks. Crows have been at the body, which is surrounded by the paw prints. The man has obviously been dead for several days. He holds a crumpled envelope in one hand.

The dead man, Dalvan Olensky, was trying to escape from Barovia with a letter from his master when he was killed on the road by Strahd’s dire wolves. Wanting to return at once to Strahd, the wolves left the body in the woods but have not yet returned to feast.

The letter in Dalvan’s hand has a large “B” set into its wax seal. The parchment is worn and flimsy. If the characters open and read the letter, show the players Handout: Kolyan Indirovich’s Letter (Version 2). The letter is dated one week ago.

Dalvan was instructed to place the letter at the gates, in the hope that visitors would find it, and turn back.

If the characters linger in the woods, they hear a lone wolf howl far off in the forest. Each round, one more wolf adds its voice to the howling, with the sound getting progressively closer to the party. If the characters are still in the woods after 5 rounds of howling, five dire wolves arrive and attack. If the characters are trying to leave Barovia, these dire wolves are joined by a pack of twenty wolves. The wolves and the dire wolves stop their attack if the characters return to the road and head toward the village of Barovia (area E).

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D. River Ivlis

When the characters come within sight of this river for the first time, read:

This river flows as clear as a blue winter sky through the valley.

The river is roughly 50 feet wide, with a depth ranging from 5 to 10 feet. Arching stone bridges span the river at two points, one near the village of Barovia (area E) and the other near Tser Falls (area H).

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E. Village of Barovia

Chapter 3 describes the village of Barovia and the gloomy folk who reside there.

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F. River Ivlis Crossroads

Check for a random encounter whenever the characters reach area F, unless they are accompanied by Vistani.

An old wooden gallows creaks in a chill wind that blows down from the high ground to the west. A frayed length of rope dances from its beam. The well-worn road splits here, and a signpost opposite the gallows points off in three directions: BAROVIA VILLAGE to the east, TSER POOL to the northwest, and RAVENLOFT/VALLAKI to the southwest. The northwest fork slants down and disappears into the trees, while the southwest fork clings to an upward slope. Across from the gallows, a low wall, crumbling in places, partially encloses a small plot of graves shrouded in fog.

The northwest fork leads down to the river and area G. The road southwest leads to area H. The east road leads to an arching stone bridge and continues on to the village of Barovia (area E). If the characters are traveling with Vistani, the Vistani lead them along the northwest road to the Vistani encampment.

The gallows stand atop a rotting platform 5 feet high, with wooden stairs leading up to it.

Eleven graves are here with blank gravestones. The forgotten people buried here were hanged from the gallows. Characters who dig up the graves find rotted coffins containing moldy bones.

The Hanged One

As the characters leave the area, read:

You hear a creaking noise behind you, coming from the gallows. Where there was nothing before now hangs a lifeless, gray body. The breeze turns the hanged figure slowly, so that it can fix its dead eyes upon you.

One random character sees him- or herself hanging from the gallows. The other characters see an unfamiliar Barovian. The corpse looks and smells real, and it rapidly melts away into nothing if touched or moved.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is buried in one of the graves. For each grave the characters dig up, there’s a cumulative 10 percent chance of finding the treasure.

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G. Tser Pool Encampment

(The information below is also presented in the Tser Pool Encampment handout for convenience. Please navigate your players to the Tser Pool Encampment Map as well.)

The road gradually disappears and is replaced by a twisted, muddy path through the trees. Deep ruts in the earth are evidence of the comings and goings of wagons.

The canopy of mist and branches suddenly gives way to black clouds boiling far above. There is a clearing here, next to a river that widens to form a small lake several hundred feet across. Five colorful round tents, each ten feet in diameter, are pitched outside a ring of four barrel-topped wagons. A much larger tent stands near the shore of the lake, its sagging form lit from within. Near this tent, eight unbridled horses drink from the river.

The mournful strains of an accordion clash with the singing of several brightly clad figures around bonfire. A footpath continues beyond this encampment, meandering north between the river and the forest’s edge.

The eight draft horses drinking from the river are used to pull the Vistani wagons and aren’t easily startled.

If the characters are brought to this camp by the Vistani, their escorts remain at the camp and don’t accompany the adventuring party any farther.

Twelve Vistani (CN male and female human vistani bandits) are standing and sitting around the fire, telling stories and guzzling wine. They are intoxicated and have disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. Three sober Vistani (CN male and female human vistani bandit captains) are resting in three of the four wagons but leap quickly into action if an alarm is raised.

Although the Vistani in this camp are in league with Strahd, they attack only if the characters provoke them with threats or insults. Otherwise, the characters are offered flasks of wine and invited to join the reverie.

If the characters linger at the camp, continue with “A Vistana’s Tale” below. If they seem in a hurry to leave, one of the Vistani tells them, “It was fated that you would visit our humble camp. Madam Eva foretold your coming. She awaits you.” The Vistana then points to the largest tent. If the characters head that way, continue with “Madam Eva’s Tent.”

A Vistana’s Tale

If the characters linger by the fire, one of the Vistani recounts the following tale:

“A mighty wizard came to this land over a year ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. He stood exactly where you’re standing. A very charismatic man, he was. He thought he could rally the people of Barovia against the devil Strahd. He stirred them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en masse.

“When the vampire appeared, the wizard’s peasant army fled in terror. A few stood their ground and were never seen again.

“The wizard and the vampire cast spells at each other. Their battle flew from the courtyards of Ravenloft to a precipice overlooking the falls. I saw the battle with my own eyes. Thunder shook the mountainside, and great rocks tumbled down upon the wizard, yet by his magic he survived. Lightning from the heavens struck the wizard, and again he stood his ground. But when the devil Strahd fell upon him, the wizard’s magic couldn’t save him. I saw him thrown a thousand feet to his death. I climbed down to the river to search for the wizard’s body, to see if, you know, he had anything of value, but the River Ivlis had already spirited him away.”

The Vistana storyteller doesn’t remember the wizard’s name, but recalls that it sounded important. If the characters haven’t spoken with Madam Eva, the storyteller urges them to do so.

Madam Eva’s Tent

If the characters decide to see Madam Eva, read:

Magic flames cast a reddish glow over the interior of this tent, revealing a low table covered in a black velvet cloth. Glints of light seem to flash from a crystal ball on the table as a hunched figure peers into its depths. As the crone speaks, her voice crackles like dry weeds. “At last you have arrived!” Cackling laughter bursts like mad lightning from her withered lips.

Madam Eva speaks the name of each party member and makes some reference to that individual’s past deeds. She then asks the characters if they want their fortunes read. If they say yes, Madam Eva produces a worn deck of cards and proceeds with the sequence outlined in chapter 1. (If the characters don’t want a reading of their fates, continue play using the card reading you performed before starting the adventure.)

Madam Eva might seem mad, but she is, in fact, cunning and sharp of mind. She has met a good many adventurers in her time and knows they can’t be fully trusted. She wants to free the land of Barovia from its curse, and her fate is interwoven with Strahd’s (see the Madam Eva bio & info of her character sheet). She does the vampire’s bidding when called upon and does nothing to anger Strahd or bring harm to the Vistani. She never gives aid and never asks for any.

Treasure

For each Vistani tent or wagon that the characters search, roll once on the following table to determine what treasure is found:

d20	Treasure
1-10	None
11-13	Sack of 100 ep (each coin stamped with Strahd’s visage in profile)
14-16	Pouch containing 4d6 gemstones worth 100 gp each
17-19	Sack containing 3d6 pieces of cheap jewelry worth 25 gp total and 1d6 pieces of fine jewelry worth 250 gp each
20	One magic item (roll once on Magic Item Table B)

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is hidden in one of the Vistani wagons. Madam Eva grants the characters permission to search the wagons if they ask, and any such search yields the treasure.

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H. Tser Falls

If the characters reach area H by following the footpath from the Vistani encampment (area G), read:

You follow the river to the base of a canyon, at the far end of which a great waterfall spills into a pool, billowing forth clouds of cold mist. A great stone bridge spans the canyon nearly one thousand feet overhead.

If the characters are on the high road instead, read:

You follow the dirt road as it clings to the side of a mountain and ends before an arching bridge of mold-encrusted stone that spans a natural chasm. Gargoyles cloaked in black moss perch on the corners of the bridge, their frowns weatherworn. On the mountainous side of the bridge, a waterfall spills into a misty pool nearly a thousand feet below. The pool feeds a river that meanders into the fog-shrouded pines that blanket the valley.

The chasm’s walls are slippery and sheer, and can’t be scaled without the aid of magic or a climber’s kit.

The bridge is slick with moisture but safe to cross. The road south of the bridge leads down the mountainside to area F; the road north cuts through the mountains to area I.

The gargoyles on the bridge are harmless sculptures.

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I. Black Carriage

Even here, in the mountains, the forest and the fog are inescapable. Ahead, the dirt road splits in two, widening toward the east. There you see patches of cobblestone, suggesting that the eastern branch was once an important thoroughfare.

If Strahd has invited the characters to Castle Ravenloft or otherwise wants to steer them in his direction, add:

Parked at the fork in the road, pointed east, is a large black carriage drawn by two black horses. The horses snort puffs of steamy breath into the chill mountain air. The side door of the carriage swings open silently.

The two black draft horses are under Strahd’s control. The horses wait for the characters to pile into the carriage if they so desire. There is room inside for eight of them. If they get into the carriage, the horses draw it down the road to area J. The horses can’t be discouraged from their course, not even by a skilled teamster.

Characters who don’t want to travel east in the carriage can follow the road northwest through a set of iron gates (area B) that open as they approach and close behind them, or the characters can travel south along the winding road to the bridge at Tser Falls (area H).

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J. Gates of Ravenloft

The following text assumes that the characters arrive here in the carriage from area I. Modify the text as needed if the characters arrive by another means.

After winding through the forest and craggy mountain peaks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east, and the startling, awesome presence of Castle Ravenloft towers before you. The carriage comes to a dead stop before twin turrets of stone, broken from years of exposure. Beyond these guard towers is the precipice of a fifty-foot-wide, fog-filled chasm that disappears into unknown depths.

A lowered drawbridge of old, shored-up wooden beams stretches across the chasm, between you and the archway to the courtyard. The chains of the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron straining under the weight. From atop the high walls, stone gargoyles stare at you out of their hollow eye sockets and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green with growth, hangs above the entry tunnel. Beyond this location, the main doors of Ravenloft stand open. A rich, warm light spills from within, flooding the courtyard. Torches flutter sadly in sconces on both sides of the open doors.

The drawbridge appears sturdy, but a few of its boards are missing and it creaks and groans under any weight. Each time a creature other than Strahd or a horse that draws his carriage crosses the drawbridge, there is a 5 percent chance of one of its boards breaking under the creature. If a board breaks, the creature must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall to the bottom of the cliffs, 1,000 feet below. If a companion is within 5 feet of the creature and reaches out to grab it, the creature has advantage on the save.

Green Slime

A patch of green slime clings to the portcullis in the entry tunnel, and can be spotted with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. The slime will not fall on characters entering the castle, but it does fall on the first character who leaves by this route.

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K. Castle Ravenloft

Chapter 4 explores Castle Ravenloft, lair of the vampire Strahd von Zarovich.

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L. Lake Zarovich

At the foot of a mountain, nestled in the misty forest, is a large lake. The water is perfectly still and dark, reflecting the black clouds overhead like a monstrous mirror.

If the characters arrive along the shore north of Vallaki in the daytime, add:

Pulled up along the south shore are three small rowboats. A fourth boat can be seen in the middle of the lake, with a lone figure sitting in it, fishing pole in hand.

Each rowboat can safely hold five people. The person fishing on the lake is Bluto Krogarov (NE male human), a resident of Vallaki. He is in a trance and doesn’t respond to anything or anyone unless attacked. His boat is 400 feet from the nearest shore. Tied up in the boat is a seven-year-old Vistana named Arabelle. She is bound with hempen rope, wrapped in a burlap sack, and lying prone so that she can’t be seen or heard from the shore.

Roleplaying Bluto

Bluto Krogarov is a destitute drunkard. He’s desperate to catch some fish and trade them for wine at the Blue Water Inn. After he was unable to catch a single fish for a week, he kidnapped Arabelle, believing that Vistani are lucky. He intends to sacrifice her to the lake, hoping it will give up some of its fish in return.

If the characters watch Bluto from the shore for several minutes, or if they row out into the lake to greet him, he tosses the burlap sack into the water, watches it sink, and waits with fishing pole in hand for his reward.

Bluto is a hollow shell of a man, barely able to understand his own actions. He is unarmed and does nothing to aid or thwart the characters.

Roleplaying Arabelle

Characters who act quickly can save Arabelle before she drowns. A character on the shore must succeed on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to reach her in time. The DC is 10 for characters who took a rowboat out onto the lake.

Arabelle has alabaster-white skin and raven-black hair. If rescued, she demands to be returned to her family’s camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area N9). She is certain that her father, Luvash, will give the characters a reward for doing so.

A descendant of Madam Eva with the blood of Barovian royalty in her veins, Arabelle is unaware of her connection to Strahd. She acts more like an adult than a child. Despite her recent misadventure, she believes that a great destiny awaits her.

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M. Mad Mage of Mount Baratok

This encounter can occur anywhere along the base of Mount Baratok.

North of the mountain lake, the trees begin their steady climb up the slopes of Mount Baratok, its monolithic presence oppressive at this distance. The ground here is rocky, uneven, and tiring to navigate. Even the wolves avoid this neck of the woods. Soon, you climb above the blanket of fog that engulfs the valley. Dark thunderclouds roll overhead.

You see an elk standing on a rocky spur about sixty feet away. Suddenly, it assumes the form of a man in tattered black robes. His hair and beard are long, black, and streaked with gray, and his eyes crackle with eldritch power.

The Mad Mage of Mount Baratok (CN male human) came to Barovia more than a year ago to free its people from Strahd’s tyranny, but he underestimated Strahd’s hold over the land and the creatures in it. After a battle between the two in Castle Ravenloft, Strahd drove the Mad Mage to the mountains and sent the wizard hurling over Tser Falls (area H). The wizard, his staff and spellbook lost, survived the fall and retreated into the mountains, hoping to regain his power, only to be driven mad by the realization that he no longer has any hope of defeating Strahd or freeing the people of the vampire’s damned realm.

The Mad Mage has forgotten his name and the world whence he came. In fact, he doesn’t remember anything that happened before the madness. He suffers from the paranoia that powerful enemies are hunting him, and that their evil agents are everywhere and watching him.

Believing that the characters aim to kill him, the Mad Mage unleashes his destructive magic. As he tears into them, he shouts, “You think my magic has grown weak? Think again!” If he is reduced to 50 hit points or fewer, he shouts, “Tell your dark masters they can break my body, but never my spirit!” He then tries to escape.

Under normal circumstances, a greater restoration spell cast on the Mad Mage would restore his wits and ends the madness, allowing him to remember that he is none other than Mordenkainen, an archmage of Oerth and the leader of a powerful group of adventurers called the Circle of Eight. But in this case, the Mad Mage has cast a mind blank spell on himself. As long as that spell remains in effect, his sanity can’t be restored by any spell. If the characters surmise that powerful magic is preventing them from restoring the Mad Mage’s wits, they can, with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, convince the Mad Mage to divulge the reason why their spell failed. A character can also ascertain the cause of the spell’s failure with a successful DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check. The Mad Mage’s mind blank spell has a remaining duration of 3d6 hours, after which his madness can be cured normally.

The Mad Mage has already used one 1st-level spell slot to cast mage armor on himself, one 4th-level spell slot to cast polymorph on himself, one 7th-level spell slot to cast Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion (see “The Mad Mage’s Mansion”), and one 8th-level spell slot to cast mind blank on himself.

The Mad Mage’s Mansion

If the characters rescue the archmage from his madness, he invites them to his “mansion.” He leads them up the mountain to an invisible doorway that serves as the entrance to his extradimensional lair, created using the Mordenkainen’s magnificent mansion spell. There, he provides them with food and sanctuary away from the prying eyes of Strahd and his spies. Characters are free to take a short or long rest, during which time they aren’t disturbed.

Mordenkainen is familiar with worlds beyond his own. For example, if the characters come from the Forgotten Realms and mention this fact to Mordenkainen, he asks them if they know his old friend Elminster of Shadowdale.

If Mordenkainen isn’t the party’s ally as foretold in Madam Eva’s card reading (see chapter 1), he declines to join them if asked. With his wits restored, he sets out to find his missing staff and spellbook, leaving the characters on their own. He doesn’t allow them to help him, for he fears they might be tempted to steal either his staff or his spellbook. (Being an adventurer himself, he knows how the lure of powerful magic can bring out the worst in adventurers.) Before he leaves, as a parting gift, the archmage imbues each character with a charm of heroism (see the “Supernatural Gifts” handout).

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that the Mad Mage is the party’s ally in the battle against Strahd, Mordenkainen can be persuaded to help them once his sanity is restored. He won’t join them on their travels, but he will help them in a fight with Strahd if they have discovered where to find the vampire and how to destroy him.

With his sanity restored, Mordenkainen can be stubborn and difficult even with his friends, and doesn’t suffer fools. He normally spends more time listening than talking, but when he does speak, his pronouncements are authoritative and not to be questioned.

The archmage has never had his fortune read by Madam Eva and doesn’t care to, but if he is told about the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, the Tome of Strahd, and the Sunsword, he insists that these items be recovered before he and the party confront Strahd. If Strahd is defeated and Mordenkainen survives, the archmage gladly accompanies the characters back to their world if they invite him, if only not to disappoint them.

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N. Town of Vallaki

Chapter 5 describes the town of Vallaki.

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O. Old Bonegrinder

Chapter 6 details Old Bonegrinder, a decrepit windmill occupied by hags.

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P. Luna River Crossroads

Always check for a random encounter when the characters reach area P in their travels.

The road comes to an X intersection, with branches to the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. The lower half of a snapped wooden signpost thrusts upward at an angle near the eastern elbow of the intersection. The top half of the sign, featuring arms pointing in four directions, lies in the weeds nearby.

The characters can easily figure out how the top half of the signpost connects to the lower half. When the two parts of the sign are aligned and rejoined, the arms indicate KREZK and TSOLENKA PASS to the southwest, LAKE BARATOK to the northwest, VALLAKI and RAVENLOFT to the northeast, and BEREZ to the southeast.

The Old Svalich Road, which runs northeast to southwest between Vallaki (area N) and Krezk (area S), is generally level. About a quarter mile along the northeast branch, an arching stone bridge crosses the Luna River.

The northwest branch of the crossroads climbs gently, becoming a dirt trail through the woods within half a mile. It merges with the Old Svalich Road again after a couple of miles, but not before sprouting a branch that leads to Van Richten’s Tower on Lake Baratok (area V). The southeast branch wends gently downward as it follows the river into a valley. This trail eventually ends at the mostly abandoned riverside burg of Berez (area U).

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Q. Argynvostholt

Chapter 7 details the ruined mansion Argynvostholt, once a refuge of the Order of the Silver Dragon, which opposed Strahd and failed.

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R. Raven River Crossroads

Always check for a random encounter whenever the characters reach area R.

This stretch of the Old Svalich Road has multiple branches. One branch heads north, quickly turning into a dirt path that leads to Van Richten’s Tower on Lake Baratok (area V). One branch heads south, becoming Tsolenka Pass (area T) as it winds through the lower mountains and clings to the side of Mount Ghakis. A third branch heads west toward the Wizard of Wines winery and vineyard (area W), dipping south as it changes from a road into a gravel trail.

Standing at the intersection of the Old Svalich Road and the road to the winery is a signpost:

You see a weatherworn signpost next to the road. The three arms of the sign point along the three branches of the road. The arm pointing north reads KREZK, and through the woods you can see an arching stone bridge spanning a river. The arm pointing east reads VALLAKI, and the road slopes up gradually in that direction. The arm pointing southwest reads THE WIZARD OF WINES. The road slopes gently downward in that direction.

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S. Village of Krezk

Chapter 8 visits the village of Krezk and the nearby Abbey of Saint Markovia.

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T. Tsolenka Pass

Chapter 9 explores the Tsolenka Pass, which hugs the side of Mount Ghakis.

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U. Ruins of Berez

Chapter 10 describes the ruins of Berez, a riverside village that is now home to the hag Baba Lysaga.

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V. Van Richten’s Tower

Chapter 11 details Van Richten’s Tower, a dilapidated structure that originally belonged to the wizard Khazan.

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W. The Wizard of Wines

Chapter 12 visits the Wizard of Wines, the vineyard and winery that provides Barovia much of its wine.

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X. The Amber Temple

Chapter 13 delves into the Amber Temple, the dungeon complex where Strahd gave himself to the Dark Powers.

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Y. Yester Hill

Chapter 14 describes Yester Hill, a remote hilltop that belongs to druids who venerate Strahd as lord of the land.

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Z. Werewolf Den

Chapter 15 delves into the cave complex that is the main den of Barovia’s werewolves.

GM notes:

Areas of Berez

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Berez.

U1. Abandoned Cottages

As you approach this cluster of ruined cottages separated by low stone walls, you see a short stretch of dirt road that has remained intact.

The cottages contain rotted furnishings and nothing of value. The walls that separate the cottages are 3 feet tall and easily scaled or circumvented.

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U2. Ulrich Mansion

Toward the south end of the village lie the remains of a mansion built on higher ground. It has been reduced to piles of stone and rotting timber. Empty, arched windows stare at you. South of the ruin, an untamed garden runs rampant, surrounded by broken walls that are no longer able to contain it. East of the ruin, someone has erected a crude wooden fence, forming a circular yard in which several goats are penned. Surmounting the fence posts are human skulls.

The ruined mansion is littered with the rotted remains of furniture and decor. The last burgomaster of Berez, Lazlo Ulrich, haunts the ruin as a ghost. If the characters search the mansion, the ghost appears before them:

A ghost takes shape in the fog, assuming the form of a giant of a man, his features mutilated and his entrails hanging out like frayed ropes. Despite its intimidating presence, the apparition has a cringing light in its eyes. “Why do you invade my home? Begone, I beseech you!”

Strahd refuses to let Burgomaster Ulrich’s spirit find rest because of what he did to poor Marina. The ghost recounts Marina’s sad tale if prompted. Only by convincing Ulrich that Marina has been reborn in the form of Ireena Kolyana can the characters put the tortured spirit to rest. The ghost must see Ireena in the flesh, and it can’t travel beyond the confines of the crumbled mansion.

Ulrich’s ghost is neutral good. It attacks if threatened or if the characters begin searching the ruined mansion for treasure. If the ghost is reduced to 0 hit points, it re-forms after 24 hours. The characters receive experience points for the ghost only if they lay Ulrich’s spirit to rest, not if they defeat the ghost in combat.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is hidden in Berez, Ulrich’s ghost points the characters to the treasure’s true location, saying these words as it fades away:

“Travel west. Two hundred paces from the mansion lies a monument to my folly and the treasure you seek.”

Characters who follow Ulrich’s directions end up at area U5.

Cellar

Buried under rubble inside the mansion is a stone staircase that leads down to an intact cellar. A single character can clear the rubble in 4 hours, and multiple characters working together can reduce the time proportionately. The cellar is a 30-foot-square room with mortared stone walls, a 10-foot-high ceiling supported by wooden beams, and a floor submerged under 3 inches of stagnant water. The cellar contains two dozen empty, rotted casks from the Wizard of Wines winery. Each cask is labeled Champagne du le Stomp.

Garden

The garden behind the ruined mansion has run wild. Hidden behind tall weeds and thorny vines are nude sculptures of handsome men and beautiful women, as well as carved stone benches.

Four giant poisonous snakes attack characters who venture more than 10 feet inside the garden.

Goat Pen

Baba Lysaga captures goats and uses their blood in her rituals of longevity. Nine goats are trapped behind this fence. Fifty human skulls are mounted on the tops of the fence posts, spaced 10 feet apart.

There is no gate in the fence, and Baba Lysaga uses her flying skull (see area U3) to enter and leave the pen. If the characters try to set the goats free by dismantling or damaging part of the fence, the skulls atop the fence posts begin howling and continue to howl for 1 minute. The racket attracts Baba Lysaga, who arrives in her flying skull on initiative count 20 in 2 rounds. The howling skulls also attract the seven scarecrows in the marsh (see “Marsh Scarecrows” in the Approaching the Ruins handout). Roll initiative once for all the scarecrows.

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U3. Baba Lysaga’s Hut

Roll20 Note: The information below is also presented in Baba Lysaga's Hut for ease of use.

Someone has built a ramshackle wooden hut on the stump of what was once an enormous tree. The rotting roots of the stump thrust up from the mire like the legs of a gigantic spider.

An open doorway is visible on one side of the hut, beneath which floats the upside-down, hollowed-out skull of a giant. Flanking the hut’s doorway are two iron cages that dangle like hideous ornaments from the eaves. Scores of ravens are trapped in each one. They squawk and flutter their wings excitedly as you approach.

Baba Lysaga is inside her hut unless she has been drawn forth by activity elsewhere. The squawks of the birds are music to her ears, but the noise makes it impossible for her to hear anyone approaching. Only the howling of the skulls in area U2 or sounds of combat nearby are loud enough to be heard over the squawking.

Inside each cage is a swarm of ravens that fiercely attacks Baba Lysaga and her scarecrows if released. Each cage is held shut by one of Baba Lysaga’s arcane lock spells, and opening it requires a knock spell or a successful DC 20 Strength check. A character can also pick the lock with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 20 Dexterity check.

Giant Skull

The upside-down skull that floats next to the hut is Baba Lysaga's Giant Skull, a hill giant’s skull that Baba Lysaga has hollowed out and transformed into a vehicle. It hovers in place until Baba Lysaga commands it to fly, which she can do only while inside it. It has a flying speed of 40 feet. No one else can control the skull. A creature inside the skull has three-quarters cover against attacks made from outside the skull. The skull is big enough to hold one Medium creature.

Hut Interior

The hut is fifteen feet on a side and packed with old furniture, including a wooden cot, a wicker cabinet, a slender wardrobe, a wooden table, a stool, a barrel-topped wooden chest reinforced with brass bands, and an iron tub stained with blood. In the middle of the room is a ghastly wooden crib with a small, angelic child sitting in it. All the furnishings except for the crib are bolted to the floor. Beneath the crib, green light seeps up through cracks between the rotting floorboards.

The child and the crib are illusions created by Baba Lysaga using a programmed illusion spell. Baba Lysaga refers to the child as “Strahd” and created the illusion out of madness, because she considers herself a protective mother.

Beneath the hut’s rotting floorboards is a 3-foot-deep cavity containing the magic, green-glowing gem that Baba Lysaga took from the Wizard of Wines Winery. This gem animates the hut (see “The Creeping Hut” in the Special Events: Chapter 10 handout). The floorboards can be ripped up or smashed with a successful DC 14 Strength check. Characters can also break through the floor by dealing 10 damage to it. The hut doesn’t give up the gemstone easily, however (see Baba Lysaga's Creeping Hut ). If the gem is destroyed or removed from the cavity, the hut becomes incapacitated.

Baba Lysaga keeps soiled robes in the wardrobe and assorted spell components in the wicker cabinet. The tub is where she ritually bathes in blood to prevent aging (see “Gifts of Mother Night” in the Baba Lysaga handout). If the characters approach the hut at an appropriate time without being noticed, they can see Baba Lysaga bathing.

Treasure

The wooden chest in the hut is protected by a glyph of warding that requires a successful DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find. The glyph deals 5d8 thunder damage when triggered. Opening the lid releases four crawling claws that fight until destroyed. Also contained in the chest are various items that Baba Lysaga has taken from dead adventurers over the years:

• 1,300 gp
• Five 500 gp gemstones
• A vial containing oil of sharpness
• Two spell scrolls (mass cure wounds and revivify)
• A pouch containing ten +1 sling bullets
• A set of pipes of haunting
• A stone of good luck

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s in the chest with the other items.

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U4. Churchyard

Through the fog you see the empty shell an old stone church, north of which is a cemetery of leaning gravestones enclosed by a disintegrating iron fence. Half of the cemetery has sunk into the mire.

Rotted coffins and moldy bones are buried in the graveyard. Characters who explore the gutted church find the rotten remains of a pulpit and an old iron bell half immersed in the marsh, lying amid the remains of a collapsed steeple.

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U5. Marina’s Monument

Strahd had this monument erected after Marina’s death. The monument is hidden in the marsh, and the characters aren’t likely to find it on their own unless they scour the area thoroughly. If they lay Burgomaster Ulrich’s spirit to rest (see area U2), it points them to this location before fading away. Without Ulrich’s guidance, the characters must enter the square in which the monument is located and search that area. A character who searches the area for 10 minutes can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, finding the monument on a success. If the monument isn’t found, the check can be repeated after another 10 minutes of searching.

The following boxed text assumes that the characters have met Ireena Kolyana. If they have not, don’t read the sentence that mentions her.

Hidden by the fog and elevated a few feet above the surrounding marsh is a raised plot of land, barely ten feet on a side, enclosed by a disintegrating iron fence. In the center of the plot is a life-sized stone monument carved in the likeness of a kneeling peasant girl clutching a rose. Although her features are gray and weatherworn, she bears a striking resemblance to Ireena Kolyana. Carved into the monument’s base is an epitaph

The epitaph reads as follows: Marina, Taken by the Mists.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is hidden in a cavity underneath the monument, which can be tipped over or moved aside by someone who makes a successful DC 15 Strength check.

If the characters disturb the monument, read:

The croaking frogs and chirping crickets fall silent, and the stench of decay grows strong. You hear the trudge of heavy footsteps through mud and water as bloated gray shapes shamble out of the fog.

Seven distended corpses (human) have risen from the mire west of the monument. These walking corpses are 60 feet away when first seen. When a corpse is reduced to 0 hit points, it splits open, disgorging a swarm of poisonous snakes. The snakes are hungry and fight until slain.

Characters can take the treasure and flee, easily outpacing the snake-swollen corpses.

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U6. Standing Stones

A dozen moss-covered menhirs form a near-perfect circle in the spongy earth. These weathered stones range in height from 15 to 18 feet. A couple of them lean inward as if to share some great secret with their inscrutable neighbors. A wary-looking peasant woman lurks behind the tallest stone, a rusty lantern clutched in one gnarled hand and a dagger clutched in the other.

The woman is Muriel Vinshaw, a wereraven and friend of the Martikov family (see chapters 5, Blue Water Inn, and 12, Wizard of Wines Winery). A resident of Vallaki, Muriel spies on Baba Lysaga for her fellow wereravens. However, she avoids the village proper, preferring to lurk on the outskirts. If the characters allow her to speak, Muriel warns them about the dangers of Berez and arms them with the following information:

• Berez was abandoned long ago after the river rose and flooded the village.
• An ancient and powerful hag named Baba Lysaga lives in a hut in the middle of the village. When not in her hut, Baba Lysaga flies around in a giant skull.
• The scarecrows of Berez are murderous creatures under the hag’s control. They surround Baba Lysaga’s hut and serve as an early warning system.
• Baba Lysaga periodically sends her scarecrows to attack the Wizard of Wines, a winery and vineyard west of Berez. She’s made enemies of the Martikov family, which owns and operates the winery and vineyard.
• The hag has trapped several mountain goats in a pen near the ruins of an old mansion. (Muriel assumes that Baba Lysaga feeds on these animals.)

Muriel avoids combat and flees if attacked. She conceals her lycanthropic nature for as long as possible, and she doesn’t willingly identify other wereravens with whom she’s acquainted. She can’t be persuaded to accompany the characters if they decide to confront Baba Lysaga. However, Muriel knows Barovia well enough to point out other nearby locations that might interest the adventurers, including the ruined mansion of Argynvostholt (see chapter 7) and the ancient burial ground known as Yester Hill (see chapter 14). Muriel grew up hearing stories about the druids of Yester Hill, specifically how they turned away from their ancient beliefs to worship the devil Strahd. Muriel knows that the druids visit the circle of standing stones from time to time, and she does her best to avoid them.

Circle of Standing Stones

This ring of menhirs is one of the oldest structures in the Balinok Mountains—older than the Amber Temple, and much older than Castle Ravenloft and the various Barovian settlements scattered throughout the valley. The menhirs were raised by the same ancient folk who carved the megaliths near Old Bonegrinder (see chapter 6). Characters who have seen those megaliths can, with a successful DC 10 Intelligence check, discern rudimentary similarities between those stones and the menhirs arranged here.

The circle is 100 feet across, and the menhirs are spaced apart at regular intervals. The stones located to the north, west, south, and east are taller than the other eight stones, which have weatherworn glyphs carved into them that represent different animals. Characters who inspect the smaller menhirs can discern the following animal shapes carved into them: bear, elk, hawk, goat, owl, panther, raven, and wolf.

The standing stones are nonmagical. However, druid characters who enter the circle can sense that powerful gods once blessed this site, and that it still holds some measure of power. They can also sense one of its properties, namely that creatures within the circle can’t be targeted by any divination magic or perceived through magical scrying sensors.

The circle has another property that druid characters can’t sense but might discover when they use the Wild Shape feature within the circle’s confines. Any druid that uses the Wild Shape feature within the circle gains the maximum number of hit points available to the new form. For example, a druid character using the Wild Shape feature to assume the form of a giant eagle would have 44 (4d10 + 4) hit points while in that form.

At your discretion, the circle might have other strange properties that have been forgotten over time. Although she knows something of the circle’s history, Muriel is unaware of its properties.

GM notes:

Areas of Krezk

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Krezk (above).

S1. Road Junction

The road branches north and climbs a rocky escarpment, ending at a gatehouse built into a twenty-foot-high wall of stone reinforced with buttresses every fifty feet or so. The wall encloses a settlement on the side of a snow-dusted mountain spur. Beyond the wall you see the tops of snow-covered pines and thin, white wisps of smoke. The somber toll of a bell comes from a stone abbey that clings to the mountainside high above the settlement. The steady chime is inviting—a welcome change from the deathly silence and oppressive fog to which you have grown accustomed. It’s hard to tell at this distance, but there seems to be a switchback road clinging to the cliffs that lead up from the walled settlement to the abbey.

The Old Svalich Road continues west from this location for a little more than a mile before it plunges into the foggy curtain that surrounds Barovia (see "Mists of Ravenloft" in the Lay of the Land handout). Characters who follow the road north arrive at the gatehouse (area S2).

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S2. Gatehouse

The map of Krezk includes a diagram of the gatehouse.

The air grows colder as you approach the walled settlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flank a stone archway into which is set a pair of twelve-foot-tall, ironbound wooden doors. Carved into the arch above the doors is a name: Krezk.

The walls that extend from the gatehouse are twenty feet high. Atop the parapet you see four figures wearing fur hats and clutching spears. They watch you nervously.

Cut into the upper floor of each tower is an arrow slit 6 inches wide, 4 feet tall, and 1 foot deep. An open doorway leads from the archer’s post in each tower to the adjacent parapet. Behind the walls, wooden ladders lead from the parapets to the ground 20 feet below.

Two archers (LG male and female human scouts) are stationed inside the gatehouse, one in each tower. Four guards (LG male and female humans) man the adjacent walls. If the characters are seen flying or climbing over the walls, the guards assume that the village is under attack and cry out in alarm. Five rounds after the alarm sounds, every able-bodied adult in the village arrives at the gatehouse, ready for battle. Krezk’s militia consists of four more guards plus forty commoners (LG male and female humans) armed with handaxes.

The double doors are made of thick wood planks bound with iron bands and sealed shut with a heavy wooden bar held in iron brackets. The bar can be lifted with a successful DC 15 Strength check. The doors require a siege engine to break them open.

There aren’t enough people in Krezk to adequately defend its outer wall. Every 300-foot stretch of wall is watched over by a lone guard (LG male or female human). The guards are trained to crouch behind the wall and sound the alarm at any sign of danger.

Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov

Picture: Handout: Baron Krezkov

If the characters ask to be let inside or otherwise draw the attention of the guards on the wall, one of the guards fetches the burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov (LG male human noble). His ancestors built Krezk at the foot of the abbey after Strahd’s armies conquered the valley.

Dmitri is a lord and expects to be treated like one. He places the safety of his village above the welfare of strangers. He has seen adventurers before and assumes that the characters are Strahd’s allies or enemies; either way, their presence spells trouble for Krezk. Dmitri isn’t prepared to shelter Strahd’s enemies any more than he is willing to humor Strahd’s allies. The only way the characters can earn his favor is to help Krezk in some way, whereupon Dmitri is required by his oath of office and his honor as a Barovian noble to show them hospitality. If the characters ask what they can do, Dmitri asks them to secure a wagonload of wine from the Wizard of Wines winery to the south. His people have been without wine for days, and the next delivery is long overdue.

If the characters force their way into town using magic or strength of arms, Dmitri tells his guards to stand down, hoping to avoid bloodshed, and does everything he can to expedite the characters’ departure.

A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check can discern that Dmitri is trying to hide the fact that he is distraught. He is grieving over the natural death of his youngest son, Ilya—the last of his children (see area S3).

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S3. Village of Krezk

When the characters get past the outer wall, read:

The mist-shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along dirt roads that stretch between stands of snow-dusted pine trees—so many trees, in fact, as to constitute a forest. To the northeast, gray cliffs rise sharply, and the road winding up to the abbey is easy to see from this vantage.

The village operates as a commune, with no exports or moneymaking businesses. Villagers grow trees and vegetables, cut wood to heat their homes, raise chickens and pigs, and share their food. A few villagers have cows and mules, but there are no horses in Krezk. The village has no inns or taverns. Characters who are willing to chop wood, milk cows, or perform other chores can spend the night in the burgomaster’s cottage or some other residence.

Cottages

Krezk’s residences are single-story pine cottages with stone chimneys and thatch roofs. Pigs and chickens are kept in indoor pens and coops so that they don’t freeze.

Burgomaster’s Cottage. The building closest to the outer gate is the burgomaster’s cottage—the largest building in town but still a modest dwelling. Dmitri Krezkov and his fearless wife Anna (LG female human noble) have no living children. The last of their four children, Ilya, died of an illness seven days ago at the age of fourteen. Given their age, the Krezkovs are unlikely to have more children—a source of great consternation to everyone in the village, since that means the end of the Krezkov bloodline.

The burgomaster’s cottage has a wine cellar (currently empty) and lots of space for pigpens and chicken coops. Behind the cottage is a graveyard where deceased members of the Krezkov family are interred. Dmitri and Anna’s four children, all of whom died of illness, are buried here. Several of the family caskets are empty, their contents stolen in the night by the Abbot’s mongrelfolk gravediggers (see area S6). Ilya’s plot is fresh and undisturbed, since he was interred only four days ago.

Commoner Cottages. A typical cottage is only 200 square feet yet contains 1d4 adults (LG male and female human commoners), 1d4 − 1 children (LG male and female human noncombatants), plus the family’s pigs, hares, and chickens.

Every cottage has its own graveyard where family members are interred. All the caskets planted in the past decade are now empty, thanks to the Abbot’s sneaky mongrelfolk gravediggers (see area S6).

Krezk Lore

In addition to the information known to all Barovians (see “Barovian Lore” in the Barovians handout), the villagers of Krezk (called Krezkites) know the following bits of local lore:

• Residents never leave the village for fear of being attacked by wolves, dire wolves, and werewolves.
• About once a month, a wagonload of wine arrives from the Wizard of Wines (chapter 12), the winery and vineyard to the south. The business is owned and operated by the Martikov family.
• Burgomaster Krezkov recently lost his fourteen-year-old son, Ilya, to illness. Ilya was the last of the four Krezkov children.
• A pool at the north end of the village provides fresh water throughout the year. Next to the pool, the village’s ancestors built a shrine to the Morninglord in a gazebo. It’s known as the Shrine of the White Sun.
• The Abbey of Saint Markovia is named after a priest of the Morninglord who took a stand against the devil Strahd. After a fierce uprising, Markovia and her most loyal followers stormed Castle Ravenloft, only to be destroyed.
• The abbey was once a hospital and a convent, but it fell on hard times after the land was swallowed up by the mists. Some of the clergy fell prey to Strahd, while others went mad and either starved themselves to death or turned to cannibalism.
• The head of the abbey, called simply the Abbot, arrived over a century ago and hasn’t aged a day since. He occasionally visits the Shrine of the White Sun but doesn’t talk much, and he demands tribute in the form of wine. No one knows his true name or where he came from, and many believe he’s Strahd’s servant or the vampire himself in disguise.
• No one from the village visits the abbey anymore. The abbey’s bell rings at odd times, day and night, and the place is filled with baleful screams and horrible, inhuman laughter that can be heard throughout the village.

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S4. Pool and Shrine

Even under gray skies, this pool at the north end of the village shimmers and sparkles. Near its shore sits an old gazebo on the verge of collapse. A wooden statue of a mournful, bare-chested man, its paint chipped and faded, stands in the gazebo with arms outstretched, as though waiting to be embraced.

The pool is fed by an underground spring and was blessed long ago by Saint Markovia. Its waters defy corruption, and anyone who drinks from it for the first time gains the benefit of a lesser restoration spell. (The water once had even greater magic but has weakened over the years.) The water otherwise tastes sweet and fresh.

The gazebo is so frail that it wouldn’t take more than a strong wind to knock it over. It remains standing because it’s protected from the elements by the surrounding trees, walls, and cliffs. The statue is a depiction of the Morninglord, positioned so that he is reaching toward the east (the dawn). Locals refer to the statue and gazebo as the Shrine of the White Sun, though they have no idea why their ancestors named it so.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, the item is hidden under the gazebo. The gazebo must be torn down to reach it, and doing that doesn’t sit well with the locals. If the characters damage the gazebo and don’t repair it, any Charisma checks they make to shift the attitudes of the villagers have disadvantage.

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S5. Winding Road

The switchback road that hugs the cliff is ten feet wide and covered with loose gravel and chunks of broken rock. The ascent is slow and somewhat treacherous, and the air grows colder as one nears the top.

The road climbs 400 feet, doubling back on itself twice before reaching area S6.

GM notes:

Areas of the Pass

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the Tsolenka Pass in this handout. These structures are made of tightly fitted stone and can’t be scaled without the aid of magic or a climber’s kit.

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T1. Gatehouse Portcullis

When the characters approach from the west, read:

The shelf of rock on which the mountain road clings grows narrow. To your left, the icy cliffs rise sharply toward dark, rolling clouds. To your right, the ground falls away into a sea of fog. Ahead, through the wind and snow, you see a high wall of black stone lined with spikes and topped by statues of demonic vultures with horned heads. Set in the center of the wall is a closed iron portcullis, behind which burns a curtain of green flame.

On the other side of the dark wall, gripping the mountain’s edge, is a guard tower of white stone topped by golden statues of mighty warriors.

The gatehouse is 30 feet high. The adjoining walls are 20 feet high and line with stone spikes. If the characters circumvent the gate by flying or climbing over it, the statues on the gatehouse (area T2) animate and attack.

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T2. Demon Statues

These statues are actually two petrified vrocks. If they are attacked, or if the characters bypass the gatehouse, the vrocks revert to flesh and attack, pursuing prey that flees and fighting until slain.

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T3. Curtain of Green Flame

A curtain of green flame fills the eastern archway of the gatehouse. Any creature that enters the curtain for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in the green flame takes 33 (6d10) fire damage.

A successful casting of dispel magic (DC 16) suppresses the curtain for 1 minute. The curtain is also suppressed within an antimagic field.

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T4. Guard Tower, Ground Floor

The tower door is made of ironbound wood and barred from within. A character can force open the door with a successful DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check.

A cold hearth stands across from the door, the wind howling down its chimney. A stone staircase is on the south wall. Three windows look out over a foggy sea.

The stairs climb 20 feet to area T5.

Teleport Destination

Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked X on the map.

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T5. Guard Tower, Upper Floor

The upper level of the tower is an icebox with windows set in almost every wall. A rusted iron ladder bolted to the floor and ceiling leads up to a wooden trapdoor. Mounted above the stone hearth is a dire wolf’s head. The wind coming down the chimney howls in its stead.

The trapdoor in the ceiling pushes open with a squeal, revealing the rooftop (area T6) and the stormy gray sky.

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T6. Guard Tower Rooftop

Ten-foot-tall, gold-plated statues stand atop the battlements, facing outward. Each one depicts a female human knight holding a lance. The cold wind stirs the snow, under which you see human skeletons clad in rusty mail.

The roof is 40 feet high and 540 feet above the misty valley below. A wooden trapdoor in the floor squeals as it is pulled open, revealing area T5 below.

The skeletons are the remains of four guards who held this post long ago. Characters who search the remains find tattered bits of cloth, broken longbows and arrows, rusted blades in ruined sheaths, and rusty chain mail.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, read:

The swirling snow assumes the forms of thin, young women. The wind howls, “Begone! The treasure is ours!”

The forms are six snow maidens. The snow maidens don’t speak, nor are they interested in hearing what the characters have to say. If the characters don’t leave at once, the snow maidens attack. When the last snow maiden is defeated, the treasure that the characters seek magically appears in the swirling snow on the rooftop.

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T7. Western Arch

When the characters approach the bridge, read:

The snowy pass comes to a gorge spanned by a stone bridge. At each end of the bridge is a thirty-foot-tall, thirty-foot-wide stone arch. Atop each one are two statues of armored knights on horseback with lances, charging toward one another. The wind bites and howls like wolves as it passes through the gorge.

The western arch contains empty guard posts, one on each side of the bridge. These 10-foot-wide chambers provide some protection against the howling wind.

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T8. Stone Bridge

The low walls that enclose the stone bridge have fallen away in a couple of places, but the bridge appears intact. A black-cloaked rider on a charcoal-colored horse guards the middle of the bridge.

The cloaked rider is a manifestation of Strahd von Zarovich—a grim warning to proceed no further. If the characters interact with the manifestation in any way, the rider and horse disperse like ash in the wind.

Five hundred feet below the bridge is the Luna River, barely visible through the fog. Though slippery in a few places, the 10-foot-wide, 90-foot-long bridge is safe to cross.

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T9. Eastern Arch

One of the statues atop this arch has crumbled, leaving only the hindquarters of the horse intact. The mountain pass continues beyond.

This arch contains 10-foot-square guard posts, one on each side of the bridge. Both rooms are empty.

Beyond this arch, Tsolenka Pass hugs the mountainside for three miles before branching north and south. The northern branch leads to the Amber Temple (chapter 13). The southern branch continues to wrap around Mount Ghakis until it ends at the deadly fog that surrounds Barovia (see Lay of the Land, "Mists of Ravenloft").

GM notes:

Areas of the Village

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the village of Barovia.

E1. Bildrath’s Mercantile

The sparse light from this building spills out from behind drawn heavy curtains. A sign over the door, creaking on its hinges, reads “Bildrath’s Mercantile.”

The establishment is 70 feet long by 40 feet wide. The owner, Bildrath Cantemir (LN male human commoner), sells items from the Adventuring Gear table, but only items with a price lower than 25 gp in the table, and he sells them for ten times the price.

Bildrath trades with the Vistani when they pass through. He is also happy to make a profit from any strangers unlucky enough to find themselves here. He serves his own interests and offers no sanctuary. He never bargains since, as he says, “If you want it badly enough, you’ll pay for it.” He has no competition in the village.

If the characters give Bildrath a hard time, he calls Parriwimple (LG male human), his nephew and stock-boy, to help him out. Parriwimple’s real name is Parpol Cantemir, but no one in the village calls him that. His muscles rippling beneath his leather tunic should give ample notice of his strength. At the same time, Parriwimple is simple-minded. He is devoted to his uncle and will not follow the characters as long as Bildrath has something to say about it.

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E2. Blood of the Vine Tavern

A single shaft of light thrusts illumination into the main square, its brightness looking like a solid pillar in the heavy fog. Above the gaping doorway, a sign hangs precariously askew, proclaiming this to be the Blood on the Vine tavern.

The tavern building is about 60 feet square. Close inspection of the sign reveals that it originally read “Blood of the Vine.” (An “n” has been scratched over with the “f.”) This once finely appointed tavern has grown shoddy over the years. A blazing fire in the hearth gives scant warmth to the few huddled souls within. They include the barkeep, three Vistani sitting together, and a man named Ismark Kol�yanovich—who happens to be the son of the village burgomaster, Kolyan Indirovich.

Roleplaying Ismark

Ismark Kolyanovich (LG male human) is a young man who sits by himself at a corner table, sipping his wine. Other villagers call him “Ismark the Lesser” because he has lived in the shadow of his father for most of his life.

Ismark isn’t a typically dour Barovian. He invites the characters to join him, offers to pay for their wine, and asks for their aid in protecting his adopted sister, Ireena Kolyana. If they agree to help, he takes them to the burgomaster’s residence (area E4). He wants the characters to help him escort Ireena to Vallaki, a settlement in the heart of the valley, beyond the view of Castle Ravenloft and (he hopes) beyond the reach of Strahd. Ismark knows that moving Ireena is a gamble, since she’s vulnerable to Strahd when she is outside their home, but he has heard assertions that Vallaki is well defended.

Ismark is as tight-lipped as any of the other Barovian villagers, unless the talk deals with Ireena or Strahd. Ismark knows everything the other villagers know. He also knows that, for some unknown reason, Strahd is attracted to Ireena and desires her above all others.

If you used the “Plea for Help” adventure hook and the characters show Ismark the letter they received, he knows the burgomaster’s handwriting well enough to confirm that the letter was not written by his father.

Ismark has spent most of his adult life training with weapons in the hope of one day confronting and killing Strahd. If the characters suggest that he accompany them, Ismark agrees provided that Ireena is first taken to a place of safety. As long as Ismark accompanies the characters, he acts as a party member for the purpose of determining each character’s share of experience points (though he gains no experience points himself).

Roleplaying the Other NPCs

Use the following information to roleplay the other NPCs in the tavern.

Arik the Barkeep. A pudgy little man named Arik Lorensk (CN male human commoner) tends bar. Mindlessly, he cleans glasses, one after another. When they’re all clean, he starts over. If he is spoken to, he takes orders for drinks in a dull, hollow voice. A small glass of wine costs 1 cp. A pitcher of wine costs 1 sp. After serving drinks, Arik returns to cleaning glasses. He ignores all attempts to question him.

Vistani Owners. Three Vistani spies (N female humans) named Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia sit at a table near the front door. They own the tavern and see to it that all customers pay their tabs. They otherwise show little interest in the characters.

If the characters arrive in the company of other Vistani, the owners are much more likely to engage them in conversation and provide useful information. They suggest that the characters visit Madam Eva (see chapter 2, area G) to have their fortunes read.

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E3. Mad Mary’s Townhouse

A moaning sob floats through the still, gray streets, coloring your thoughts with sadness. The sounds flow from a dark, two-story townhouse.

The house, which is about 40 feet square, is boarded up and barricaded from the inside. Mad Mary (CN female human) sits in the center of the floor in an upstairs bedroom, clutching a malformed doll. She is lost in her sorrow and despondency. She barely recognizes the presence of anyone in the room. She says nothing in the presence of anger, but she will talk, albeit haltingly, to someone who talks with her gently.

Mary hid her beloved daughter, Gertruda, in this house for the girl’s entire life. Gertruda, now a teenager, broke out of the house a week ago and has not been seen since. Her mother fears the worst—and is justified in doing so. See area K42 in chapter 4 for more information on Gertruda’s fate.

The malformed doll has a strange leer and wears a sackcloth dress. It belonged to Mary in her youth and was passed down to Gertruda. Gadof Blinsky, the toymaker of Vallaki (see chapter 5, area N7), made the doll. Stitched into the hem of its dress is a frayed tag bearing the words “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!”

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E4. Burgomaster’s Mansion

A weary-looking mansion squats behind a rusting iron fence. The iron gates are twisted and torn. The right gate lies cast aside, while the left swings lazily in the wind. The stuttering squeal and clang of the gate repeats with mindless precision. Weeds choke the grounds and press with menace upon the house itself. Yet, against the walls, the growth has been tramped down to create a path all about the domain. Heavy claw markings have stripped the once-beautiful finish of the walls. Great black marks tell of the fires that have assailed the mansion. Not a pane nor a shard of glass stands in any window. All the windows are barred with planks, each one marked with stains of evil omen.

Characters who survey the grounds can, with a successful DC 11 Wisdom (Perception) check, discern trampled weeds all around the mansion as well as scores of wolf paw prints and human footprints. The footprints were made by zombies and ghouls under Strahd’s control.

Ireena Kolyana (LG female human), the adopted daughter of the burgomaster, is inside the mansion and won’t open the heavily barred door to anyone unless she is convinced that those outside her door have no allegiance to Strahd. If the characters convince her, either with good roleplaying or a successful DC 15 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check, or if Ismark is with them, she opens the door and invites them in.

If the characters enter the mansion, read:

The interior of the mansion is well furnished, yet the fixtures show signs of great wear. Noticeable oddities are the boarded-up windows and the presence of holy symbols in every room. The burgomaster is in a side drawing room on the floor—lying in a simple wooden coffin surrounded by wilting flowers and a faint odor of decay.

Ismark and Ireena made the coffin themselves.

Roleplaying Ireena

Ireena, a striking young woman with auburn hair, has been bitten twice by Strahd. The villagers are afraid of her and avoid her. The characters are Ireena’s best hope for protection, so she is willing to accompany them under certain conditions. Although she appears mild, she has a strong will, and she aids the party as best she can in saving herself. She doesn’t remember her early past. She doesn’t know how she came to Barovia or where she came from. Moreover, her encounters with Strahd are fuzzy memories, thanks to his vampiric charm, but she can recall clearly the blazing hunger in his eyes.

She tells the characters that wolves and other terrible creatures attacked the house night after night for weeks. The burgomaster’s heart couldn’t stand the constant assault, and he died three days ago. Strangely, since his death, the house has not come under attack.

She says that no one from the village has been brave enough to help Ismark take Kolyan Indirovich to the cemetery for proper burial. Ireena asks the characters if they would be so kind as to help Ismark deliver her father’s body safely to Donavich, the local priest (area E5). She refuses to be taken to Vallaki or anywhere else while the burgomaster lies dead on the mansion floor.

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E5. Church

(The information below is also presented in the Church handout for convenience. Please navigate your players to the Church Map as well.)

Atop a slight rise, against the roots of the pillar stone that supports Castle Ravenloft, stands a gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load.

If the characters approach the church doors, add:

The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire.

The village priest, Donavich, lives here. Other Barov�ians shun the church for reasons that will quickly become obvious.

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the church.

E5a. Hall

The doors open to reveal a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers.

You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris, and you hear a soft voice from within reciting a prayer. Suddenly, the prayer is blotted out by an inhuman scream that rises up from beneath the wooden floor.

The scream comes from the church’s undercroft (area E5g). The soft voice uttering the prayer belongs to Donavich, the priest (see area E5f).

E5b. Doru’s Bedroom

This dirty, lightless room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. Mounted above the bed’s headboard is a wooden holy symbol.

This room once belonged to Doru, Donavich’s son, who is trapped in the undercroft (area E5g). It hasn’t been used in more than a year and contains nothing of value.

E5c. Donavich’s Bedroom

This dirty room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress, next to which rests a small table with an oil lamp burning brightly on it. Mounted above the bed’s headboard is a wooden sun-shaped holy symbol.

This is Donavich’s room and contains nothing of value.

E5d. Trapdoor

Time and neglect have punched holes in the ceiling of this moldy room, which contains a few broken roof shingles amid puddles of water. In one corner, set into the floor, is a heavy wooden trapdoor held shut with a chain and a padlock. A young man’s screams of anguish can be heard through the door.

Donavich lost the key to the iron padlock. If the chain is removed and the trapdoor is opened, the screaming in the undercroft stops. The trapdoor is swollen and stuck in its frame, so that a successful DC 12 Strength check is required to pull it open. Below it is a wooden staircase that descends 15 feet into the undercroft (area E5g).

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E5e. Office

An old desk and chair stand against the south wall, a wooden holy symbol mounted above them—a sunburst. A ten-foot-long iron rod attached to the north wall stands bare, suggesting a tapestry once hung there. Against the far wall stands a wooden cabinet with four tall doors.

An empty wooden poor box rests on the seat of the chair. The desk drawers contain a few sheets of blank parchment, along with a couple of quill pens and dried-up jars of ink.

For its size, the wooden cabinet contains very little. Inside are a tinderbox, a few wooden boxes full of candles, and two well-used books: Hymns to the Dawn, a volume of chants to the Morninglord, and The Blade of Truth: The Uses of Logic in the War Against Diabolist Heresies, as Fought by the Ulmist Inquisition, a strange book that mixes logic exercises with lurid descriptions of fiend-worshiping cults.

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E5f. Chapel

The chapel is a shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments. Next to him hangs a long, thick rope that stretches up into the bell tower.

If the characters have not already entered the undercroft, add:

From beneath the chapel floor, you hear a young man’s voice cry out, “Father! I’m starving!”

Donavich (LG male human) has been praying throughout the night. His voice is hoarse and weak. He is, in a word, insane. A little more than a year ago, his twenty-year-old son Doru and several other villagers stormed Castle Ravenloft in revolt, having been lured there by a wizard in black robes who came to Barovia from a faraway land (see The Mad Mage entry for more information on the wizard). By all accounts, the wizard died by Strahd’s hand, and so too did Doru, who returned to his father as a vampire spawn. Donavich was able to trap his son in the church’s undercroft, where he remains to this day.

Doru hasn’t fed since he was imprisoned, and he cries out to his father at all hours. Meanwhile, Donavich prays day and night, hoping that the gods will tell him how to save Doru without destroying him. If the characters seem intent on slaying Doru, Donavich does his best to stop them. If Doru dies, Donavich falls to the floor and weeps inconsolably, overcome with despair.

In addition to the lore known to all Barovians (see “Barovian Lore” in chapter 2), Donavich knows the following useful information:

• Ireena Kolyana isn’t the natural daughter of Kolyan Indirovich. Although Ireena never knew, Kolyan found her at the edge of the Svalich Woods near the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. She was but a girl then and seemed to have no memory of her past. Kolyan adopted her and loved her dearly.
• Every night at midnight, the spirits of dead adventurers rise up out of the church graveyard, forming a silent procession as they walk the road toward Castle Ravenloft. (See “March of the Dead” in the “Special Events” section.)

Funeral for the Burgomaster. If the characters bring Kolyan Indirovich’s body to the church, Donavich presses the characters into helping him bury the burgomaster in the cemetery (area E6) at dawn. During the burial, Donavich offers prayers to the Morning�lord in exchange for Kolyan Indirovich’s deliverance from Barovia.

Once Kolyan is put in the ground, Donavich suggests that Ireena be taken as far from Castle Ravenloft as possible. He proposes that the characters take her to the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk (chapter 8) or, failing that, the fortified town of Vallaki (chapter 5). Donavich is unaware that the abbey, once a bastion of good, has become a den of evil.

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E5g. Undercroft

The church’s undercroft has rough-hewn walls and a floor made of damp clay and earth. Rotting wooden pillars strain under the weight of the wooden ceiling. Candlelight from the chapel above slips though the cracks, allowing you to glimpse a gaunt shape in the far corner.

The shape is Doru, a vampire spawn sent by Strahd to torment Donavich and cast down the church. Doru is starved for blood and brave enough to attack a lone character. If the characters approach as a group, he does his best to avoid them while hissing, “I can smell your blood!” If they cut off his escape, he lunges forth and attacks.

If the characters restrain Doru and either promise him blood or threaten to destroy him, or if they kill him and then raise him from the dead, he recounts the events that led to his downfall (see area E5f).

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is in the undercroft, it’s contained in a moldy, old chest in the southwest corner of the room. The chest is unlocked and not trapped.

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E6. Cemetery

A fence of wrought iron with a rusty gate encloses a rectangular plot of land behind the dilapidated church. Tightly packed gravestones shrouded by fog bear the names of souls long passed. All seems quiet.

During daytime, the cemetery is a still and peaceful place. Every night at midnight, however, a ghostly procession takes place (see “March of the Dead” in the Special Events: Chapter 3 handout).

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E7. Haunted House

This haunted house is described in appendix B, “Death House.”

GM notes:

Areas of the Windmill

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Old Bonegrinder.

O1. Ground Floor

The ground floor has been converted into a makeshift kitchen, but the room is filthy. Baskets and old dishware are piled everywhere. Adding to the clutter is a peddler’s cart, a chicken coop, a heavy wooden trunk, and a pretty wooden cabinet with flowers painted on its doors. In addition to the clucking of the chickens, you hear toads croaking.

The sweet smell of pastries blends horridly with a stench that burns your nostrils. The awful odor comes out of an open, upright barrel in the center of the room.

Warmth issues from a brick oven against one wall, and a crumbling staircase ascends the wall across from it. Shrieks and cackles from somewhere higher up cause the old mill to shudder.

The ceiling here is 8 feet high. If the characters explore the room, read:

Small human bones litter the flagstone floor.

Baking in the oven are a dozen dream pastries. Morgantha checks on them every 10 minutes. The staircase curls up to area O2.

The barrel holds glistening, greenish-black demon ichor. Morgantha can use the barrel as a font for a scrying spell. She can also knock on the barrel three times as an action to summon a dretch. The demon crawls out of the barrel at the end of Morgantha’s turn and obeys the night hag’s commands for 1 hour, after which it dissolves into a pool of ichor. Morgantha can summon up to nine dretches in this manner before the ichor is gone.

Morgantha’s cabinet contains wooden bowls full of herbs and baking ingredients, including flour, sugar, and several gourds of powdered bone. Hanging on the inside of the cabinet doors are a dozen locks of hair. Amid various concoctions are three small, labeled containers that hold elixirs. The first elixir, labeled “Youth,” is a golden syrup that magically makes the imbiber appear younger and more attractive for 24 hours. The second elixir, labeled “Laughter,” is a nonmagical red tea that infects the imbiber with cackle fever. The third elixir, a greenish milky liquid labeled “Mother’s Milk,” is actually a dose of pale tincture.

The chicken coop contains three chickens, a rooster, and a few laid eggs.

The wooden trunk has tiny holes bored into its lid and contains a hundred croaking toads. Several toads escape if the lid is lifted, but they are harmless.

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O2. Bone Mill

Unless she has been lured elsewhere, Morgantha is encountered here. This is where she grinds children’s bones to make the powder for her dream pastries.

A haggard, heavyset old woman with a face as wrinkled as a boiled apple sweeps the floor, pushing around a few old bones and stirring up a cloud of white dust with her broom. She wears a bloodstained, flour-caked apron. A long, sharp bodkin impales her bundled-up mound of gray hair.

The dirt-caked windows allow very little light to enter this eight-foot-high chamber, most of which is taken up by a large millstone connected to a wooden gear shaft that rises through the ceiling in the center of the room. A stone staircase continues up, toward the sound of loud cackling.

The old woman is Morgantha. She doesn’t mind visitors, as long as they’ve come to do business. She tries to sell her latest batch of dream pastries, charging 1 gp for each one. She’s proud of her confections and claims that she uses only the finest ingredients. If the characters seem uninterested in her wares, she bellows, “Begone!” If they attack or refuse to leave, she calls out to her daughters and turns to fight.

The hags operate the millstone manually, since the arms of the windmill no longer function.

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O3. Bedroom

The night hags Bella Sunbane and Offalia Wormwiggle are here, unless they have been drawn elsewhere.

Dancing around a thick wooden gear shaft in the center of this cramped, circular room are two ugly young women wearing silk shawls and gowns of stitched flesh. Long needles stick out of their tangled mops of black hair. The women cackle with glee.

In a rotting wooden closet are three crates, stacked one atop another, with small doors set into them. Next to the closet is a heap of discarded clothing. A ladder climbs to a wooden trapdoor in the nine-foot-high ceiling. A moldy bed with a tattered canopy stands nearby.

Morgantha’s daughters are repulsive even in their human guises. When they are not singing, dancing, or telling terrible jokes to one another, they are pricking captured children with needles to make them cry. Any attempt to free the children incurs the hags’ wrath.

The discarded clothing belongs to children whom the night hags have already devoured. The trapdoor in the ceiling can be pushed open to reveal area O4.

Each crate is 3 feet square. The top one is empty, but the middle and lower ones each contain a captive child.

The outward-facing side of each crate is fitted with a small door that has an iron latch and iron hinges. It can be unlatched and opened easily from the outside.

The two captured children (LG male and female noncombatants) were taken from the village of Barovia after being given to the hags by their parents in exchange for dream pastries. The boy, Freek, is seven years old. The girl, Myrtle, is barely five. Their crates are full of crumbs, as the hags are fattening them up. If freed, neither child wants to go home, because of what their parents did. They both speak kindly of Ismark and Ireena in Barovia, hoping to be taken to them.

Treasure

The hags don’t use the bed for sleeping, but they store their treasure in it. Six pieces of cheap jewelry (worth 25 gp each) are stuffed in the moldy straw mattress.

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O4. Domed Attic

You’ve reached the windmill’s peak—a domed chamber filled with old machinery. There’s not much room to move around. Light slips into this attic through small holes in the walls.

Characters searching this space find a few old, abandoned bird’s nests.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s easy to find, either tucked in a bird’s nest or buried under some dirt in a corner.

GM notes:

Areas of Vallaki

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Vallaki above.

N1. St. Andral's Church

No map of the church is provided. If one becomes necessary, assume that this church has the same configuration as the one in the village of Barovia (chapter 3, area E5), but without the undercroft.

This slouching, centuries-old stone church has a bulging steeple in the back and walls lined with cracked, stained glass windows depicting pious saints. A fence of wrought iron encloses a garden of gravestones next to the church. A thin mist creeps among the graves.

This church is dedicated to the Morninglord and named after St. Andral, whose bones once rested under the altar (see the “Bones of St. Andral” section).

Father Lucian Petrovich (LG male human priest) oversees the church and does his best to raise spirits. Assisting him is an orphan and altar boy named Yeska (LG male human noncombatant). A brawny lad with a perpetually furrowed brow named Milivoj tends the grounds and digs graves.

At night, the church is packed with 2d6 + 6 frightened Vallakian adults (LG male and female human commoners) and 2d6 equally terrified Vallakian children (LG male and female human noncombatants). Father Lucian offers his nightly congregation his prayers and the promise of St. Andral’s protection. Among Father Lucian’s nightly flock is a sad old woman named Willemina Rikalova. Her son, the shoemaker Udo Lukovich, has been imprisoned for speaking out against the burgomaster (see area N3m). She prays that her son will be set free.

Milivoj (N male human) is rarely seen without a shovel, which he wields like a club.

Milivoj rejects the burgomaster’s proclamation that “All will be well!” and is frustrated that he can’t protect his younger siblings. He wants to be free of Barovia’s curse but sees no hope of escape.

Bones of St. Andral

Until recently, the church was protected from Strahd’s depredations by the bones of St. Andral, which were sealed in a crypt beneath the church’s main altar. But now the church is at risk because someone broke into the crypt a few nights ago and stole the bones. Until recently, Father Lucian was the only person in Vallaki who knew about the bones, but he recalls mentioning them to Yeska over a month ago to put the fearful boy at ease. After the bones were stolen, Father Lucian asked Yeska if he told anyone else about the bones. The boy nodded but wouldn’t divulge a name.

The culprit is Milivoj, whom Father Lucian correctly suspects. But the priest has been reluctant to confront Milivoj because the lad is so temperamental. Father Lucian has not reported the theft for fear of the distress that the news might cause, and he doesn’t want to ruin the burgomaster’s festival. If the party includes a good-aligned cleric or paladin, Father Lucian mentions the theft in the hope that the characters can provide assistance.

St. Andral’s crypt is a 10-foot-square, 5-foot high chamber beneath the chapel. To reach the crypt, Milivoj used his shovel to pry up the chapel floorboards. (The boards have since been replaced.) If one of the characters confronts Milivoj and succeeds on a DC 10 Charisma (Intimidation) check, he admits that Yeska told him about the bones. He also admits to passing along the information to Henrik van der Voort, the local coffin maker (Coffin Maker's Shop), and to stealing the bones for Henrik in return for money to help feed his younger sisters and brothers.

The theft of the bones has left the church vulnerable to attack by Strahd’s minions (see "St. Andral's Feast" in the Special Events: Chapter 5 handout). If the bones are returned to their resting place, St. Andral’s church once again becomes hallowed ground, as though the building was protected by a hallow spell.

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N2. Blue Water Inn

See Blue Water Inn handout.

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N3. Burgomaster's Mansion

See Burgomaster's Mansion handout.

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N4. Wachterhaus

See Wachterhaus handout.

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N5. Arasek Stockyard

This large stockyard has several locked sheds along its periphery and lies adjacent to a roomy warehouse. A wooden sign above the front gate reads “Arasek Stockyard.”

Parked at the south end of the stockyard is a sturdy carnival wagon, its colorful paint peeling off. Faded lettering on its sides spells out the words “Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders.” A heavy padlock secures the back door.

The stockyard is a general store and a facility where storage sheds can be rented. It is owned by a middle-aged married couple, Gunther and Yelena Arasek (LG male and female commoners). They sell items from the Adventuring Gear table in the Player’s Handbook that have a price of 25 gp or less, but at five times the price.

Rictavio's Carnival Wagon

Picture: Handout: Rictavio's Carnival Wagon

The colorful half-elf bard Rictavio (see area N2) paid Gunther and Yelena a generous amount of gold to watch his carnival wagon, no questions asked. If the characters approach the wagon, read:

The wagon suddenly lurches, as though something big has thrown itself against the inside wall. You hear the cracking of wood, the scraping of metal, and the snarl of something inhuman. Upon closer inspection, you see that the sides of the wagon are spattered with dry blood. You also see an inscription on the wagon’s door frame that reads, “I bring you from Shadow into Light!”

Rictavio carries the key to the wagon door. The lock can be picked but is rigged with a poison needle trap.

Inside the wagon is a armored saber-toothed tiger. It is clad in specially fitted half plate and has been trained to hunt evil Vistani. The tiger recognizes Vistani by smell and, to a lesser extent, by the fancy garb they wear.

The wagon also contains the torn-up remains of a doll. A character who makes a successful DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check discovers that the doll was once a colorfully dressed Vistani effigy. Stitched into its tattered pants is a slogan: “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!”

Rictavio isn’t ready to unleash the tiger on the Vistani just yet. He feeds it by dropping wolf steaks down a 1-foot-square hatch in the wagon’s roof. A character who climbs atop the wagon can spot the hatch without needing to make an ability check.

If the tiger is released, it begins stalking through the streets until its keen sense of smell locates either Rictavio (area N2) or Piccolo (area N7). The tiger doesn’t attack anyone who isn’t a Vistana except in self-defense. It attacks Vistani on sight. Rictavio can make the tiger break off its attack and lure it back into the wagon.

Treasure

The front seat of the wagon conceals a secret compartment that requires a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to find and open. The compartment holds several items:

• An unlocked wooden coffer containing 50 ep bearing Strahd’s profile and six gemstones (worth 100 gp each)
• A small prayer book (worth 50 gp) with a green leather cover and indecipherable notes in the margins
• A healer’s kit
• Three wooden holy symbols inlaid with silver and in the shape of a sunburst (worth 50 gp each)
• A silvered shortsword
• A hand crossbow inlaid with mother-of-pearl (worth 250 gp)
• A bundle of twenty silvered crossbow bolts
• A worn leather case with gold buckles (worth 100 gp) containing three sharpened wooden stakes, a sack of garlic, a jar of salt, a box of holy wafers, six vials of holy water, a polished steel mirror, and a bone scroll tube with a silver stopper and chain (worth 25 gp). The tube contains a spell scroll of protection from fiends and a spell scroll of protection from undead

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is hidden with the other items under the front seat of the wagon, in a lead-lined box.

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N6. Coffin Maker's Shop

See Coffin Maker's Shop handout.

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N7. Blinsky Toys

This cramped shop has a dark entrance portico, above which hangs a wooden sign shaped like a rocking horse, with a “B” engraved on both sides. Flanking the entrance are two arched, lead-framed windows. Through the dirty glass, you see jumbled displays of toys and hanging placards bearing the slogan “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!”

Vallaki’s toymaker, Gadof Blinsky (CG male human), calls himself “a wizard of tiny wonders,” but he has been consumed by despair lately because no one seems to like him or want his toys. His fascination for eerie playthings causes most other locals to avoid him. The burgomaster enables Blinsky to stay in business by giving him a couple of gold pieces a month to make festival decorations.

Blinsky is a heavyset man who wears a moth-eaten jester’s cap during store hours, more out of habit than to humor visitors. In the past six months, the only paying customer who has set foot in the store is a visitor from a faraway land named Rictavio (see Blue Water Inn), who came in two weeks ago and bought a stuffed Vistana doll. Realizing that the toymaker was lonely, Rictavio gave Blinsky his pet monkey, Piccolo. Overjoyed, Blinsky has begun training the monkey to fetch toys from hard-to-reach shelves. The toymaker has also fitted Piccolo with a custom-tailored ballerina tutu.

When he meets new customers, Blinsky recites a well-rehearsed greeting: “Wyelcome, friends, to the House of Blinsky, where hyappiness and smiles can be bought at bargain prices. Perhaps you know a leetle child in need of joy? A leetle toy for a girl or boy?”

Creepy Toys

Blinsky believes the burgomaster is right—that the only way to escape from Barovia is to make everyone in town “hyappy.” Blinsky would like to do his part by making sure that all the children in Barovia have fun toys. On display are a few of his creations:

• A headless doll that comes with a sack of attachable heads, including one with its eyes and mouth stitched shut (price 9 cp)
• A miniature gallows, complete with trapdoor and a weighted “hanged man” (price 9 cp)
• A set of wooden nesting dolls; the smaller each one gets, the older it gets, until the innermost doll is a mummified corpse (price 9 cp)
• A wood-and-string mobile of hanging bats with flapping wings (price 9 cp)
• A wind-up musical merry-go-round with figures of snarling wolves chasing children in place of prancing horses (price 9 sp)
• A ventriloquist’s dummy that looks like Strahd von Zarovich (price 9 sp)
• A doll that looks remarkably like Ireena Kolyana (not for sale; see below)

Ireena Kolyana Dolls. Blinsky makes special dolls for the burgomaster’s henchman, Izek Strazni (see area N3). Izek doesn’t pay for the dolls but instead threatens to burn down Blinsky’s shop unless the toymaker delivers a new doll every month. Every doll is modeled on a description given to Blinsky by Izek, and each doll has been closer to capturing Ireena’s likeness than the last. Blinsky doesn’t know that the doll is meant to be modeled after anyone in particular. If Ireena is with the party, however, Blinsky realizes that she is the inspiration for Izek’s dolls.

Von Weerg’s Masterpiece. Blinsky considers himself a student of a great inventor and toymaker named Fritz von Weerg. Blinsky has heard rumors that von Weerg’s greatest invention—a clockwork man—lies somewhere in Castle Ravenloft. If the characters seem intent on going there, Blinsky asks if they would be so kind as to find the clockwork “myasterpiece” and “dyeliver” it to him, in exchange for which Blinsky offers to make them any toy they desire. Because “byusiness” has not been good, he says, he has no other reward to offer except, perhaps, his new monkey companion.

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N8. Town Square

The shops and homes that enclose the town square are decorated with limp, tattered garlands and painted wooden boxes filled with tiny, dead flowers. At the north end of the square stands a row of stocks, locked in which are several men, women, and children wearing crude, plaster donkey heads.

In the center of the square, peasants in patchwork clothes eye you suspiciously as they use cups and vases to draw water from a crumbling stone fountain. Standing tall at the center of the fountain is a gray statue of an impressive man facing west. All around the square are posted proclamations:

Come one, come all,
to the greatest celebration of the year:
THE WOLF’S HEAD JAMBOREE!
Attendance and children required.
Pikes will be provided.
ALL WILL BE WELL!
— The Baron —

When the characters read this proclamation, reveal Handout: Vallaki Proclamation Wolf's Head Jamboree.

The Wolf’s Head Jamboree has already occurred, making the square’s proclamations out of date. If the characters linger, they see the burgomaster’s henchman, Izek Strazni, arrive with two town guards. Izek orders one guard to tear down all of the old proclamations while the other posts the following new one:

COME ONE, COME ALL,
to the greatest celebration of the year:
THE FESTIVAL OF THE BLAZING SUN!
Attendance and children required.
Rain or shine.
ALL WILL BE WELL!
— The Baron —

When the characters see this proclamation, reveal Handout: Vallaki Proclamation Festival Of The Blazing Sun.

Most Vallakians have no idea whom the statue in the square represents. The burgomaster claims it is Boris Vallakovich, his ancestor and the town’s founder, but there’s no noticeable family resemblance.

Donkey-Headed Criminals

The townsfolk in the stocks were arrested for “malicious unhappiness” (spreading negative opinions about the upcoming festival). An iron padlock secures each set of stocks, and Izek Strazni carries the keys on an iron ring.

Three men, two women, and two boys are trapped in the stocks—all of them tired, wet, and famished. The five adults have the statistics of human commoners, and the children are noncombatants. The plaster donkey heads they wear are meant to encourage ridicule.

Freeing one or more prisoners without the baron’s consent is a crime. If the characters are witnessed doing so, Izek rallies the town guards (twenty-four in all) and orders the characters to leave town at once or suffer the consequences. If the characters stand their ground, Izek orders the guards to beat them into submission, seize their weapons, and cast them out of Vallaki to be “food for the wolves.”

If the characters are exiled from Vallaki without their weapons, the Keepers of the Feather (see Blue Water Inn) snatch the party’s belongings from under Izek’s nose and see them safely returned to the characters.

If the guards fall to waylay the characters, Izek (if he’s still around) flees to the burgomaster’s mansion, giving the characters the run of the town. The townsfolk lock themselves in their homes, fearful that the characters aim to murder them.

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N9. Vistani Camp

See Vistani Camp handout.

GM notes:

Argynvostholt Ground Floor

The following areas correspond to labels Q1-16.

Q1. Dragon Statue

Perched atop a ten-foot-wide, ten-foot-high cube of granite is a moss-covered statue of a dragon, its wings tucked close to its body. The statue looks east, toward the mansion.

The fog makes it hard to see the dragon’s features from a distance, but close inspection reveals that it’s a silver dragon of noble bearing, its spiny frill cracked and broken in many places. The statue is 10 feet tall but looks much more imposing perched on the granite block.

If scrutinized with a detect magic spell, the statue radiates an aura of evocation magic. The dragon statue used to breathe a cone of cold as part of a magic trap, but the trap no longer works (see area Q2).

Reveal Handout: Dragon Statue to players.

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Q2. Main Entrance

Flagstone steps flanked by stone railings climb to a landing in front of a pair of tall, wooden doors with rusted iron bands and knockers shaped like small dragons. Carved into the lintel above the entrance is the word Argynvostholt.

If a creature climbs the steps or sets foot on the landing, the dragon statue (area Q1) opens its mouth and exhales a 60-foot cone of harmless cold air, then closes its mouth and doesn’t activate again until the next dawn. At one time, the statue would breathe a cone of ice and hail, but its magic has deteriorated over the years.

The doors are unlocked and can be pushed open to reveal a dark foyer (area Q3).

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Q3. Dragon's Foyer

This room feels like a king’s tomb. A grand staircase leads up to stone balconies held aloft by stone pillars and arches. A tall, faded tapestry depicting a nobleman in silver armor hangs from an iron rod above the staircase landing.

Six sets of double doors lead from this foyer. Along the walls, displayed on marble pedestals, are three alabaster busts of handsome men. A fourth bust and its pedestal have been knocked over, and their shattered remains lie strewn across the mosaic floor. Two chandeliers of wrought iron hang from the ceiling like monstrous black spiders.

The tapestry is torn in places and worthless. It is a portrait of Lord Argynvost. The alabaster busts depict several of the dragon’s other human guises. The stairs lead up to the second-floor balconies (area Q18).

Shadow of Argynvost

The first time the characters pass through this foyer, read:

A great shadow with wings moves across the walls and disappears. You hear the soft bestial hiss in the darkness.

The draconic shadow is ominous yet harmless.

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Q4. Spiders' Ballroom

Rubble is strewn throughout much of this vast chamber, caused by the partial collapse of the rooms above it. On the pink marble floor, fallen chandeliers lie amid broken chairs and other furnishings. Thick webs stretch from wall to wall, and moving among them are too many giant spiders to count!

Nine giant spiders nest here. They attack anyone who gets too close.

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Q5. Ruined Stable

Here lie the blackened beams of a wooden stable, burned to its stone foundation. Looming above the wreckage is the partially collapsed south end of the mansion, all three of its floors exposed to the elements.

There is nothing of value in the stable.

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Q6. Dragon's Den

This wood-paneled den has been ransacked, its furnishings tossed about. A cold, dark hearth dominates the west wall between two narrow windows. Standing upright against the north wall is a sarcophagus made of black wood with a queen’s effigy carved into its lid.

Argynvost had the empty sarcophagus converted into a wine cabinet. Now, only shattered wineglasses and decanters are to be found on the shelves. The den’s other furnishings include rotted divans, broken chairs, overturned ottomans, and smashed oil lamps.

A secret door at the north end of the east wall can be pushed open to reveal a storage room (area Q11).

Living Fire

If the beacon of Argynvostholt (area Q53) has not been lit, read the following text when the characters approach the fireplace for the first time:

A fire erupts in the dead hearth and assumes a draconic form. It hisses, crackles, and unfurls its smoky wings.

Have the player characters roll initiative. The fire acts on initiative count 10 and has AC 15, 1 hit point, and immunity to fire, poison, and psychic damage. If it is reduced to 0 hit points, it explodes and fills the room with fire, setting fire to the dry furnishings. Each creature in the room must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

The fire doesn’t attack. On its first turn, if it has not been reduced to 0 hit points, it speaks:

The fiery dragon hisses as it addresses you. “My knights have fallen into darkness. Save them if you can. Show them the light they have lost!” With that, the fire burns out.

The dragon refers to the Order of the Silver Dragon and the beacon (area Q53).

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Q7. Parlor

Tattered velvet drapes cover the tall, slender windows that encircle this parlor. The furnishings are covered with dust and cobwebs, and lie in disarray. A damaged brass chandelier hangs from the ceiling, which is covered with a faded mural that depicts metallic dragons and colorful birds flying beneath white clouds.

Time and neglect have damaged the furnishings, leaving nothing of value.

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Q8. Iron Gate

An iron gate, chained shut, closes off a 10-foot-tall archway on the north wall of the mansion. The key to the chain’s padlock was lost long ago, but the lock can be picked by someone who uses thieves’ tools and makes a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. The old lock can be smashed by a character who uses a bludgeoning or slashing weapon on it and makes a successful DC 15 Strength check.

Ten-foot-high flights of stone steps to the west and east of the archway lead up to landings and doors that provide access to areas Q7 and Q9.

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Q9. Servants' Quarters

Tattered brown drapes cover the windows of this circular room, and a heavy curtain hangs across an archway to the south. Strewn about the floor is the wreckage of half a dozen beds and other pieces of furniture.

Lord Argynvost’s household staff once slept here. The room contains nothing of value. Beyond the curtain lies the kitchen (area Q10).

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Q10. Kitchen

This kitchen has been plundered, its tables overturned. The floor is littered with rusted utensils and smashed crockery. Narrow windows flanking a hearth look out over a cemetery. An open iron pot hangs from a hook inside the blackened fireplace. It rattles on its hook and bobs up and down, as though something is inside it.

The iron pot contains an ordinary bat. When the characters get close, it flies out and flaps about the room.

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Q11. Wine Storage

Five barrels lie in wooden braces along the walls of this dark, moldy storage room.

Hiding behind the barrels is a wounded elf named Savid (N male dusk elf). He has 4 hit points remaining and is grateful for any healing the characters can provide.

Savid lives with the other dusk elves of Barovia in the Vistani camp outside Vallaki. He was searching the woods for a missing Vistani girl named Arabelle when a wandering mob of needle blights accosted him. He was forced to take refuge in the mansion.

Savid, who is more than four hundred years old, volunteers the following useful information:

• Argynvost was a silver dragon that liked to assume human forms. Argynvostholt was the dragon’s home.
• In human guise, the noble dragon led a group of knights called the Order of the Silver Dragon. They gave shelter to refugees who had come to the valley to escape Strahd’s army. Strahd’s soldiers slew the dragon, destroyed the order, and sacked the mansion.
• Vistani and dusk elves avoid the mansion, believing that the dragon’s ghost haunts it.

The wine in the barrels turned to vinegar and evaporated long ago. Emblazoned on the barrels’ sides are the name of the winery, the Wizard of Wines, and the name of the wine, Champagne du le Stomp.

A secret door at the north end of the west wall can be pulled open to reveal a den (area Q6).

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Q12. Dining Hall

A twenty-foot-long table with sculpted dragons for legs stands in the center of this hall. The chairs that surround the table have backs carved to resemble folded dragon wings, and several of the chairs have been overturned or smashed to pieces. Suspended above the table is a crystal chandelier that glows with a soft white light. Standing in windowed alcoves are two life-sized statues depicting knights with dragon-winged helms and shields.

Rainwater trickles through cracks in the ceiling, flowing down the west wall and adding to a large puddle on the floor.

Five sets of wooden doors lead to this hall. The doors in the northeast corner hang open. A pair of leaded glass doors, their panes cracked and broken, stand open between panels of stained glass set into the east wall. These panels depict silver dragons in flight. Beyond the glass doors lies a dark, misty room that appears to be a chapel.

A continual light spell was cast on the crystal chandelier long ago and has never been dispelled. The knight statues are lifelike but inanimate.

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Q13. Chapel of Morning

Cracked wooden pillars support a wooden, U-shaped balcony that overhangs this stone-walled chapel. Narrow archways lead to spiral staircases that curl up to the balcony, and a door set into the north wall has a wooden beam barring it. At the east end of the chapel rests a stone altar flanked by iron candelabras. The altar is carved with a rising sun bas-relief. Tall, arching windows set with panels of stained glass decorate the walls behind the altar. One of the windows has been shattered, covering the chapel floor with shards of colored glass and allowing thick fog to enter and fill the room.

If the beacon has not been lit (see areas Q16 and Q53), add:

Through the fog, you see three armored figures kneeling before the altar.

The figures are three revenants with longswords clad in tattered chain mail that affords the same protection as leather armor. Each revenant wields a longsword. If the beacon is lit, the revenants are cleansed of their hatred and laid to rest, and the characters find three armored corpses with longswords lying on the floor in front of the altar. The revenants, if still active, are blinded by their hate and attack the characters on sight, seeking to drive them out of Argynvostholt.

Characters who study the room’s iconography and orientation (the fact that it draws light from the east) can determine, with a successful DC 10 Intelligence (Religion) check, that the chapel is dedicated to a god of the dawn. Anyone familiar with Barovian religion can conclude that the god in question is the Morninglord.

The balcony (area Q24) is 20 feet high and can be reached by climbing either spiral staircase (area Q14).

Characters who stand near the altar and look up can see the hollow interior of the beacon tower. The tower’s lower landing (area Q50) is 60 feet above the chapel floor, and the upper landing (area Q51) is another 20 feet above that.

The bar across the north door is easily lifted from this side. Once the bar is removed, the door can be pulled open to reveal a stone staircase leading down to a cemetery (area Q15).

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Q14. Chapel Staircases

Narrow windows allow dim light to enter this five-foot-wide spiral staircase.

The staircase leads from the chapel (area Q13) to the chapel’s balcony (area Q24) and climbs another 20 feet to a small, empty room with a window that looks down on the chapel.

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Q15. Cemetery

Tucked behind the mansion is a fog-shrouded cemetery enclosed by a seven-foot-tall fence of wrought iron. In the northeast corner stands a mausoleum.

If the beacon has not been lit (see areas Q16 and Q53), read the following text when the characters cross the cemetery for the first time:

You suddenly feel like someone or something is watching you. Looking up, you spot a well-dressed man with a thick mane of thistledown hair observing you from a high tower window. He draws the curtain and disappears from view.

The strange man watches the characters through the southeast window of area Q42. He is merely an apparition intended to lure the characters to that room.

The mausoleum is described in area Q16.

The thick fog obscures the fact that five of the graves have been dug up. Closer inspection and a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the corpses buried there crawled out of the earth. Of the missing corpses there is no sign, but the surrounding fence is intact, which suggests that no one got into the cemetery from outside. (These corpses were animated by the spirits of revenants and clawed their way out.)

A stone staircase curls up the outside of a turret to a flagstone landing in front of a sturdy wooden door. The door is barred from the inside and opens into the chapel (area Q13).

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Q16. Dragon's Mausoleum

Tarnished, silver-plated gargoyles shaped like dragon wyrmlings cling to the stone-tiled roof of this mausoleum. An eight-foot-tall, four-foot-wide white marble door set into the southwest wall is engraved with a name: Argynvost.

The dragon-shaped gargoyles are harmless statuary. The stone door can be pulled open with a successful DC 15 Strength check.

The interior of the mausoleum is dark and dusty. You see four empty alcoves with raised floors. Etched into the far wall is a verse written in Draconic.

Characters who can read the Draconic script can decipher the writing on the wall (reveal Handout: Dragon's Mausoleum):

Development

If the skull of Argynvost is brought from Castle Ravenloft (see chapter 4, area K67) and sealed inside the mausoleum, the dragon’s spirit transforms into a brilliant light at the top of the tower (see area Q53).

GM notes:

Argynvostholt Rooftop and Beacon

The following areas correspond to labels Q43-53.

Q43. Hole in Roof

This 20-foot-diameter hole in the mansion’s roof is directly above area Q33, the floor of which is 20 feet below. The rubble on the roof surrounding the hole is difficult terrain. The roof is sloped and covered with cracked stone tiles. Climbing the tiled roof requires a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. A failure by 5 or more causes the climber to slide down to the parapet, landing prone but taking no damage.

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Q44. Dragon Gargoyle

Perched on the rooftop overlooking the parapet is a silver-plated gargoyle shaped like a dragon wyrmling.

The silver dragon wyrmling statue is 10 feet above the parapet and has a magic mouth spell cast on it. When a character passes in front of it, the spell is activated, and the wyrmling whispers the following short verse in the Common tongue:

When the dragon dreams its dream
Within its rightful tomb,
The light of Argynvost will beam
And rid this land of gloom.

When the characters hear this verse, reveal Handout: Dragon Gargoyle Verse.

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Q45. Ancient Ballista

An ancient ballista, rotted by time and weather, stands behind the battlements on this tower rooftop.

The ballista falls apart if disturbed.

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Q46. Destroyed Ballista

Strewn atop the roof toward the front of the mansion is the wreckage of a ballista. Flanking the wreckage are two stone turrets with conical rooftops and narrow doors.

The turrets are described in area Q47.

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Q47. Roof Turrets

Cobwebs hang from the rafters of this turret, which is empty except for a wooden bench and an iron stove. Arrow slits look down upon the foggy grounds in front of the mansion.

The knights who once guarded the rooftop used these turrets for warmth and shelter on rainy days and cold nights.

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Q48. Roof's Edge

Beyond a ragged edge of stone is a sixty-foot plunge to the rubble-strewn ground below. A few rafters stick out from beneath the stone.

The edge of the roof is sturdy enough to walk on, and not in danger of further collapse. It’s 20 feet down to area Q32, 40 feet down to area Q19, and 60 feet down to area Q4.

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Q49. Beacon Tower Door

The parapet narrows to a width of ten feet, ending before a sturdy wooden door set into the wall of the eastern tower.

This door is barred from the inside. The phantom warriors with spectral longbows in the tower’s turrets (area Q52) make ranged attacks against characters who try to force their way into the tower. These spectral defenders have three-quarters cover behind the arrow slits.

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Q50. Beacon, Lower Landing

A rickety wooden landing and a staircase cling to the walls of this tower. The stairs lead up to another landing twenty feet above, and the floor of the chapel lies sixty feet below.

The landing and the stairs creak and shudder underfoot, but they are safe.

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Q51. Beacon, Upper Landing

Creaky stairs climb to a wooden landing with three windows that look out over the roof of the mansion. Flanking the windows are two narrow wooden doors.

The landing creaks and groans underfoot, much like in area Q50, but here things aren’t so safe. The 10-foot-long section marked T on the map is particularly weak, collapsing under 50 or more pounds of weight. A creature on this section of the landing when it collapses must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall 20 feet to the landing below (area Q50). The collapse of this section creates a 10-foot gap in the landing.

The doors lead to the rooftops of the turrets (area Q52).

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Q52. Beacon Turrets

A stone battlement encloses the roof of this turret. A spiral staircase descends to the level below.

These turret rooftops are 80 feet above ground level. The spiral stairs descend 20 feet to archers’ posts—small rooms lined with arrow slits. Standing guard in each of these rooms is a phantom warrior with spectral longbow that shoots arrows of force energy.

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Q53. Beacon of Argynvostholt

Wooden stairs climb to the tower’s peak, which has a stone floor and a thirty-foot-high pitched roof. Ravens roost on crisscrossing rafters, coming and going through small holes in the roof. Ten-foot-high, five-foot-wide arched windows are evenly spaced around the walls. Each window consists of a lead latticework fitted with small panes of transparent glass.

The ravens that roost here are harmless, but they watch the characters with great interest. If the characters look out the windows, you can use the following text to describe what they see in the distance.

To the north and east lies a mist-shrouded valley with dark woods, a small town, and a lonely windmill on a precipice. To the south, a river flows through a foggy marsh. To the west, between rocky hills, you glimpse an abbey perched on a snowy mountainside beyond a long stretch of fog-smothered pines

The small town is Vallaki (chapter 5). The windmill is Old Bonegrinder (chapter 6). The abbey is the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk (chapter 8).

Lighting the Beacon

When the skull of Argynvost is placed in the dragon’s mausoleum (area Q16), the dragon’s spirit transforms into a brilliant light that fills this room and flashes across the valley like the beacon of a lighthouse. Even if the tower is cast down, the light of Argynvost remains where it is, flashing in the sky. Although the mountains prevent the beacon’s light from reaching Castle Ravenloft directly, Strahd can see the light’s glow in the sky to the west.

The beacon can be seen in Vallaki (chapter 5), Krezk (chapter 8), and Berez (chapter 10), as well as from Old Bonegrinder (chapter 6), Van Richten’s Tower (chapter 11), and the werewolf den (chapter 15).

The beacon’s light can be “felt” even by creatures that are blind. The light allows good-aligned creatures to experience glimmers of hope and joy, while evil creatures find the light disconcerting.

Beacon of Protection. While the beacon shines, characters and other creatures that oppose Strahd gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws for as long as they remain in Barovia.

Revenants at Rest. Vladimir Horngaard and the other revenants that haunt Barovia see the light as a reminder of all that was once good and noble about the knightly order to which they once belonged. They let go of their hatred and their corporeal bodies, leaving corpses behind as their spirits find rest at long last. Henceforth, any random encounter with a revenant should be treated as no encounter.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s resting on the west windowsill.

GM notes:

Argynvostholt Second Floor

The following areas correspond to labels Q17-29.

Q17. West Staircases

Narrow windows illuminate this dusty, five-foot-wide spiral staircase.

These staircases connect the second-floor balconies (area Q18) to areas Q30 and Q36 on the third floor.

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Q18. Balconies

Two stone balconies flank the main foyer. Balusters carved to resemble knights in shining armor support their elegantly carved stone railings. Weapons and shields festoon the walls along each of these walkways, while alabaster busts of handsome men flank hallways that lead north and south away from the foyer. At the west end of each balcony is an archway that leads to a spiral staircase going up.

The balcony is 20 feet above the floor of the foyer (area Q3). The weapons and shields hanging on the walls are nonmagical. The busts, displayed atop wooden pedestals, depict various human guises of the dragon Argynvost. Their eyes seem to watch the characters as they walk by, but the effect is an optical illusion.

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Q19. Ruined Bedchambers

There are two of these rooms.

The south end of this room has collapsed, exposing the chamber to the elements. A few furnishings lie broken under fallen debris from the level above.

The wooden floor creaks underfoot. Although it is safe to walk on, doing so attracts the giant spiders from area Q4. The spiders crawl up into the room and attack. The floor here is 20 feet above the floor of the ballroom.

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Q20. South Alcove

A red velvet curtain hangs in front of an alcove in the southeast corner of this hall. It ripples ever so slightly.

One of the narrow windows in the back of the alcove has a broken glass pane through which a slight breeze passes, causing the curtain to move. When the characters look behind the curtain, read:

A black cloth covers something atop a white marble pedestal

Beneath the black cloth is the severed head of a randomly determined character—an illusion created by Strahd’s consciousness. In actuality, it’s an exquisite alabaster bust of a handsome, middle-aged human with a neatly trimmed mustache and beard (Lord Argynvost). The illusion is too strong to be disbelieved, but it can be dispelled if the bust is broken or covered up again.

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Q21. North Alcove

A red velvet curtain hangs in front of an alcove in the northeast corner of this hall.

The alcove is empty except for the narrow windows in the back walls. Whenever the characters part the curtain and leave, the curtain is closed when they return. Only by removing the curtain from its rod can they prevent the curtain from closing on its own.

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Q22. Bathroom

The room contains an iron tub and has wood paneling on the walls that rises to a height of three feet. Above the paneling, the walls are painted with a continuous, faded mural of a mountainscape.

The mural accurately depicts the Balinok Mountains.

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Q23. Storage Room

Rainwater seeps through cracks in the ceiling and flows into a pool on the sagging wooden floor. The pool fills about half the room. Bare stone shelves line the walls.

This room has been thoroughly looted. The wooden floor is soft and spongy, and it can’t support more than 100 pounds of weight. If more weight is applied, the floor collapses, and any creature in the room falls 20 feet, taking damage as normal and landing in area Q12.

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Q24. Chapel Balcony

This wooden balcony overhangs the mansion’s chapel. An exquisitely carved wooden throne rests at the west end between two doors, and narrow archways lead to spiral staircases going up and down. Hanging from the high ceiling is an iron chandelier with candle holders shaped like tiny silver dragons.

The doors behind the throne lead to areas Q20 and Q21. A wooden railing surrounds the balcony, which is 20 feet above the floor of the chapel (area Q13).

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Q25. Trapped Hallway

This T-shaped hallway has branches to the west, east, and south. Three arched windows in the north wall look out over the foggy grounds.

The ceiling in the hall is 20 feet high. The wooden doors to areas Q27 and Q28 are locked, requiring a successful DC 20 Strength check to break down. The 10-foot squares in front of the doors (marked T on the map) are trapped. When a character enters one of these squares, a floor-to-ceiling wall of stone (created by the spell of the same name) magically appears across the opening on the south wall. At the same time, the phantom warriors in areas Q27 and Q28 rush through the doors (which can be freely opened from their side) and attack.

The wall of stone vanishes after 10 minutes, at which time the trap resets. Characters who cast a detect magic spell in the hall can perceive hazy auras of evocation magic in front of the doors.

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Q26. Northeast Guest Room

The door to this room hangs open.

Two beds with torn canopies stand against opposite walls with a tattered rug lying on the floor between them. Set into the far wall is a fireplace black with soot. A soft hiss issues from the hearth.

When one or more characters approach within 10 feet of the fireplace, add:

A small, hissing dragon made of ash and smoke erupts from the fireplace, filling the room with soot as it beats its wings.

The smoky dragonet has the statistics of a smoke mephit but fights only in self-defense. If left alone, it flies out of the room at a speed of 30 feet, up the spiral staircase (area Q17), through the curtain at area Q30, over the rubble in area Q33, and into area Q36. Once there, it lands on the back of Vladimir's throne and disappears.

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Q27. Knights' Quarters

This room is littered with the wreckage of ancient bunk beds. Five dirt-caked windows allow precious little light to enter, and between them are four empty armor stands. Empty torch sconces line the walls.

Four phantom warriors haunt this room. They manifest only when the characters enter the room or trigger the magic trap in area Q25. They fight until destroyed.

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Q28. Knights' Quarters

Tattered and faded drapes cover the windows of this circular room, and empty torch sconces line the walls. Broken bunk beds and armor stands are strewn on the floor.

Three phantom warriors haunt this room. They manifest only when the characters enter the room or trigger the magic trap in area Q25. They fight until destroyed.

Treasure

Buried under the wreckage is a small wooden coffer containing four potions of invulnerability. A search of the room yields this lost cache.

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Q29. Northwest Guest Room

The contents of this room are draped in cobwebs. Between curtained windows stands a black marble hearth with a sculpted mantelpiece, above which hangs a framed portrait of a handsome, well-dressed man with a wry smile and a thick mane of thistledown hair. Opposite the fireplace is a large bed with a rotting mattress and wooden posts carved to resemble dragons. Across from the double doors stands a tall wardrobe, its doors hanging open, revealing a dark and empty cavity. The only other piece of furniture is an overstuffed leather chair that faces the hearth.

The portrait depicts the silver dragon Argynvost in its guise as the human noble Lord Argynvost.

GM notes:

Argynvostholt Third Floor

The following areas correspond to labels Q30-42.

Q30. Curtained Staircase

A tattered black curtain conceals an archway leading to a spiral staircase that descends to area Q17.

At the top of the stairs is a secret door that can be pulled open to reveal area Q36 beyond.

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Q31. East Staircases

A round-topped wooden door opens to reveal a spiral staircase with narrow windows set into its walls. The stair connects the third floor and the mansion’s roof.

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Q32. Ruined Bedchambers

These two rooms stand across from each other, separated by a ruined corridor that abruptly ends to the south of their doors.

Most of this chamber has collapsed. The wooden floor is strewn with rubble and falls away into a foggy abyss to the south. The roof overhead is jagged and broken.

The floor here is 40 feet above of the floor of the ballroom (area Q4). The roof is 20 feet overhead.

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Q33. Collapsed Ceiling

The roof over this part of the mansion has collapsed, creating a twenty-foot-diameter gaping hole with broken rafters bisecting it. Dark storm clouds roll across the sky overhead. The floor is piled with rocks, broken tiles, shattered beams, and other debris. Beneath the rubble lie a sagging floor and puddles of rainwater.

The ceiling here is 20 feet high, and the rubble is difficult terrain.

Vladimir Horngaard (see area Q36) can hear visitors climbing over the rubble and can’t be surprised by them.

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Q34. Ruined Bathroom

This room has a tiled floor and an iron bathtub filled with debris from the collapsed roof. A torn curtain hangs in an open doorway in the center of the east wall.

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Q35. Upstairs Gallery

This room has dark wood paneling on the walls that rises to a height of three feet. Above the paneling, the walls are painted with murals of religious figures performing holy rites. In the center of the west wall is a tattered curtain hanging in an open doorway. Three tall, slender stained-glass windows set into the opposite wall depict figures in white robes with orange sunrises behind their heads.

From north to south, the three stained-glass windows portray Saint Andral, the Morninglord, and Saint Markovia.

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Q36. Dragon's Audience Hall

The west wall of this fifty-foot-long, thirty-foot-wide audience hall has crumbled, leaving a gaping hole and a pile of rubble. Weapons and shields that once hung from the walls have fallen to the floor and succumbed to rust. A large, wooden throne carved to resemble a dragon with unfolding wings faces three tall windows to the west. Slumped in the throne is a gaunt, armored figure with one gauntlet wrapped around the hilt of a greatsword.

Vladimir Horngaard, commander of the fallen Order of the Silver Dragon, is slumped in the throne. If the beacon of Argynvostholt (see area Q53) has been lit, the corpse is lifeless, and characters can plunder it freely (see “Treasure” below).

If the beacon has not been lit, the body is serving as a host for the revenant. If the characters approach it, it says, “Go away.” If they don’t leave immediately, read:

The creature’s grip on the greatsword tightens. “If you have come to destroy me, know this: I perished defending this land from evil over four centuries ago, and because of my failure, I am forever doomed. If you destroy this body, my spirit will find a new corpse to inhabit, and I will hunt you down. You cannot free me from my damnation, nor would I wish it.

“If you have come to free this land from the creature that feasts on the blood of the innocent, know this: There is no monster I hate more than Strahd von Zarovich. He slew Argynvost, broke the life of the knight I loved, and destroyed the valiant order to which I devoted my life, but Strahd has already died once. He can’t be allowed to die again. Instead, he must suffer eternally in a hell of his own creation, from which he can never escape. Whatever can be done to bring him misery and unrest, I will do, but I will destroy anyone who tries to end his torment.”

Vladimir fights in self-defense. He also rises from his throne and attacks if the characters fail to heed his warning and press him for help destroying Strahd. The first time Vladimir takes damage, six phantom warriors materialize and join the fray, coming to his defense.

Hatred so clouds Vladimir’s mind that he can’t remember that Sir Godfrey (area Q37) was his beloved in life. If Sir Godfrey helps the characters and faces Vladimir, anguished recognition shines in Vladimir’s eyes, yet only lighting the beacon can free him.

Treasure

Vladimir Horngaard wields a +2 greatsword.

Vladimir wears a platinum holy symbol of the Morninglord (worth 250 gp) around his neck, underneath his half plate armor.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s in Vladimir’s possession, and he doesn’t part with it willingly unless the beacon of Argynvostholt has been lit (see area Q53).

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Q37. Knights of the Order

The leaders of the Order of the Silver Dragon used to convene here.

Through the dust and cobwebs, you see faded war banners adorning the walls of a spacious chamber, in the center of which stands a heavy wooden table. An iron chandelier hangs above the table, which is surrounded by six high-backed chairs with wood-carved dragons perched atop them. Slumped in five of the chairs are skeletal humans in tattered chainmail.

If the beacon in area Q53 has been lit, the spirits of these revenants are laid to rest, leaving behind their inanimate corpses. If the beacon has not been lit, add the following:

The corpses tilt their heads in your direction. One of them growls, “Why do you the living disturb the dead?”

The skeletal figures are five revenants with longswords. One of the revenants is Sir Godfry Gwilym. All five are lawful evil. They are awaiting orders from Vladimir (area Q36) and fight only in self-defense. The revenants wear broken chainmail that affords as much protection as leather armor, and they wield longswords.

Development

Sir Godfrey can sense that the spirit of Argynvost isn’t at rest and isn’t happy that the order has been reduced to such a state. If the characters petition the revenants for aid, Sir Godfrey (speaking in a scratchy voice) relates all the information presented in the Intro to Chapter 7 and The Order of the Silver Dragon handouts. Neither he nor the other revenants can help the characters in any meaningful way, however, because of the oaths they have sworn to Vladimir Horngaard.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

Godfrey is Strahd’s enemy and the characters persuasively ask him for help, he offers to join the fight against the vampire. Fate has unlocked his memory of the love that he and Vladimir once shared, and the power of that memory drives Godfrey to help fight Strahd and restore the order’s honor.

If the beacon in area Q53 has not been lit, Godfrey’s decision incurs the wrath of the other revenants, triggering an armed conflict.

If the beacon in area Q53 has been lit, Sir Godfrey remains a revenant even after all the other revenants (including Vladimir) are laid to rest, except that his alignment changes to lawful good. Although Sir Godfrey is unaware of the tarokka card reading, he somehow senses that he must perform one final task before his spirit can rest with Vladimir’s, and thus he agrees to help the characters face Strahd in Castle Ravenloft.

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Q38. Closet

This dusty closet has a slender window set into the north wall. The room is otherwise empty.

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Q39. Vladimir's Bedroom

Light enters this circular room through five cracked windows. The light falls on a large, dust-covered bed in the center of the room, its posts topped with wood-carved dragons. Two large animals flank the double doors. One is a brown bear standing on its hind legs, its claws outstretched. The other is a dire wolf, its face frozen in an evil snarl. Near the wolf lies an empty wooden chest.

The room once served as a bedchamber for Sir Vladimir Horngaard and Sir Godfrey Gwilym. The bear and the dire wold are stuffed and harmless. Looters ransacked the chest long ago, leaving behind nothing of value.

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Q40. Argynvost's Study

This room is a haven for dust and cobwebs. Three narrow windows allow slivers of light to illuminate bare oak shelves along the walls and a torn, padded chair lying on its side near a cavernous hearth. A picture above the mantel has been slashed, its lower half hanging down below the frame like a torn piece of flesh. An iron door set in the south corner of the west wall hangs open on one hinge.

Strahd’s soldiers forced open the iron door that once sealed Argynvost’s vault (area Q41). They also took every book in this study but one. (Many of the books taken from here can be found in Strahd’s study in Castle Ravenloft.)

The sole remaining volume lies on the floor behind the overturned chair. Titled The Oath Celestial, the book has been partially burned, and its cover was slashed by a sword. Leafing through the crumbling book reveals that it is a devotional text for knights from a place called the Holy Empire of Valentia. Most of the knights who joined Argynvost against Strahd came from that empire—now lost beyond the mists.

Journal Page

As the characters cross the room, read:

You hear the soft flapping sound of wings, but can’t discern its origin. A single piece of parchment blows off the top of a bookshelf, spirals lazily in the air, and lands gently at your feet.

The sheet of parchment is the last page of of Argynvost's jounral, the rest of which was destroyed. If the characters look at the torn page, reveal Handout: Journal of Argynvost.

Slashed Picture

If the characters study the whole picture above the mantelpiece, read:

The picture shows the mansion in better days, under clear winter skies with snow-capped mountains in the background. The top of the chapel tower glows like a silver beacon.

The picture radiates an aura of transmutation magic under the scrutiny of a detect magic spell, but the aura is weak. If the characters repair the picture using a mending cantrip, read:

The beacon in the picture flashes with a brilliant silver light, and the spectral form of a huge silver dragon fills the room. “My skull lies in the fortress of my enemy,” it says, “displayed in a place of ill omen. Return my skull to its rightful crypt, and my spirit will shine here forever, bringing hope to this dark land.” With that, the dragon’s apparition fades away.

The spectral dragon isn’t the spirit of Argynvost, but a spell-like effect. Once the dragon has spoken, the picture no longer glows and becomes nonmagical.

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Q41. Dragon's Vault

The iron door leading to this room hangs open on a single rusty hinge. It has obviously been forced open and no longer closes properly.

The walls of this room are lined with lead. Emptied chests and shattered vases lie strewn upon the floor, their contents plundered.

This vault once held a dragon’s trove but was stripped of all valuables long ago.

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Q42. Argynvost's Bedroom

Rich drapes, faded by time and neglect, hide the windows of this otherwise empty room.

Argynvost preferred to sleep in his dragon form. Thus, there is no furniture here.

GM notes:
The information below is also presented in the Berez handout for ease of use.

U3. Baba Lysaga’s Hut

Someone has built a ramshackle wooden hut on the stump of what was once an enormous tree. The rotting roots of the stump thrust up from the mire like the legs of a gigantic spider.

An open doorway is visible on one side of the hut, beneath which floats the upside-down, hollowed-out skull of a giant. Flanking the hut’s doorway are two iron cages that dangle like hideous ornaments from the eaves. Scores of ravens are trapped in each one. They squawk and flutter their wings excitedly as you approach.

Baba Lysaga is inside her hut unless she has been drawn forth by activity elsewhere. The squawks of the birds are music to her ears, but the noise makes it impossible for her to hear anyone approaching. Only the howling of the skulls in area U2 or sounds of combat nearby are loud enough to be heard over the squawking.

Inside each cage is a swarm of ravens that fiercely attacks Baba Lysaga and her scarecrows if released. Each cage is held shut by one of Baba Lysaga’s arcane lock spells, and opening it requires a knock spell or a successful DC 20 Strength check. A character can also pick the lock with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 20 Dexterity check.

Giant Skull

The upside-down skull that floats next to the hut is a hill giant’s skull that Baba Lysaga has hollowed out and transformed into a vehicle. It hovers in place until Baba Lysaga commands it to fly, which she can do only while inside it. It has a flying speed of 40 feet. No one else can control the skull. A creature inside the skull has three-quarters cover against attacks made from outside the skull. The skull is big enough to hold one Medium creature. It has AC 15, 50 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

Hut Interior

The hut is fifteen feet on a side and packed with old furniture, including a wooden cot, a wicker cabinet, a slender wardrobe, a wooden table, a stool, a barrel-topped wooden chest reinforced with brass bands, and an iron tub stained with blood. In the middle of the room is a ghastly wooden crib with a small, angelic child sitting in it. All the furnishings except for the crib are bolted to the floor. Beneath the crib, green light seeps up through cracks between the rotting floorboards.

The child and the crib are illusions created by Baba Lysaga using a programmed illusion spell. Baba Lysaga refers to the child as “Strahd” and created the illusion out of madness, because she considers herself a protective mother.

Beneath the hut’s rotting floorboards is a 3-foot-deep cavity containing the magic, green-glowing gem that Baba Lysaga took from the Wizard of the Wines winery. This gem animates the hut (see “The Creeping Hut” in the “Special Events: Chapter 10” handout). The floorboards can be ripped up or smashed with a successful DC 14 Strength check. Characters can also break through the floor by dealing 10 damage to it. The hut doesn’t give up the gemstone easily, however (see “Baba Lysaga's Creeping Hut”). If the gem is destroyed or removed from the cavity, the hut becomes incapacitated.

Baba Lysaga keeps soiled robes in the wardrobe and assorted spell components in the wicker cabinet. The tub is where she ritually bathes in blood to prevent aging (see “Gifts of Mother Night” in the “Baba Lysaga” handout). If the characters approach the hut at an appropriate time without being noticed, they can see Baba Lysaga bathing.

Treasure

The wooden chest in the hut is protected by a glyph of warding that requires a successful DC 17 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find. The glyph deals 5d8 thunder damage when triggered. Opening the lid releases four crawling claws that fight until destroyed. Also contained in the chest are various items that Baba Lysaga has taken from dead adventurers over the years:

• 1,300 gp
• Five 500 gp gemstones
• A vial containing oil of sharpness
• Two spell scrolls (mass cure wounds and revivify)
• A pouch containing ten +1 sling bullets
• A set of pipes of haunting
• A stone of good luck

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s in the chest with the other items.

GM notes:

Barovians

After his armies occupied the valley and slew its inhabitants, Strahd repopulated the area with human subjects drawn from his other conquered lands. As a result, Barovians have a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds.

Barovians are deeply invested in their homes and their traditions. They are wary of strange peoples and customs. The way Barovians deal with strangers can be unsettling to those newcomers. Barovians have a tendency to stare openly, in silence, thereby expressing their disapproval of anything that isn’t familiar to them. Barovians aren’t talkative with strangers, to the extent of being pointedly rude. Most Barovians have violent tempers that boil up through their customary silence when they are provoked. They also have a social cohesiveness (thrust upon them by their weird circumstances) that can make them act together against outsiders if a Barovian is mistreated.

Barovians were a happy people once, but their history and current conditions aren’t pleasant. If one manages to win the trust of a Barovian, one has a friend for life and a stalwart ally.

Barovian children aren’t happy children. They are raised in a culture of fear and told time and again not to wander too far from their homes or enter the woods. They experience little hope or joy, and they are taught to fear the devil Strahd above all.

Barovian adults eke out modest livings. With no new wealth pouring into the valley, they trade in old coins that bear the profile of their dark lord, Strahd, as he looked when he was alive. They hide their precious baubles in their houses and dress plainly outdoors, so as not to attract the attention of Strahd or his spies.

Barovians live within a closed ecosystem. Every Barovian adult is expected to learn a trade or serve a function. Barovians stitch their own clothing, craft their own furniture, grow their own food, and make their own wine. With fewer than three thousand people living in the entire valley, finding the perfect mate isn’t easy, so Barovians have learned to settle for what they can get.

Souls and Shells

Barovians are made of flesh and blood. They are born, they live, they age, and they die. But not all of them—only about one in every ten—have souls.

When a being with a soul dies in Barovia, that soul remains trapped in Strahd’s domain until it is reincarnated in a newborn. It can take decades for a bodiless soul to find a host, and Barovians who share the same soul over generations tend to look alike. That is why Ireena Kolyana looks exactly like Strahd’s beloved Tatyana—both women were born with the same soul.

Strahd needs loyal subjects to feed his ego. Barovians without souls are empty shells created by his consciousness to fill out the local population. Although they are physically indistinguishable from Barovians with souls, they tend to be bereft of charm and imagination and to be more compliant and depressed than the others. They dress in drab clothing, whereas Barovians who have souls wear clothes with a splash of color or individuality.

A Barovian woman, soulless or not, can give birth. A child born in Barovia might have a soul even if one or both parents do not. Conversely, the child of two parents with souls isn’t certain to have a soul of its own. Barovians without souls are maudlin folk who experience fear but neither laugh nor cry.

Ireena Kolyana and her brother Ismark both have souls, as do all Vistani. Which Barovians have souls and which don’t is left up to you.

Strahd periodically feeds on the blood of Barovians who have souls, but he can’t draw nourishment from the blood of the soulless. He can tell at a glance whether a Barovian has a soul or is merely a shell.

If Strahd is defeated, the fog that surrounds Barovia fades away, allowing the inhabitants of the valley to leave if they wish. Only those who have souls, however, can truly leave this place. Soulless Barovians cease to exist as soon as they exit the valley.

Barovian Names

You can use the following lists to create Barovian NPC names on the fly.

Male Names: Alek, Andrej, Anton, Balthazar, Bogan, Boris, Dargos, Darzin, Dragomir, Emeric, Falkon, Frederich, Franz, Gargosh, Gorek, Grygori, Hans, Harkus, Ivan, Jirko, Kobal, Korga, Krystofor, Lazlo, Livius, Marek, Miroslav, Nikolaj, Nimir, Oleg, Radovan, Radu, Seraz, Sergei, Stefan, Tural, Valentin, Vasily, Vladislav, Waltar, Yesper, Zsolt

Female Names: Alana, Clavdia, Danya, Dezdrelda, Diavola, Dorina, Drasha, Drilvia, Elisabeta, Fatima, Grilsha, Isabella, Ivana, Jarzinka, Kala, Katerina, Kereza, Korina, Lavinia, Magda, Marta, Mathilda, Minodora, Mirabel, Miruna, Nimira, Nyanka, Olivenka, Ruxandra, Sorina, Tereska, Valentina, Vasha, Victoria, Wensencia, Zondra

Family Names: Alastroi, Antonovich/Antonova, Barthos, Belasco, Cantemir, Dargovich/Dargova, Diavolov, Diminski, Dilisnya, Drazkoi, Garvinski, Grejenko, Groza, Grygorovich/Grygorova, Ivanovich/Ivanova, Janek, Karushkin, Konstantinovich/Konstantinova, Krezkov/Krezkova, Krykski, Lansten, Lazarescu, Lukresh, Lipsiege, Martikov/Martikova, Mironovich/Mironovna, Moldovar, Nikolovich/Nikolova, Nimirovich/Nimirova, Oronovich/Oronova, Petrovich/Petrovna, Polensky, Radovich/Radova, Rilsky, Stefanovich/Stefanova, Strazni, Swilovich/Swilova, Taltos, Targolov/Targolova, Tyminski, Ulbrek, Ulrich, Vadu, Voltanescu, Zalenski, Zalken

Barovians and Nonhumans

Barovians are human. Although they know that dwarves, elves, halflings and other civilized races exist, few living Barovians have seen such “creatures,” let alone interacted with them.

Aside from the secretive dusk elves of Vallaki (see chapter 5), the only nonhumans most Barovians are familiar with are the adventurers that Strahd has lured to his dark realm. Barovians thus react to nonhuman characters the same way most humans in the real world would react to elf, dwarf, or half-orc adventurers suddenly walking the streets. Most such outsiders are scorned, feared, or shunned.

Barovian Lore

Typical Barovians know certain facts, or have certain beliefs, about their existence and their surroundings. This common lore is summarized here. Characters can learn this information after earning a Barovian’s trust.

The Devil Strahd

About Strahd and vampires, the Barovians believe the following:

• Strahd von Zarovich is a vampire, and he dwells in Castle Ravenloft. No one is welcome at the castle.
• The devil Strahd is a curse placed on the land because of a forgotten sin of the Barovians’ ancestors. (This is untrue, but Barovians believe it nonetheless.)
• A vampire must rest in its coffin during the day. At night, it can summon wolves and vermin to do its bidding. A vampire can transform into a bat, a wolf, or a cloud of mist. In its humanoid form, it can dominate you with its powerful gaze.
• A vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
• Running water burns a vampire like acid, and sunlight causes a vampire to burst into flame.

The Land of Barovia

Barovians know the following facts about their homeland:

• Anyone who attempts to leave the land of Barovia begins to choke on the fog. Those who don’t turn back perish.
• Many strangers have been drawn to Barovia over the years, but they all die or disappear before long.
• Wolves, dire wolves, and werewolves prowl the Svalich Woods, and hungry bats fill the skies at night.
• The village of Barovia sits at the east end of the valley. Its burgomaster is named Kolyan Indirovich.
• The town of Vallaki lies in the heart of the valley. Its burgomaster is named Baron Vargas Vallakovich.
• The fortified village of Krezk lies at the west end of the valley and is built around an old abbey. The village burgomaster is named Dmitri Krezkov.
• Wine is the lifeblood of Barovia—for some, it is the only reason to keep living. Barovian taverns get their wine from the Wizard of Wines winery near Krezk.
• A mad wizard of great power haunts the foothills of Mount Baratok. He is an outsider and no friend of the vampire’s.

Beliefs and Superstitions

Barovians have deep-rooted religious beliefs and superstitions that they pass down from one generation to the next:

• Two divine forces watch over the Barovian people: the Morninglord and Mother Night.
• Before the curse of Strahd befell the land, the Morninglord watched over the Barovian people from sunrise until sundown. Now, the sun has not shone unobscured for centuries, and the Morninglord no longer answers their prayers.
• The presence of Mother Night is felt most strongly between dusk and dawn, although nighttime prayers to her go unanswered. It is widely believed that she has forsaken the Barovian people and sent the devil Strahd to punish them for their ancestors’ offenses.
• Spirits drift along the Old Svalich Road toward Castle Ravenloft in the dead of night. These phantoms are all that remain of Strahd’s enemies, and this damnable fate awaits anyone who opposes him.
• The Vistani serve the devil Strahd. They alone are allowed to leave Barovia.
• Never harm a raven, lest ill fortune befall you!

Barovian Calendar

Barovia has its own calendar, and Barovians are accustomed to measuring the passage of time in “moons” instead of months. As a measurement of time, each moon begins on the first night of a full moon and lasts a full lunar cycle. A year consists of twelve moons, or twelve lunar cycles.

Strahd was born in 306. In 346, he inherited his father’s crown, lands, and army. Strahd conquered the valley in 347, finished construction of Castle Ravenloft in 350, and died and became a vampire in 351. The current year is 735.

GM notes:
Any creature can wield the spear, but only the character chosen by Kavan (see Special Events: Chapter 14) to wield it gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

GM notes:

N2. Blue Water Inn

Gray smoke issues from the chimney of this large, two-story wooden building with a stone foundation and sagging tile roof, upon which several ravens have perched. A painted wooden sign hanging above the main entrance depicts a blue waterfall.

Picture: Handout: Martikov Family

The Blue Water Inn is Vallaki’s main gathering place for locals, especially at night. The innkeeper, Urwin Martikov, considers the inn a sanctuary from the evils of this land. In the event of trouble, the windows and doors can all be barred shut from within.

A bed for the night costs 1 ep. Characters looking for something to eat are fed hot beet soup and fresh bread at no additional charge. A cooked wolf steak costs 1 ep.

The inn offers a pint of Purple Grapemash No. 3 wine for 3 cp, or a pint of the superior Red Dragon Crush wine for 1 sp. Urwin is hurt if the characters complain about the wines, for his family makes them.

The inn’s wine supply is almost depleted, and the latest delivery from the Wizard of Wines Winery is overdue. If the characters claim to be adventurers, Urwin asks them if they would be so kind as to find out what’s holding up the latest shipment, promising them free room and board if they return with the wine.

Keepers of the Feather

Urwin Martikov (LG male human) is a wereraven and a high-ranking member of the Keepers of the Feather, a secret society of wereravens that opposes Strahd. Urwin’s wife and business partner, Danika Dorakova (LG female human), is also a wereraven, as are their two sons, Brom and Bray. The boys have only 7 hit points each and, at ages eleven and nine, are too young to be effective combatants.

At any given time, another 1d4 wereravens (members of the Keepers of the Feather) are present at the inn, either perched on the rooftop in raven form or huddled inside in human form. These wereravens are loyal friends of the Martikovs and help protect the inn.

If the characters earn the trust of the wereravens in Vallaki, the Keepers of the Feather will watch their backs. The next time the characters get themselves in serious trouble, you can have a group of 1d4 wereravens show up to rescue or otherwise help them.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is hidden at the inn, the Keepers of the Feather don’t reveal where the treasure is until they know the characters are capable of protecting it. As a way of testing their abilities, Urwin gives the characters the following quest:

Urwin takes you aside and keeps his voice low. “My supply of wine is nearly gone, and the next shipment is overdue. I’ll give you what you seek if you bring me my wine. The vineyard and winery is a few miles west of here. Just follow the Old Svalich Road and the signs.”

Urwin fails to mention that his cantankerous father, Davian Martikov, owns the local winery and vineyard, the Wizard of Wines (chapter 12). There’s bad blood between Urwin and his father (whom Urwin and Danika refer to as “the old crow”). Although Urwin could easily visit the winery himself, he considers dealing with his father to be a worthy test of the characters’ competence, and he makes good on his promise if they complete the quest and return with his wine shipment.

Urwin sends a wereraven in raven form to observe the party’s progress from a distance. If the characters get in trouble, the wereraven reports to Urwin at once.

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N2a. Well

A 3-foot-high stone rim surrounds the mouth of this 40-foot-deep, moss-lined well. The inn draws fresh water from this well.

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N2b. Outside Staircase

A wooden staircase hugs the outer wall of the inn and leads up to guest quarters on the upper floor (areas N2l and N2m). The sturdy wooden door at the top of the stairs can be barred from the inside.

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N2c. Taproom

Damp cloaks hang from pegs in the entrance portico. The tavern is packed with tables and chairs, with narrow paths meandering between them. A bar stretches along one wall, under a balcony that can be reached by a wooden staircase that hugs the north wall. Another balcony overhangs an entrance to the east. All the windows are fitted with thick shutters and crossbars. Lanterns hanging above the bar and resting on the tables bathe the room in dull orange light and cast shadows upon the walls, most of which are adorned with wolf heads mounted on wooden plaques.

The double doors leading into the taproom can be barred shut from within.

Mounted on braces and tucked into alcoves behind the bar are three wine barrels, each one three-quarters empty. Two of the barrels contain Purple Grapemash No. 3 (a cheap wine), and the third contains Red Dragon Crush (a fine wine). A brass spigot is hammered into each barrel.

Danika Martikov usually tends bar while her husband busies himself in the kitchen (area N2e). Their boys, Brom and Bray, scamper about and easily get underfoot.

Between dawn and noon, there are no patrons here, and the Martikovs are upstairs in their bedrooms (areas N2o and N2p) or in the attic (area N2q).
From noon to dusk, the taproom holds 2d4 local patrons (LG male and female commoners). Between dusk and midnight, 2d8 Vallakians are here. In addition, one or more of the following people might be present during this time.

Wolf Hunters. Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni Krushkin (N male human) are local hunters who frequent the Blue Water Inn. They kill wolves and sell the meat for a living, and their work is dangerous and bloody. Both men are grim and have haunted looks in their eyes.

These two are dour fellows, but they seldom pass up an opportunity to earn coin. If the characters are looking for guides or information about the land of Barovia, Szoldar and Yevgeni can be of service. They aren’t afraid to venture beyond Vallaki’s walls during the day, and they know the woods and valley well. They’re willing to serve as guides for 5 gp per day, or to provide directions to important landmarks in exchange for free drinks. They think it’s foolish to travel “this cursed realm” at night and won’t do so unless their payment is exorbitant (100 gp or more).

On rare occasions when he has something to say, Szoldar speaks brusquely, while Yevgeni usually parrots his friend in not so many words. Szoldar has a notch in his bow for every wolf he’s killed, while Yevgeni adds a new swatch to his wolfskin cloak every time he makes a kill. Both men have families but spend most of their time together, either drowning their sorrows or hunting in the woods. Most of the wolf heads that adorn the tavern walls are the result of their handiwork.

Wachter Brothers. Nikolai Wachter and Karl Wachter (N male human nobles) are brothers of noble birth. They are brash drunkards always looking for trouble, though they are smart enough not to pick fights with well-armed strangers. Their mother, Fiona Wachter (see area N4), is an influential figure in town, but her sons never talk about her. They’d rather listen to tales of the characters’ harrowing adventures or hear about how the characters plan to free Vallaki from the burgomaster’s madness.

Rictavio. The lone guest of the Blue Water Inn at present is a colorfully dressed half-elf bard who goes by the name Rictavio—a false identity adopted by the legendary vampire hunter Rudolph van Richten. He regales tavern patrons with stories so outrageous as to be hardly believable, yet he asserts they are true indeed. Rictavio claims to be a carnival ringmaster from a distant land. He’s been staying at the inn for almost a month, taking advantage of Urwin Martikov’s generosity and good nature. When he arrived, he was accompanied by a monkey named Piccolo. The monkey wasn’t welcome at the inn, so Rictavio gave it to the local toymaker (see area N7).

Rictavio admits to having no musical talent but manages to entertain locals nonetheless with his stories of faraway places. Twice each day, at dawn and again at dusk, he leaves the inn with a couple of apples and a cooked wolf steak wrapped in a handkerchief. He claims the food is for his portly friend, “the destitute toymaker” (area N7) and his pet monkey. In fact, the apples are for his horse Drusilla (area N2f), and the steak is for his captured saber-toothed tiger (area N5).

During his stay at the inn, Rictavio is quietly gathering information on the Keepers of the Feather, trying to figure out the identities of all the wereravens in town. He’s also trying to learn as much as he can about the Vistani, particularly the ones living in the camp just outside town (area N9). Once he concludes that they are in league with Strahd, Rictavio plans to unleash his trained saber-toothed tiger upon them, with or without the support of the wereravens.

Rictavio wears a hat of disguise and a ring of mind shielding to conceal his identity. He carries an iron key that unlocks the door to his carnival wagon (Area N5).

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N2d. Wine Storage

This hallway contains three curtained alcoves as well as a larger area stuffed with wine barrels.

The Martikovs store their wine here. Tucked behind red curtains are three alcoves, each one containing a half-emptied wine barrel lying on its side in a wooden brace. Twelve empty wine barrels are piled two high near the door to the kitchen (area N2e). All the barrels have the Wizard of Wines name burned into them.

Nine of the fifteen barrels, including two of the barrels in the curtained alcoves, have the following label burned into their sides, under the winery’s name: Purple Grapemash No. 3. Six of the fifteen barrels, including one of the barrels in the curtained alcoves, have a different label: Red Dragon Crush.

The double doors that lead outside can be barred shut from within.

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N2e. Kitchen

This room looks like the kitchen of someone who loves to cook. It has piles of pots, walls lined with utensils and shelves of ingredients, and all manner of pleasant odors. Two lanterns hang above a sturdy pine worktable in the middle of the clutter. A pot of soup bubbles on the hearth.

Urwin Martikov, who prepares most of the meals, is found here throughout the day. He occasionally receives help from his two boys, but they are easily distracted. A cupboard against the east wall holds most of the inn’s supply of cutlery and dishware, none of it valuable. A door in the west wall leads outside and is usually barred from the inside.

A secret door at the west end of the south wall can be pushed open to reveal a wooden staircase that leads up to area N2i.

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N2f. Stable

The sliding wooden doors on the west wall of this room are held shut by an iron lock and chain. Urwin carries the key to the lock. The doors to the north and south can be barred shut from the inside but are usually unlocked.

You hear the squawking of birds and the plaintive whinny of a horse as you peer inside this stable. The stalls are clean and well maintained. One of them contains a gray mare. A small door is set into the east wall, and a wooden ladder gives access to a loft overhead. Perched on the wooden railing that encloses the loft are dozens of ravens.

Any character who has a horse can keep it here for 1 sp per night. The gray mare is a draft horse named Drusilla, and she likes apples. The horse belongs to Rictavio (see area N2c).

The small door in the east wall can be pulled open to reveal area N2g. The loft is described in area N2h.

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N2g. Storage

This small room lies under a wooden staircase (area N2i). Hanging from wooden pegs are saddles and barding to equip two horses. In an unlocked wooden chest are a dozen horseshoes, a wooden mallet, and a mound of horseshoe nails.

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N2h. Ravens' Loft

Dim light spilling in through a pair of dirt-encrusted windows reveals piles of hay with pitchforks sticking out of them. Ravens rule this roost—you can see hundreds of them.

Characters who search the loft thoroughly find three pitchforks and a locked wooden chest buried under a pile of hay (see “Treasure” below), next to a secret door. If the characters tamper with the chest, the ravens gather into four swarms of ravens and attack. If two swarms are killed, the others flee. Otherwise, they cease their attacks if the characters leave the chest alone. If the fighting continues for more than 3 rounds, Urwin Martikov and two other wereravens hear the ruckus and investigate (in human form).

A secret door in the back of the loft can be pushed open to reveal a bedchamber (area N2p) beyond. No ability check is required to spot the secret door, because light in the room beyond slips through the door’s cracks.

Treasure. Inside the locked chest are 140 ep, 70 pp, two elixirs of health, three potions of healing, and a gray bag of tricks. The coins are embossed with the profiled likeness of Strahd von Zarovich.

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N2i. Secret Stairs and Hall

A wooden staircase to the north descends fifteen feet to a landing. A window dimly illuminates a short, wood-panelled hallway that runs west to east.

Guests aren't told about the inn's secret hallway. Rictavio knows of its existence because he has heard the Martikov boys opening and closing the secret door closest to his room (area N2n).

At each end of this area is a secret door, each of which is easy to spot from inside the hallway (no ability check required). The northern secret door, at the bottom of the staircase, can be pulled open to reveal the kitchen (area N2e) beyond. The eastern secret door can be pulled open to reveal a balcony (area N2j) that overlooks the taproom.

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N2j. Great Balcony

A wooden balcony stretches the full length of the taproom, enclosed by a wooden railing carved with raven motifs. The taproom’s many lanterns illuminate the rafters and cast ominous shadows on the peaked ceiling.

The balcony floor is 15 feet above the taproom floor.

A secret door at the south end of the western wall can be pushed open to reveal a wood-paneled hallway (area N2i) beyond.

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N2k. Guest Balcony

This twenty-foot-long balcony provides a clear view of the bar and has a wooden railing carved with raven motifs. The taproom’s many lanterns illuminate the rafters and cast ominous shadows on the peaked ceiling.

The balcony floor is 15 feet above the taproom floor.

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N2l. Guest Rooms

These two rooms have identical furnishings.

Two cozy beds with matching footlockers rest in the far corners of this fifteen-foot-square room. Wolf furs are heaped atop each bed. Between the beds, a lamp sits on a table under a shuttered window. Two tall black wardrobes stand against the wall by the door.

The door to this room can be locked from the inside, and each guest gets a key. Urwin and Danika carry spare keys. The footlockers and wardrobes are empty and are for the use of guests.

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N2m. Guest Room

Four plain beds with straw mattresses line the north wall of this well-lit room. Each bed comes with a matching footlocker to store clothing and other belongings. A table and four chairs occupy the corner across from the door. An oil lamp resting on the table casts a bright yellow flame.

The door to this room can be locked from the inside, and each guest receives a key. Urwin and Danika carry spare keys. The footlockers are empty and are for the use of guests.

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N2n. Private Guest Room

Rictavio has a key to this room, which is locked at all times. Urwin and Danika carry spare keys. The door’s lock can be picked, but discretion is called for because the door is in plain view of the taproom below.

This small guest room contains a bed heaped with wolf furs, a footlocker, a tall wardrobe, and a writing desk with matching chair. An oil lamp rests atop the desk near a journal bound in a red leather jacket.

Rictavio sleeps here between midnight and dawn. At dawn, he leaves to check on his horse (area N2f) and his wagon (area N5), returning to the inn around noon. Between noon and dusk, there’s a 40 percent chance he is here; otherwise, he’s in the taproom (area N2c). At dusk, he leaves the inn to tend to his horse and his wagon again, then returns to his room to retire for the night.

Rictavio is too clever to leave anything valuable or incriminating in his room. The footlocker and the wardrobe contain nothing but common clothes and travel wear.

Rictavio’s Journal. The journal on the desk is a bit of artifice that Rictavio created to perpetuate the illusion that he is an entertainer in search of new acts for his traveling carnival. His writing makes frequent mention of conversations with Drusilla (which the journal fails to mention is the name of Rictavio’s horse) and recounts many long and tedious journeys by wagon. Rictavio has also written about various “oddities” he has seen in his travels, including the following:

• A “werehare” child (a boy who transforms into a rabbit on nights of the full moon)
• A half-orc woman named Gorabacha who could chew through iron chains
• A giant, man-eating plant that had the most remarkable singing voice
• A pair of conjoined goblins
• A small man with no legs named Filmore Stunk, who could drink whole casks of wine without getting drunk

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N2o. Boys' Bedroom

A large, painted toy box rests between two small, cozy beds. Murals of ravens in flight are painted on the walls above the wood paneling.

Brom and Bray Martikova don’t spend much time in this room. The toy box contains a pile of neglected toys, many of them etched with the slogan “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!” The toys include the following:

• A miniature puppet theater with appropriately sized marionettes of a king, a queen, a prince, a princess, an executioner, a tax collector, a dunce, a vampire, and a vampire hunter
• A garish toy Vistani wagon hitched to a wooden horse and filled with tiny wooden Vistani figures
• A pair of painted wooden clown masks, one displaying a mean scowl and the other a frightened expression
• A wooden top painted with images of scarecrows chasing children through the forest
• A stuffed (real) bat on puppet strings

A hidden trapdoor in the 8-foot-high ceiling opens into a secret attic (area N2q).

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N2p. Master Bedroom

Matching end tables flank a large wood-framed bed with a red silk canopy. Across from the bed hangs a tapestry depicting a beautiful mountain valley. The other walls are dominated by a fireplace and a wardrobe.

Urwin and Danika retire to this room every night before heading to the attic (area N2q) to sleep. This room is for appearances only and contains no valuables.
A secret door at the west end of the south wall can be pulled open to reveal the loft beyond (area N2h).

A hidden trapdoor in the 8-foot-high ceiling opens into a secret attic (area N2q).

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N2q. Secret Attic

This ten-foot-wide, thirty-five-foot-long attic has a ceiling that slants down toward the west, dropping from a height of eight feet to a height of five feet. Four straw nests cover the floor, and a locked iron strongbox sits against the north wall. A small square opening in the south wall leads outside. Two trapdoors with iron hinges are set into the floor.

The Martikovs sleep here at night in hybrid form. The opening in the south wall is just big enough for a raven or other Tiny creature to pass through. The wereravens can use this opening as an escape route.

The strongbox is described in “Treasure” below.

Two trapdoors, clearly visible on the floor, can be pulled open to reveal the bedchambers (areas N2o and N2p) that lie directly beneath them.

Treasure. Urwin carries the key to the locked iron strongbox. The lock can be picked with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. The box contains a sack of 150 ep (each coin bearing the profiled visage of Strahd von Zarovich), six pieces of jewelry (worth 250 gp each), and three potions of healing.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is in the iron strongbox.

GM notes:

Brown Mold

Brown mold feeds on warmth, drawing heat from anything around it. A patch of brown mold typically covers a 10-foot square, and the temperature within 30 feet of it is always frigid.

When a creature moves to within 5 feet of the mold for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there, it must make a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Brown mold is immune to fire, and any source of fire brought within 5 feet of a patch causes it to instantly expand outward in the direction of the fire, covering a 10-foot-square area (with the source of the fire at the center of that area). A patch of brown mold exposed to an effect that deals cold damage is instantly destroyed.

GM notes:

N3. Burgomaster's Mansion

This mansion has walls of plastered stone that display many scars where the plaster has fallen away from age and neglect. Drapes cover every window, including a large, arched opening above the mansion’s double entrance doors.

People come and go from the mansion at all hours during the day. Guards bring criminals cited for “malicious unhappiness.” Men and women arrive carrying bundles of twigs, which are piled about the mansion’s grand foyer (area N3a) until the construction of the wicker sun for the Festival of the Blazing Sun (Special Events: Chapter 5) gets under way.

If the characters knock on the front doors, a maid (LG female human commoner) lets them in, escorts them to the den (area N3e), and leaves to fetch the baron.

Roleplaying the Vallakovich Family

Picture: Handout: Vallakovich Family

Use the following information to roleplay the burgomaster and his family.

The Baron. The burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich (NE male human), is a ruthless heel who prides himself on his good breeding and finely honed leadership skills. He stages repeated celebrations to foster happiness, and his “All will be well!” catchphrase has become a sad and tiresome punchline. Baron Vallakovich has convinced himself that if he can make everyone in Vallaki happy, the town will slip free of Strahd’s dark grasp.

The baron has a brittle ego, and he lashes out at anyone who pokes fun at his festivals or treats him disrespectfully. He has two pet mastiffs that follow him everywhere, as well as a murderous and deformed henchman named Izek Strazni. In addition to his weapons, Izek carries an iron ring of keys that unlock the stocks in the town square (area N8).

If the characters get on his bad side, the baron accuses them of being “spies of the devil Strahd” and sends twelve guards to arrest them, seize their weapons, and run them out of town. If the guards fail in their duty, the baron sends Izek to rally a mob of thirty commoners to lynch the party. If the commoners also fail, the baron summons the twelve remaining guards to defend his mansion, giving characters the run of the town.

If the characters get on his good side, he insists that they join him in the next festival as special guests and asks that they tell everyone that all will, indeed, be well.

Two members of the baron’s household staff have vanished in the past week: the butler and the baroness’s lady-in-waiting. The baron has charged Izek with finding out what happened to them, but investigation isn’t Izek’s forte. Searches have been organized, to no avail.

The Baroness. At the risk of sacrificing her sanity, the baron’s wife, Lady Lydia Petrovna (LG female human), has embraced her husband’s philosophy of happiness. She laughs at the baron’s every comment, to the extent that it has become a nervous reflex, and she tries to spread good cheer by throwing daily tea-and-sandwich parties in the parlor for her “dearest friends,” many of them poor folk who tolerate the baroness only because they crave something warm to eat and drink. Lydia is a gods-fearing woman and the younger sister of the town priest, Father Lucian Petrovich (see area N1, Areas of Vallaki). She is a descendant of Tasha Petrovna, a priest entombed in Castle Ravenloft (Dungeon and Catacombs).

The Baronet. The baron’s miserable son, Victor Vallakovich (NE male human), has confined himself to the attic (area N3t), where he is content to avoid the unwanted attention of his mother and the disapproving glares of his father. Years ago, Victor found an old spellbook in the mansion’s library and used it to teach himself magic. He has been busy constructing a teleportation circle in the hope of escaping Barovia and leaving his parents to their doom.

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N3a. Entrance Hall and Vestibule

Framed portraits adorn the walls of this grand foyer, which features a wide staircase with a sculpted railing. A long, carpeted hall attached to the foyer stretches almost the length of the mansion and has several doors leading away from it, including one at the far end. Bundles of twigs are heaped against the walls.

The twigs are being stored here until they can be fashioned into a wooden effigy of the sun (for the Festival of the Blazing Sun).

The stairs climb to the upstairs gallery (area N3i).

The portraits depict the baron, his family, and their ancestors. Close inspection reveals that some of the people portrayed look very much alike.

Tucked in the northeast corner of the foyer is a vestibule packed with fine cloaks, coats, and boots.

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N3b. Parlor

This parlor contains a fine array of furnishings and draperies, with an overall feminine touch.

The baroness sometimes entertains guests here.

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N3c. Dining Room

Characters can hear the chatter of female voices as they approach this room. The first time they peer inside, read:

A chandelier of wrought iron fitted with wax candles hangs above a polished wooden dining table. Around the table are seated eight women of various ages in comfortable, high-backed chairs. They wear faded clothes, drink tea, and devour cake while a ninth woman, well dressed and very pleased with herself, circles the table and talks excitedly about decorations for the impending festival.

The women seated at the table are eight Vallakian peasants (LG female commoners) invited to spend time with the baroness, Lydia Petrovna, who is bribing them with tea and cake. Lydia has assigned these women the task of stitching children’s costumes and weaving together a wicker sun for the Festival of the Blazing Sun.

Lydia assumes that the characters are here at the invitation of her husband, the burgomaster. She calls for the maid to take them to the den (area N3e) and then to inform Baron Vallakovich (see area N2l) that his guests have arrived.

A serving table stands in one corner of the dining hall.

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N3d. Preparation Room

White sheets cover two plain wooden tables in the center of this room. Neatly arranged atop one table is a complete set of polished silverware. The other table is covered with wicker baskets containing turnips and beets.

The beets and turnips are for the Festival of the Blazing Sun (see Special Events: Chapter 5).

Treasure. The silverware set is worth 150 gp.

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N3e. Den

Characters who ask to see the burgomaster are brought here.

Padded chairs and couches line the walls of this cozy, carpeted den. The room reeks of pipe smoke, and mounted on the east wall is the head of an angry-looking brown bear.

The mounted bear’s head is meant to unnerve visitors. It serves as a subtle warning not to antagonize the burgomaster, who spends most of his time in the library (area N3l). Although the burgomaster claims that his father killed the bear, the head was actually a gift given to his family by the late Szoldar Grygorovich, father of the wolf hunter Szoldar Szoldarovich (area N2).

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N3f. Servants' Quarters

This room contains four simple beds and an equal number of plain wooden trunks.

The household staff consists of a maid (LG female human commoner) and a cook (LG male human commoner). The other two beds belonged to the butler and the baroness’s lady-in-waiting, both of whom have gone missing (see area N3t). The trunks contain the staff’s clothing and uniforms.

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N3g. Kitchen

A cook wearing a white apron over a black smock busies himself in this warm, well-appointed kitchen. A staircase in one corner climbs to the upper floor.

The staircase leads to the upstairs gallery (area N3i). A door in the west wall leads to a garden outside. The door is usually locked, and both the cook and the burgomaster carry keys to unlock it.

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N3h. Pantry

This pantry contains shelves of foodstuffs, although half of the shelves are bare. Two barrels of wine stand against the east wall.

The pantry has not been fully stocked for as long as anyone can remember. The two barrels contain a fine wine called Red Dragon Crush, created by the Wizard of Wines winery—facts burned into the side of each barrel.

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N3i. Upstairs Gallery

If the characters arrive here from the entrance hall (area N3a), read:

The staircase climbs twenty feet to a beautifully appointed gallery that continues toward the west, running almost the length of the mansion. Framed landscape paintings line the walls, and red silk drapes cover a ten-foot-tall arched window of leaded glass.

If the characters arrive here from the kitchen (area N3g), read:

The staircase climbs to a ten-foot-wide gallery that stretches almost the length of the mansion. Breathtaking paintings of landscapes line the walls. Two separate, narrow hallways lead away from the gallery to the north.

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N3j. Izek's Bedroom

The door to this room is locked. Izek Strazni carries the only key.

The following description assumes the characters have met Ireena Kolyana (see chapter 3, area E4). If the characters haven’t met her, don’t read the last sentence.

Dolls. This room is full of pretty little dolls with powder-white skin and auburn hair, some of them dressed beautifully, others plainly. Some of the dolls fill a long bookshelf, and others are arranged in neat rows on wall-mounted shelves. Still others are piled atop a bed and a heavy wooden chest. What’s most odd is that all of the dolls, apart from their clothing, look the same. They all look like Ireena Kolyana.

The burgomaster’s monstrous henchman, Izek Strazni, sleeps here at night. During the day, he is in town taking care of his master’s business. Izek’s chest is unlocked and contains a heap of wrinkled clothes, under which is a nonmagical shortsword.

A thorough search of the room reveals a few empty wine bottles under the bed. The label on each bears the winery’s name, the Wizard of Wines, and wine’s name, Purple Grapemash No. 3.

Izek’s Doll Collection. Each doll has a small tag stitched into its clothing that reads “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!” Izek had the local toymaker, Gadof Blinsky (area N7), craft the dolls in Ireena’s likeness.

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N3k. Victor's Bedroom

This handsomely appointed room contains a canopied bed, a low bookshelf, and a full-length mirror in a wooden frame on the wall across from the door. Set into the north wall is an arched window of leaded glass. Nothing here seems unusual.

Nothing about his bedroom betrays Victor’s deviant nature or magical proclivities. The books include collections of Barovian fables and tomes about mythology, heraldry, and other innocuous subjects.

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N3l. Library

Floor-to-ceiling shelves line every wall of this windowless room, and the number of books contained here is nothing short of astounding.

A brass oil lamp sits atop a large desk in the center of the room. The chair behind the desk is comfortably padded and has the symbol of a roaring bear stitched into its back cushion.

If the burgomaster has not been drawn elsewhere, he is here. Add:

Standing behind the chair, holding an open book, is a bear of a man. His breastplate, rapier, silk tunic, and greasy beard glisten in the lamplight. Resting on small rugs to his left and right are a pair of black mastiffs

Baron Vargas Vallakovich never goes anywhere without his two mastiffs. A paranoid man, he wears his breastplate and rapier even while relaxing in his library. Two of his servants, the butler and his wife’s lady-in-waiting, have vanished without a trace in the past week, so he has good cause to be worried.

The baron believes that everyone else is beneath him, and those who question his word or challenge his authority must be humbled. He won’t pick a fight with well-armed strangers, however. If he can’t make the characters yield to his authority, he swallows his pride until he can circle around with Izek Strazni and assemble his guards to run them out of town.

The baron’s desk contains three drawers stuffed with blank sheets of parchment, jars of ink, and writing quills. It also holds thick books of tax records dating back to the times of the baron’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

The baron wears a signet ring and carries three keys: one that unlocks the outside door in area N3g, and two keys for the door and the manacles in area N3m.

Treasure. The Vallakovich book collection contains old, leather-bound tomes on virtually every subject. Use the Random Books table (see Rooms of Weeping, area K37) to determine the subject matter of a particular book.

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N3m. Locked Closet

The door to this room is locked. The baron carries the key.

Chained to the back wall of this otherwise empty closet is a badly beaten man wearing nothing but a loincloth. The iron shackles have cut into his wrists, causing blood to trickle down his hands.

The man is a Vallakian shoemaker named Udo Lukovich (LN male human commoner). He was arrested during the Wolf’s Head Jamboree for carrying a sign that suggested that Vallakians should feed the baron to the wolves.

Baron Vallakovich has the key to Udo’s manacles. The manacles break if they take 10 damage or more from a single weapon attack.

If the characters release Udo, his first desire is to return to his home. Later, he plans to tell Father Lucian (see area N1) of his ill treatment in the burgomaster’s estate. If the baron discovers that Udo has escaped or been set free, he sends Izek to find the shoemaker and bring him back for further questioning. Under great duress, Udo provides the names or descriptions of those who liberated him, turning the burgomaster against the characters.

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N3n. Master Bedroom Closet

Cloaks, coats, gowns, and other fancy apparel hang from hooks in this closet. Arranged on low shelves are many fine shoes, slippers, and boots.

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N3o. Master Bedroom

Time has faded the grandeur of this master bedroom. The furnishings have lost some of their color and splendor. A short pull-rope hangs from a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling.

The baron and the baroness sleep in one bed at night. Nothing of value is kept here.

The trapdoor in the ceiling can be pulled down to reveal an attic room (area N3r). An unfolding wooden ladder allows easy access.

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N3p. Bridal Gown and Spirit Mirror

This room smells of powder and fine perfume. A vanity with a mirror stands against one wall next to a faceless wooden mannequin wearing a white bridal gown. Mounted on another wall is a full-length mirror with a gilded frame. A door in one corner leads to a garderobe.

The baroness used to while away long hours in this room, fondling her perfume collection and searching for solace in her own reflection. Since her lady-in-waiting went missing several days ago, the baroness has spent almost no time here.

Bridal Gown. The white gown stored here belongs to the baroness. It reminds the her of happier times.

Magic Mirror. A detect magic spell reveals that the gilded mirror on the wall radiates an aura of conjuration magic. None of the mansion’s current occupants are aware of this fact, because the mirror’s magic hasn’t been used in generations. Casting an identify spell on the mirror reveals that an assassin’s ghost is magically bound to it. The spell also reveals the forgotten rhyme needed to summon the ghost:

Magic mirror on the wall,
Summon forth your shade;
Night’s dark vengeance, heed my call
And wield your murderous blade.

If a character discovers this rhyme, reveal Handout: Forgotten Mirror Rhyme.

The entity in the mirror is the spirit of a nameless assassin who once belonged to a secret society called the Ba’al Verzi. If a creature speaks the rhyme while standing within 5 feet of the mirror and staring at its own reflection, the assassin’s ghost appears nearby. The form that the spirit takes depends on the alignment of the one who summoned it:


Once the power of the mirror is used, the mirror becomes dormant until the next dawn. The mirror has AC 10, 5 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. Destroying it lays the assassin’s spirit to rest, causing the manifestation to disappear if it is present.

The mirror corrupts those who use it to do evil. Summoning the assassin isn’t evil, but using him to commit murder is. Each time a creature uses the mirror for this purpose, there is a cumulative 25 percent chance that the creature’s alignment shifts to neutral evil.

If a character touches the mirror and speaks Strahd’s name, there is a 50 percent chance that Strahd takes notice and appears on the mirror’s surface. In this form, the vampire can’t be harmed. He tries to charm one humanoid he can see within 30 feet of the mirror. Whether the target resists the effect or not, Strahd’s smiling visage invites the characters to dine at Castle Ravenloft, then fades away. A creature charmed by Strahd feels compelled to accept the vampire’s invitation.

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N3q. Bathroom

An iron tub with clawed feet stands against the back wall. Neatly folded towels rest atop a table near the door.

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N3r. Attic Room

Characters are most likely to enter this room via a trapdoor in the ceiling of the master bedroom (area N3o).

This dusty, twenty-foot-square room has a high-pitched ceiling that reaches its peak twenty feet above. The wooden rafters are shrouded in cobwebs. Except for an old table with a lantern on it, the room is empty.

A door in the south wall can be pulled open to area N3s.

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N3s. Attic Storage

This large attic is full of old, forgotten things draped in white sheets. Piled around them are barrels, crates, trunks, and old furnishings covered with cobwebs and dust. You see a clear footpath through the maze.

Characters can follow a single set of human footprints in the dust that lead to area N3t.

Searching through the junk in this attic uncovers a few old paintings and antiques, but nothing of value.

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, the item is hidden in a trunk. Each character has a cumulative 20 percent chance of finding the item for every hour the character spends searching the attic.

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N3t. Victor's Workroom

Victor spends most of his time here, leaving only when he needs food or spell components. When the characters first set eyes on the door to this room, read:

Someone has carved a large skull into this door. Hanging from the doorknob is a wooden sign that reads “ALL IS NOT WELL!” You hear a young man’s voice beyond.

Anyone who inspects the carving and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check notices a small, nearly invisible glyph etched into the skull’s forehead. This is a glyph of warding (5d8 lightning damage) that triggers if anyone other than Victor opens the door.

The voice belongs to Victor. He is reading aloud from his spellbook. Anyone who listens at the door and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check can tell he’s badly pronouncing some kind of teleportation spell.

If the characters open the door, read:

Someone has taken old, mismatched furniture and created a study is this dusty, lamplit chamber. Tables are strewn with pieces of parchment, on which strange diagrams are drawn, and a freestanding bookshelf holds a collection of bones. A dusty rug covers the floor in front of a pine box, on which lounges a skeletal cat. Several more skeletal cats skulk about. Most unnerving of all is the sight of three small children standing with their backs to you in the northeast corner of the room.

If the characters trigger the glyph of warding or otherwise announce their arrival, Victor casts a greater invisibility spell on himself and hides in a corner. Otherwise, he’s visible. If the characters can see Victor, read:

In the center of the room, perched on a stool, is a thin young man with a premature streak of gray in his dark hair. He cradles an open leather-bound book in his arms.

Victor found a spellbook in his father’s library and is using it to teach himself the art of spellcasting. Only recently has he been able to decipher some of its high-level spells. He’s a weird, awkward, and off-putting fellow who is dangerous only if threatened.

For practice and for fun, Victor dug up some old cat bones behind the Wachter estate (see area N4) and animated them, creating six skeletal cats. The skeletons attack only when Victor commands them to.

The “children” standing in the corner are painted wooden dolls dressed in clothing that Victor wore as a child. He pretends they are his disobedient pupils.

The sheets of parchment are covered with elaborate diagrams of teleportation circles. Victor drew them in an effort to learn the teleportation circle spell, which he’s still trying to master (see “Teleportation Circle” below).

The trunk contains several bolts of silk cloth, needles and thread, and a half-finished wizard’s robe. Victor started to make the robe for himself but found the work tedious and stopped.

Teleportation Circle. Victor’s spellbook contains incomplete text for a teleportation circle spell, along with the sigil sequences of three permanent teleportation circles, the locations of which aren’t described. There’s not enough text to prepare the spell properly, but that hasn’t stopped Victor from trying to learn to cast it.

Victor recently inscribed his own version of a teleportation circle on the floor. It’s hidden under the rug so that his parents don’t find it. In the past couple of weeks, Victor has managed to imbue the circle with magic, but he failed to account for several factors. His circle doesn’t fade after use, nor does it function like the teleportation circle spell. If the circle is used in the casting of a teleportation circle spell, whether the actual spell or Victor’s version of it, any creature standing on the circle when the spell is cast takes 3d10 force damage and isn’t teleported anywhere. If this damage reduces the creature to 0 hit points, the creature is disintegrated. Any character who studies the circle and succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check realizes that Victor’s circle is horribly flawed and potentially deadly when used.

Victor has tested his circle on two reluctant servants (compelled by his suggestion spell), in both cases linking his circle to one of the other circles whose sigils are in his spellbook. Each servant was torn apart before Victor’s eyes before vanishing in a flash of purple light. Victor doesn’t know how to fix the circle but plans to make more modifications to it before testing it again.

Treasure. Victor Vallakovich's spellbook contains all the spells Victor has prepared as well as the following spells: acid splash, animate dead, blight, cloudkill, darkvision, glyph of warding, levitate, mending, remove curse, and thunderwave.

GM notes:

Cackle Fever

This disease targets humanoids, although gnomes are strangely immune. While in the grips of this disease, victims frequently succumb to fits of mad laughter, giving the disease its common name and its morbid nickname: “the shrieks.”
Symptoms manifest 1d4 hours after infection and include fever and disorientation. The infected creature gains one level of exhaustion that can’t be removed until the disease is cured.

Any event that causes the infected creature great stress—including entering combat, taking damage, experiencing fear, or having a nightmare—forces the creature to make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 5 (1d10) psychic damage and becomes incapacitated with mad laughter for 1 minute. The creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the mad laughter and the incapacitated condition on a success.

Any humanoid creature that starts its turn within 10 feet of an infected creature in the throes of mad laughter must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or also become infected with the disease. Once a creature succeeds on this save, it is immune to the mad laughter of that particular infected creature for 24 hours.

At the end of each long rest, an infected creature can make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw. On a successful save, the DC for this save and for the save to avoid an attack of mad laughter drops by 1d6. When the saving throw DC drops to 0, the creature recovers from the disease. A creature that fails three of these saving throws gains a randomly determined form of indefinite madness, as described later in this chapter.

GM notes:

E5. Church

Atop a slight rise, against the roots of the pillar stone that supports Castle Ravenloft, stands a gray, sagging edifice of stone and wood. This church has obviously weathered the assaults of evil for centuries on end and is worn and weary. A bell tower rises toward the back, and flickering light shines through holes in the shingled roof. The rafters strain feebly against their load.

If the characters approach the church doors, add:

The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with claw marks and scarred by fire.

The village priest, Donavich, lives here. Other Barov�ians shun the church for reasons that will quickly become obvious.

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the church.

E5a. Hall

The doors open to reveal a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers.

You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris, and you hear a soft voice from within reciting a prayer. Suddenly, the prayer is blotted out by an inhuman scream that rises up from beneath the wooden floor.

The scream comes from the church’s undercroft (area E5g). The soft voice uttering the prayer belongs to Donavich, the priest (see area E5f).

E5b. Doru’s Bedroom

This dirty, lightless room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress. Mounted above the bed’s headboard is a wooden holy symbol.

This room once belonged to Doru, Donavich’s son, who is trapped in the undercroft (area E5g). It hasn’t been used in more than a year and contains nothing of value.

E5c. Donavich’s Bedroom

This dirty room contains a wooden bed with a straw-filled mattress, next to which rests a small table with an oil lamp burning brightly on it. Mounted above the bed’s headboard is a wooden sun-shaped holy symbol.

This is Donavich’s room and contains nothing of value.

E5d. Trapdoor

Time and neglect have punched holes in the ceiling of this moldy room, which contains a few broken roof shingles amid puddles of water. In one corner, set into the floor, is a heavy wooden trapdoor held shut with a chain and a padlock. A young man’s screams of anguish can be heard through the door.

Donavich lost the key to the iron padlock. If the chain is removed and the trapdoor is opened, the screaming in the undercroft stops. The trapdoor is swollen and stuck in its frame, so that a successful DC 12 Strength check is required to pull it open. Below it is a wooden staircase that descends 15 feet into the undercroft (area E5g).

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E5e. Office

An old desk and chair stand against the south wall, a wooden holy symbol mounted above them—a sunburst. A ten-foot-long iron rod attached to the north wall stands bare, suggesting a tapestry once hung there. Against the far wall stands a wooden cabinet with four tall doors.

An empty wooden poor box rests on the seat of the chair. The desk drawers contain a few sheets of blank parchment, along with a couple of quill pens and dried-up jars of ink.

For its size, the wooden cabinet contains very little. Inside are a tinderbox, a few wooden boxes full of candles, and two well-used books: Hymns to the Dawn, a volume of chants to the Morninglord, and The Blade of Truth: The Uses of Logic in the War Against Diabolist Heresies, as Fought by the Ulmist Inquisition, a strange book that mixes logic exercises with lurid descriptions of fiend-worshiping cults.

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E5f. Chapel

The chapel is a shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments. Next to him hangs a long, thick rope that stretches up into the bell tower.

If the characters have not already entered the undercroft, add:

From beneath the chapel floor, you hear a young man’s voice cry out, “Father! I’m starving!”

Donavich (LG male human) has been praying throughout the night. His voice is hoarse and weak. He is, in a word, insane. A little more than a year ago, his twenty-year-old son Doru and several other villagers stormed Castle Ravenloft in revolt, having been lured there by a wizard in black robes who came to Barovia from a faraway land (see The Mad Mage entry for more information on the wizard). By all accounts, the wizard died by Strahd’s hand, and so too did Doru, who returned to his father as a vampire spawn. Donavich was able to trap his son in the church’s undercroft, where he remains to this day.

Doru hasn’t fed since he was imprisoned, and he cries out to his father at all hours. Meanwhile, Donavich prays day and night, hoping that the gods will tell him how to save Doru without destroying him. If the characters seem intent on slaying Doru, Donavich does his best to stop them. If Doru dies, Donavich falls to the floor and weeps inconsolably, overcome with despair.

In addition to the lore known to all Barovians (see “Barovian Lore” in chapter 2), Donavich knows the following useful information:

• Ireena Kolyana isn’t the natural daughter of Kolyan Indirovich. Although Ireena never knew, Kolyan found her at the edge of the Svalich Woods near the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. She was but a girl then and seemed to have no memory of her past. Kolyan adopted her and loved her dearly.
• Every night at midnight, the spirits of dead adventurers rise up out of the church graveyard, forming a silent procession as they walk the road toward Castle Ravenloft. (See “March of the Dead” in the “Special Events” section.)

Funeral for the Burgomaster. If the characters bring Kolyan Indirovich’s body to the church, Donavich presses the characters into helping him bury the burgomaster in the cemetery (area E6) at dawn. During the burial, Donavich offers prayers to the Morning�lord in exchange for Kolyan Indirovich’s deliverance from Barovia.

Once Kolyan is put in the ground, Donavich suggests that Ireena be taken as far from Castle Ravenloft as possible. He proposes that the characters take her to the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk (chapter 8) or, failing that, the fortified town of Vallaki (chapter 5). Donavich is unaware that the abbey, once a bastion of good, has become a den of evil.

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E5g. Undercroft

The church’s undercroft has rough-hewn walls and a floor made of damp clay and earth. Rotting wooden pillars strain under the weight of the wooden ceiling. Candlelight from the chapel above slips though the cracks, allowing you to glimpse a gaunt shape in the far corner.

The shape is Doru, a vampire spawn sent by Strahd to torment Donavich and cast down the church. Doru is starved for blood and brave enough to attack a lone character. If the characters approach as a group, he does his best to avoid them while hissing, “I can smell your blood!” If they cut off his escape, he lunges forth and attacks.

If the characters restrain Doru and either promise him blood or threaten to destroy him, or if they kill him and then raise him from the dead, he recounts the events that led to his downfall (see area E5f).

Fortunes of Ravenloft

If your card reading reveals that a treasure is in the undercroft, it’s contained in a moldy, old chest in the southwest corner of the room. The chest is unlocked and not trapped.

GM notes:

N6. Coffin Maker's Shop

This uninviting shop is two stories tall and has a sign shaped like a coffin above the front door. All of the window shutters are closed up tight, and a deathly silence surrounds the establishment.

Henrik van der Voort (LE male human) is a mediocre carpenter and a troubled, lonely man. He profits from the deaths of others, and no one desires his company, because of the ghastly nature of his handiwork. One night several months ago, Strahd visited Henrik in the guise of an imposing, well-dressed nobleman named Vasili von Holtz and promised the coffin maker “good business” in exchange for his help. Since then, Henrik’s workshop has become the lair of a pack of vampire spawn—former adventurers who were turned by Strahd. These vampires are lying low for the time being.

The vampires plan to attack St. Andral’s church (see “St. Andral’s Feast” in Special Events: Chapter 5). When Henrik learned about the sacred bones buried under the church, the vampire spawn ordered him to steal the bones, which Henrik paid Milivoj the gravedigger (see area N1) to do.

Every window of Henrik’s shop is a latticework of iron fitted with squares of frosted glass and locked from the inside. The outside doors of the shop are barred shut from within. If the characters knock on one of them, Henrik shouts, “We’re closed! Go away!” without opening the door. If the characters accuse Henrik of stealing the bones of St. Andral, he shouts again, “Go away! Leave me alone!”

If the characters break into the store, Henrik offers no resistance. He tells them where to find the bones (in the upstairs bedroom wardrobe, area N6e) and the vampire nest (in the upstairs wood storage room, area N6f).

If the characters report the theft of the bones to the burgomaster, Baron Vallakovich dispatches four guards to arrest Henrik and retrieve the bones. If the guards show up during daylight hours, Henrik surrenders himself and the bones without a fight, claiming that vampires forced him to steal the bones. If the guards come at night, Henrik surrenders himself and tells the guards where the bones are hidden, but he won’t retrieve the bones himself for fear of being killed by the vampires.

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N6a. Coffin Storage

Arranged haphazardly about the floor of this musty, L-shaped room are thirteen wooden coffins.

Henrik stores and displays the coffins he has made in this room. All of them are empty.

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N6b. Junk Room

A table with four chairs is in one corner of this room, with a lantern hanging form a chain directly above. Two well-made cabinets stand against the east wall.

The cabinets are packed with worthless items that Henrik has collected over the years.

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N6c. Workshop

This workshop contains everything a carpenter needs to make coffins and furniture. Three sturdy worktables stretch the length of the west wall.

Henrik builds coffins and keeps his carpenter's tools in this room.

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N6d. Kitchen

This kitchen contains a square table surrounded by chairs and shelves of provisions.

Henrik prepares meals here.

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N6e. Henrik's Bedroom

This modest bedchamber holds a cot and several well-made pieces of furniture, including a table, a padded chair, a bookshelf, and a wardrobe.

Henrik sleeps here, at night and well into the morning. The bookshelf contains a handful of storybooks and carpenters’ manuals that have been handed down from previous generations.

Treasure. The wardrobe in the southeast corner has a secret compartment in its base, requiring a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check to find. Inside the compartment are two sacks—a large one containing the bones of St. Andral and a small one containing 30 sp and 12 ep. All of the coins bear the profiled visage of Strahd von Zarovich.

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N6f. Vampire Nest

This large, drafty room is strung with cobwebs and takes up most of the upper floor. Stacks of wooden planks lie amid several crates marked "JUNK."

The two southernmost crates contain old junk that Henrik has accumulated over the years. The six crates in the northern part of the room are packed with earth and serve as resting places for the six vampire spawn that lair here. If the characters open one of the occupied crates, all of the vampire spawn burst forth and attack.

Teleport Destination. Characters who teleport to this location from area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked T on the map.

GM notes:

The Lands of Barovia: Common Features

Unless the text says otherwise, the following rules apply to doors, secret doors, locks, and webs in these lands.

Doors. A wooden door can be forced open with a successful DC 10 Strength check, or DC 15 if the door is barred or reinforced in some other manner. Increase the DC by 5 if the door is made of stone, or by 10 if it is made of iron. Decrease the DC by 5 if the door is made of glass or amber, or if the door is weakened in some manner (such as by rot or corrosion).

Secret Doors. If there are obvious clues to a secret door’s presence, such as scratch marks on a nearby wall or footprints leading to it, a character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher notices the secret door. Otherwise, finding a secret door requires a search of the area and a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check.

Locks. A creature proficient with thieves’ tools can use them to pick a typical lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. A typical padlock can be broken by smashing it with a bludgeoning or slashing weapon and succeeding on a DC 20 Strength check.

Webs. Characters can pass through ordinary webs, including thick cobwebs, without fear of being restrained or slowed down. A character can clear away the cobwebs from a 10-foot square as an action. Webs woven by giant spiders are a different matter; see the Webs handout for rules on giant spider webs.

GM notes:

Creeping Fog

This scenario assumes that the characters are camping in a forest when the fog engulfs them. They are quietly borne to the edge of Barovia.

The woods are quiet this night, and the air grows chill. Your fire sputters as a low mist gathers around the edges of your camp, growing closer as the night wears on. By morning, the fog hangs thick in the air, turning the trees around you into gray ghosts. Then you notice these aren’t the same trees that surrounded you the night before.

No matter which direction they go, the characters come to a lonely dirt road that cuts through the woods, leading to area A (see chapter 2). As an alternative, you can have them enter Barovia near Krezk.

GM notes:

Areas of the House

The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the house.

1. Entrance

A wrought-iron gate with hinges on one side and a lock on the other fills the archway of a stone portico (area 1A). The gate is unlocked, and its rusty hinges shriek when the gate is opened. Oil lamps hang from the portico ceiling by chains, flanking a set of oaken doors that open into a grand foyer (area 1B).

Hanging on the south wall of the foyer is a shield emblazoned with a coat-of-arms (a stylized golden windmill on a red field), flanked by framed portraits of stony-faced aristocrats (long-dead members of the Durst family). Mahogany-framed double doors leading from the foyer to the main hall (area 2A) are set with panes of stained glass.

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2. Main Hall

A wide hall (area 2A) runs the width of the house, with a black marble fireplace at one end and a sweeping, red marble staircase at the other. Mounted on the wall above the fireplace is a longsword (nonmagical) with a windmill cameo worked into the hilt. The wood-paneled walls are ornately sculpted with images of vines, flowers, nymphs, and satyrs. Characters who search the walls for secret doors or otherwise inspect the paneling can, with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, see serpents and skulls inconspicuously woven into the wall designs. The decorative paneling follows the staircase as it circles upward to the second floor.

A cloakroom (area 2B) has several black cloaks hanging from hooks on the walls. A top hat sits on a high shelf.

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3. Den of Wolves

This oak-paneled room looks like a hunter’s den. Mounted above the fireplace is a stag’s head, and positioned around the outskirts of the room are three stuffed wolves.

Two padded chairs draped in animal furs face the hearth, with an oak table between them supporting a cask of wine, two carved wooden goblets, a pipe rack, and a candelabrum. A chandelier hangs above a cloth-covered table surrounded by four chairs.

Two cabinets stand against the walls. The east cabinet sports a lock that can be picked with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. It holds a heavy crossbow, a light crossbow, a hand crossbow, and 20 bolts for each weapon. The north cabinet is unlocked and holds a small box containing a deck of playing cards and an assortment of wine glasses.

Trapdoor

A trapdoor is hidden in the southwest corner of the floor. It can’t be detected or opened until the characters approach it from the underside (see area 32). Until then, Death House supernaturally hides the trapdoor.

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4. Kitchen and Pantry

The kitchen (area 4A) is tidy, with dishware, cookware, and utensils neatly placed on shelves. A worktable has a cutting board and rolling pin atop it. A stone, dome-shaped oven stands near the east wall, its bent iron stovepipe connecting to a hole in the ceiling. Behind the stove and to the left is a thin door leading to a well-stocked pantry (area 4B). All the food in the pantry appears fresh but tastes bland.

Dumbwaiter

Behind a small door in the southwest corner of the kitchen is a dumbwaiter—a 2-foot-wide stone shaft containing a wooden elevator box attached to a simple rope-and-pulley mechanism that must be operated manually. The shaft connects to areas 7A (the servants’ quarters) and 12A (the master bedroom). Hanging on the wall next to the dumbwaiter is a tiny brass bell attached by wires to buttons in those other areas.

A Small character can squeeze into the elevator box with a successful DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. The dumbwaiter’s rope-and-pulley mechanism can support 200 pounds of weight before breaking.

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5. Dining Room

The centerpiece of this wood-paneled dining room is a carved mahogany table surrounded by eight high-backed chairs with sculpted armrests and cushioned seats. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table, which is covered with resplendent silverware and crystalware polished to a dazzling shine. Mounted above the marble fireplace is a mahogany-framed painting of an alpine vale.

The wall paneling is carved with elegant images of deer among the trees. Characters who search the walls for secret doors or otherwise inspect the paneling can, with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, see twisted faces carved into the tree trunks and wolves lurking amid the carved foliage.

Red silk drapes cover the windows, and a tapestry depicting hunting dogs and horse-mounted aristocrats chasing after a wolf hangs from an iron rod bolted to the south wall.

The silverware tarnishes, the crystal cracks, the portrait fades, and the tapestry rots if removed from the house.

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6. Upper Hall

Unlit oil lamps are mounted on the walls of this elegant hall. Hanging above the mantelpiece is a wood-framed portrait of the Durst family: Gustav and Elisabeth Durst with their two smiling children, Rose and Thorn. Cradled in the father’s arms is a swaddled baby, which the mother regards with a hint of scorn.

Standing suits of armor flank wooden doors in the east and west walls. Each suit of armor clutches a spear and has a visored helm shaped like a wolf’s head. The doors are carved with dancing youths, although close inspection and a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals that the youths aren’t really dancing but fighting off swarms of bats.

The red marble staircase that started on the first floor continues its upward spiral to area 11. A cold draft can be felt coming down the steps.

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7. Servants’ Room

An undecorated bedroom (area 7A) contains a pair of beds with straw-stuffed mattresses. At the foot of each bed is an empty footlocker. Tidy servants’ uniforms hang from hooks in the adjoining closet (area 7B).

Dumbwaiter

A dumbwaiter in the corner of the west wall has a button on the wall next to it. Pressing the button rings the tiny bell in area 4A.

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8. Library

The master of the house used to spend many hours here before his descent into madness.

Red velvet drapes cover the windows of this room. An exquisite mahogany desk and a matching high-back chair face the entrance and the fireplace, above which hangs a framed picture of a windmill perched atop a rocky crag. Situated in corners of the room are two overstuffed chairs. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves line the south wall. A rolling wooden ladder allows one to more easily reach the high shelves.

The desk has several items resting atop it: an oil lamp, a jar of ink, a quill pen, a tinderbox, and a letter kit containing a red wax candle, four blank sheets of parchment, and a wooden seal bearing the Durst family’s insignia (a windmill). The desk drawer is empty except for an iron key, which unlocks the door to area 20.

The bookshelves hold hundreds of tomes covering a range of topics including history, warfare, and alchemy. There are also several shelves containing first-edition collected works of poetry and fiction. The books rot and fall apart if taken from the house.

Secret Door

A secret door behind one bookshelf can be unlocked and swung open by pulling on a switch disguised to look like a red-covered book with a blank spine. A character inspecting the bookshelf spots the fake book with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check. Unless the secret door is propped open, springs in the hinges cause it to close on its own. Beyond the secret door lies area 9.

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9. Secret Room

This secret room contains bookshelves packed with tomes describing fiend-summoning rituals and the necromantic rituals of a cult called the Priests of Osybus. The rituals are bogus, which any character can ascertain after studying the books for 1 hour and succeeding on a DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana) check.

A heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet stands against the south wall, its lid half-closed. Sticking out of the chest is a skeleton in leather armor. Close inspection reveals that the skeleton belongs to a human who triggered a poisoned dart trap. Three darts are stuck in the dead adventurer’s armor and ribcage. The dart-firing mechanism inside the chest no longer functions.

Clutched in the skeleton’s left hand is a letter bearing the seal of Strahd von Zarovich (Handout: Strahd's Crest), which the adventurer tried to remove from the chest. Written in flowing script, the letter reads as follows (show players Handout: Strahd's Letter):

My most pathetic servant,

I am not a messiah sent to you by the Dark Powers of this land. I have not come to lead you on a path to immortality. However many souls you have bled on your hidden altar, however many visitors you have tortured in your dungeon, know that you are not the ones who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but worms writhing in my earth.

You say that you are cursed, your fortunes spent. You abandoned love for madness, took solace in the bosom of another woman, and sired a stillborn son. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.

Treasure

The chest contains three blank books with black leather covers (worth 25 gp each), three spell scrolls (bless, protection from poison, and spiritual weapon), the deed to the house, the deed to a windmill, and a signed will. The windmill referred to in the second deed is situated in the mountains east of Vallaki (see chapter 6, “Old Bonegrinder”). The will is signed by Gustav and Elisabeth Durst and bequeathes the house, the windmill, and all other family property to Rosavalda and Thornboldt Durst in the event of their parents’ deaths. The books, scrolls, deeds, and will age markedly if taken from the house but remain intact.

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10. Conservatory

Gossamer drapes cover the windows of this elegantly appointed hall, which has a brass-plated chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Upholstered chairs line the walls, and stained-glass wall hangings depict beautiful men, women, and children singing and playing instruments.

A harpsichord with a bench rests in the northwest corner. Near the fireplace is a large standing harp. Alabaster figurines of well-dressed dancers adorn the mantelpiece. Close inspection of them reveals that several are carvings of well-dressed skeletons.

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11. Balcony

Characters who climb the red marble staircase to its full height come to a dusty balcony with a suit of black plate armor standing against one wall, draped in cobwebs. This suit of animated armor attacks as soon as it takes damage or a character approaches within 5 feet of it. It fights until destroyed.

Oil lamps are mounted on the oak-paneled walls, which are carved with woodland scenes of trees, falling leaves, and tiny critters. Characters who search the walls for secret doors or otherwise inspect the paneling can, with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, notice tiny corpses hanging from the trees and worms bursting up from the ground.

Secret Door

A secret door in the west wall can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. It pushes open easily to reveal a cobweb-filled wooden staircase leading up to the attic.

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12. Master Suite

The double doors to this room have dusty panes of stained glass set into them. Designs in the glass resemble windmills.

The dusty, cobweb-filled master bedroom (area 12A) has burgundy drapes covering the windows. Furnishings include a four-poster bed with embroidered curtains and tattered gossamer veils, a matching pair of empty wardrobes, a vanity with a wood-framed mirror and jewelry box (see “Treasure”), and a padded chair. A rotting tiger-skin rug lies on the floor in front of the fireplace, which has a dust-covered portrait of Gustav and Elisabeth Durst hanging above it. A web-filled parlor in the southwest corner contains a table and two chairs. Resting on the dusty tablecloth is an empty porcelain bowl and a matching jug.

A door facing the foot of the bed has a full-length mirror mounted on it. The door opens to reveal an empty, dust-choked closet (area 12B). A door in the parlor leads to an outside balcony (area 12C).

Dumbwaiter

A dumbwaiter in the corner of the west wall has a button on the wall next to it. Pressing the button rings the tiny bell in area 4A.

Treasure

The jewelry box on the vanity is made of silver with gold filigree (worth 75 gp). It contains three gold rings (worth 25 gp each) and a thin platinum necklace with a topaz pendant (worth 750 gp).

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13. Bathroom

This dark room contains a wooden tub with clawed feet, a small iron stove with a kettle resting atop it, and a barrel under a spigot in the east wall. A cistern on the roof used to collect rainwater, which was borne down a pipe to the spigot; however, the plumbing no longer works.

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14. Storage Room

Dusty shelves line the walls of this room. A few of the shelves have folded sheets, blankets, and old bars of soap on them. A cobweb-covered broom of animated attack leans against the far wall; it attacks any creature approaching within 5 feet of it.

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15. Nursemaid’s Suite

Dust and cobwebs shroud an elegantly appointed bedroom (area 15A) and an adjoining nursery (area 15B). Double doors set with panes of stained glass pull open to reveal a balcony (area 15C) overlooking the front of the house.

The bedroom once belonged to the family’s nursemaid. The master of the house and the nursemaid had an affair, which led to the birth of a stillborn baby named Walter. The cult slew the nursemaid shortly thereafter. Unless the characters already defeated it in area 18, the nursemaid’s spirit haunts the bedroom as a specter. The specter manifests and attacks when a character opens the door to the nursery. The specter resembles a terrified, skeletally thin young woman; it can’t speak or be reasoned with.

The bedroom contains a large bed, two end tables, and an empty wardrobe. Mounted on the wall next to the wardrobe is a full-length mirror with an ornate wooden frame carved to look like ivy and berries. Characters who search the wall for secret doors or otherwise inspect the mirror can, with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check, notice eyeballs among the berries. The wall behind the mirror has a secret door in it (see “Secret Door” below).

The nursery contains a crib covered with a hanging black shroud. When characters part the shroud, they see a tightly wrapped, baby-sized bundle lying in the crib. Characters who unwrap the blanket find nothing inside it.

Secret Door

A secret door behind the mirror can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. It pushes open easily to reveal a cobweb-filled wooden staircase leading up to the attic.

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16. Attic Hall

This bare hall is choked with dust and cobwebs.

Locked Door

The door to area 20 is held shut with a padlock. Its key is kept in the library (area 8), but the lock can also be picked with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.

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17. Spare Bedroom

This dust-choked room contains a slender bed, a nightstand, a small iron stove, a writing desk with a stool, an empty wardrobe, and a rocking chair. A smiling doll in a lacy yellow dress sits in the northern window box, cobwebs draping it like a wedding veil.

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18. Storage Room

This dusty chamber is packed with old furniture (chairs, coat racks, standing mirrors, dress mannequins, and the like), all draped in dusty white sheets. Near an iron stove, underneath one of the sheets, is an unlocked wooden trunk containing the skeletal remains of the family’s nursemaid, wrapped in a tattered bedsheet stained with dry blood. A character inspecting the remains and succeeding on a DC 14 Wisdom (Medicine) check can verify that the woman was stabbed to death by multiple knife wounds.

If the characters disturb the remains, the nursemaid’s specter appears and attacks unless it was previously defeated in area 15.

Secret Door

A secret door in the east wall appears only when certain conditions are met; see area 21 for more information.

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19. Spare Bedroom

This web-filled room contains a slender bed, a nightstand, a rocking chair, an empty wardrobe, and a small iron stove.

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20. Children’s Room

The door to this room is locked from the outside (see area 16 for details).

This room contains a bricked-up window flanked by two dusty, wood-framed beds sized for children. Closer to the door is a toy chest with windmills painted on its sides and a dollhouse that’s a perfect replica of the dreary edifice in which you stand. These furnishings are draped in cobwebs. Lying in the middle of the floor are two small skeletons wearing tattered but familiar clothing. The smaller of the two cradles a stuffed doll that you also recognize.

The Durst children, Rose and Thorn, were neglected by their parents and locked in this room until they starved to death. Their small skeletons lie in the middle of the floor, plain as day, wearing tattered clothing that the characters recognize as belonging to the children. Thorn’s skeleton cradles the boy’s stuffed doll.

The toy chest contains an assortment of stuffed animals and toys. Characters who search the dollhouse and succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check find all of the house’s secret doors, including one in the attic that leads to a spiral staircase (a miniature replica of area 21).

Rose and Thorn

If either the dollhouse or the chest is disturbed, the ghosts of Rose and Thorn appear in the middle of the room.

The children don’t like it when the characters disturb their toys, but they fight only in self-defense. Unlike the illusions outside the house, these children know that they’re dead. If asked how they died, Rose and Thorn explain that their parents locked them in the attic to protect them from “the monster in the basement,” and that they died from hunger. If asked how one gets to the basement, Rose points to the dollhouse and says, “There’s a secret door in the attic.” Characters who then search the dollhouse for secret doors gain advantage on their Wisdom (Perception) checks to find them.

The children fear abandonment. If one or more characters try to leave, the ghost-children attempt to possess them. If one of the ghosts possesses a character, allow the player to retain control of the character, but assign the character one of the following flaws:

• A character possessed by Rose gains the following flaw: “I like being in charge and get angry when other people tell me what to do.”
• A character possessed by Thorn gains the following flaw: “I’m scared of everything, including my own shadow, and weep with despair when things don’t go my way.”

A character possessed by the ghost of Rose or Thorn won’t willingly leave Death House or the dungeon below it. Both ghosts can be intimidated into leaving their hosts with a successful DC 11 Charisma (Intimidation) check made as an action.

A ghost reduced to 0 hit points can reform at dawn the next day. The only way to put the children’s spirits to rest is to put their skeletal remains in their tombs (areas 23E and 23F). The children don’t know this, however.

Development

If the party lays the children’s spirits to rest, each character gains inspiration (see “Inspiration” handout).

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21. Secret Stairs

A narrow spiral staircase made of creaky wood is contained within a 5-foot-wide shaft of mortared stone that starts in the attic and descends 50 feet to the dungeon level, passing through the lower levels of the house as it makes its descent. Thick cobwebs fill the shaft and reduce visibility in the staircase to 5 feet.

• The secret door and shaft don’t exist until the house reveals them, which can happen in one of two ways:
• The characters find Strahd’s letter in the secret room behind the library (area 9).
• The characters find the replica secret door in the attic of the dollhouse (area 20).

Once the house wills the secret door into existence, characters find it automatically if they search the wall (no ability check required). Characters who descend the spiral staircase end up in area 22.

GM notes:

22. Dungeon Level Access

The wooden spiral staircase from the attic ends here. A narrow tunnel stretches southward before branching east and west.

Ghostly Chanting

From the moment they arrive in the dungeon, the characters can hear an eerie, incessant chant echoing throughout. It’s impossible to gauge where the sound is coming from until the characters reach area 26 or 29. They can’t discern its words until they reach area 35.

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23. Family Crypts

Several crypts have been hewn from the earth. Each crypt is sealed with a stone slab unless noted otherwise. Removing a slab from its fitting requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check; using a crowbar or the like grants advantage on the check.

23A. Empty Crypt

The blank stone slab meant to seal this crypt leans against a nearby wall. The crypt is empty.

23B. Walter’s Crypt

The stone slab meant to seal this crypt leans against a nearby wall. Etched into it is the name Walter Durst. The crypt is empty.

23C. Gustav’s Crypt

The stone slab is etched with the name Gustav Durst. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin atop a stone bier.

23D. Elisabeth’s Crypt

The stone slab is etched with the name Elisabeth Durst. The crypt contains a stone bier with an empty coffin atop it. A swarm of centipedes boils out of the back wall and attacks if the coffin is disturbed.

23E. Rose’s Crypt

The stone slab is etched with the name Rosavalda Durst. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin on a stone bier.

If Rose’s skeletal remains (see area 20) are placed in the coffin, the child’s ghost finds peace and disappears forever. A character possessed by Rose’s ghost when this occurs is no longer possessed (see also the “Development” section in area 20).

23F. Thorn’s Crypt

The stone slab is etched with the name Thornboldt Durst. The chamber beyond contains an empty coffin on a stone bier.

If Thorn’s skeletal remains (see area 20) are placed in the coffin, the child’s ghost finds peace and disappears forever. A character possessed by Thorn’s ghost when this occurs is no longer possessed (see also the “Development” section in area 20).

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24. Cult Initiates’ Quarters

A wooden table and four chairs stand at the east end of this room. To the west are four alcoves containing moldy straw pallets.

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25. Well and Cultist Quarters

A 4-foot-diameter well shaft with a 3-foot-high stone lip descends 30 feet to a water-filled cistern. A wooden bucket hangs from a rope-and-pulley mechanism bolted to the crossbeams above the well.

Five side rooms once served as quarters for senior cultists. Each contains a wood-framed bed with a moldy straw mattress and a wooden chest to hold personal belongings. Each chest is secured with a rusty iron padlock that can be picked with thieves’ tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.

Treasure

In addition to some worthless personal effects, each chest contains one or more valuable items.

25A. This room’s chest contains 11 gp and 60 sp in a pouch made of human skin.
25B. This room’s chest contains three moss agates (worth 10 gp each) in a folded piece of black cloth.
25C. This room’s chest contains a black leather eyepatch with a carnelian (worth 50 gp) sewn into it.
25D. This room’s chest contains an ivory hairbrush with silver bristles (worth 25 gp).
25E. This room’s chest contains a silvered shortsword (worth 110 gp).

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26. Hidden Spiked Pit

The ghostly chanting heard throughout the dungeon gets discernibly louder as one heads west along this tunnel. A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check reveals an absence of footprints. Characters searching the floor for traps find a 5-foot-long, 10-foot-deep pit hidden under several rotted wooden planks, all hidden under a thin layer of dirt. The pit has sharpened wooden spikes at the bottom. The first character to step on the cover falls through, landing prone and taking 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall plus 11 (2d10) piercing damage from the spikes.

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27. Dining Hall

This room contains a plain wooden table flanked by long benches. Moldy humanoid bones lie strewn on the dirt floor—the remains of the cult’s vile banquets.

In the middle of the south wall is a darkened alcove (area 28). Characters who approach within 5 feet of the alcove provoke the creature that lurks there.

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28. Larder

This alcove contains a grick that slithers out to attack the first character it sees within 5 feet of it. Any character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score under 12 is surprised by it. The alcove is otherwise empty.

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29. Ghoulish Encounter

The ghostly chanting heard throughout the dungeon is noticeably louder to the north. When one or more characters reach the midpoint of the four-way tunnel intersection, four ghouls (former cultists) rise up out of the ground and attack. The ghouls fight until destroyed.

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30. Stairs Down

It’s obvious to any character standing at the top of this 20-foot-long staircase that the ghostly chants originate from somewhere below. Characters who descend the stairs and follow the hall beyond arrive in area 35.

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31. Darklord’s Shrine

This room is festooned with moldy skeletons that hang from rusty shackles against the walls. A wide alcove in the south wall contains a painted wooden statue carved in the likeness of a gaunt, pale-faced man wearing a voluminous black cloak, his pale left hand resting on the head of a wolf that stands next to him. In his right hand, he holds a smoky-gray crystal orb.

The room has exits in the west and north walls. Chanting can be heard coming from the west.

The statue depicts Strahd, to whom the cultists made sacrifices in the vain hope that he might reveal his darkest secrets to them. If the characters touch the statue or take the crystal orb from Strahd’s hand, five shadows form around the statue and attack them. The shadows (the spirits of former cultists) pursue those who flee beyond the room’s confines.

The skeletons on the wall are harmless decor.

Concealed Door

Characters searching the room for secret doors find a concealed door in the middle of the east wall with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check. It’s basically an ordinary (albeit rotted) wooden door hidden under a layer of clay. The door pulls open to reveal a stone staircase that climbs 10 feet to a landing (area 32).

Treasure

The crystal orb is worth 25 gp. It can be used as an arcane focus but is not magical.

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32. Hidden Trapdoor

The staircase ends at a landing with a 6-foot-high ceiling of close-fitting planks with a wooden trapdoor set into it. The trapdoor is bolted shut from this side and can be pushed open to reveal the den (area 3) above.

Development

Once the trapdoor has been found and opened, it remains available to characters as a way into and out of the dungeon level.

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33. Cult Leaders’ Den

The door in the southwest corner is a mimic in disguise. Any creature that touches the door becomes adhered to the creature, whereupon the mimic attacks. The mimic also attacks if its takes any damage.

A chandelier is suspended above a table in the middle of the room. Two high-backed chairs flank the table, which has an empty clay jug and two clay flagons atop it. Iron candlesticks stand in two corners, their candles long since melted away.

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34. Cult Leaders’ Quarters

This room contains a large wood-framed bed with a rotted feather mattress, a wardrobe containing several old robes, a pair of iron candlesticks, and an open crate containing thirty torches and a leather sack with fifteen candles inside it. At the foot of the bed is an unlocked wooden footlocker containing some gear and magic items (see “Treasure” below).

Two ghasts (Gustav and Elisabeth Durst) are hidden in cavities behind the earthen walls, marked X on the map; they burst forth and attack if someone removes one or more items from the footlocker. The ghasts wear tattered black robes.

Treasure

Characters searching the footlocker find a folded cloak of protection, a small wooden coffer (unlocked) containing four potions of healing, a chain shirt, a mess kit, a flask of alchemist’s fire, a bullseye lantern, a set of thieves’ tools, and a spellbook with a yellow leather cover containing the following wizard spells:

1st level: disguise self, identify, mage armor, magic missile, protection from evil and good
2nd level: darkvision, hold person, invisibility, magic weapon

These items were taken from adventurers who were drawn into Barovia, captured, and killed by the cult.

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35. Reliquary

The ghostly chant emanating from area 38 fills this room. Characters can discern a dozen or so voices saying, over and over, “He is the Ancient. He is the Land.”

The cult amassed several “relics” that it used in its rituals. These worthless items are stored in thirteen niches along the walls:

• A small, mummified, yellow hand with sharp claws (a goblin’s hand) on a loop of rope
• A knife carved from a human bone
• A dagger with a rat’s skull set into the pommel
• An 8-inch-diameter varnished orb made from a nothic’s eye
• An aspergillum carved from bone
• A folded cloak made from stitched ghoul skin
• A desiccated frog lashed to a stick (could be mistaken for a wand of polymorph)
• A bag full of bat guano
• A hag’s severed finger
• A 6-inch-tall wooden figurine of a mummy, its arms crossed over its chest
• An iron pendant adorned with a devil’s face
• The shrunken, shriveled head of a halfling
• A small wooden coffer containing a dire wolf’s withered tongue

The southernmost tunnel slopes down at a 20-degree angle into murky water and ends at a rusty portcullis (area 37).

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36. Prison

The cultists shackled prisoners to the back walls of alcoves here. The prisoners are long gone (their bones litter the floor in area 27), but the rusty shackles remain.

Secret Door

A secret door in the south wall can be found with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check and pulls open to reveal area 38 beyond.

Treasure

Hanging on the back wall of the cell marked X on the map is a human skeleton clad in a tattered black robe. The skeleton belongs to a cult member who questioned the cult’s blind devotion to Strahd. Characters who search the skeleton find a gold ring (worth 25 gp) on one of its bony fingers.

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37. Portcullis

This tunnel is blocked by a rusty iron portcullis that can be forcibly lifted with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. Otherwise, the portcullis can be raised or lowered by turning a wooden wheel half-embedded in the east wall of area 38. (The wheel is beyond the reach of someone east of the portcullis.) The floor around the portcullis is submerged under 2 feet of murky water.

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38. Ritual Chamber

The cult used to perform rituals in this sunken room. The chanting heard throughout the dungeon originates here, yet when the characters arrive, the dungeon falls silent as the chanting mysteriously stops.

The chanting stops as you peer into this forty-foot-square room. The smooth masonry walls provide excellent acoustics. Featureless stone pillars support the ceiling, and a breach in the west wall leads to a dark cave heaped with refuse. Murky water covers most of the floor. Stairs lead up to dry stone ledges that hug the walls. In the middle of the room, more stairs rise to form an octagonal dais that also rises above the water. Rusty chains with shackles dangle from the ceiling directly above a stone altar mounted on the dais. The altar is carved with hideous depictions of grasping ghouls and is stained with dry blood.

The water is 2 feet deep. The ledges and central dais are 5 feet high (3 feet higher than the water’s surface), and the chamber’s ceiling is 16 feet high (11 feet above the dais and ledges). The chains dangling from the ceiling are 8 feet long; the cultists would shackle prisoners to the chains, dangle them above the altar, cut them open with knives, and allow the altar to be bathed in blood.

Half embedded in the east wall is a wooden wheel connected to hidden chains and mechanisms. A character can use an action to turn the wheel, raising or lowering the nearby portcullis (see area 37).

The hole in the west wall leads to a naturally formed alcove. The half-submerged pile of refuse that fills it is a shambling mound, which the cultists dubbed Lorghoth the Decayer. It is asleep but awakens if attacked or if the characters summon the cultists but refuse to complete their ritual (see “One Must Die!” below). A character standing next to the mound can discern its true nature with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check.

“One Must Die!”

If any character climbs to the top of the dais, read:

The chanting rises once more as thirteen dark apparitions appear on the ledges overlooking the room. Each one resembles a black-robed figure holding a torch, but the torch’s fire is black and seems to draw light into it. Where you’d expect to see faces are voids.

“One must die!” they chant, over and over. “One must die! One must die!”

The apparitions are harmless figments that can’t be damaged, turned, or dispelled.

Characters on the dais when the cultists appear must sacrifice a creature on the altar or face the cult’s wrath; characters can ascertain what must be done with a successful DC 11 Intelligence (Religion) or Wisdom (Insight) check. To count as a sacrifice, a creature must die on the altar. The apparitions don’t care what kind of creature is sacrificed, and they aren’t fooled by illusions.
If the characters make the sacrifice, the cultists fade away, but their tireless chant of “He is the Ancient. He is the Land,” echoes again in the dungeon. Strahd is aware of the sacrifice, and Death House now does nothing to hinder the characters (see “Endings: Death House” handout).

If the characters leave the dais without making the sacrifice, the cultists’ chant changes: “Lorghoth the Decayer, we awaken thee!” This chant rouses the shambling mound and prompts it to attack. It pursues prey beyond the room but won’t leave the dungeon. It can move through tunnels without squeezing and completely fills its space. At the start of the shambling mound’s first turn, the chant changes again: “The end comes! Death, be praised!” If the shambling mound dies, the chanting stops and the apparitions vanish forever.

GM notes:

Death House’s Features

Death House is aware of its surroundings and all creatures within it. Its goal is to continue the work of the cult by luring visitors to their doom. Various important features of the house are summarized here.

The house has four stories (including the attic), with two balconies on the third floor—one facing the front of the house, the other facing the back. The house has wooden floors throughout, and all windows have hinges that allow them to swing outward.

The rooms on the first and second floors are free of dust and signs of age. The floorboards and wall panels are well oiled, the drapes and wallpaper haven’t faded, and the furniture looks new. No effort has been made to preserve the contents of the third floor or the attic. These areas are dusty and drafty, everything within them is old and draped in cobwebs, and the floorboards groan underfoot.

Ceilings vary in height by floor. The first floor has 10-foot-high ceilings, the second floor has 12-foot-high ceilings, the third floor has 8-foot-high ceilings, and the attic has 13-foot-high ceilings.

None of the rooms in the house are lit when the characters arrive, although most areas contain working oil lamps or fireplaces.

Characters can burn the house to the ground if they want, but any destruction to the house is temporary. After 1d10 days, the house begins to repair itself. Ashes sweep together to form blackened timbers, which then turn back into a sturdy wooden frame around which walls begin to materialize. Destroyed furnishings are likewise repaired. It takes 2d6 hours for the house to complete its resurrection. Items taken from the house aren’t replaced, nor are undead that are destroyed. The dungeon level isn’t considered part of the house and can’t repair itself in this fashion.

Dungeon Features

The dungeon level underneath Death House is carved out of earth, clay, and rock. The tunnels are 4 feet wide by 7 feet high with timber braces at 5-foot intervals. Rooms are 8 feet tall and supported by thick wooden posts with crossbeams. The only exception is area 38, which has a 16-foot-high ceiling supported by stone pillars. Characters without darkvision must provide their own light sources, as the dungeon is unlit.

As the characters explore the dungeon, they see centuries-old human footprints in the earthen floor leading every which way.

GM notes:

Desecrated Ground

Some cemeteries and catacombs are imbued with the unseen traces of ancient evil. An area of desecrated ground can be any size, and a detect evil and good spell cast within range reveals its presence.

Undead standing on desecrated ground have advantage on all saving throws.

A vial of holy water purifies a 10-foot-square area of desecrated ground when sprinkled on it, and a hallow spell purifies desecrated ground within its area.

GM notes:

Dream Pastries

These pastries look and taste like small mincemeat pies. A creature that eats one in its entirety must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or fall into a trance that lasts for 1d4 + 4 hours, during which time the creature is incapacitated and has a speed of 0 feet. The trance ends if the affected creature takes any damage or if someone else uses an action to shake the creature out of its stupor.

While in the trance, the creature dreams of being in some joyous place, far removed from the evils of the world. The places and characters in the dream are vivid and believable, and when the dream ends, the affected creature experiences a longing to return to the place.

GM notes:

Endings

The mists of Ravenloft continue to surround Death House until the characters stand atop the dais and either appease or defy the cultists. Strahd is satisfied either way, prompting the mists to recede.

The Cult Is Appeased

Death House harbors no ill will toward a party willing to sacrifice a life to appease the cult. Once the sacrifice is made, the characters are free to go. Upon emerging from the house, the characters advance to 3rd level.

The Cult Is Denied

If the characters deny the cult its sacrifice and either destroy the shambling mound or escape from it, Death House attacks them as they try to leave. When they return upstairs, they must roll initiative as they discover several architectural changes:

• All the windows are bricked up; the bricked-up windows and the outer walls are impervious to the party’s weapon attacks and damage-dealing spells.
• All the doors are gone, replaced by slashing scythe-blades. A character must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to pass through a blade-trapped doorway unscathed. A character who spends 1 minute studying the blades in a particular doorway can try to take advantage of a momentary gap in their repeating movements and make a DC 15 Intelligence check instead. Failing either check, a character takes 2d10 slashing damage but manages to pass through the doorway. Any creature pushed through a doorway must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the damage. The blades can’t be disarmed.
• Every room that contains a fireplace, an oven, or a stove is filled with poisonous black smoke. The room is heavily obscured, and any creature that starts its turn in the smoke must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or take 1d10 poison damage.
• The interior walls become rotted and brittle. Each 5-foot-section has AC 5 and 5 hit points, and can also be destroyed with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check. Each 5-foot section of wall that’s destroyed causes a swarm of rats to pour out and attack. The swarm won’t leave the house.

Keep track of initiative as the characters make their way through the house. Once they escape, they advance to 3rd level, and the house does no more to harm them.

GM notes:

Exhaustion

Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect’s description.

Level	Effect
1	Disadvantage on ability checks
2	Speed halved
3	Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws
4	Hit point maximum halved
5	Speed reduced to 0
6	Death

If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description.

A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its speed halved and has disadvantage on ability checks.

An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect’s description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature’s exhaustion level is reduced below 1.

Finishing a long rest reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.

GM notes:

Explosives

A campaign might include explosives from the Renaissance or the modern world (the latter are priceless), as presented in the Explosives table.

Bomb

As an action, a character can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or take 3d6 fire damage.

Gunpowder

Gunpowder is chiefly used to propel a bullet out of the barrel of a pistol or rifle, or it is formed into a bomb. Gunpowder is sold in small wooden kegs and in water-resistant powder horns.

Setting fire to a container full of gunpowder can cause it to explode, dealing fire damage to creatures within 10 feet of it (3d6 for a powder horn, 7d6 for a keg). A successful DC 12 Dexterity saving throw halves the damage. Setting fire to an ounce of gunpowder causes it to flare for 1 round, shedding bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

Dynamite

As an action, a creature can light a stick of dynamite and throw it at a point up to 60 feet away. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

A character can bind sticks of dynamite together so they explode at the same time. Each additional stick increases the damage by 1d6 (to a maximum of 10d6) and the burst radius by 5 feet (to a maximum of 20 feet).

Dynamite can be rigged with a longer fuse to explode after a set amount of time, usually 1 to 6 rounds. Roll initiative for the dynamite. After the set number of rounds goes by, the dynamite explodes on that initiative.

Grenades

As an action, a character can throw a grenade at a point up to 60 feet away. With a grenade launcher, the character can propel the grenade up to 120 feet away.

Each creature within 20 feet of an exploding fragmentation grenade must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 5d6 piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

One round after a smoke grenade lands, it emits a cloud of smoke that creates a heavily obscured area in a 20-foot radius. A moderate wind (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses the smoke in 4 rounds; a strong wind (20 or more miles per hour) disperses it in 1 round.

Explosives

Renaissance Item	Cost	Weight
Bomb	150 gp	1 lb.
Gunpowder, keg	250 gp	20 lb.
Gunpowder, powder horn	35 gp	2 lb.

GM notes:

Extreme Cold

The Amber Temple is a cold, dark place carved out of the snowy slope of Mount Ghakis. The temperature throughout the complex is −10 degrees Fahrenheit (−23 degrees Celsius). Characters who don’t have heat sources, cold weather gear, or magic to protect them are subject to the effects of extreme cold, as described in the Weather handout. If Kasimir Velikov (see chapter 5, area N9a) is with the party, his ring of warmth protects him from the effects of the extreme cold.

GM notes:

Firearms

If you want to model the swashbuckling style of The Three Musketeers and similar tales, you can introduce gunpowder weapons to your campaign that are associated with the Renaissance. Similarly, in a campaign where a spaceship has crashed or elements of modern-day Earth are present, futuristic or modern firearms might appear. The Firearms table provides examples of firearms from all three of those periods. The modern and futuristic items are priceless.

Proficiency

It’s up to you to decide whether a character has proficiency with a firearm. Characters in most D&D worlds wouldn’t have such proficiency. During their downtime, characters can use the training rules in the Player’s Handbook to acquire proficiency, assuming that they have enough ammunition to keep the weapons working while mastering their use.

Properties

Firearms use special ammunition, and some of them have the burst fire or reload property.

Ammunition. The ammunition of a firearm is destroyed upon use. Renaissance and modern firearms use bullets. Futuristic firearms are powered by a special type of ammunition called energy cells. An energy cell contains enough power for all the shots its firearm can make.

Burst Fire. A weapon that has the burst fire property can make a normal single-target attack, or it can spray a 10-foot-cube area within normal range with shots. Each creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take the weapon’s normal damage. This action uses ten pieces of ammunition.

Reload. A limited number of shots can be made with a weapon that has the reload property. A character must then reload it using an action or a bonus action (the character’s choice).

Firearms

Renaissance Item	Cost		Damage	Weight	Properties
Martial Ranged Weapons
Pistol	250 gp		1d10 piercing	3 lb.	Ammunition (range 30/90), loading
Musket	500 gp		1d12 piercing	10 lb.	Ammunition (range 40/120), loading, two-handed
Ammunition
Bullets (10)	3 gp		—	2 lb.	—

GM notes:

Foreword: Ravenloft Revisited

We turned the corner, and there was a vampire.

I groaned and rolled my eyes.

It was 1978, and I was playing in one of my first dungeon adventures. It was being run by a friend I had known in high school, John Scott Clegg, and it was typical of the type of adventure that people played in those days. It was all about exploring a hodgepodge collection of rooms connected by dungeon corridors, beating up the monsters that we encountered, searching for treasure, and gaining experience points.

Now we were face to face with random encounter number thirty-four: a vampire. Not a Vampire with a capital V, but a so-many-Hit-Dice-with-such-and-such-an-Armor-Class lowercase vampire. Just another monster in the dungeon.

I remember thinking at the time, What are you doing here? This creature seemed completely out of place with the kobolds, orcs, and gelatinous cubes we had seen thus far. This was a creature who deserved his own setting and to be so much more than just a wandering monster. When I came home from that game, I told all these thoughts to Laura.

That was when Strahd von Zarovich was born.

Strahd would be no afterthought—he demanded his own setting, his own tragic history. Laura and I launched into researching the mythology and folklore surrounding the vampire. We started with the vague, black-and-white image of Bela Lugosi in 1931, but found so much more.

The first “modern” literary foundation of the vampire was penned by John William Polidori based on a fragment of a story by Lord Byron. It was while at the Villa Diodati—a rented house next to Lake Geneva, Switzerland—that Byron and Polidori met Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin and her husband-to-be, Percy Shelley. One night in June, Byron suggested that they each write a ghost story. Mary Shelley’s contribution to the effort would later become Frankenstein. The short story “The Vampyre,” published in 1819, was Polidori’s contribution. He was Byron’s personal physician, and the first of the so-called “romantic” vampires under Polidori’s hand was actually modeled after Lord Byron.

Byron—like the fictional vampires that he inspired, from Polidori’s Lord Ruthven down through the penultimate work of Bram Stoker—was a decadent predator, an abuser hidden behind a romantic veil. He was a comely and alluring monster—but a monster nevertheless. The romantic vampire of the earliest years of the genre was not just a spouse abuser but a spouse killer, the archetype of abuse in the worst kind of destructive codependency.

For Laura and me, those were the elements that truly defined Strahd von Zarovich—a selfish beast forever lurking behind a mask of tragic romance, the illusion of redemption that was ever only camouflage for his prey.

Initially we were going to title the adventure Vampyr—one of a series of games we called Nightventure that Laura and I were self-publishing back in 1978. The castle was called Ravenloft, and when Halloween came around each year, our friends asked us if we could play “that Ravenloft game” again … and so the better title won out. It was, in part, because of this design that I was hired by TSR, Inc., to write Dungeons & Dragons adventures in 1982. Soon thereafter, I6 Ravenloft was published.

Since then, fans of Ravenloft have seen many different creative perspectives on Barovia (a country which, by absolute coincidence, is featured in a 1947 Bob Hope movie called Where There’s Life). It continues to be one of the most popular Dungeons & Dragons adventures of all time. In its various incarnations, each designer has endeavored to bring something new to the ancient legend of Strahd, and to each of them we are grateful.

But the vampire genre has taken a turn from its roots in recent years. The vampire we so often see today exemplifies the polar opposite of the original archetype: the lie that it’s okay to enter into a romance with an abusive monster because if you love it enough, it will change.

When Laura and I got a call from Christopher Perkins about revisiting Ravenloft, we hoped we could bring the message of the vampire folktale back to its original cautionary roots. The talented team at Wizards of the Coast not only graciously took our suggestions but engaged us in a dialogue that delivered new insights on the nightmare beyond the gates of Barovia.

Now we invite you again as our guests to pass through the Svalich Woods if you dare. For here the romance is tragically dangerous … and a true monster smiles at your approach.

Tracy Hickman
May 2015

GM notes:

Fortunes of Ravenloft

The events of this adventure are part of dark twists of fate that a fortuneteller can discern with the cards of a tarokka deck. Before you run this adventure, you must draw cards from a deck to determine the following elements of the adventure:

• Strahd’s location inside Castle Ravenloft
• The placement of three important treasures that can be used against Strahd—the Tome of Strahd, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and the Sunsword
• The identity of a powerful ally in the fight against Strahd

This card reading can make the adventure different each time you play it.

At some point during the adventure, the characters are likely to meet Madam Eva, the old Vistani seer (see chapter 2, area G), who can perform the same card reading for them. Characters can also have Ezmerelda d’Avenir perform a card reading for them, provided she has her deck of tarokka cards. Ezmerelda’s cards are hidden in her wagon.

The Tarokka Deck shows all the cards of the tarokka deck and summarizes their symbolic meanings.

Card Reading

Roll20 Note: We have provided an optional Tarroka Reading Page in this module which utilizes the drag function of the Tarroka Card Deck.

When you perform a card reading before running the adventure, write down the results for reference later. If the characters have their fortunes read in the adventures, do the card reading again, out loud for the players’ benefit. Substitute the new results for the old ones.

When you’re ready to begin the card reading, remove the fourteen cards with the crown icon (the high deck) and shuffle them. Then shuffle the remaining cards (the common deck), keeping the two decks separate. Draw the top three cards from the common deck and lay them face down in the 1, 2, and 3 positions. Then draw the top two cards from the high deck and lay them face down in the 4 and 5 positions, as shown in the picture in this handout.

Once all five cards are drawn and placed face down, follow the instructions below for each card in order.

1. The Tome of Strahd

Flip over card 1, and read:

This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy.

This card determines the location of the Tome of Strahd. Read the boxed text for the appropriate card, as given in the “Treasure Locations” section that follows.

2. The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

Flip over card 2, and read:

This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope.

This card determines the location of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. Read the boxed text for the appropriate card, as given in the “Treasure Locations” section that follows.

3. The Sunsword

Flip over card 3, and read:

This is a card of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance: a sword of sunlight.

This card determines the location of the Sunsword. Read the boxed text for the appropriate card, as given in the “Treasure Locations” section that follows.

4. Strahd’s Enemy

Flip over card 4, and read:

This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness.

This card determines where the characters can find a powerful ally. Read the boxed text for the appropriate card, as given in the “Strahd’s Enemy” section later in the chapter.

5. Strahd

Flip over card 5, and read:

Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you to him!

The revealed card determines where Strahd can always be found. Read the boxed text for the appropriate card, as given in the “Strahd’s Location in the Castle” section later in the chapter.

GM notes:

Green Slime

This acidic slime devours flesh, organic material, and metal on contact. Bright green, wet, and sticky, it clings to walls, floors, and ceilings in patches.

A patch of green slime covers a 5-foot square, has blindsight out to a range of 30 feet, and drops from walls and ceilings when it detects movement below it. Beyond that, it has no ability to move. A creature aware of the slime’s presence can avoid being struck by it with a successful DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. Otherwise, the slime can’t be avoided as it drops.

A creature that comes into contact with green slime takes 5 (1d10) acid damage. The creature takes the damage again at the start of each of its turns until the slime is scraped off or destroyed. Against wood or metal, green slime deals 11 (2d10) acid damage each round, and any nonmagical wood or metal weapon or tool used to scrape off the slime is effectively destroyed.

Sunlight, any effect that cures disease, and any effect that deals cold, fire, or radiant damage destroys a patch of green slime.

GM notes:

Hag Covens

To a hag, the thought of sharing her home with other creatures—even other hags—is disgusting. She has nothing but dislike or disdain for anyone other than herself, and she loves being alone (except for the company of minions and other creatures under her sway). That’s the ordinary state of affairs. But when a group of hags have a common goal or they seek greater power to combat a formidable threat, they suppress their basic nature and come together to do their work. The result is a coven.

Being part of a coven gives each individual hag more magic and spellcasting ability, and to her these benefits offset the inconvenience and bickering that goes with living and working with other hags.

If a member of a coven is killed and the surviving members intend to keep the group from dissolving, they immediately attempt to recruit a replacement. This process involves each prospective member committing cruel acts with the aim of impressing the remaining coven members. Adventurers who slay only one member of a coven might deal a blow to it in the short term, but later on the surrounding region is wracked with plagues, curses, and other disasters as the applicants attempt to outdo one another.

An unusually gifted mortal Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard of a deeply evil nature might be invited to join a coven or allowed to compete for a vacancy. This arrangement is potentially a dangerous proposition for the mortal, but a pair of hags might agree to it if their needs are served. For instance, a human member of a coven makes an ideal spy and infiltrator in and around a humanoid settlement.