Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (2024)

Table of Contents
Curse of Strahd Reloaded A Rebirth in Darkness Unleashing the Mists Why This Adventure? Why This Guide? Running Session Zero Setting Expectations Triggers & Accommodations Character Creation Flaws Bonds Motivations Lore of Barovia Metaphysics & Magic Geography Cultures Factions Religions History of Barovia Strahd von Zarovich Roleplaying Strahd Strahd’s Relationships Strahd’s Goals Strahd’s Allies Strahd’s Tactics Strahd, the Mage Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Lair Actions Strahd, the Soldier Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Lair Actions Strahd, the Vampire Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Lair Actions Adventure Organization The Tarokka Reading The Tome of Strahd The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind The Sunsword Strahd’s Enemy The Card Reading Strahd’s Spies Encounters with Strahd Adventure Hooks Adventure Summary Act I: Into the Mists Act II: The Shadowed Town Act III: The Devil's Hand Act IV: Into the West Act V: Secrets of the Valley Act VI: The Curse of Strahd Milestones Arc A. Escape From Death House A1. Daggerford A2. Death House Flesh Mound, 1st Form Actions Flesh Mound, 2nd Form Actions Arc B: Welcome to Barovia B1. Old Svalich Road B2. Gates of Barovia B3. Svalich Woods B4. Barovian Overlook B5. The Village of Barovia Arc C: Into the Valley C1. The Svalich Woods C2. River Ivlis Crossroads C3. The Strix C4. Tser Pool C5. The Skeletal Rider C6. The Watchtower C7. Tser Falls C8. Black Carriage C9. Old Bonegrinder C10. The Deep Woods C11. The Werewolf's Hunt Werewolf Actions Bonus Actions C11. The Town of Vallaki Timeline Diverging Paths Arc D: The Tome of Strahd D1. Burgomaster’s Mansion D2. Wachterhaus D3. Unlocking the Tome Arc E: St. Andral's Feast E1. St. Andral's Church E2. Milivoj’s House E3. Return to the Church E4. Arasek Stockyard E4. Coffin Maker's Shop Volenta, First Form Actions Volenta, Second Form Actions Bonus Actions Reactions E5. Retrieving the Bones Arc F: The Missing Vistana F1. Blinsky Toys F2. Vistani Camp Strahd’s Bounty F3. Burgomaster’s Mansion F4. Lake Zarovich F5. The Svalich Road F6. Lake Baratok F7. The Road Back F6c. Return to Vallaki F7c. Rictavio’s Wagon Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish G1. The Blue Water Inn G2. Wachterhaus G3. Return to the Blue Water Inn G4. Izek’s Assassination Izek Strazni, 1st Form Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Izek Strazni, 2nd Form Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Arc H: The Strazni Siblings H1. The Blue Water Inn H2. The Streets of Vallaki H3. The Kidnapping H4. The Rescue Arc I: The Lost Soul I1. Burgomaster’s Mansion I2. The Refugee Camp I3. Victor’s Plan I4. Stella’s Discovery I5. Wachterhaus I6. The Old Svalich Road I7. Old Bonegrinder The Bonegrinder Coven Actions Bonus Actions Reactions The Nightmare Three Actions Bonus Actions Reactions I8. The Ritual Speaker of the Gallows Actions Bonus Actions Reactions Ba’al Verzi Avenger Actions Bonus Action Reactions Arc J: The Walls of Krezk J1. The Road to Krezk J2. The Gates of Krezk J3. The Road to Berez J4. The Ruins of Berez J5. Return to Krezk J6. The Village of Krezk Allies & Companions The Durst Family Village of Barovia Tser Pool Town of Vallaki The Blue Water Inn The Burgomaster’s Mansion Wachterhaus St. Andral’s Church Town Square Vistani Encampment Castle Ravenloft Appendix: Amber Shards Amber Corruption Strahd's Espionage FAQs

Curse of Strahd

Reloaded

By DragnaCarta

A guide to the darkest adventure of the world's greatest roleplaying game.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (1)
Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (2)

Introduction

Chapter 1: Into the Mists

Why This Adventure?

Why This Guide?

Running Session Zero

Setting Expectations

Character Creation

Flaws

Bonds

Motivations

Chapter 2: The Land of Barovia

Lore of Barovia

Geography

Cultures

Factions

Religions

History of Barovia

Strahd von Zarovich

Roleplaying Strahd

Strahd’s Relationships

Strahd’s Goals

Strahd’s Allies

Strahd’s Tactics

Chapter 3: Running the Game

Adventure Organization

The Tarokka Reading

The Tome of Strahd

The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

The Sunsword

Strahd’s Enemy

The Card Reading

Strahd’s Spies

Encounters with Strahd

Adventure Hooks

Adventure Summary

Act I: Into the Mists

Arc A. Escape From Death House

A1. Daggerford

A2. Death House

Arc B: Welcome to Barovia

B1. The Old Svalich Road

B2. Gates of Barovia

B3. The Svalich Woods

B4. Barovian Overlook

B5. The Village of Barovia

Arc C: Into the Valley

C1. The Svalich Woods

C2. River Ivlis Crossroads

C3. The Strix

C4. Tser Pool

C5. The Skeletal Rider

C6. The Watchtower

C7. Tser Falls

C8. Black Carriage

C9. Old Bonegrinder

C10. The Deep Woods

C11. The Werewolf's Hunt

C11. The Town of Vallaki

Act II: The Shadowed Town

Timeline

Diverging Paths

Arc D: The Tome of Strahd

D1. Burgomaster’s Mansion

D2. Wachterhaus

D3. Unlocking the Tome

Arc E: St. Andral's Feast

E1. St. Andral's Church

E2. Milivoj’s House

E3. Return to the Church

E4. Arasek Stockyard

E5. Coffin Maker's Shop

E6. Returning the Bones

Arc F: The Missing Vistana

F1. Blinsky Toys

F2. Vistani Camp

F3. Burgomaster’s Mansion

F4. Lake Zarovich

F5. The Svalich Road

F6. Lake Baratok

F7. The Road Back

F8. Return to Vallaki

F9. Rictavio’s Wagon

Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish

G1. The Blue Water Inn

G2. Wachterhaus

G3. Return to the Blue Water Inn

G4. Izek’s Assassination

Arc H: The Strazni Siblings

H1. The Blue Water Inn

H2. The Streets of Vallaki

H3. The Kidnapping

H4. The Rescue

Arc I: The Lost Soul

I1. Burgomaster’s Mansion

I2. The Refugee Camp

I3. Victor’s Plan

I4. Stella’s Discovery

I5. Wachterhaus

I6. The Old Svalich Road

I7. Old Bonegrinder

I8. The Ritual

Arc J: The Walls of Krezk

J1. The Road to Krezk

J2. The Gates of Krezk

J3. The Road to Berez

J4. The Ruins of Berez

J5. Return to Krezk

J6. The Village of Krezk

Appendix: NPC Profiles

Appendix: Amber Shards

Handout: Strahd's Espionage

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (3)

Acknowledgments

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is written by DragnaCarta. You can support his work by joining his Patreon. This unofficial free guide is made available under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. You can purchase the official Curse of Strahd campaign module on the Dungeons & Dragons website or via D&DBeyond.

Art credit: Cover and background artwork by JamesRPGArt, available on Patreon. Additional illustrations by Caleb Cleveland.

Formatting credit to: Dungeon Master's Guide watercolor stains by Jared Ondricek, and Curse of Strahd Theme for GMBinder by /u/AeronDrake.

Designed with: GMBinder.

Special thanks to: Twi, whose deliberation and creativity made this revision possible; to Ziopliukas and Paintknight for their encouragement and support; to Friendly, shmamy, Nancy, yaboicorny, Busdriver, and Scarfe for their frequent counsel and feedback; and to GPT-4 for assistance in brainstorming and revision.

Additional thanks to: Eban921, Zumarius, arkansandragoness, murdoc, Az, Werben, a_Kyrill, calebisdrawing, Timetheif, Massiah, Schelling, joshuacc, ELQUEMANDA4, DerkLucas, Sigmarius, Mr_Gelan, rave98, BeaverBoy99, Maurycy-skell, whatistheancient, Galahadred, LordMordor, justadmhero, xxItsAJackalxx, JaeOnasi, KrempelRitter, terrible_boots, Numerous-Ad-1357, PM_me_your_PhDs, sunirgerep, dead_dads, Mon5teRico, CrazyEnough1757, rawnan, AlexanderThulin, InconditeCullion, BetaMax-Arcana, greenglowstix, Anp117, ShapKees, Arow-Remade, Exdeth, FinRingil, ericthealfabee1, Tirrigon, InsideNervous, chroma900, and DarthHarambae, taffer, Starless, Aonbarr, farlet10, Eve, Ebonhawk, Aeristria, mattjanor, jabberdoot, snickduck, continuity, snarkycatboy, and styx for feedback, playtesting, and review.

Welcome, wretched souls, to the land of Barovia—where nightmares come to life and death is merely the beginning. Brace yourselves for Curse of Strahd: Reloaded, the ultimate guide to running Dungeons & Dragons' most notorious adventure.

Curse of Strahd has earned its reputation as one of the most spine-chilling Dungeons & Dragons campaigns ever created. But beware: running it is a monstrous task. Fear not, however, for Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is here to lead you through the darkness, offering a new adaptation of this classic horror tale.

A Rebirth in Darkness

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded aims to transform the original adventure into something far more sinister, accessible, and immersive. That's why this guide:

  • Simplifies your journey into the heart of Barovia, presenting the adventure in an organized, Dungeon Master-friendly format.
  • Guides you through the gloom with tips and advice to make your Curse of Strahd campaign a blood-curdling masterpiece.
  • Enhances the gothic horror experience by filling in gaps, tying loose ends, and presenting a more immersive and cohesive narrative.
  • Elevates the gameplay and story by refining, expanding, and removing content where necessary, ensuring a truly unforgettable adventure.

Together, this guide transforms Curse of Strahd into an easy-to-run, pulse-pounding, dark fantasy horror experience that will haunt your players' dreams for years to come.

Unleashing the Mists

Consider Curse of Strahd: Reloaded your all-in-one grimoire for running this campaign. You'll only need to reference the original Curse of Strahd module when this guide tells you to do so, though you should feel free to read the original module to familiarize yourself with the bones of the campaign first.

As you read through this guide, make sure you have access to the following resources:

  • the Monster Manual,
  • Xanathar's Guide to Everything, and
  • Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.

When we reference one of these unholy tomes, you'll find the necessary citation in parentheses. If you lack the required sourcebook, get creative with a homebrewed statblock or find a suitable replacement.

Now, gather your courage and prepare to descend into darkness. Barovia awaits—and with it, the dreaded Curse of Strahd.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (4)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (5)

Why This Adventure?

Curse of Strahd is 5th Edition's most haunting adventure—and for good reason. Starring one of Dungeons & Dragons' most iconic villains, this campaign takes you and your players into the chilling world of Barovia, where you'll encounter:

Atmosphere. A dark, mysterious setting brimming with rich lore and immersive experiences.

Adversity. The legendary Strahd von Zarovich, a complex and memorable villain who meticulously exploits your players' weaknesses.

Horror. A foray into horror and tragedy that sets Barovia apart from traditional fantasy settings, offering a unique and captivating environment.

Roleplay. A diverse cast of NPCs, each with distinct personalities and motivations, allowing for engaging and varied roleplay opportunities.

Intrigue. A tapestry of plot threads and character arcs that weave together, creating a compelling story for your players to influence and uncover.

Impact. A narrative that delves into themes of love, loss, and redemption, evoking emotional investment in both the characters and the world.

Why This Guide?

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is one of several guides to the Curse of Strahd campaign. Here's what sets it apart:

Simplicity. A focused approach to the campaign, avoiding convoluted lore or extraneous storylines and ensuring a straightforward, streamlined experience.

Resonance. Enhanced emphasis on the themes of tragedy, pride, hope, and redemption that make Curse of Strahd truly memorable.

Depth. A deeper exploration of Barovia and its inhabitants, bringing the setting and its people to life.

Empowerment. Game design that allows your players to be the heroes of Barovia, rather than the victims of a dark and soul-crushing survival-horror experience.

Accessibility. Detailed notes and preparation, allowing you to focus on running engaging sessions instead of getting bogged down in planning and prep work.

Running Session Zero

Setting Expectations

Welcome to a world shrouded in darkness and horror, where secrets and conspiracies lurk around every corner. In order to fully immerse themselves in this chilling adventure, your players should consider these expectations when crafting their characters and preparing for the campaign:

Tone. Embrace the dark fantasy setting and create characters with heroic hearts or the potential to grow into true heroes when faced with life-or-death situations. Cooperation and collaboration will be key in this twisted realm.

Theme. As you explore this gothic horror landscape, prepare to allow your characters to confront their own regrets, traumas, flaws, and fears, enhancing the overall atmosphere and tension of the campaign.

Engagement. Prepare to delve deep into the rich lore and history of this world. Taking notes and engaging with the story will not only heighten your experience but also benefit your party as you navigate this intricate adventure.

Tactics. Tread carefully in a land rife with hidden allies and potential enemies. Consider the consequences of your actions and avoid making unnecessary enemies who could hinder your progress.

Roleplay. Be open to forming meaningful relationships with the unique and intriguing non-player characters that inhabit this world. Emotional investment in these characters will enrich your overall experience.

Difficulty. Death may lurk around every corner, but with clever thinking and strategic alliances, your party can overcome even the most daunting obstacles.

Rewards. While material treasures may be scarce, the true rewards of this campaign lie in the allies, information, and story hooks you'll uncover as you complete each harrowing quest. Experience points will be awarded for milestones achieved along the way.

Narrative. Expect the campaign to begin with a clear path but quickly evolve into an expansive sandbox. Balancing and prioritizing multiple quests will be crucial as you navigate the world's urgent deadlines and far-reaching consequences.

Triggers & Accommodations

Our aim is to create a memorable and enjoyable gothic horror experience for everyone involved. To that end, it's essential to address any potentially uncomfortable or controversial topics before beginning your Curse of Strahd adventure. During Session Zero, we encourage open and honest communication with your players about their personal boundaries and any elements of the campaign that may require modification or removal.

A list of potentially uncomfortable topics you might want to discuss with your players before beginning the campaign includes:

  • Child abuse and death (e.g., the Durst children)
  • Torture and mutilation (e.g., Kasimir's severed ears)
  • Mind control (e.g., Strahd's charm ability)
  • (Implied) incest (e.g., the Belviews)
  • (Implied) necrophilia (e.g., Nikolai Wachter)
  • Stalking and (symbolic) sexual assault (e.g., Strahd's obsession with Ireena)
  • Suicide (e.g., Tatyana's death)
  • Drug addiction (e.g., the dream pastries)
  • Body horror (e.g., the vestiges' dark gifts)
  • Racism (e.g., Barovian views of the Vistani)

Character Creation

Flaws

Your players can choose one or more flaws from the table below to add a dash of darkness to their characters' stories. Encourage them to embrace their inner struggles and to let these complex traits drive their arcs forward.

Flaw Character Arc
AddictionI must learn to conquer the addictions and demons that twist my better nature.
AmbitionI must learn to value things other than power and control.
AngerI must learn to let go of my need for revenge.
AnxietyI must learn to be confident in my ability to protect those I love.
ApathyI must learn to hold hope again for the future.
ControlI must learn to let go of my need to control those around me.
CynicismI must learn to have faith in things greater than myself once again.
DenialI must learn to allow myself to grieve for the things I have lost.
DoubtI must learn to become the hero that I've been waiting for.
GreedI must learn to let go of the things I believe I'm owed.
GriefI must learn to move past the loved one that I lost.
GuiltI must learn to let go of my guilt for my failure to protect my loved one.
HesitationI must learn to conquer my fear of the responsibilities that are expected of me.
HubrisI must learn to accept that others have wisdom that I do not.
ImpietyI must learn to find my way back to the grace that I abandoned.
InsecurityI must learn to define myself apart from the expectations of others.
IsolationI must learn to open up and allow others to get close to me.
NaiveteI must learn to protect myself from those who would take advantage of me.
NarcissismI must learn to value the lives and experiences of others.
NostalgiaI must learn to leave the past behind and to look to the future instead.
Flaw Character Arc
ObsessionI must learn to confront the harms that my obsessions have caused to others.
ParanoiaI must learn to stop using my fears as an excuse to harm others.
PrideI must learn to ask others for help, rather than shouldering responsibility alone.
RecklessnessI must learn to slow down—to stop, wait, and think before I act.
ResentmentI must learn to let go of the anger that was born from my grief.
RuthlessnessI must learn the value of mercy and compassion.
SanctimonyI must learn to let go of my need to feel righteous and pure.
ShameI must learn to let go of my guilt for the mistakes that I have made.
SpiteI must learn to forgive those who have hurt those I love.
StubbornnessI must learn to overcome my pride and make amends to those I have hurt.
TimidityI must learn to stand up for myself, rather than letting others control me.

Bonds

Your players can choose one or more bonds from the table below to weave a tapestry of connections between their characters and the ghosts of their pasts. Encourage them to reexamine and grow beyond these memories as they venture through Barovia, informing their interactions with the NPCs and narratives they encounter.

Bond Character History
AbuseOne of my siblings was cruel to me as a child. I've forgiven them, but never forgotten.
BitternessTwo warring lords brought devastation to my community. I wish I could show them the cost of their war.
BoundariesI was once pursued by an unrelenting suitor. No one should have to endure what I did.
ComparisonMy older sibling was burdened by great expectations while I was not. I think they resented me for it.
CompassionSomeone tried to steal from me once. Rather than hurting them, I helped them instead.
ConcernOne of my loved ones left home to seek their fortune. I hope they're staying safe.
CorruptionEveryone knows that power corrupts. I've seen how firsthand.
Bond Character History
DeterminationMy mentor was one of the few people that believed in me. I'm determined to make them proud.
DevastationSomeone once destroyed everything I cared about. I can't understand what could drive someone to such evil.
DevotionI love my family above all else. There's nothing I wouldn't do to protect them.
DignityPeople should never be used as a means to an end. I should know.
DivisionMy family was split by a bitter feud. I still hope that they'll reconcile someday.
EmpathyI'll never forget the sound my parents made when they learned that my sibling had died.
FaithI know what it's like to be persecuted for what you believe in. I never let it shake my beliefs.
ForgivenessSomeone once did me great harm. It was only much later that I learned to forgive them.
GratitudeSomeone took me in when I had no one else to turn to. I'll always be grateful.
HopeI lost someone close to me to addiction and vice. I still hope that they'll get better someday.
Bond Character History
HumilityI've seen what happens when people think they have all the answers. It never turns out well.
JudgmentI've seen people cause great harm in the name of faith. They laughed when I called it a sin.
LossOne of my loved ones was stolen away from me. I'm still searching for them.
LoyaltySomeone close to me fell onto a dark path. I'd do anything to redeem them.
NostalgiaOne of my parents loved to create things. Their work always brought me joy.
OppressionA cruel lord once ruled my community. I'll never forgive the harms he caused to my people.
RegretI once knew someone with grand, ambitious plans. I wish they'd heeded my advice.
ResponsibilityI watched someone allow their family to come to ruin. I'll never do the same.
RomanceLove never dies. It might flicker, but I'll never let it burn out.
SecrecyI once promised someone I'd keep their secrets safe. I intend to do so—no matter the cost.
Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (6)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (7)

Motivations

If you choose to use the Barovian Relics adventure hook for one or more players (see Chapter 3: Running the Game), have those players choose a core character motivation from the following table.

d12MotivationRelic
1KnowledgeAmber Shard
2RedemptionAngel's Feather
3FamilyWanderer's Scarf
4InheritanceDragon's Scale
5WealthElectrum Coin
6HealingWolf's Tooth
7DutyRaven's Feather
8PowerCrumpled Page
9AmbitionTattered Banner
10FaithSunrise Medallion
11HarmonyStone Crest
12JusticeBroken Blade

Once a player has chosen their core motivation, use the relevant section below to aid that player in developing their character's history and goals.

Knowledge—The Amber Shard

A player seeking knowledge begins the campaign with the amber shard, a small chunk of amber resin mounted on a chain-link cord. The shard is inset with complex, three-dimensional arcane runes. When viewed under the detect magic spell, it exudes a strong aura of abjuration magic.

Unbeknownst to the player, the amber shard was formerly a part of a dark vestige's amber sarcophagus in the Amber Temple in Barovia. When it senses the presence of Death House, it glows with amber light and tugs its cord in the direction of the house.

The player who possesses the amber shard should have strong, vivid reasons to want to unlock its secrets and the magic that it possesses.

Developments. In Act I, Arc A: Escape From Death House, the player recognizes Elisabeth Durst's amber shard as similar in appearance to their own. In Act II, Arc G: The Strazni Siblings, the player recognizes Izek Strazni's amber shard in a similar way. In Act V, Arc U, Elder Burebis of Soldav can recognize the amber shard as a shard of evil taken from the Amber Temple, and the player can recognize the amber shards kept by the shoosuva and bodaks as resembling their own.

If the player character is reduced to 0 hit points in Barovia while in possession of their amber shard, it behaves as described in Appendix B: The Amber Shards, offering the player an opportunity to forge a pact with a vestige of the Amber Temple that fits the player character's personality, flaws, and temptations. Upon entering the Amber Temple, the player's amber shard glows and tugs in the same way that it did upon sensing Death House, guiding the player toward a suitable amber sarcophagus.

Redemption—The Angel's Feather

A player seeking redemption begins the campaign with the angel's feather, a large, snow-white feather. When viewed beneath the light of the morning sun, the feather's barbs glimmer like gold.

Unbeknownst to the player, the angel's feather formerly belonged to Lumiel, a deva that serves the god Lathander, who is known to his followers as the Morninglord. Lumiel is the true name of the Abbot, who dwells in the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Barovia. When it senses the presence of Death House, the feather is swept away by an unseen wind, its barbs glimmering with golden light, before eventually landing on the house's threshold.

The player who possesses the angel's feather should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the feather will one day lead them to penance for the sins that they have committed.

Developments. When the players first arrive at the Abbey in Act IV, Arc N: The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind or Act IV, Arc Q: A Bride for Strahd, the angel's feather glimmers and is swept away in the same way that it did upon sensing Death House, guiding the player toward the Abbot. The Abbot recognizes the feather as his own, but dismisses its importance.

Family—The Wanderer's Scarf

A player seeking family begins the campaign with the wanderer's scarf, a multicolored scarf woven with complex patterns. The fabric is soft and warm, and is long enough to be worn around the neck or over one's head. When bright sunlight, moonlight, or starlight is allowed to pass through it, the patterns seem to shimmer and twist in eerie and beautiful ways.

Unbeknownst to the player, the wanderer's scarf once belonged to a Vistana who left their caravan and settled down to marry the one they loved. The scarf was a parting gift from the caravan's leader—a reminder of the joys that the Vistana had experienced while traveling. When it senses the presence of Death House, the scarf is carried away by a warm, playful breeze, its patterns shifting and turning in the air, before eventually landing on the house's threshold.

The player who possesses the wanderer's scarf should have received the scarf from a beloved family member, and should have strong, vivid reasons to long for a sense of family and belonging.

Developments. When the players first encounter Ezmerelda in Act IV, Arc M: Strahd's Enemy or Act IV, Arc N: The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, the wanderer's scarf shimmers and is carried away in the same way that it did upon sensing Death House, landing at Ezmerelda's feet. Ezmerelda recognizes the scarf and, upon confirming how the player came to inherit it, greets the player as family, calling them "cousin."

Inheritance—The Dragon's Scale

A player seeking inheritance begins the campaign with the dragon's scale, a large silver scale that always feels cold to the touch. A Good-aligned creature that touches the scale feels a fleeting sense of safety, protection, and comfort.

Unbeknownst to the player, the dragon's scale formerly belonged to Argynvost, the adult silver dragon who founded the Order of the Silver Dragon. The order's headquarters, the mansion of Argynvostholt, can be found in Barovia. When it senses the presence of Death House, the scale burns with an icy cold, one end glowing with a bright, silver light in the direction of the house. While the scale glows in this way, a Good-aligned creature that touches it feels a deep sense of longing, loss, and hope.

The player who possesses the dragon's scale should have received the scale from a family member, and should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the scale will one day unlock the secrets of their heritage.

Developments. When the player first encounters Argynvost's shadow in the foyer of Argynvostholt in Act IV, Arc O: The Beacon of Argynvostholt, the scale briefly burns cold in the same way that it did upon sensing Death House. Each time the player approaches a manifestation of Argynvost's spirit, the scale burns cold and glows with a bright, silver light in the direction of the manifestation.

If the player helps to retrieve Argynvost's skull and restore it to his crypt, Argynvost's spirit greets the player warmly, naming them his heir to the legacy of the Order of the Silver Dragon before lighting the beacon of Argynvostholt.

Wealth—The Electrum Coin

A player seeking wealth begins the campaign with an old, chipped electrum coin stamped with the profiled visage of a proud, yet cold-looking nobleman. When seen in a certain light, the nobleman's expression seems to change from a firm, aristocratic sneer to a feral, monstrous snarl.

Unbeknownst to the player, the visage stamped upon the electrum coin is the face of Strahd von Zarovich, the undead ruler of Barovia. The coin was minted long ago, but spirited away from Strahd's treasuries by a thief shortly before Barovia was lost to the mists. When it senses the presence of Death House, the coin lands on its edge, then begins rolling across the ground toward the house until it reaches the base of its steps.

The player who possesses the electrum coin should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the coin first came from a wondrous vault of treasure—a conqueror's hoard—and that, one day, it will lead them to claim riches beyond imagining.

Developments. Any Barovian immediately recognizes the visage stamped upon the coin as Strahd's. If the player shares the coin's story with one of the Vistani of Madam Eva's camp in Act I, Arc C: Into the Valley, Sir Godfrey Gwilym in Act IV, Arc O: The Beacon of Argynvostholt, or Kasimir Velikov in Act V, Arc U: The Amber Temple, they can learn of Strahd's vast hoard of treasure, collected in his days as a conqueror and hidden away in Castle Ravenloft.

When the player first approaches Strahd's treasury, the coin lands on its edge and rolls as far as it can toward the treasury's entrance, in the same way that it did upon sensing Death House.

Healing—The Wolf's Tooth

A player seeking healing begins the campaign with a wolf's tooth coated with clear resin and mounted on a leather cord. The tooth seems to lengthen and sharpen on nights of the full moon, and calms its wearer's dreams when worn at night.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (8)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (9)

Unbeknownst to the player, the tooth once belonged to a wolfir—a werewolf that served the fey goddess known as the Huntress before her gift of lycanthropy was twisted into a curse. The Huntress's holy place, the Forest Fane, dwells amidst the woodlands of Barovia, silently waiting to be restored. When it senses the presence of Death House, the tooth lengthens, glowing with silver moonlight, and tugs its cord in the direction of the house.

The player who possesses the wolf's tooth should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the tooth is the key to curing a particular wound, malady, or curse that ails them.

Developments. If the player shows the wolf's tooth to Kavan in Act III, Arc K: The Missing Gem or to Elder Burebis in Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the tooth is recognized as an artifact and symbol of the Huntress. When the player first approaches the circle of stones at the Forest Fane in Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the tooth lengthens and glows with moonlight as it did upon sensing Death House.

Duty—The Raven's Feather

A player seeking duty begins the campaign with a raven's feather, a small, black feather with soft, downy barbs. When held aloft before a storm, the feather seems to gently tremble, exuding the scent of cold rain and damp earth.

Unbeknownst to the player, the feather once belonged to the roc of Mount Ghakis, a servant of the fey goddess known as the Seeker, whose Mountain Fane rests in the shadow of Mount Ghakis in Barovia. The roc once enjoyed disguising itself as a common raven, and shed this feather on one such occasion. When it senses the presence of Death House, the feather is swept away by an unseen and violent wind, the scent of rain and ozone filling the air, before eventually landing on the house's threshold.

The player who possesses the raven's feather should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the feather will always guide them to those who need aid, protection, and comfort.

Developments. If the player shows the raven's feather to Madam Eva in Act I, Arc C: Into the Valley, she inspects it reverently and returns it to the player, claiming mysteriously that she once knew the bird that shed it. If the player shows the feather to Urwin Martikov, Danika Martikov, Muriel Vinshaw, or any other member of the Keepers of the Feather, that member grows warmer and friendlier toward that player.

When the player first enters the circle of standing stones at the Mountain Fane in Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the feather trembles and the air around it briefly grows thick with the scent of rain and ozone as it did upon sensing Death House. If the player shows the feather to the Roc of Mount Ghakis after consecrating the Mountain Fane in the same arc, the roc places the tip of its beak against the player's forehead as a sign of gratitude and approval before departing.

Power—The Crumpled Page

A player seeking power begins the campaign with the crumpled page, an old, yellowed page that was torn from its book long ago. The page is written in strange and cryptic arcane runes; those few runes that can be decoded speak of a path that leads to immortality and untold power.

Unbeknownst to the player, the page was taken from the library of Exethanter, a lich who dwells in the deepest sanctum of the Amber Temple in Barovia. When it senses the presence of Death House, the ink on the page glows with amber light, the runes reshaping themselves into a map that leads to the house.

The player who possesses the crumpled page should have strong, vivid reasons to want to find and claim the power that the page promises.

Developments. When the player first approaches Exethanter's library in Act V, Arc U: The Amber Temple, the ink glows with amber light as it did upon sensing Death House, and the runes reshape themselves into a map of Exethanter's chambers and nearby access points. If the player shows the page to Exethanter after restoring his memories in the same arc, Exethanter grows warmer and friendlier toward that player.

Ambition—The Tattered Banner

A player seeking ambition begins the campaign with the tattered banner, an old, ragged red banner bearing the heraldry of a raven in front of a shield. The raven's wings are spread wide, and the shield has the image of a castle's keep engraved into its top. Sometimes, when a Lawful-aligned creature holds the banner, a crimson light seems to glimmer from the peak of the castle's keep, and the sound of soldiers marching can be distantly heard.

Unbeknownst to the player, the banner was once flown by the warlord Strahd von Zarovich in the days before he became a vampire and was trapped within the mists of Barovia. When it senses the presence of Death House, the distant sound of war-drums fills its holder's ears and the banner blows in an unseen wind, pulling toward the house's direction.

The player who possesses the tattered banner should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the banner was once the sigil of a mighty conqueror—and that, by following in that conqueror's steps, they will one day achieve greatness, glory, and the right to rule.

Developments. When the player first experiences the haunted battlefield north of Berez in Act V, Arc T: Baba Lysaga's Revenge or Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the banner flaps in the wind, which echoes with the sound of war-drums.

If the player shows the banner to the revenant at Tser Falls in Act I, Arc C: Into the Valley, Sir Godfrey Gwilym or Sir Vladimir Horngaard in Act IV, Arc O: The Beacon of Argynvostholt, or Kasimir Velikov in either Act V, Arc U: The Amber Temple or Act IV, Arc M: Strahd's Enemy, its appearance is met with revulsion and bitter disgust.

If the player shows the banner to Strahd, he regards it with fond thoughtfulness, but declines to elaborate on its significance. If the player shows the banner to Dr. Rudolph van Richten in Arc M: Strahd's Enemy or any Vistani, they immediately recognize it as the heraldry of Castle Ravenloft.

Faith—The Sunrise Medallion

A player seeking faith begins the campaign with the sunrise medallion, a bronze disc engraved with the image of a rising sun. The disc glitters like gold when exposed to the light of the sunrise, and a Good-aligned creature that touches it feels a fleeting sense of reverence, righteousness, and peace.

Unbeknownst to the player, the medallion once belonged to Sergei von Zarovich, the brother of Strahd von Zarovich and an acolyte of the Church of the Morninglord who was once expected to become its Most High Priest. When it senses the presence of Death House, the medallion shines with a warm, golden glow, the rays of sunlight emanating from the engraved sun pointing in the direction of the house.

The player who possesses the sunrise medallion should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that it will strengthen or guide them in faith, and that certain signs of the divine will lead them to those in need of salvation and deliverance.

Developments. When the player first approaches St. Andral's Church in Act II, Arc D: St. Andral's Feast, the sunrise medallion glows and shines in the direction of the church's doors. If the player shows the sunrise medallion to Father Donavich or Lucian, they recognize it as a symbol of the Church of the Morninglord and grow warmer and friendlier toward that player.

Harmony—The Stone Crest

A player seeking harmony begins the campaign with the stone crest, a flat, round stone engraved with the image of a three-pointed star. On the nights of the new moon, the star seems to glimmer with emerald light.

Unbeknownst to the player, the crest once belonged to a spiritual leader among the First Folk, the people who first settled the land of Barovia long ago, and who have now divided into the Forest Folk (who are loyal to Strahd) and the Mountain Folk (who are not). The engravings upon it depict the symbols of the Seeker, the Weaver, and the Huntress—the three fey goddesses that the First Folk once called the Rozana, or Ladies Three. When it senses the presence of Death House, the crest emits a low hum and releases a scent of pine needles and earthy soil, which both grow stronger as the player approaches the house.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (10)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (11)

The player who possesses the stone crest should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that the symbols upon it represent a primal or divine power of harmony and nature, and that the crest can aid them in restoring the sanctity of wild places.

Developments. When the player first approaches the exterior of Soldav in Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the stone crest hums and releases a scent of pine needles and earth soil as it did upon sensing Death House, both of which grow stronger as the player approaches the Shrine of the Rozana in Soldav.

If the player shows the stone crest to Kavan in Act III, Arc K: The Missing Gem or to Elder Burebis in Act V, Arc W: The Ladies of the Fanes, the crest is recognized as an artifact and symbol of the Ladies of the Fanes.

Justice—The Broken Blade

A player seeking justice begins the campaign with the broken blade, the shattered tip of an elven longsword. The blade is engraved with the sigil of a lion rampant, which seems to roar when the light of dusk touches it.

Unbeknownst to the player, the blade once belonged to Erevan, a dusk elf prince. Erevan, a master bladesinger, practiced the style of the lion, which he also used as his personal sigil. However, Erevan refused to pay tribute to King Barov von Zarovich, a powerful warlord and the father of Strahd von Zarovich.

Rahadin, a dusk elf who had spurned Erevan's rule, helped King Barov conquer the dusk elf kingdom. Rahadin then broke Erevan's blade and personally executed Erevan and his family as punishment for his defiance. When it senses the presence of Death House, the blade emits a high-pitched hum and begins to tremble violently, spinning like a compass needle in the direction of the house.

The player who possesses the broken blade should have strong, vivid reasons to believe that their ancestors were refugees, driven forth from their ancestral lands and persecuted, and that the blade will one day deliver justice to the traitor who destroyed them.

Developments. If the player shows the broken blade to Kasimir Velikov in Act V, Arc U: The Amber Temple, he mournfully recalls its history and asks the player how they came to possess it. If the player informs Kasimir of how they came to inherit it, Kasimir greets them as family, wondering aloud if more of the dusk elves may have escaped Strahd's slaughter outside of Barovia.

If the broken blade is ever in close proximity to Rahadin, Strahd's chamberlain, it emits a high-pitched hum and trembles violently, spinning like a compass needle in his direction just as it did upon sensing Death House. If the player shows the broken blade to Rahadin, he at first claims to have no memory of it, noting dispassionately the thousands that he has slaughtered. However, in combat, Rahadin eventually comes to remember the blade's origins, dismissing it as "the shattered toy of a weak and worthless man."

Lore of Barovia

Metaphysics & Magic

The land of Barovia is a "demiplane"—a small, self-contained plane of existence. It is one of many Domains of Dread, which together occupy a small corner of the Shadowfell.

Like all of the Domains of Dread, Barovia is entrapped by the mists of Ravenloft, as described in Mists of Ravenloft (p. 23), and ruled by the mysterious Dark Powers. The Dark Powers are nameless, shapeless entities that serve as the jailers of the "Darklords" of the Domains: evil individuals who have committed unspeakable crimes. Strahd von Zarovich is one such Darklord.

Precious few—including only archmages, scholars, and (at times) the Darklords themselves—know that the Dark Powers exist. Fewer still know of their true nature and origins. While the Dark Powers were born from the miasma of evil that dwells within the Amber Temple of Barovia, they are not themselves the vestiges—the non-sapient fragments of dead, malevolent gods—that are sealed within the sarcophagi of the temple. (For more information about the vestiges of the Amber Temple, see The Amber Temple (p. 181).)

The Dark Powers do not necessarily seek to corrupt those they encounter. Instead, for certain individuals, they seek to offer a choice between darkness and light—and to punish and ensnare those who fall to their temptations. In this adventure, two such individuals are Strahd von Zarovich and Ireena Kolyana.

As described in Mists of Ravenloft and Sunlight in Barovia (p. 23-24), the land of Barovia is surrounded by a deadly fog that engulfs any creature that tries to leave, and has not known the light of the sun in centuries.

Spells cast in Barovia function as described in Alterations to Magic and Resurrection Madness, and may be cosmetically modified in gruesome ways as described in Cosmetic Spell Modifications (p. 24). While deities and patrons can still empower clerics and warlocks who make their way to Barovia, their ability to intervene directly—given the limited omnipotence of the Dark Powers within the Domains of Dread—is sorely limited.

Design Notes

This guide includes a diverse array of revisions to the original Curse of Strahd module which, taken together, aim to form a complete and cohesive narrative. As such, use caution when combining this guide with other supplements or homebrew, which risk compromising the integrity of the adventure.

To guide you in applying any changes or additions (if desired), however, each chapter includes a Design Notes section that explains which major changes have been made, why they have been made, and how they can be properly implemented.

Geography

The geography of Barovia is largely as described in Lay of the Land (p. 23) and Areas of Barovia (p. 33). However, the winding slopes of Tsolenka Pass now house the hidden village of Soldav, an isolated settlement of Mountain Folk who reject the druids' decision to worship Strahd as a deity.

Cultures

Barovians

The denizens of the Village of Barovia are a broken, haunted people, largely as described in Chapter 3: The Village of Barovia (p. 41) and Barovian Villagers (p. 41).

Until recently, however, the village of Barovia faced few overt troubles. While not thriving, its residents eked out a meager existence and lived as well as they could.

That changed when the priest’s son, Doru—emboldened by the arrival of the vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten—incited a Barovian mob to march against Castle Ravenloft. Awoken from his long slumber, Strahd laid waste to the members of the mob, killing many of the village’s beloved sons and daughters.

Strahd then roused an undead army and sent it against the village as punishment for their insolence. The siege of Barovia decimated the village, killing dozens and wounding many more. Only when Barovia’s burgomaster, a man named Kolyan Indirovich, was slain in battle, did Strahd’s forces ultimately withdraw, judging the slaughter to be sufficient discipline.

The burgomaster’s children, Ismark and Ireena, took charge of the rebuilding effort. Even so, many Barovians, fearful of Strahd’s emergence and the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, left their ruined homes and broken families and fled for Vallaki to the west, hoping that its high walls could bring security. Many of those who remained in the village turned on Ismark, blaming him and his father for allowing Strahd to awaken, and for failing to do more to prevent Strahd’s counter strike. Ismark—named for “Ismark the Great,” an ancestral hero who rooted out nests of vampires across the valley—is now scorned as “Ismark the Lesser.”

The village has fallen into a state of paranoia, hopelessness, and despair. Neighbors mistrust neighbors, fearful that any person could be charmed by a vampire—or, worse, a vampire in disguise. Few go out of doors, whether day or night. All avoid the church, a scarred and haunted building rumored to be cursed by the Devil Strahd himself.

Vallakians

The people of Vallaki are largely as described in Chapter 5: The Town of Vallaki (p. 95) and Townsfolk (p. 96). Though the town is ruled by Baron Vargas Vallakovich, the local burgomaster, few townsfolk view him with much love or respect.

However, Baron Vallakovich commands the loyalty of Izek Strazni, a cruel and capricious brute who enforces the Baron’s will with an iron fist. Izek, as Captain of the Guard, commands the loyalty—and, more importantly, the salaries—of the town’s twenty-four guards, as described in Town Gates (p. 95).

Though Vallaki is far from a police state, Izek has spies throughout the town—individuals that he has threatened or intimidated into keeping him abreast of news and information. Those who speak ill of the Baron or his “festivals” (described in Chapter 5: The Town of Vallaki (p. 95)) are thrown in the stocks as described in Donkey-Headed Criminals (p. 119). Those who go further may find themselves forcibly summoned to the Baron’s manor for “corrective rehabilitation,” or even left to the tender mercies of Izek himself, whose diabolic mastery of fire allows him to burn his victims’ flesh or set their homes aflame.

As a result, the vast majority of Vallakians have surrendered themselves to Baron Vallakovich’s rule, too terrified of Izek to dare speak out. The sole exceptions are Lady Fiona Wachter, as described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96), and the secret members of her devil-worshipping cult, as described in Cultists (p. 96) and N4. Wachterhaus (p. 110).

Krezkians

The people of Krezk are largely as described in Chapter 8: The Village of Krezk (p. 143), S3. Village of Krezk (p. 145), and Krezk Lore (p. 146). The villagers are largely unaware that their burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov, is secretly a werewolf.

Vistani

The Vistani are largely as described in Vistani (p. 26), with two major semi-permanent settlements: the encampment at Tser Pool (as described in G. Tser Pool Encampment (p. 36)), and the encampment near Vallaki (as described in N9. Vistani Camp (p. 119)).

However, most Barovian Vistani view the valley as a temporary shelter from the evils of the world beyond, or as a brief stopover on their journeys through the mists. Only a few Vistani within Barovia reside there permanently and regard Strahd as their "king"; among those that do, even fewer serve Strahd faithfully as his eyes, ears, and hands amidst the valley. Most Barovian Vistani simply want to live their lives, to partake in life's wonders, and to raise their families in peace.

Dusk Elves

The dusk elves are as described in Roleplaying the Vistani and the Elves (p. 119).

First Folk

The First Folk are a loose society of druidic hunter-gatherers descended from the nomads who first settled in the valley millenia ago. Since Strahd’s arrival in the valley, they have split into two factions: the Forest Folk, who worship Strahd as a deity and do his bidding across the Svalich Woods; and the Mountain Folk, a reclusive people who keep to the old religion of the Ladies Three and who largely remain within the sheltered settlement of Soldav, tucked away on the slopes of Mount Ghakis.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (12)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (13)

Factions

Dark Powers

Both everywhere and nowhere, the Dark Powers are not quite a proper faction—their goals are inscrutable, their true agenda concealed. As the nameless jailers of Strahd von Zarovich, they seek only to ensure that his prison remains in place, and his suffering continues.

As part of Strahd’s punishment, however, the Dark Powers quietly work to keep the soul of Tatyana Federovna—now reincarnated as Ireena Kolyana—out of the vampire’s reach. For all their might, it is against the nature of the Dark Powers to act directly upon the souls within their domains: they can neither destroy her, nor command her spirit.

However, as they once did with Strahd, the Dark Powers can always offer a choice—in Ireena’s case, a choice to end her existence, to flee from Strahd’s pursuit, and to find the safety of temporary oblivion. Nearly five hundred years ago, Tatyana Federovna accepted this offer, and leapt from the Pillarstone of Ravenloft to her doom. Two centuries later, Marina Ulrich did the same, and let slip to her father the secret of Strahd’s pursuit.

Time and time again, the women bearing Tatyana’s soul have been offered this choice and, bereft of other options, made the decision to accept it. It is not yet Ireena’s time—but the Dark Powers are patient, and they know that, alone, she will inevitably fall once more into their grasp.

Keepers of the Feather

The Keepers of the Feather are largely as described in Keepers of the Feather (p. 98), The Martikov Family (p. 174), and U6. Standing Stones (p. 165). The high-ranking membership is dominated by the Martikov family, with patriarch Davian Martikov directing the order’s activities. However, more than a dozen other members are also scattered incognito throughout Barovia, with most stationed in and around the town of Vallaki.

The Keepers, despite their lycanthropic nature, are spies—not warriors. With the sole exception of Muriel Vinshaw, a young wereraven with a fiery temper and a streak of defiance, the Keepers are reluctant to take up arms in battle. Few are trained in martial combat, and fewer still have the stomach for violence or blood.

More importantly, one of the Keepers—a young wereraven named Elric, Muriel’s former romantic partner—recently accompanied Doru’s mob of Barovians to Castle Ravenloft, and was killed in the slaughter. Fearing Strahd’s attention, the rest of the Keepers are now laying low, hoping to keep their members safe and their secrets out of the vampire’s hands.

That doesn’t mean, though, that the Keepers are staying idle. Their spy network—led by Urwin Martikov and his wereraven associates—has tendrils that reach throughout the valley and mountains, gathering constant intelligence from the flocks of ravens that soar through the skies. Some among the Keepers joke that not a twig could be snapped in the Svalich Woods without Urwin knowing of it—and, sometimes, they wouldn’t be far wrong.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (14)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (15)

Barovian Refugees

Those Barovians who fled their village in the aftermath of Strahd’s siege faced a long and difficult path on the road to Vallaki. Several lost their lives, whether to wolf attacks or malicious undead, leaving the survivors to bury them along the way—if, of course, there was anything left to bury.

When they arrived outside Vallaki’s walls and asked for sanctuary, however, they were met with disturbing news: the gates of the town were closed to them. News of Barovia’s siege had traveled to Vallaki’s streets, and Baron Vallakovich had evidently become convinced that the Barovians themselves were an accursed, unsavory people—and that permitting them to enter his “perfect” town would only empower the Devil to destroy it.

Most of the refugees despaired, but only a few struck out on the path back to Barovia; those that did were never seen again. The rest linger on the outskirts of Vallaki, huddling in threadbare tents and bedrolls. Their encampment hugs close to Vallaki’s palisade walls, praying that the silvered spears and crossbows of the town’s guards will keep the beasts of the woods at bay—and that, sooner or later, the people of Vallaki will change their minds and allow them entry.

So far, the wolves have kept their distance, but so have the Vallakians. With resources running low, and morale even lower, the refugees are slowly running out of time—even as the shadows of the woods creep ever-closer to their campfires.

Forest Folk

The Forest Folk are one of two groups descended from the hunter-gatherer nomads who first settled the valley.

Nearly five centuries ago, when Strahd first invaded Barovia, a group of druidic elders approached him in secret with an offer. Fearful of repeating the oppression their people had once suffered under King Dostron, the elders told Strahd that they would guide him to the sacred places of the valley—the Fanes of the Ladies Three—and teach him the secrets of unlocking their power. In exchange, the elders asked for Strahd’s protection, and his promise that he would leave them in peace in a valley now flooded with blood and ghosts.

Strahd agreed, and, with the aid of the druidic elders, the archmage Khazan, and arcane research taken from the Amber Temple, fashioned a profane ritual with which to claim the Fanes for his own. In desecrating these holy sites, Strahd forged an unholy connection with the leylines that lay beneath them—and so became, in a way, the land of Barovia itself.

The elders’ betrayal split the First People, causing a schism that sent dark tremors through their weakened society. Some among them—in particular, the other druids, and the caste of primal berserkers who served them—grimly agreed with the elders’ choice. The Ladies of the Fanes, they reasoned, had long since abandoned the People. The days of tooth and claw had ended; the age of steel had begun. Seeking Strahd’s protection, they believed, was the only choice left to them.

The passage of time, however, has not been kind to the elders' legacy. Set adrift from their traditions and corrupted by darkness, the modern Forest Folk are a maddened, obsessed people, wholly dedicated to Strahd as their "god." Their leader is Svarog, a mad druid who has bonded his flesh to the Gulthias Tree that grows atop Yester Hill. The Forest Folk are now otherwise largely as described in Chapter 14: Yester Hill (p. 197) and Hidden Graves (p. 198).

Recently, the Forest Folk were approached by Ludmilla Vilisevic, one of Strahd’s brides and an envoy from Baba Lysaga, the Witch of Berez. Ludmilla carried information indicating that the Keepers of the Feather, a secret society of wereravens that opposed Strahd’s rule, used the nearby Wizard of Wines Winery as one of their hideouts. With Ludmilla’s aid, the druids of the Forest Folk fashioned a way to create and command blights—the children of the Gulthias Tree—and declared war upon the winery and all its inhabitants.

Mountain Folk

When the schism of the First People began, many were horrified at Strahd’s desecration of their holy places. In seeking protection from the evils of the world, they believed, the druidic elders had destroyed the very things that their society held dear. “Faithless,” they called the Forest Folk, and named Strahd “Shadowsworn” for the darkness he wielded. Unable to resist the druids’ power, or the might of Strahd’s armies, however, these rebels found themselves outmatched: powerless and alone in a world that no longer had a place for them.

Those who denied Strahd’s rule—largely hunters, artisans, and warriors—were cast out from the druids’ circles and fled for the slopes of the Balinok Mountains. There, they founded the hidden settlement of Soldav among the crags of Mount Ghakis. Banished from the woodlands of Barovia, they became the Mountain Folk, and set out to carve a new existence among the peaks.

Their spiritual leader, an elder storm giant named Burebis, is the sole mortal being that still remembers the old days: when the First People ruled the valley, and the Ladies of the Fanes showed them peace and prosperity. In his old age, however, Burebis’ weakened body has been swallowed up by the roots of Mount Ghakis, the embers of his spirit slowly dwindling as he awaits a sign of the Rozana’s return. For now, it is all he can do to keep Soldav hidden from Strahd and his spies, encircling the settlement with a constant cover of clouds and snow.

Beasts of Barovia

While not members of any civilized society, the wolves, rats, and bats of Barovia are Strahd’s loyal servants and spies. Each day, at sunrise and sunset, each beast with news to report—of outsiders, of turmoil, or simply of interesting trinkets or treasures—returns to Castle Ravenloft to share what it's learned and to receive new orders to disseminate through the valley. Strahd’s vampiric brides gather and organize their intelligence: the wolves to Volenta Popofsky, the rats to Ludmilla Vilisevic, and the bats to Anastrasya Karelova.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (16)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (17)

Brides of Strahd

Strahd’s eldest three vampiric consorts—Ludmilla, Anastrasya, and Volenta—serve their master loyally, but compete bitterly for his favor. As the eldest and most adept at the arcane arts, Ludmilla is Strahd’s favored research partner, developing new spells for his use while investigating the secrets of the Mists. Meanwhile, Anastrasya is a master of the arts of espionage and diplomacy, managing Strahd’s political relationships while retaining key spies in each of Barovia’s settlements. Finally, Volenta is a skilled artificer and torturer, innovating new traps to guard Ravenloft’s halls while wringing information from those who fall into them.

Over the past hundred years, with Strahd asleep in Castle Ravenloft, each of his brides dispersed through the valley to pursue their own agendas. Now, with Strahd awoken, and his moment of reckoning at hand, each bride is desperate to prove their loyalty and worth to Strahd once more—and to win their place at his side when his grand plan comes to fruition.

Witches of Mother Night

While the good-hearted worshippers of Barovia keep the faith of the Morninglord alive, other, darker individuals seek the power and favor of Mother Night instead. Chief among them is Baba Lysaga, the Witch of Berez, who has fostered a coven of fellow devotees by recruiting outcasts and exiles from the settlements of Barovia. The maddened Lysaga views these practitioners as her children, and teaches them to secretly consider themselves the younger siblings of Strahd—sworn to protect and obey him for eternity.

These witches are largely as described in Barovian Witch (p. 229), though their pacts are forged with Mother Night instead of Strahd and the Dark Powers. Those sent to Ravenloft serve at the pleasure of Ludmilla Vilisevic, Strahd’s magic-minded consort, though none forget that their true loyalty is owed to Baba Lysaga of the swamp—and, above her, to Strahd himself.

Wachtercult

As part of her latest scheme to gain control of Vallaki, Lady Fiona Wachter has founded a devil-worshipping cult, described further in N4. Wachterhaus (p. 110). Currently, Lady Wachter’s “book club” boasts six cult fanatics, with each fanatic leading a smaller cell of six cultists as described in Cultists (p. 96).

Werewolf Pack

The werewolf pack—the members of whom call themselves the Children of Mother Night—are largely as described in Chapter 15: Werewolf Den (p. 201). Until Strahd’s awakening, the pack largely used Barovia as a place to rest between hunts, occasionally prowling the roads between settlements, but preferring the tastier meat of the lands beyond the mists.

However, when Strahd awoke, he demanded the loyalty of the werewolves whose forebears had once served him faithfully. He threatened to seal the pack within the mists for all eternity if they defied him—but promised them wealth, power, and plentiful prey if they returned to his service.

Emil, the leader of the pack, resisted Strahd’s efforts to strip the pack of its agency. He quietly argued that the Children of Mother Night had always been free—free to hunt and kill and live as they chose—and suggested that the pack pretend to accept Strahd’s terms, but abandon Barovia as soon as the mists reopened to them.

But Emil was betrayed. Kiril, a young and haughty werewolf who felt his strength had gone unrecognized, was lured by Strahd’s promises of riches and might. Kiril reported Emil’s plot to Strahd’s own ear—and, when the vampire’s dire wolves dragged Emil to the dungeons of Castle Ravenloft, was rewarded with the leadership of the werewolf pack.

Now, as the pack’s new alpha and Strahd’s faithful servant, Kiril leads his werewolves on a savage and bloody crusade to dominate the wild places of Barovia, though he dreams of one day surmounting the settlements’ walls and devouring their people like sheep. Meanwhile, Emil’s mate Zuleika, the pack’s holy woman and soothsayer, sits alone in Mother Night’s shrine, silently praying for deliverance—or vengeance.

Amber Vestiges

The vestiges of the Amber Temple are not sentient as most would imagine it; as the decaying remnants of dead gods, they are mere scraps of malevolent power, described further in Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181), Amber Sarcophagi (p. 191), and X33. Amber Vaults (p. 191).

Even so, that is not dead which can eternal lie. From the chill of their amber tombs, these vestiges dream of the power they once wielded—and of a path to renewed apotheosis. Shards of their amber sarcophagi are scattered across the land of Barovia, with each shard bearing a psychic connection to the vestige it once imprisoned. Through these shards, the vestiges can whisper words of corruption, promising power without price. This is a lie: no power is without cost, and the shreds of darkness the vestiges offer warp and transform their recipients—in subtle ways at first, but swelling grotesquely over time.

Elisabeth Durst of Death House once bore one of these amber shards; Izek Strazni of Vallaki holds one today. These shards are merely a gateway, however—through small tastes of power, the vestiges hope to lure their victims to the Amber Temple itself. There, the vestiges can offer their greatest dark gifts—and, in doing so, claim their true price and prize: a sliver of the victim’s soul.

With each scrap of spirit a vestige claims, it grows in power, inching closer to the day that it will have the strength to break free of its amber prison. One has already succeeded. Others are now on the precipice. And for those that remain—eternity is full of possibilities, and the dead have nothing but time.

The Ladies of the Fanes

With their holy places desecrated and their worshippers weakened and divided, two of the three Ladies of the Fanes—the Weaver and the Huntress—have been reduced to little more than spirit, unable to take action or exercise the power they once wielded. Only the Seeker, who forged a pact with Katarina, the bastard sister of Strahd von Zarovich, to free the valley from Strahd’s evil, survives. Through their pact, the Seeker subsumed Katarina’s soul to manifest an avatar of her divine power: the Vistana seer Madam Eva.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (19)

As an aspect of the Seeker, Madam Eva is bound to follow the rules of her divinity. She cannot refuse to read another’s fortune, nor can she share her foretellings with any but those who hear them. Many individuals, both savory and not, have therefore called upon her to see their futures—including, at times, Strahd von Zarovich himself.

Given Madam Eva’s exceptionally long lifespan—far longer than any ordinary human—Strahd strongly suspects that she is more than she appears. However, thus far, Madam Eva has been content to give him the foretellings he seeks—and he, in response, has been content to accept her sly smiles and denials.

However, Madam Eva foresees that Strahd will soon return to her for a final, terrible time—and that the reading she will deliver shall define the fate of all Barovia.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (21)

Religions

The Church of the Morninglord

The dominant faith in Barovia worships the deity known as the Morninglord, a god of dawn and renewal. In centuries past, with the sun always hidden behind overcast skies, the people’s faith had slowly slipped into empty ritual.

With Strahd newly awoken, however, a wave of despair has swept across the valley—and, with it, a streak of religious revivalism. Vallaki in particular has seen a dramatic expansion in worshippers seeking hope, comfort, and a sense of security from the faith of their forefathers. Father Lucian Petrovich, the priest of St. Andral’s Church in Vallaki, does what he can to preach the Morningword’s grace, as described in N1. St. Andral’s Church (p. 97), but even he has his quiet doubts about how far that protection can go.

The Names of the Gods

In Forgotten Realms lore, “Morninglord” is the epithet of Lathander, the greater god of dawn and renewal. However, no canonical deity has the epithet “Mother Night,” leaving her true name a mystery.

Mother Night’s identity is, admittedly, irrelevant to the narrative of this campaign, However, her divine portfolio—including witches, foresight, nocturnal beasts, and lycanthropes—most closely matches that of Shar, the Forgotten Realms' greater god of trickery and death. Known also as the “Mistress of the Night,” Shar was the creator of the Shadowfell, the realm in which Barovia—and all the Demiplanes of Dread—now reside.

The Coven of Mother Night

Though most Barovians worship the Morninglord in public, a precious few scorn his faith and instead turn their worship to Mother Night, seeking safety, power, or simple vengeance. Witches and werewolves comprise the bulk of Mother Night’s followers, though some ordinary Barovians build secret shrines to her, joining in profane fellowship with the creatures of night.

The Cult of Ezra

Some Barovians are neither wholly satisfied with the faith of the Morninglord nor depraved enough to seek the blessings of Mother Night. In their eyes, the Morninglord is a powerless or craven deity, unable to save his own worshippers or even raise a single sunrise, while Mother Night is a cruel and savage being, too dangerous to acknowledge or worship.

These Barovians walk a middle path, and instead worship Ezra, the Mistwalker: the god of the Mists, or—as some suggest—the embodiment of the Mists themselves. (See Ezra, God of the Mists, Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft at p. 64, for more information.)

In Barovia, the followers of Ezra preach that power is an illusion, and suffering life’s only constant. Many believe that tales of the sun are myths, and that Barovia has neither past nor future: only an unceasing present that must be forever endured.

Though she preaches devil-worship to her cult, Lady Fiona Wachter of Vallaki is a quiet worshipper of Ezra. Many turn to Ezra for comfort in times of tragedy, finding it easier to believe that hope is an illusion than to believe that it may be attained and then lost.

Few, however, suspect the horrible truth: that “Ezra” does not, and has never existed—and that her soothing voice is merely a simulacrum conjured by the twisted whispers of the Dark Powers themselves.

The Faith of the Ladies Three

In Soldav, the hidden bastion of the Mountain Folk, the people still keep to the old faith of the Ladies of the Fanes: the Weaver, the Seeker, and the Huntress. They do their best to honor their goddesses with offerings of food, flowers, and song, but mourn the loss of knowledge and tradition that came when the druids betrayed their faith for Strahd’s protection. They no longer remember the sacred rites that once bound their ancestors to the Ladies’ fellowship, nor do they remember the secrets of the Ladies’ blessings.

The Mountain Folk still remember, though, that the Weaver’s holy place was the Swamp Fane, near the ruined town on the shores of the Luna River; the Huntress's, the Forest Fane, atop Yester Hill; and the Seeker’s, the Mountain Fane, in a western clearing in the valley's woodland basin.

They remember that the Seeker was a goddess of foresight, prophecy, and storms, her sigil a raven’s eye, ever-searching. They remember that the Weaver was a goddess of resilience, craftsmanship, and care, her sigil a spider’s delicate web. They remember, too, that the Huntress was a goddess of beasts, wild places, and war, her sigil a sharpened wolf’s tooth.

Together, this trinity oversaw each life that was born in the valley: the Seeker, forging the threads of fate that would bind them together; the Weaver, spinning those threads into a lush and vibrant tapestry; and the Huntress, cutting each thread at its appointed time, and ushering its soul into death.

Design Notes: Lore of Barovia

Metaphysics & Magic. The original Curse of Strahd module makes clear that the Dark Powers and the vestiges of the Amber Temple are separate entities, and that the evil of the latter gave birth to the former. This guide has intentionally preserved this distinction, aiming to retain the Gothic mystery of Barovia's existence without explaining it to the players outright.

In doing so, this guide rejects a popular community idea that the Vampyr, one of the vestiges of the Amber Temple, is a "Dark Power" that has locked Barovia away in the mists—and that binding or otherwise defeating Vampyr is necessary to truly lift the "curse of Strahd." While this idea of a hidden "final boss" may be attractive on its face, the addition of a "Bigger Bad" diminishes Strahd by comparison, leaving him a puppet on the strings of a far more powerful villain.

Strahd is not the villain of Curse of Strahd because he is powerful; he is the villain because he is a cruel, prideful, and deeply personal antagonist. To remove him as the final boss of his own campaign would both weaken the tragic themes that underly it and, more importantly, cheapen the relationship that the players have developed with him throughout the course of the adventure.

Geography. This guide has intentionally preserved the scale of Barovia as described in the original module, rejecting popular community changes that double (or even triple) the distances between settlements. Barovia is intentionally a claustrophobic space; one in which the specter of Strahd and his minions is everpresent.

More practically, the module's fast-paced narrative requires short travel times between points of interest to ensure that the players are never far from their next destination. While some may be tempted to increase travel times nonetheless in order to force the players to camp on the road, it's worth noting that nocturnal random encounters are rarely valuable in advancing the story. Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is intentionally a Gothic action-adventure campaign, rather than a survival-horror one, because the Dungeons & Dragons system is a poor home for scarcity mechanics—and because most players would rather feel like heroes than survivalists.

Cultures. The changes to Barovian history are discussed in further detail in History of Barovia below. In Vallaki, Izek Strazni now has a small number of local spies to explain why—in a town where all guards have been assigned to patrol the walls—the Baron is so easily able to find and prosecute individuals for "malicious unhappiness." Secondly, the First Folk have been included to provide a shared backstory for the mad druids of Yester Hill and the berserkers of the Balinok Mountains.

Factions. More information about the Dark Powers' relationship with Strahd von Zarovich and Ireena Kolyana is discussed in Chapter 3: Running the Game. The deceased wereraven, Elric, has been added to the Keepers of the Feather to explain why Baba Lysaga and the druids of Yester Hill have suddenly discovered the society's existence.

Meanwhile, the Barovian refugees have been added outside of Vallaki's walls to give Ireena a non-selfish reason to travel to Vallaki (i.e., to aid the refugees in relocating from Barovia); to explain why the village of Barovia is a hollow, empty town; and to provide Fiona Wachter with victims to offer Strahd on the night of the Vallakian "Blood Tax," which provides the players a critical opportunity to infiltrate Castle Ravenloft while Strahd is not present.

The "good" Mountain Folk of Soldav have been added to provide the players with a meaningful opportunity to learn the history of the mad druids of Yester Hill and to hook the players into the Ladies of the Fanes questline—a narrative arc that now plays a key role in Strahd's final plan.

Finally, the recent history of the werewolf pack has been updated to tie more strongly into the narrative of Strahd's recent reawakening, while the amber vestiges have been given "amber shards" to introduce players to their corruption on a much earlier timescale than the original module.

Religions. The cult of Ezra has been added to the campaign to provide additional depth to Fiona Wachter’s characterization and to foreshadow the true nature of the Dark Powers before Ireena meets and defies them at the climax of her character arc.

History of Barovia

The following is a narrative summary of Barovia’s history, from the ancient past to the modern age. A chronological timeline can be found in Appendix A: A History of Barovia.

Origins of the Valley

Nearly four millenia ago, the land of Barovia was a peaceful valley inhabited by the First Folk: a nomadic society of hunter-gatherers. When they arrived in the valley—which they called "Cerunnos," meaning "fertile land"—the First Folk brought with them the worship of a trio of minor fey goddesses that they called the Rozana.

To honor them, the First Folk built three sacred fanes at places of natural power—the Swamp Fane, the Forest Fane, and the Mountain Fane. These fanes served as conduits for the goddess' power, allowing the Rozana—known informally as the Ladies Three, or simply the Ladies—to walk among their worshippers and to anchor themselves to the land they loved.

The Ladies Three wielded powerful magic, bringing good fortune to those that followed their ways. Only their most devout priests knew the Ladies’ names; to all others, they were known as the Weaver, the Huntress, and the Seeker.

For as long as they ruled the land, the Ladies acted as its sovereigns, making their will known through auguries and omens. Through intermediaries, they wielded powerful magic, but one different from that of mages. They drew power from water, air, and earth, and were bound to the ancient valley in which they dwelled. It was said that the Ladies could hear everything that happened in their woods, predict the future, twist the threads of human lives and bring blessings as well as curses.

Two of the Ladies bestowed upon their most faithful worshippers the gifts of lycanthropy: flocks of wereravens served the Seeker’s will, while packs of Good-aligned werewolves called wolfir raced through the woods to join the Huntress’s Wild Hunt. Meanwhile, the Weaver fashioned three gemstones the size and shape of pinecones, imbued them with the raw energies of life, and delivered them to her priests with a promise that the bounties of the woods would always feed them and their children.

The Amber Temple

Though the First Folk were the first to claim the valley, they were far from the last. Two thousand years after the First Folk passed through the Balinok Mountains, a secret society of wizards worshipping a nameless god of secrets came into the valley. These wizards founded the Amber Temple near the peak of Mount Ghakis, as described in Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181), and used it to contain the vestiges of dead, hateful gods, which they imprisoned in amber sarcophagi in the temple’s deepest vaults.

When the forces of evil sought to claim the vestiges’ power for their own, the wizards resolved to guard the Temple themselves, and built a road from the Temple through the mountains to import supplies. To protect it, they constructed the defenses described in T1. Gatehouse Portcullis, T2. Demon Statues, and T3. Curtain of Green Flame (p. 157) along the winding Tsolenka Pass.

However, these defenses could not stop the wizards themselves from falling to the vestiges’ corruption. Within three generations, nearly all of the wizards were dead as described in Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181). The lone survivor—an archmage named Neferon—was transfigured to an immortal, monstrous form and settled in to guard his “hoard.”

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (23)

Fall of the First Folk

The seven tribes of the First Folk kept largely apart from one another until, one day, a proud and ambitious warlord named Kavan led his tribe down the slopes of the Balinok Mountains, waging a bloody war to unite them. His magic spear, the symbol of his might, drank the blood from his enemies and fed their strength to its wielder; for this, Kavan was called Blood-Drinker, and his spear bloodthorn.

Kavan’s conquest united the tribes, but broke their sacred peace. The Ladies’ words grew mournful and quiet on the wind, even as their priests—the druids who enacted their sacred rituals—found themselves subject to the whims and scorn of Kavan’s warrior caste. The wolfir fled into the woods, and the wereravens to the mountains. Fearful of the corruption that Kavan might wreak upon them, the Weaver’s eldest druids bestowed her life-giving gems to the wereravens for safekeeping, ensuring that the secrets of their power would die with them.

When Kavan passed and was buried with his spear at Yester Hill, a new chieftain fought to take his place, beginning a line of brutal successions that lasted for centuries. Where the wizards of the Amber Temple had been content to keep to themselves, however, the First Folk could not remain isolated forever.

Four centuries after Kavan’s death, King Dostron, a cruel and ambitious monarch described further in Crypt 34: King Dostron the Hellborn (p. 92), sought to claim Barovia’s splendor for his own nearby kingdom. He invaded the valley, massacred its inhabitants, and desecrated their holy places with wanton abandon.

Dostron's invasion shattered the Ladies' power, driving their surviving followers back into the slopes of the Balinok Mountains. To cement his claim to the valley, Dostron bade his troops to builld an enormous stone fortress atop a mountain to the east and settled there to taste the land’s many riches.

However, King Dostron’s hand reached too far, leaving his kingdom rocked by calamity and war. When he died, thirty years after he had first invaded the valley, his generals buried him in the crypts beneath his fortress and left it behind to fall into ruin.

Even so, the damage to the First Folk had been done. Never again would they reach their former glory; never again would their priests work the Ladies’ greatest miracles. Though the land was still beloved of the Rozana, a crack had been left in its heart—a crack that, centuries later, Strahd von Zarovich would exploit.

Meanwhile, near the peak of Mount Ghakis, the evil archmage Exethanter breached the wards of the Amber Temple, as described in Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181). After becoming a lich, Exethanter seized control of the temple from Neferon, transforming the long-dead wizards into flameskulls under his command and settling in to welcome fellow seekers to the corridors of power.

The Von Zarovich Line

More than four centuries after King Dostron's death, King Barov von Zarovich I became the first monarch of his House, unifying several separate city states to found the nation of Zarovia. The young kingdom thrived for two hundred years, until civil strife and foreign invaders caused it to fracture and drove House von Zarovich into exile.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (25)

However, the dream of Zarovia never left King Barov’s descendants. One hundred years after their exile, Barov von Zarovich II, the heir to the family name, took up arms to reclaim his namesake’s legacy. Wielding his cunning and wealth, Barov II built an army of soldiers legions strong and began to carve out a territory that he could be proud to call his kingdom.

Barov’s crusade was buoyed when Saint Andral—a spiritual leader among the Church of the Morninglord, despairing at the chaos and poverty that had embroiled the kingdom since its fall—granted him the crown of old Zarovia. With Barov’s aid, Saint Andral became the Most High Priest of the Morninglord’s church; with Andral’s aid, Barov’s expansion became a holy war.

The kingdom of the dusk elves—a former province of Zarovia—declined to pay fealty to King Barov, who declared war. Within a year, Barov’s forces—aided by Rahadin, the exiled dusk elf son of Prince Erevan Löwenhart, described further in Rahadin (p. 237)—had conquered the dusk elves, obliterating the elven royal line and subjugating those that remained.

With the aid of Ciril Romulich, King Barov took the hilt of Prince Löwenhart's shattered moonblade and used it to forge the Brightblade: a crystal blade of radiant light. To further empower the sword, the witch Baba Lysaga—King Barov's advisor on matters of magic—sealed Prince Löwenhart's spirit within the blade.

Not longer thereafter, however, Baba Lysaga was banished for her unhealthy attachment to the king's newborn son, Strahd, as described in Baba Lysaga (p. 228). Seven years later, the young Strahd, joined his father’s army as a squire. While at war, Barov also sired a bastard daughter, Katarina, by a Vistani woman. (See Madam Eva (p. 233).)

A decade after the fall of the dusk elves, Strahd—now a soldier and captain under King Barov’s command—was wounded in battle and rescued by the Vistani, as described in The Dancing Fire (p. 20).

Within four years of his safe return, Strahd became a general in King Barov’s army, leading the vanguard of the conquering force. As he waged war upon his family’s enemies, Strahd saw neither leaf nor stone of his family’s homeland, more often sleeping in tents on soggy, bloodstained earth than in royal sheets and linens.

Within five years of Strahd’s dispatch to the front lines—by the time Strahd himself was twenty-six years old—his mother, Queen Ravenovia, bore Barov a second son: Sergei.

Arrival of the Outsiders

Less than a decade after Sergei’s birth, a world away in the valley of the First Folk, Saint Markovia, a priest of the Morninglord, began the construction of an abbey on a spur of Mount Baratok. Markovia, a fierce opponent of Saint Andral’s support for Barov’s claim, sought to create a sanctuary of reflection and peace far away from the killing fields. Priests and refugees alike heeded her call, and within two years, the Abbey of Saint Markovia was complete.

To sanctify it, Markovia blessed a sacred pool at the base of the mountain below, as described in S4. Pool and Shrine (p. 146). A trading post was established nearby—which, over time, grew into a small and humble hamlet.

Within three years of the Abbey’s founding, a renewed interest in the region’s history drew Argynvost, a silver dragon, to uncover the lost secrets of the Amber Temple, as described in Ch. 7: Argynvostholt (p. 129). Given the unrest and bloodshed that dominated the lands nearby, Argynvost feared that evildoers might seek out the Temple and unleash the darkness that slumbered within.

The dragon moved quickly to develop plans for the Order of the Silver Dragon: an order of valiant knights that would do battle to defend the innocent. Their true, hidden purpose, however, would be to guard the Temple from evil and ensure that its prisoners remained secured.

After relocating to the valley, Argynvost began the construction of the manor of Argynvostholt, his new lair and the headquarters for the Order of the Silver Dragon.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (27)

He dedicated its chapel to the Morninglord, and—as a shrewd political gesture—its upstairs gallery to both Saint Andral and Saint Markovia, who by now had become the two competing spiritual leaders of the Morninglord’s faith.

With the mansion complete, Argynvost put out the call for knights to join his order—and, as described in Chapter 7: Argynvostholt (p. 129) and Q40. Argynvost's Study (p. 140), they came.

Many were dispatched to the front lines of nearby conflicts to wage war against evil—including, in some places, the armies of King Barov von Zarovich II, who had begun to test the borders of long-peaceful nations with an ambitious and obvious hunger.

With the Abbey and manor drawing new settlers to the valley, the descendants of the wereravens that had once fled Kavan’s tyranny now saw an opportunity to thrive. Using the last of the secrets passed down from their ancestors, they reshaped the Weaver’s lifegiving gemstones to grow strong, hearty grapes in the woodlands’ rich soil. They built a winery along the western edge of the valley, and—hoping to conceal the true source of their produce—named it the “Wizard of Wines,” spreading a rumor that a powerful mage had founded the business.

The winery soon forged strong relationships with Argynvost and Markovia, and a profitable trade began. Deliveries to the Abbey were stored in S16. Wine Cellar (p. 152), while deliveries to Argynvostholt were kept in Q11. Wine Storage (p. 133). News of the Wizard of Wines drew new immigrants to the valley, bolstering the Order’s forces and further growing the hamlet at the base of the abbey.

With the winery completed, however, Argynvost foresaw that an economic boom in the valley might bring about the very fears he had founded the Order of the Silver Dragon to prevent. To fortify the existing gatehouse at Tsolenka Pass, he directed his knights to construct a white stone tower overlooking the road, securing it from any who might seek to embark toward the Temple on foot.

Throughout this process, the First Folk watched cautiously, fearful of the newcomers’ sudden and aggressive expansion—but far more fearful that provocation could spur a reprisal to rival King Dostron’s greatest cruelties. And so, they remained amidst the woodlands and mountain slopes, silently observing the newcomers’ activities.

Birth of Barovia

King Barov did not live to see the fruits of his labors. When he passed into death, Strahd inherited his lands and enemies and vowed to finish what his father had started. Though he had been Barov’s heir, Strahd did not name himself king; instead, he deferred the ancient crown of Zarovia, keeping it in a chest carried by his attendants. A kingdom was not enough—Strahd dreamed of forging an empire.

Strahd refused, too, his father’s Brightblade, gifting it to Sergei—now a priest in the Morninglord’s church—on the grounds that his legacy was his own to win. His own blade had sufficed for the countless battles before; it would suffice for the wars to come.

War came first from the long-subjugated dusk elves, who—hoping to take advantage of the change in leadership—staged a rebellion against the governor that Strahd had set over their homeland.

Emboldened by the elves’ courage, other nations entered the fray, staging troops near the kingdom’s borders and issuing embargoes and high tariffs on goods transported from its markets and ports.

Where his generals saw threats, however, Strahd saw opportunities. Such newfound hostilities provided him with the perfect justification to sow the seeds of his future empire. He began by mercilessly crushing the dusk elves’ rebellion, as described in Kasimir Velikov (p. 232), and proceeded to declare war on every nation that had ever insulted or opposed him. The dusk elves were left to the care of the Vistani, who spirited them away to the valley in which Strahd’s enemies—the Order of the Silver Dragon and the Abbey of Saint Markovia—offered sanctuary and peace.

By now, Strahd’s forces were legion, their soldiers a ruthless fighting force that embodied his conquering ambition. Though technically outnumbered, Strahd’s cunning and military prowess allowed him to cut through any opposing force with ease—and, one by one, the dominoes fell.

Within six months of Strahd's ascension, his armies had waged a bloody military campaign that had reunited, and then surpassed the ancient borders of Old Zarovia—and yet Strahd’s hunger was unabated. With few others left, the Order of the Silver Dragon stepped forward to lead and coordinate the defensive alliance, winning several crucial battles that temporarily stopped Strahd’s advance in its tracks. (See Chapter 7: Argynvostholt (p. 129).)

Vladimir Horngaard, a young captain among the Order, proved instrumental in directing the war effort; for his courage and skill, Argynvost made him a field commander, as described in Vladimir Horngaard (p. 241). By the first frost of winter, however, Vladimir believed that Strahd’s advance could no longer be stopped. He issued the order to retreat, escorting hundreds of refugees to Argynvostholt in the hopes that winter and the natural protection of the Balinok Mountains would keep them safe.

But Vladimir’s hopes proved in vain. Before the end of winter, Strahd’s forces tracked the Order to the valley—now the last bastion of resistance against his dreams of empire.

When Strahd’s reinforcements arrived, they breached the valley’s natural defenses, and did battle with the Order’s knights—and the silver dragon Argynvost himself—on the marshy field beneath the fortress of Argynvostholt. In what would later be called the Battle of the Luna River, Commander Vladimir Horngaard, Vladimir's husband Sir Godfrey Gwilym, and nearly all of the knights of the Order were slaughtered.

Despairing and enraged, Argynvost retreated to his lair: the manor of Argynvostholt itself. Strahd’s forces pursued him within, the resulting battle destroying the mansion’s western wing (described in Q4. Spiders' Ballroom (p. 132), Q32. Ruined Bedchambers (p. 138), and Q48. Roof's Edge (p. 141)) and bursting a hole in its roof (described in Q43. Hole in Roof (p. 140) and Q33. Collapsed Ceiling (p. 138).). When silence finally fell, the dragon’s corpse lay unmoving upon the floor.

Strahd’s soldiers looted the manor, as described in Q23. Storage Room (p. 135), Q37. Knights of the Order (p. 139), Q39. Vladimir's Bedroom (p. 140), Q40. Argynvost's Study (p. 140), and Q41. Dragon's Vault (p. 140). Strahd then had Argynvost's corpse hacked to pieces and stripped to the bone, intending to keep the dragon's skull as a trophy.

When the dust of Strahd’s final battle had settled, he was finally left with no more foes to destroy—and no more lands to conquer. His advisors urged him to return to his homeland to govern, but Strahd had better ideas. He was envious of his mother’s attention to Sergei, eager to escape the shadow of his father’s legacy, and struck by the beauty of the valley he’d conquered. He named the valley “Barovia”—not after his father, but after King Barov I, the great patriarch of the Von Zarovich line—and decided to settle there.

Rise of Castle Ravenloft

Not all the denizens of the valley were grateful to see Strahd’s arrival. Saint Markovia, embittered by the death of her friend, Argynvost, visited Strahd’s court to condemn him as a mad tyrant. Magnanimous in victory, Strahd allowed her to depart in peace, amused by the futility of her convictions.

Meanwhile, after a lifetime spent at war, Strahd began to turn to the question of peace. As noted in Barovians (p. 24), Strahd repopulated the valley with human subjects drawn from his other conquered lands. The nobleman Boris Vallakovich, described further in Chapter 5: The Town of Vallaki (p. 95) and N8. Town Square (p. 119), founded the town of Vallaki in the heart of the valley, while the noblewoman Vasha Krezkova settled within the hamlet at the foot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia, naming it “Krezk.”

For her family’s loyalty, Strahd bequeathed to the Krezkovs the Wizard of Wines winery, its former owners having fled amidst the tides of war. He awarded parcels of land to the noble House of Wachter, described in N4q. Storage Room (p. 114), who settled in the growing town of Vallaki. Meanwhile, Elisabeth and Gustav Durst, the heirs to a wealthy merchant family, funded a grain mill near Vallaki—Chapter 6: Old Bonegrinder (p. 125)—atop a promontory overlooking the valley. The Dursts themselves settled in the newborn village of Barovia, a settlement that had spawned among Strahd’s military encampment to the east.

Saint Andral, now the Most High Priest of the Morninglord’s church, passed away at the ripe age of eighty-two. A church was built in Vallaki and named St. Andral’s Church in his honor, his bones interred in a crypt beneath the altar. Meanwhile, an old witch named Baba Lysaga—Strahd’s former nursemaid, as described in Baba Lysaga (p. 228)—followed Strahd’s forces to the valley, settling in a small, ramshackle hut amidst the Svalich Woods.

The dusk elves—the same refugees who had fled the aftermath of Strahd’s rebellion not long before—found themselves trapped in the heart of their conqueror’s new empire. After a lengthy debate led by their leader, Kasimir Velikov, the elves reluctantly agreed to remain in the new homes they had built in the valley, hoping that the sanctuary of the Vistani would keep them safe from further reprisal.

Kasimir’s sister Patrina Velikovna, however, an archmage of considerable power, felt stirred to further action. With the Order of the Silver Dragon fallen, she investigated the secrets it had left behind—and so discovered the secret of the Amber Temple. There, she completed her studies of the black arts, and began to hatch a dark and ambitious plan.

With the repopulation of the valley well underway, Strahd now turned to his own home. He summoned artisans, wizards, and workers loyal to him, described in Chapter 4: Castle Ravenloft (p. 49) and The Vampire's History (p. 9), and set them the task of constructing a castle worthy of his family’s legacy. He chose to place it atop the ruins of an ancient stone keep—the very same fortress built by King Dostron centuries before—and named it Castle Ravenloft, for his mother Queen Ravenovia.

However, Strahd did not suffer peace well. Restless, and feeling like his best years were behind him, he experimented with an assortment of eccentric hobbies and arts before finally turning to the study of magic. Mages flocked to his court for the chance to serve as his arcane tutor—and, seeing opportunity, Patrina did the same.

Near-ageless and fair, the elven Patrina knew well of humanity’s fear of death. Where others saw a powerful conqueror, Patrina saw a man of middling age fast-approaching his twilight years. She whispered in his ear the name of the Amber Temple—and the secret of immortality it concealed—and Strahd eagerly listened.

Upon Strahd’s arrival at the Amber Temple, the lich Exethanter welcomed him with open arms, as described Chapter 13: The Amber Temple (p. 181). Patrina led him to an amber sarcophagus deep in the temple, to the vestige that offered the dark gift of Tenebrous: the secret of lichdom. She spoke to him of the grand power he could wield—of the ageless aeons through which he could conquer.

What she left unspoken, of course, was that the vestige’s dark gift could be wielded only by an archmage capable of the highest circles of magic—a level that, with his fledgling skill, Strahd could reach only with her aid and influence.

Patrina was not surprised when Strahd insisted upon speaking with each of the three vestiges in the temple’s amber vault; he was a man of power, and men of power enjoyed the drugs of knowledge and control. She was astounded, however, when—after being offered the dark gifts of Tenebrous, of Zhudun, and the Vampyr—Strahd declined them all, refusing Patrina’s promise of immortality.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (28)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (29)

Strahd returned to Castle Ravenloft, mortal and unchanged. Troubled, yet fascinated, Patrina followed after him.

Strahd continued his studies of magic, learning at a far more rapid—and voracious—pace then any student Patrina had yet seen. Suspicious of his fellow dusk elf’s motives, however, Rahadin—now one of Strahd’s most trusted advisors—began to seek out women who could distract him from Patrina.

Meanwhile, the construction of Castle Ravenloft continued unabated. As a token of his favor, Strahd led one of the mages—a brilliant architect named Artimus—to the Amber Temple itself, showing him the secrets of setting magic deep into quarried stone. There, Artimus finalized the design of the castle itself, as described in X20. Architect's Room (p. 187).

Just over a year after construction had begun, Castle Ravenloft was finished. Strahd appointed Rahadin as the chamberlain of the keep, as described in Rahadin (p. 236). He then summoned his mother, Queen Ravenovia, and his brother, Sergei—now a high priest in the Church of the Morninglord—to join him in Barovia. With their work complete, Strahd’s masons and mages departed the castle; the archmage Khazan, however, chose to settle in the valley, constructing a magical tower in Lake Baratok as described in Chapter 11: Van Richten's Tower (p. 167).

Afflicted with poor health—perhaps as a result of Baba Lysaga’s curse, as described in Baba Lysaga (p. 228)—Queen Ravenovia did not survive the journey to Barovia. Two months after she and Sergei had departed, he and her coffin arrived in the valley. It was in grief for their mother that Strahd met Sergei for the first time in each of their lives, and both oversaw the Queen’s burial in the newly-built crypts of Castle Ravenloft.

Sergei, however, did not arrive alone. He was accompanied by Ciril Romulich, a high priest of the Church of the Morninglord (described in Crypt 30: Prefect Ciril Romulich (p. 91). Ciril provided Strahd with the Icon of Ravenloft, described in K15. Chapel (p. 57) and Icon of Ravenloft (p. 222), to consecrate the castle and its chapel.

Ciril also delivered news that the priest Kir—the Most High Priest of the Morninglord’s church and Saint Andral’s successor—had crafted a strange holy relic called the Sigil of the Sun that he claimed was needed to prepare for the coming of a future enemy.

Kir, however, had died in the process, leaving the position of Most High Priest vacant—a position that the council of high priests chose Sergei to fill. Sergei, already the bearer of King Barov’s Brightblade, was now also given the Sigil of the Sun as a symbol of his new station, and set about preparing to assume the role.

Strahd Becomes the Land

With Castle Ravenloft’s furnishings now largely complete, Strahd installed the pièce de résistance: the skull of Argynvost, mounted upon the wall of his great war-room as a trophy. (See K67. Hall of Bones (p. 78).) However, this final desecration enraged the spirit of Commander Vladimir Horngaard, who returned to life as a revenant to avenge the destruction of the Order of the Silver Dragon. His zeal was so great that it also brought back the spirits of his fellow fallen knights, as described in The Order of the Silver Dragon (p. 129).

It was then, as the revenants of the Order ravaged Strahd’s perfect valley, that a circle of druidic elders among the First Folk saw an opportunity. The new denizens of Barovia had begun to expand their settlements into the wild places of the land, pushing the First Folk back toward the Balinok Mountains. As tensions mounted and a series of small skirmishes unfolded, the elders feared that a return of King Dostron’s genocide was imminent.

Those elders secretly approached Strahd with an offer. He would provide the First Folk with his protection, defending their people and the integrity of their woodland home. In exchange, the elders would guide him to three hidden places of power within the valley—the sacred fanes of the Ladies Three—and teach him to command their might.

Amused by their audacity and intrigued by the possibilities, Strahd tentatively accepted the druids’ offer. He allowed them to guide him to the Mountain Fane first—the closest to Castle Ravenloft—and proceeded to study it and its properties in exhaustive detail. The elders shared with him the secrets of its ancient rituals, the blessings that it granted the Lady’s champions, and the bonds it shared with the earth of the valley itself.

With their aid, guided by the fell arcana that Patrina had taught him and a flash of his own genius, Strahd forged a profane ritual that would tie the Fane’s power to his own spirit. It was a clumsy attempt, admittedly—a bond that he would return to refine again and again in the centuries to come. But when the first drops of Strahd’s blood soaked into the Fane’s earth, he felt its power infuse his very soul. The land became a part of him—and he, a part of the land.

Strahd repeated the process at the valley’s two other sacred places: the Swamp Fane, just east of the young town of Berez; and the Forest Fane, south of the Wizard of Wines winery. With each site he claimed, he felt his bond to the land grow stronger. The beasts, woodlands, and even the very skies of the valley seemed to sing to him—and he followed that song to crush Vladimir Horngaard and his undead knights wherever their spirits fled.

Sergei and Tatyana

By the time Strahd returned once more to Castle Ravenloft, his spirits buoyed by the new turn in the war against the revenants, he found Sergei to be in high spirits. Sergei had fallen in love with a young woman named Tatyana Federovna, described in The Vampire's History (p. 9), and visited her daily in the village of Barovia to pursue her affections. On a whim, Strahd followed his brother to the village—and was smitten utterly with her at once.

Strahd lavished Tatyana, a woman more than thirty years his junior, with gifts and attention—but it was Sergei, of an age with Tatyana and still in his prime, who swiftly won her affections. Now, it was Tatyana who visited Sergei as often as he did her, escorted to Castle Ravenloft in a snow-white carriage with gold filigree.

Each time she did, Strahd welcomed her with the fondness of a suitor—and each time he did, she accepted his warmth with the obeisance of a niece. Slowly, Strahd felt a darkness begin to clutch at his heart, finding his aging reflection more repulsive by the day. Only his pride, tinted with bitterness, stayed his hand from obstructing the young couple’s love.

Tatyana was not the first visitor to walk Castle Ravenloft’s halls, nor the last. As Strahd fumed and longed for her love, he also hosted a number of dignified guests—including Duchess Dorfniya Dilisnya and her fool, Pidlwick, further described in Pidlwick II (p. 235). Determined to win Strahd’s hand in marriage, the Duchess nonetheless was blind to his infatuation with Tatyana, visiting the castle many times with gifts and stories. Eager to please him, she commissioned the legendary toymaker, Fritz von Weerg, to build a clockwork effigy of Pidlwick, as described in Pidlwick II (p. 235), and assigned Pidlwick to train it.

Meanwhile, even as the war against the revenants continued, Strahd soon found his day-to-day agenda full with the management of his domestic affairs. Prince Ariel du Plumette, a distant relative from a branch house of the von Zarovich clan, plumetted to his death as described in Crypt 4: Prince Ariel du Plumette (p. 86). Sir Sedrik Spinwitovich, a general who had won his post through nepotism as much as skill, completed the construction of the Barovian navy within the landlocked Lake Zarovich, as described in Crypt 17: Sir Sedric Spinwitovich (p. 89). Sir Klutz Tripalotsky, a loyal knight of Strahd's court, perished when he fell on his own sword, and was put to rest within the crypts. (See Crypt 33: Sir Klutz Tripalotsky (p. 91).

More significantly, Sergei’s dalliances with Tatyana had begun to impede his priestly duties. Sensing an opportunity—and annoyed at his brother’s negligence—Strahd gave Sergei an ultimatum: end his relationship, or abdicate his position as Most High Priest. To Strahd’s shock and horror, Sergei chose the latter, forswearing his vows as a priest of the Morninglord. Within a fortnight, he and Tatyana were engaged to be married.

Unfortunately for Strahd, a harsh winter soon trapped him in Castle Ravenloft with Sergei and Tatyana, condemning him to suffer endlessly their laughter, stolen kisses, and love-addled gazes. Duchess Dilisnya, a fellow prisoner of the snowdrifts, made her best efforts to bring warmth and good cheer, but ultimately succumbed to a bad bout of pneumonia and was buried beneath Castle Ravenloft.

Not longer after the snows lifted, Tatyana kindly asked Duchess Dilisnya’s fool, Pidlwick, to remain at Castle Ravenloft—but within a week, the mechanical fool, now named Pidlwick II, secretly murdered the original Pidlwick by pushing him down a flight of stairs. Not long after, it was shut away in a guest bedroom closet, as described in Pidlwick II (p. 235).

By mid-spring, preparations had fully begun for the upcoming royal wedding. Sergei asked—and Strahd reluctantly granted—his elder brother’s blessing for the union to come. Even as the revenants’ battles burned on in the lands beyond, the world within the castle’s walls was abuzz with romance and excitement. Only Strahd, tormented by the sight of the happy couple together, felt his spirit sinking ever-deeper into shadow and mirk.

Arrival of the Mists

The morning of Sergei's wedding, Strahd gazed into his mirror and realized he had been a fool.

Immortality—the secret of eternal youth—had been within his grasp only three years before. Had he been brave enough—strong enough—to accept it then, Tatyana could have been his. Had he done so mere days before now, she might still have been so. But the hour of the wedding was near, and the vault of the Amber Temple far away.

It was then that a voice spoke to him: a woman’s voice on the surface, but a cacophony of maddened whispers below.

Time slips through your fingers like the sands in an hourglass, it whispered. Yet a chance yet remains to claim what is yours.

"Who are you?" Strahd demanded. We are the eternal, the Dark Powers replied. The hidden. We are Death—and we may grant what you seek.

"What must I do?" Strahd asked. "How can immortality be mine?"

A shard of the tomb of the one you once spurned, came the answer. Take it, and be reborn. A broken shard of amber appeared before him, glinting amidst the shadows.

Strahd reached to take it—but hesitated. "What price must I pay for such a gift?" he asked. "What man can trust Death itself?"

What man can deny it? the whispers replied. The choice is yours.

Strahd closed his eyes—and grasped the shard. The whispers vanished, and in their place, he felt the familiar presence of the vestige of the Amber Temple. Once again, he felt the entity offer him the dark gift of the Vampyr—the immortality of undeath.

And this time, Strahd accepted.

In an instant, Strahd knew the two conditions he must fulfill to gain the immortality he desired, described in Amber Sarcophagi (p. 196). Where once the thoughts might have horrified him, he now accepted them gladly like old friends.

Strahd came upon Sergei in his own royal chambers and slew him with a single blow. With blood on his hands and lips, Strahd found Tatyana in her dressing room and confessed his obsession with her; at long last, he told her, they could be together as they were always meant to be.

Tatyana fled—and Strahd pursued.

He chased her through the gardens of Castle Ravenloft, commanding and pleading with her to stop. At last, he cornered her at K6. Overlook (p. 54) and begged for her love. Horrified at the monster he had become, and desperate to escape, Tatyana stepped away from him—and felt the thousand-foot chasm beneath the mountain’s cliffs silently waiting behind her.

In that moment, as Strahd stepped slowly forward, Tatyana heard a voice: a woman’s voice, too pleasant and kind for her to notice the cacophony of whispers that lay just below the surface.

I see your heart, the voice said to her, heavy and weeping with fear and despair.

Tatyana, trembling, whispered, "What can I do? I am trapped, and I cannot bear to be with him."

The Dark Powers replied, Escape is within your reach, dear one—within the reach of a single step.

"But the fall," Tatyana said, her voice shaking. "It would surely mean my end."

An end by stone, or an end by blood, the voice said sweetly. The choice is yours.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (30)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (31)

With a deep breath, Tatyana leapt—and Death claimed her.

Strahd, enraged and despairing, ran to the edge—but her body had already vanished, swallowed up by the mists of the forest far below. It was there, upon the overlook, that the assassins found him—treacherous castle guards, as described in The Vampire's History (p. 9), led by Leo Dilisnya, the son of Duchess Dorfniya Dilisnya—and brought Strahd to his death.

But Strahd did not die. His last breath sealed the pact he had made with Death and the vestige alike, and he was reborn as a vampire. In that moment, the Dark Powers took him as their own—and, by the bond that Strahd bore to the land, the land accompanied him. The sky above Barovia turned black, and the Dark Powers spirited the valley away: their first domain of the Mists.

The treacherous guards, terrified of what Strahd had become, fled into Castle Ravenloft through K23. Servants' Entrance (p. 59), across K62. Servants' Hall (p. 76), and into K67. Hall of Bones (p. 78), Strahd's war-room, praying that his loyal guards would slay the beast that their master had become.

Strahd pursued them there, slaughtering dozens of guards—both loyal and traitor alike. The survivors retreated and made their stand in K70. Kingsmen Hall (p. 79), while Leo Dilisnya and his most trusted conspirators fled into K71. Kingsmen Quarters (p. 79), ascended the stairs to K20. Heart of Sorrow (p. 59), and exited the secret entrance into K34. Servants' Upper Floor (p. 64) before escaping into the courtyards once again. By the time Strahd had finished his slaughter, Dilisnya was gone—fled across the drawbridge and lost in the mountains.

Katarina, still serving as a maid in the castle, came upon Strahd amidst the slaughter—and, for reasons he did not fully understand, Strahd left her in peace. She fled from him, escaping the keep as screams echoed behind her, and never looked back.

Finally, covered with blood, Strahd exited Castle Ravenloft and saw his parents’ faces in the thunderclouds, as described in The Vampire's History (p. 9). Along the borders of Barovia, the Dark Powers raised the Mists: impenetrable walls that imprisoned all who would cross them.

Aftermath of the Wedding

Katarina sought refuge with a Vistani encampment at Tser Pool, too fearful of Strahd to seek shelter elsewhere. There, she prayed for a means to free her half-brother from the fate that had befallen him and to liberate her people from the death he embodied—and a voice answered.

That evening, Katarina forged a pact with the Seeker, the sole surviving spirit of the forsaken Ladies Three. She traded her youth for the power to undo Strahd's evil, transforming into Madam Eva: an ageless crone and avatar of the Seeker, endowed with magical foresight. Alone in a Vistani tent, Madam Eva delicately manipulated the threads of Fate, bracing herself for the burden of years to come.

By nightfall, Strahd's heart was consumed by fury, hatred, and grief. He preserved Sergei’s corpse using the magic he had mastered, then set out to hunt down the treacherous guards. With eyes sharper than a hawk's, a nose stronger than a wolf's, and ears keener than a bat's, he pursued them through the darkened woods, extinguishing their lives one by one like candle flames. Each time he killed, he fed voraciously, draining their blood like a drunkard indulging in wine.

As dawn approached, only Leo Dilisnya, the mastermind of the conspiracy, still eluded him. Bloated with blood, but his thoughts still in chaos, Strahd returned to the castle. He descended to the carnage he had unleashed in the cellars below, only to find dried husks— the soldiers' corpses, drained of all blood.

Instead, an enormous blood-red human heart hovered at the pinnacle of the dark and empty tower, looming far above the killing grounds. Forged of shattered crystal and as tall as a man, it stood as an unholy monument to Strahd's first victims: the Heart of Sorrow, described in K20. Heart of Sorrow (p. 59).

As Strahd surveyed the wreckage of his former nobility, the revenants of the Order of the Silver Dragon marched towards Castle Ravenloft, determined to understand why Strahd's death had not freed their spirits. Upon arrival, they encountered Madam Eva, as described in The Order of the Silver Dragon (p. 129), who informed them of Strahd's fate. Hearing this, Vladimir Horngaard halted his advance and led his knights back to Argynvostholt.

Strahd eventually returned to the chamber where Sergei's corpse and possessions still lingered. Whether it was grief, wistfulness, or a mere impulse that moved him to pick up the Brightblade, Strahd couldn't be certain. All he knew was that, as the sun's rays shone from his father's crystal blade, they scorched him with an unimaginable pain. He threw the weapon aside, his skin seared with burns, and howled in both agony and rage.

Slowly, time resumed its flow for Strahd. However, adjusting to his new state proved difficult. Discovering that his reflection no longer appeared in the castle's mirrors, he ordered them removed and stored in K11. South Archers' Post (p. 57). As the bloodthirst rose within him, he attempted to quench it first with animals, then criminals. Beast's blood brought no nourishment, however, and the keep's dungeons quickly emptied of prisoners.

Reluctant yet driven by hunger, Strahd turned his attention to his maid, Varushka—who chose to take her own life, as described in Tormented Spirit (p. 68).

As her body was buried, scouts returned with ill tidings: the edges of the valley had been engulfed by an impassable mist, confounding to those who passed through, and deadly to those who lingered.

By now, only a remnant of the castle’s original staff remained, driven by loyalty, fear, or a combination of both. Strahd found a stableboy among them and ordered him to prepare his horse, Beucephalus, for departure from the keep. Too terrified to refuse, the stableboy stammered that the stallion's coat had darkened with the skies, and now a demonic fire blazed upon its mane and fueled its temper.

The stableboy spoke true. Gone was Beucephalus, the Wonder-Horse, a stallion fit for an emperor. In its place was a nightmare, a demon that burned with rage and spite. (See Crypt 39: Beucephalus (p. 93).) Strahd found the demonic steed fitting for a creature such as himself and rode forth from the castle to the Amber Temple, determined to seek a means of escaping his fate.

It was in the archives of the Amber Temple that Strahd learned his new name. "Vampire," the books called him, an enemy of the sun and its blessed light. But the sun had not shone upon the valley since his transformation days earlier, the skies remaining dark and overcast. Strahd couldn't help but wonder if it was a blessing to be granted respite from the light he once knew, or a curse, to endure without it.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (32)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (33)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (34)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (35)

Ghosts of the Past

Eager to put Tatyana out of his mind, Strahd lured more women to the castle in rapid succession, taking several of them as brides before draining their lives and turning them into vampire spawn. Rahadin, his ever-faithful chamberlain, ensured that Strahd’s victims were made comfortable during their stay, as described in Rahadin (p. 236). The first of these was a woman named Sasha Ivliskova, who Strahd would later seal in a crypt beneath Ravenloft after tiring of her. (See Crypt 20: Sasha Ivliskova (p. 89)).

By the time a month had passed since Strahd’s transformation, Patrina had learned of Tatyana’s death and Strahd’s terrible curse. Though taken aback by his decision to accept the Vampyr's dark gift, she saw an opportunity within her circumstances. She returned to Ravenloft to win Strahd’s heart—and Strahd accepted her offer of marriage with amusement.

Before they could be wed, however, Kasimir Velikov, Patrina’s brother, learned of their plot. Helpless to keep her from Strahd, but determined to thwart the vampire’s plans, he rallied the dusk elves to stone her to death. In response, Strahd demanded her body—which he sealed in the castle crypts—and sent Rahadin to punish her killers, as described in Kasimir Velikov (p. 232) and Rahadin (p. 236).

When news of the dusk elf massacre reached Saint Markovia’s ears, she knew that she could wait no longer. Markovia rallied her followers and declared holy war on Castle Ravenloft—and when Strahd sent a group of vampire spawn to the Abbey, destroyed them with contempt.

Determined to complete her crusade, Saint Markovia led her followers to Castle Ravenloft, where she battled Strahd as described in Saint Markovia's Thighbone (p. 222). Strahd slayed her and her followers, and sealed her remains in the crypts below Ravenloft.

Though unsuccessful, Markovia’s attack had left Strahd wounded and emptied the castle of most of its remaining staff. Adamant that a keep should lack neither guards nor attendants, Strahd raised the corpses of his former guards as wights and set them to patrolling the castle.

Fearful that a future revolt might find and raise Sergei’s Brightblade against him, Strahd then journeyed to Khazan’s tower at Lake Baratok and commissioned the archmage to destroy it. Though Khazan’s apprentice stole, then lost the sword’s hilt, Khazan told Strahd that the entire weapon had been destroyed, as described in Sunsword (p. 223).

When news of Markovia’s death reached its walls, the clerics of the Abbey sealed it off from the outside world, terrified of Strahd’s reprisal. Meanwhile, near Yester Hill to the south, a vision of Strahd’s homeland appeared in the Mists, as described in Y5. Wall of Fog (p. 200).

Determined to distract himself from the visions in the mist, Strahd terrorized the clerics of the Abbey, preying upon their paranoia and fear. It was’t long before the the clergy began to fight amongst themselves; within weeks, all were either dead or insane, as described in Chapter 8: The Village of Krezk (p. 143).

In the darkened halls of Argynvostholt, quarrels rang out amongst the revenants of the Order as Vladimir’s knights demanded vengeance for Saint Markovia. Vladimir, however, crushed their dissent, determined that Strahd should suffer his accursed fate for all of eternity. Awoken by their discord, the ghost of Argynvost began to haunt his ruined lair—too weak to speak out, but strong enough to mourn.

Strahd’s First Followers

By now, word had spread of Strahd’s transformation and the valley's isolation. Not all reacted with fear, however. In the village of Barovia far below, Elisabeth Durst found herself spellbound by the news from the castle, following Strahd’s descent with admiration and awe.

All was not well in the Dursts’ home. Gustav Durst, Elisabeth’s husband, was rumored to be having an affair with the family’s nursemaid, Klara, described in 15. Nursemaid's Suite (p. 215). Elisabeth dismissed the claims; they were baseless accusations, she said, born from jealousy of her husband’s wealth and success. She chose to ignore the steady growth of Klara’s stomach, their fleeting glances, and the hours they spent alone. It was nothing, she told herself—and, for a time, she believed it.

That changed when she discovered a shard of amber within a shipment of grain delivered from their mill to the west. The mysterious gem seemed to beckon her, captivating her senses and sparking an inexplicable fascination. She kept it, storing it in the jewelry box in 12. Master Suite (p. 214), where she admired it each night.

From that moment, something within her shifted. No longer could she bear the sight of Klara’s pregnant figure or ignore the whispers and shared glances between her and Gustav. Denial turned to suspicion, then paranoia and rage. Slowly, Elisabeth’s bitterness simmered, building in fury until she could bear it no longer.

When the maid's bastard son, Walter, was born, Elisabeth snapped. She took a carving knife from the kitchen and ambushed Gustav in their bedroom, killing him. With blood still dripping from the blade, she went to Klara’s suite, where she found the nursemaid asleep and her baby resting in its crib.

Elisabeth first bound Klara's limbs to the bed with rope and twine, then murdered the child where he lay. As Walter’s blood stained her knife, she prayed to Death that his infant soul would be damned—and Death listened.

From her jewelry box, Elisabeth felt the amber shard calling to her. She picked it up, and for the first time, heard its voice. It offered her the power to conceal her husband’s untimely death, to torment his mistress, to bind Walter’s spirit, and to secure a family truly faithful to her. She agreed—and accepted the dark gift of the vestige within.

With its aid, Elisabeth summoned Walter’s soul from the Mists and bound it to his tiny corpse. The undead child had a ravenous hunger, and, over the following days, she gleefully mutilated his mother’s body, feeding him fingers, toes, eyes, and teeth. However, she made sure to keep Klara alive, prolonging her vengeance.

As Walter fed, he grew, transforming into a misshapen aberration of flesh. Meanwhile, in the twisted labyrinth of her own mind, Elisabeth found solace in nightly prayers to Strahd, whom she perceived as the source of the power that sustained her.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (36)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (37)

Slowly, she gathered a group of like-minded followers to do her bidding, using her newfound power and Walter’s monstrous strength to keep them in line. The cult made sacrifices to Strahd on an altar deep underground, worshipping him as a messiah sent by the powers of darkness. They feasted on the organs of those that they killed, and fed the carcasses to the ever-hungry Walter.

Rose and Thorn, haunted by the ghastly sounds below, begged their mother to end their nightmares. Elisabeth ignored them at first, but when the sight of their faces—painful reminders of her late husband’s blood—became too agonizing to bear, she locked them in their attic bedroom and left them to starve.

Elisabeth’s fixation with Strahd only grew. She saw in him a kindred spirit, and yearned to unite with him. On the first anniversary of Barovia’s entry into the mists, she led her cult to visit Castle Ravenloft, eager to pledge their devotion in exchange for a promise of immortality. But Rahadin, on Strahd’s orders, turned them away instead, delivering a letter dismissing Elisabeth and her ambitions. The cult withdrew to the Durst house in despair, where Elisabeth’s worship soured to rage and despair.

Months passed, and the cult’s members began to depart. Through the eyes and ears of her remaining followers, Elisabeth came to learn that a group of outsiders—adventurers—had entered Barovia, spirited to the valley by the will of the Mists. She also came to learn that Strahd had encountered them on two occasions—occasions that, by all accounts, he had seemed to take pleasure in.

Jealous of Strahd’s attentions and determined to draw his eye, Elisabeth lured the adventurers to her home, where they were captured and killed atop the cult’s bloody altar. She had intended their murder to be a sacrifice to Strahd’s glory—but she had no knowledge that Strahd, bored and hungry for fresh blood, had intended those outsiders to be his own prey.

Enraged by her interference, Strahd slew her and the entirety of her cult. Their spirits, however, lived on in the haunted foundations of the house, serving Mrs. Durst’s final wish to find and capture a worthy sacrifice to Strahd’s glory—and so win his affections at last.

Passage Into History

Ten years passed, and the land of Barovia sank deeper into darkness and despair. Khazan—now in his waning years, and feeling the weight of his impending mortality—visited the Amber Temple and discovered the secret to becoming a lich. When he had completed the transformation, he traveled to Castle Ravenloft to challenge Strahd for the rulership of Barovia. Instead, Strahd persuaded him to serve as an advisor in matters of magic—a proposition that Khazan, to his own surprise, accepted.

Since he had become a vampire, Strahd’s own magical progress had slowed to a trickle; where mortals could wield their life force as a means of channeling the arcane, he had been forced to find other, less efficacious means. With Khazan’s aid, though, Strahd’s studies began to advance once more.

Together, they developed a spell that would preserve Sergei’s body for eternity, and built a tomb whose splendor would never fade. Sergei was buried there in his gleaming armor, with the Sigil of the Sun around his neck. They built arcane traps to defend Strahd’s tomb and castle, including the Teleport Traps (p. 85) of the catacombs, the gargoyles of K8. Great Entry (p. 55), and the wyrmling statues of K7. Entry (p. 54).

Strahd learned also to imbue his armor with permanent spells and a sliver of his being, creating Strahd’s Animated Armor (p. 227). Meanwhile, he delved deeper into the secrets of necromancy; as an amusement and a challenge, he created Strahd zombies—foul creatures both stronger and more horrible than the ordinary undead.

But as time stood still for the immortals of Castle Ravenloft, its sands continued to flow for those in the valley beyond. The once-loyal retainers and vassals of the von Zarovich line began to pass into death—Artimus, the castle’s architect; General Grislek, Strahd's most trusted commander; Prefect Ciril Romulich, high priest of the Morninglord; and countless others. Strahd found each one when they died and sealed their corpses in places of honor in the catacombs beneath Ravenloft, as described in K84. Catacombs (p. 85).

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (38)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (39)

One life yet eluded him, however: Leo Dilisnya, the traitor. Through his spies, though, Strahd soon discovered that Lovina Wachter had discovered Leo’s location. To avoid causing alarm, Strahd disguised himself as a human nobleman and journeyed to the Wachter manor in Vallaki. There, he introduced himself under the pseudonym of Vasili von Holtz, claiming to be an envoy from Ravenloft.

With Lovina’s aid, Strahd tracked Leo to the darkened corridors of the Abbey of Saint Markovia. As they climbed the path from Krezk below, Lovina, whose family had been slaughtered by the traitorous guards on the day of Sergei’s wedding, asked that Leo be denied the mercy of a quick death. “Vasili” agreed to her request, and asked her to remain outside while he confronted him.

Strahd defeated Leo with contemptuous ease. Instead of killing him, Strahd transformed Leo into a vampire spawn and, with Lovina’s approval, entombed him in a mausoleum beneath the Wachter’s manor. Without access to human blood, Leo would slowly starve to death, his sanity eroding over the decades.

Lovina agreed that on when Leo died, her descendants would remove the flesh from Leo's bones and hide them away, preventing his resurrection. Years later, Strahd sent Lovina the letter described in N4q. Storage Room (p. 114), signed “Vasili” to maintain his disguise.

Elsewhere, facing an eternity of confinement in Barovia, Khazan became determined to find an escape. He sought the secrets of demilichdom at the Amber Temple but destroyed himself in the process, as described in Chapter 11: Van Richten's Tower (p. 167). Strahd, mourning the loss of a fellow immortal, sealed Khazan’s skull and staff in Crypt 15: Khazan (p. 88). The lich’s spellbook, however, was nowhere to be found.

The Decades Pass

Forty years after Tatyana’s death, Strahd encountered Marina Ulrich: her first reincarnation. However, before he could turn her into a vampire spawn, the Mists spoke to her as they had once whispered to Tatyana, and promised her an escape from Strahd’s clutches—if only she would allow her father to discover the vampire’s nightly visits.

Driven to desperation beneath layers of Strahd’s hypnosis, Marina accepted the Dark Powers’ offer—and was soon killed as described in Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez (p. 161). Strahd erected U5. Marina's Monument (p. 164) in her memory, and condemned her father’s guilt-ridden spirit to haunt U2. Ulrich Mansion (p. 162). Over the course of the coming centuries, Strahd would chase Tatyana’s spirit again and again; each time, the Mists would speak sweet words of sanctuary—and her soul would once more slip from his fingers.

By the time of Marina’s death, the Martikov family—the descendants of the druids who had once owned the Wizard of Wines winery—had assimilated among the Barovian people, with a goal of reclaiming their birthright. After earning a small fortune through the secret use of their wereraven lycanthropy—as messengers, knowledge-brokers, and everything in-between—the Martikovs arranged a marriage between their eldest son and one of the Krezkovs’ daughters.

Fifteen years later, when the reigning Krezkov patriarch passed away, the Martikovs made sure that his will bequeathed the winery to his daughter, who now bore the Martikov name and was secretly a wereraven herself. Though the business was now once again truly theirs, the Martikovs kept good relations with the Krezkovs by making regular deliveries of wine, free of charge—a practice that would continue for centuries to come.

As the Martikovs reclaimed their vineyards, the witch Baba Lysaga claimed the swamp that Berez had become as her new home, as described in Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez (p. 161). She built U3. Baba Lysaga's Hut (p. 163) atop the stump of an enormous tree, and erected the Goat Pen (p. 162) outside of U2. Ulrich Mansion (p. 162). She found herself drawn to the latent power of the nearby Swamp Fane at U6. Standing Stones (p. 165); when the storm giant Deceba, the mate of Elder Burebis, confronted her, Baba Lysaga killed her and took her head, from which she crafted her Giant Skull (p. 163) magic vehicle.

Meanwhile, Strahd found himself intrigued by a new arrival to his keep: a mage by the name of Ludmilla Vilisevic, who had sought him out seeking the secrets of immortality.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (41)

Unlike Elisabeth Durst long ago, Strahd was impressed by Ludmilla’s cunning, ambition, and aptitude for the arcane arts. Strahd made Ludmilla his vampiric bride and commissioned her to serve as his chief advisor on matters of magic, given Khazan’s absence.

Decades passed, and the last remnants of Strahd’s humanity faded with them. By now, he had been undead far longer than he had ever been alive; any romance, nostalgia, or regret he had once possessed had long since vanished from his hollow heart.

In this time, Strahd learned that the Mists that entrapped him and his land would occasionally bring outsiders into the valley: playthings for him to torment and entrap. He found himself looking forward to these interruptions from the monotony of unlife, savoring each moment of the games that he played before his toys inevitably snapped.

Those opportunities, however, were few and far between, with years or even decades passing between them. Bereft of lands or people to conquer, Strahd grew melancholic, withdrawing to his coffin for weeks, then months at a time, spending his solitude in a state of slumbering torpor until his servants awoke him.

When not hibernating, Strahd continued to seek entertainment wherever he could find it. He took on two new brides: Anastrasya Karelova, a Vallakian noblewoman who delighted him with her cunning and wit; and Volenta Popfsky, a Barovian courtesan whose cheerful sadism was matched only by her innovative spirit. Anastrasya assumed authority over Strahd’s vast network of spies, while Volenta built traps and gruesome installations across Castle Ravenloft, including Flight of the Vampire (p. 61), the floating skeletons of K26. Guards' Post (p. 61), the armor traps on K19. Grand Landing (p. 58), and the K67. Hall of Bones (p. 78).

One hundred and eighty years after Barovia’s isolation, a deva named Lumiel was sent from the Upper Planes to honor Saint Markovia’s memory. Lumiel took up residence at the Abbey of Saint Markovia and called himself the Abbot. He reopened the abbey and began tending to Barovia’s sick, but—with Strahd's influence—ultimately fell from grace and descended into madness. (See The Abbot (p. 225).)

The Abbot’s arrival, however, reminded Strahd of the world that lay beyond the Mists, inspiring him to renew his efforts to escape. On a whim, he visited the Vistani fortuneteller Madam Eva and bade her to read his future. When Madam Eva, however, foretold the coming of a Grand Conjunction—a time, more than a century in the future, when the borders between worlds would grow thin, and the Mists would touch the Material Plane—the fragile light of hope reignited within Strahd’s blackened heart.

Decades prior, Strahd had learned that the Heart of Sorrow—the invulnerable crystal heart that hovered at the peak of Ravenloft’s tallest tower—represented the bond between himself and the Mists, which allowed him to control others’ passage in and out of the valley even as he himself proved unable to leave. Now, he returned to the Fanes of Barovia, where he bound their power ever-closer to his own.

In doing so, he channeled their energies into the Heart, laying the foundations for a weapon that, on the eve of the Grand Conjunction, would carve a hole through the Mists for Barovia’s escape. He told no one of his grand designs—not even Rahadin, his faithful chamberlain—fearful that speaking it aloud would invite interference.

When the plan was complete, however, Strahd found little else to retain his attention. Impatient to see the fruits of his labors and weary of his subjects, he retired to his tomb for a final hibernation: one that would last a hundred years. The Devil Strahd vanished from public view—and, as he slumbered, the Heart of Sorrow slowly grew in power, devouring the energies of the land itself.

Echoes of Evil

Though Strahd slept in Castle Ravenloft, his children and servants remained active in Barovia. Without their master to restrain their appetites, dozens of Strahd’s surviving vampire spawn dispersed across the valley, beginning a reign of terror that made the streets run red with blood.

Lugdana, a paladin of the Morninglord, took up arms to defend her people. With the aid of burgomaster Ismark Antonovich and the wereraven Livius Martikov, she uncovered the secret history of the long-lost Sigil of the Sun, an ancient artifact that could aid her in her quest.

It was Livius who discovered that the Sigil of the Sun lay in the crypts of Castle Ravenloft, and Livius who stole it while Lugdana and Ismark kept the castle’s guards distracted. With Lugdana wielding the sigil’s power, the trio began a campaign to root out and destroy nests of vampires scattered across Barovia, inspiring renewed faith in the Morninglord’s glory wherever they went.

Unwilling to reveal that the power to resist Strahd’s creatures had come from the Devil’s own castle, but determined to give his people something to believe in, Ismark told the masses that an angel in the form of a raven had delivered the sigil to them—and so it became known as the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (42)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (43)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (44)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (45)

Grateful for Ismark’s honor, and inspired by their adventures alongside Lugdana, Livius Martikov founded the Keepers of the Feather: a secret society of wereravens who would aid and assist the good-hearted heroes of Barovia. Membership was small, at first, limited to Livius’s own family—but as time passed, their ranks began to grow.

By the time of Lugdana’s crusade, Baba Lysaga had begun to recruit a coven of witches from amongst the exiles and forsaken of Barovia. However, twenty-five years after Lugdana had first claimed the Holy Symbol, many of Baba Lysaga’s faithful had grown resentful of the swamp-mother’s tireless dedication to Strahd. With the vampire asleep in his castle, the youngest among the coven had no living memory of his power or authority and no desire to serve his name or legacy.

The strongest among them, a witch who called herself Baba Zelenna, secretly founded the Cult of Chernovog: a fiendish cult that venerated the demon prince Chernovog and sought to summon him into Barovia to overthrow Strahd. The cult assembled at the Forest Fane at Yester Hill, seeking to use its power for their own ends. Together, they broke Strahd’s bond to the sacred fane and began the ritual that would summon Chernovog, known also as the Green God, to wreak havoc across the valley.

With the weight of years upon her shoulders, Lugdana was now far from the days of her prime. Ismark, named “Ismark the Great” for his feats of bravery, had perished in a heroic fight defending the people of his village years before. Lugdana and Livius went alone to Yester Hill to do battle with the coven and Chernovog.

The demon prince was fearsome, but the Holy Symbol and the Keepers’ aid balanced the scales. With a mighty blow, Lugdana felled Chernovog and dispelled his spirit—but sustained a wound that soon cost her her life. In the chaos, the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind was lost, vanishing once more amidst the sands of time.

A New Generation

Three years after Lugdana’s death, in a land far beyond the valley, Rudolph van Richten was born.

By the time he was twenty-eight, he was a successful doctor and husband, married to his childhood sweetheart, Ingrid. Across the Mists, in the land of Barovia, Livius Martikov’s grandson Davian became the proud father to Urwin, Davian’s first-born child.

Not far from the Martikovs' winery, in the town of Vallaki, the sixteen-year-old Fiona Wachter ran away from home following an explosive argument with her parents and brother. She found herself in the Old Svalich Woods, where the witch Baba Lysaga found her.

Lysaga led Fiona to the ruins of old Berez and allowed her to become a member of her witch's coven. There, Fiona learned of Mother Night, of Strahd's legacy and curse, and of the secrets of magic, though she struggled to hear, as Baba Lysaga called it, "the voice of Mother Night."

Six months later, however, upon learning that her parents and brother had died in a tragic accident, Fiona chose to return to Vallaki against Lysaga's will. Though Fiona secretly took her grimoire of magic with her, Baba Lysaga banished Fiona for her decision, barring her from returning to Berez ever again.

Fiona returned to take command of Wachterhaus, her family's estate. As she wept and prayed in her parents' former bedroom, a voice spoke to her—identifying itself not as Mother Night, but as Ezra, goddess of the Mists. Fiona accepted the voice's counsel eagerly, ignorant of its nature as a mere mask of the Dark Powers.

Six years later, Rudolph van Richten's son, Erasmus, was born. However, when Erasmus was fourteen, the young Vistana Ezmerelda d’Avenir watched in horror as her parents, joined by the members of the Radanavich Vistani caravan, kidnapped Erasmus and sold him to the vampire Baron Metus.

Rudolph tracked down and interrogated Ezmerelda's parents before departing to find his son, but was too late, losing not only Erasmus, but Ingrid as well. (See Ezmerelda d'Avenir (p. 231) and Rictavio (p. 238).) Rudolph destroyed Metus in fury, and took up a life of hunting monsters—and vengeance against the Vistani.

For three years, Rudolph traveled in search of the Vistani who had wronged him. As he did, he passed through the territory of a lich and was followed by a horde of voracious undead, as described in Journal of Rudolph van Richten (p. 254). When he finally came upon the Radanavich clan, he released the undead swarm upon them, declaring, "Undead take you as you have taken my son!”

The horde killed all but one young man: Arturi Radanavich, who hid away in a trunk until Rudolph and the monsters had gone. The leader of the Radanavich clan, the Vistana seer Madam Irene Radanavich, cursed Rudolph as she died, as described in Journal of Rudolph van Richten (p. 254). Ezmerelda d’Avenir and her parents, however, survived unaware of the massacre, having departed from the Radanaviches’ company mere weeks before.

That same year, in Barovia, Izek and his younger sister, the four-year-old Ireena Strazni, were attacked by a dire wolf, as described in Izek Strazni (p. 231). Izek lost his arm, and Ireena fled. She would later appear near the Village of Barovia with no memory of her past, where she would be adopted by Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich. (See E5f. Chapel (p. 46).

Izek soon lost his parents to grief, as described in Izek Strazni (p. 231), and lashed out at those around him—eventually killing several other children. He was caught and pardoned by Vargas Vallakovich, the adult son of Baron Valentin Vallakovich. Against his father's wishes, Vargas took Izek into their home. Vargas's wife, Lydia Petrovna, was disturbed by the boy’s violent proclivities and withdrew to care obsessively for the their newborn son, Victor.

Six years later, while ransacking a household that had failed to pay its taxes, Izek—now Vargas's loyal enforcer—found an amber shard tucked away in a forgotten box. The vestige from whence it came spoke to Izek in his dreams, promising him the power to demand respect, authority, and status. That night, in the attic of the Baron's mansion, it gifted Izek with a fiendish limb that could conjure fire, as described in Izek Strazni (p. 231).

Izek was seen, however, by Baron Valentin Vallakovich. A deeply religious man, Valentin condemned Izek for his blasphemy and vowed to cast him out of the Vallakovich household. Instead, Izek suffocated him with a pillow, savoring the Baron's slow, quiet death. Unbeknownst to Izek, Valentin's son, Vargas, observed the entire interaction. Rather than intervene, however, Vargas chose to do nothing, both out of hatred for his father's abuse and from Vargas's own narcissistic ambitions.

Vargas became Baron, and Izek his right hand. Not long thereafter, Izek began to dream of Ireena and commissioned the toymaker Gadof Blinsky to craft toys that resembled her. (See Izek Strazni (p. 231) and Creepy Toys (p. 118).)

Meanwhile, at the Wizard of Wines, Danika Dorakova, a wereraven and agent of the Keepers of the Feather, became pregnant with the child of Urwin Martikov, her sweetheart and beau. Alarmed by their romantic dalliances, their families betrothed them at once to ensure that the child would not be born out of wedlock.

Shortly before the wedding, however, a Vistana—acting at the behest of Madam Eva—secretly stole one of the three magic gems from the winery’s fields while Urwin was on watch, ending its production of Champagne du Stompe. Madam Eva foresaw that the theft would bring discord to the Martikov family and drive Urwin to Vallaki, where he would one day assist and guide heroes who could defeat Strahd and return sunlight to Barovia.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (46)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (47)

Madam Eva’s foretelling proved prescient. As described in Chapter 12: The Wizard of Wines (p. 173), Davian blamed Urwin for the theft, leading to a bitter fight. Urwin and Danika departed the winery altogether for Vallaki, where they purchased a run-down tavern and renamed it the Blue Water Inn. The inn soon became a haven for the members of the Keepers of the Feather, who expanded their operations in Vallaki and extended their spy network.

Not far away, in the Vistani encampment just outside of Vallaki, the Vistana Luvash became the proud father of Arabelle—an unknowing descendant of Madam Eva’s blood.

Months later, Ezmerelda, now a young woman, ran from home in search of Dr. Van Richten. Two years passed before she finally found him, becoming his apprentice as described in Ezmerelda d'Avenir (p. 231). Their companionship lasted for two more years, after which they parted ways after months of infighting. Less than a year later, a werewolf bit off Ezmerelda’s right leg following a rescue mission gone wrong, sidelining her for months while she commissioned an artisan to craft a prosthetic.

Back in Barovia, the young Victor Vallakovich found an old spellbook in his father’s library—the lost spellbook of the lich Khazan—and began to teach himself magic. That same winter, Nikolai Wachter, the husband of Lady Fiona Wachter, died of illness, breaking Fiona’s heart. Meanwhile, the last elders of the Vallakian Vistani encampment passed away, leaving Luvash—and his younger brother Arrigal—in charge of the caravan.

Strahd’s Return

Two years after Nikolai Wachter’s death, Dr. Van Richten came to learn the terrible truth of the Vistani curse that haunted him. Maddened with rage, he became determined to seek vengeance upon the Vistani people for the deaths of those he had lost across the years. He was saved, however, by the return of Arturi Radanavich—the sole survivor of Van Richten’s massacre two decades before.

Unbeknownst to Van Richten, the words he had spoken to unleash the undead horde had cursed Arturi, driving undead to pursue him wherever he went. Arturi, exiled from the Vistani caravans, sought Van Richten’s aid to lift this curse—and offered a chance to lift Van Richten’s in turn.

Together, the two men spent a year among the Vistani: Arturi, the exile, and Van Richten, the enemy. Van Richten learned their ways, came to know their people, and slowly released the hatred that had gripped his heart. When the year came to an end, Arturi and Van Richten became blood-brothers, forgiving one another the sins of their pasts and lifting their curses.

Finally at peace, Van Richten retired to his home accompanied by a parting gift from Arturi: a mischievous monkey named Piccolo. However, as Van Richten prepared to document his life’s work, he recalled that Strahd von Zarovich—the greatest vampire of all—still lurked within Barovia like a shadow beneath the land.

Van Richten’s research confirmed that Strahd still slumbered in the catacombs of Ravenloft, but he knew that the vampire would not remain vulnerable forever. Determined to see the task done before his last years were upon him, Van Richten prepared his tools one final time and set off through the Mists.

Six months later, Van Richten—now disguised as a traveling scholar and accompanying a caravan of Vistani—arrived in the quiet village of Barovia. The burgomaster, a man named Kolyan Indirovich, welcomed him as an honored guest, and Van Richten settled in to gather intelligence and prepare his attack.

Two weeks after Van Richten’s arrival, however, disaster struck. A massive undead dire wolf—the beloved pet of Strahd’s bride Anastrasya Karelova—attacked a group of Barovian children who had strayed too far from the village. Van Richten, luckily nearby, fended off the beast and destroyed it, freeing the children with nary a scratch.

It was ill luck, however, that the beast’s attacks knocked off Van Richten’s hat of disguise, revealing his true appearance. It was worse luck still that the priest’s son—a young man named Doru who had been looking for the children himself—recognized Van Richten’s face, tools, and fighting style from Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires, a well-worn tome that Doru had read countless times since purchasing it from a Vistani caravan. That evening, Doru confronted Van Richten, demanding to confirm his true identity.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (48)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (49)

Cornered, Van Richten reluctantly did so—and an awestruck Doru posed an ambitious and audacious plan. A fierce devotee of the Morninglord’s sacred texts and an amateur swordsman, Doru was determined to lead an army against Castle Ravenloft and return sunlight to Barovia. With Dr. Rudolph van Richten at their helm, Doru believed their righteous fight would surely be victorious.

Van Richten attempted to dissuade him—but Doru was unconvinced. Proud and zealous, Doru demanded the right to accompany Van Richten to Castle Ravenloft to destroy the vampire Strahd. To force the old man’s hand, Doru vowed to gather his friends and neighbors and set off for the castle in the morning—with or without Van Richten’s aid.

Realizing that Doru’s crusade would see his companions destroyed—and risk awakening Strahd regardless—Van Richten reluctantly agreed to accompany them, if only to ensure that their lives were not spent for naught. He exacted from Doru a promise to depart in two days’ time, rather than one, giving him additional time to prepare. Doru also agreed to conceal Van Richten’s true identity, calling him by the alias “Alanik Ray” to avoid alerting Strahd’s servants.

As Van Richten readied himself for the journey, Doru raised the cry of revolution. By the day of reckoning, he had gathered a mob of two-dozen hopeful young Barovians to march upon the keep, promising to restore the light of the sun to the dreary valley. Ismark Kolyanovich, a skilled swordsman and the son of Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich, remained behind, concerned of the consequences should the village be undefended.

As Van Richten had feared, though Doru’s efforts proved worse than fruitless: Instead of killing Strahd, the mob only awoke him from his hibernation. Stirred from his slumber, Strahd massacred the Barovian invaders, sparing only two: Escher, a talented bard who confessed a fascination with Strahd and the dark power of immortality; and Doru himself.

As Van Richten fled from the castle for Chapter 11: Van Richten’s Tower (p. 167), Strahd turned both Escher and Doru into vampire spawn. He kept Escher to amuse him as a consort and cupbearer, and—after forcing “Alanik’s” true identity from his lips—sent Doru back to Barovia to bring terror to its people.

Displeased with the weakening of his rule while he had slept, Strahd summoned his minions to Castle Ravenloft and ordered them to restore his authority over the land. He also directed them to hunt down Dr. Van Richten, as described in Find Rudolph van Richten (p. 10). The castle’s servants, Lief Lipsiege and Cyrus Belview, proved grateful to finally have a proper lord to serve.

Meanwhile, Strahd interrogated Rahadin to confirm the current date—and was relieved to learn that the time of the Grand Conjunction had not yet passed. Rahadin, knowledgeable of Strahd’s tells, inquired as to the reason behind Strahd’s concern—and Strahd shared with him the secrets of the Fanes, the Heart of Sorrow, and the coming Grand Conjunction.

Their conversation was overheard, however, by the banshee of Patrina Velikovna, described further in Crypt 21 (Patrina Velikovna) (p. 89). Eager to seize Strahd’s power for herself, and seeing an opportunity to manipulate circumstances in her favor, Patrina contacted Kasimir in his dreams as described in Kasimir Velikov (p. 232) and K9a. Kasimir’s Hovel (p. 121).

As his minions prepared to execute his bidding, Strahd gave Rahadin a critical task: announcing the Devil's return to Castle Ravenloft. Rahadin rode forth from the keep with haste and delivered his proclamation first to Barovia. As punishment for their treason, he told them, the village of Barovia alone would face Strahd's wrath, giving them ninety days to make peace with their gods.

Rahadin rode next to Vallaki and Krezk, sharing the news of Strahd's reawakening. In response, a terrified Baron Vargas Vallakovich closed Vallaki's gates to outsiders, and began hosting weekly festivals in an effort to drive out the Devil's influence.

Shortly after Rahadin's warning, many of the villagers of Barovia proposed an exodus to Vallaki, where they could take shelter behind the town's fortified walls. However, when Ismark Kolyanovich gave a rousing speech invoking the memory of Lugdana and Ismark the Great, most decided to remain in the village to defend their homes. Only a few Barovians—two dozen at most—gathered up their belongings and fled on the Old Svalich Road.

Upon their arrival, however, Baron Vargas Vallakovich refused to allow the Barovian refugees entry, fearful that they were cursed by Strahd’s wrath. With news of the vampire’s return ringing in his ears, the Baron instead enacted a series of iron-fisted laws, clamping down on “malicious unhappiness” and mandating attendance at the “festivals” that he now considered the keys to Vallaki’s salvation.

Not far away, in the village of Krezk, the Abbot felt Strahd’s return, and became determined to see the vampire’s curse lifted. (See The Abbot (p. 225).) The Abbot directed two of his attendants, the mongrelfolk Otto and Zygfrek Belview, to begin scouring the village’s cemeteries for human remains.

Meanwhile, the darkness and despair spread by Strahd’s revival drew the attention of Morgantha, a night hag, and her two daughters, Bella Sunbane and Offalia Wormwiggle. The coven, drawn to Barovia like moths to a flame, took up residence in Chapter 6: Old Bonegrinder (p. 125) and began selling Dream Pastries (p. 125) to the Barovian refugees outside of Vallaki. Hoping to keep apprised of Castle Ravenloft’s doings, Morgantha bestowed her coven’s hag eye upon Cyrus Belview, as described in K62. Servants’ Hall (p. 76).

Concerned that the Barovian werewolf pack had forgotten its ancient fealty to him, Strahd closed the valley's borders to them and sent dire wolf emissaries to confirm their loyalty once more. Emil Toranescu, the pack's alpha, privately schemed to betray Strahd's pact and escape through the mists—until Kiril Stoyanovich, a younger and more ambitious werewolf, betrayed him in turn. Strahd locked Emil in the castle dungeons, and Kiril took control of the pack in his stead.

The Darkened Valley

Two weeks now had passed since the failed revolt, and Strahd began gathering hordes of undead to serve his wrathful will. Upon learning of his dark designs, the revenant knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon demanded that their commander, Vladimir Horngaard, release them from their vows and permit them to warn and defend the village.

Enraged by their defiance, Vladimir banished his knights from the mansion and commanded them to secrecy, allowing only Sir Godfrey Gwilym to remain.

Not long thereafter, Kasimir Velikov, investigating the secrets of the Amber Temple at Patrina's direction, visited the now-empty manor of Argynvostholt and spoke with Sir Godfrey. Though Godfrey warned him to avoid the darkness that lay within the temple, Kasimir did not leave empty-handed, finding amidst the rubble an ancient map that bore the temple's location.

As Kasimir prepared to climb the slopes of Mount Ghakis, Victor Vallakovich and Stella Wachter—the children of Baron Vallakovich and Lady Fiona Wachter—activated a prototype teleportation circle, dreaming of escaping Strahd's tyranny. The circle malfunctioned, however, and the psychic backlash tore Stella's soul from her body. Enraged by Stella's fate, Lady Wachter began recruiting a cult to depose the Vallakovich clan.

In Krezk, the Abbot completed a prototype of his own: a monstrous flesh golem, which he set to patrolling S15. Madhouse (p. 151). He swiftly began work on his next project: a masterpiece to serve as Strahd's final bride.

As the Abbot's grave-robbing intensified, Kasimir attempted to reach the Amber Temple, but was turned back by the vrocks of Tsolenka Pass at T2. Demon Statues (p. 157). Wounded and despondent, Kasimir returned to the dusk elves’ settlement to ponder his next move.

The Wrath of Strahd

Ninety days after Rahadin's proclamation, Strahd's undead army was finally complete. He unleashed the zombie horde against the village of Barovia—and, to punish Doru, sent him to the Barovian church to torment his father, Father Donavich.

The zombies’ siege of the town lasted a full week, with the undead crashing against crude village fortifications night after night. Though the village was ultimately secured, dozens of lives were lost—including, on the final night, the life of Burgomaster Indirovich himself. With that, Strahd finally withdrew his forces, allowing the Barovians to heal their wounded, gather their dead, and attempt to rebuild.

The burgomaster’s children, Ismark and Ireena, took charge of the rebuilding effort. Even so, many Barovians, fearful of Strahd’s emergence and the threat of Castle Ravenloft, left their ruined homes and broken families and fled for Vallaki to the west, hoping that its high walls could bring security.

Many of those who remained in the village of Barovia turned on Ismark, blaming him for dissuading them from fleeing for safety weeks before. Ismark—named for his ancestor “Ismark the Great”—was now mocked as “Ismark the Lesser.”

Two nights after the siege ended, visiting the village in disguise to assure himself of its submission, Strahd caught a glimpse of Ireena in the streets—and recognized her as the spitting image of Tatyana Federovna.

The following night, believing Ireena to be Tatyana’s latest reincarnation, Strahd visited the burgomaster’s manor and charmed his way inside before biting her. Two nights later, he visited again, overcoming Ismark and Ireena’s best efforts to resist him and biting Ireena a second time. Desperate and defiant, the two siblings placed heavy fortifications around the manor—all while doing their best to keep Strahd’s visitations hidden from the other villagers.

Now, as Strahd’s servants spread themselves across the valley, obedient once more to the vampire’s will, a creeping darkness is returning to corrupt the land. Shadows lurk in every corner, and the Mists watch silently as the horrors unfold.

Meanwhile, in a distant land far beyond the valley, several travellers arrive in the town of Daggerford, blissfully unaware of the trials that await…

Design Notes: History of Barovia

Origins of the Valley. The "First Folk" are a fleshed-out interpretation of the ancient druids and mountain tribes mentioned in the original module. The Ladies of the Fanes, as well as the Fanes themselves, are reinterpretations of lore from the 3.5 module Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, added to Curse of Strahd: Reloaded in order to give Strahd a more active goal (i.e., escaping Barovia) and to tie together a number of narrative elements, including the werewolves, the wereravens, the winery's enchanted gems, and Madam Eva's divine pact.

The Amber Temple. No changes have been made to this period of history aside from Neferon's biography.

Fall of the First Folk. This section aims to provide additional depth to Kavan and Dostron, to explain why and how the Ladies of the Fanes were unable to resist Strahd's invasion, and to justify the druids' decision to aid Strahd in desecrating the Fanes.

The Von Zarovich Line. This section aims to flesh out the history of Strahd's "ancestral homeland" and to place Saint Andral into a fuller historical context. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Arrival of the Outsiders. This section aims to justify the Martikovs' possession of the winery's enchanted gemstones and to place Saint Markovia into a fuller historical context. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Birth of Barovia. This section aims to explain Strahd's refusal to name himself "king," his decision to allow Sergei to inherit their father's sword, and the cause of Argynvostholt's exaggerated collapse. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Rise of Castle Ravenloft. This section elects to have Strahd initially refuse the dark gift of the Vampyr in order to both establish his independence from Patrina and to set up his pact with the Dark Powers later on. The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind has been initially renamed to the Sigil of the Sun in order to provide an opportunity for the relic to be given its "Ravenkind" association later on. Patrina's characterization has also been somewhat further developed. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Strahd Becomes the Land. This section aims to resolve the apparent contradiction between the one-year time limit that revenants have to fulfill their revenge and the fact that multiple years passed between Strahd's conquest and death. The druidic elders have also been added in order to justify the division between the "Forest Folk" of Yester Hill and the "Mountain Folk" of Soldav, given that the latter are an essential part of conveying the Fanes questline.

Sergei and Tatyana. This section has incorporated classic Ravenloft lore regarding Sergei's negligence of his priestly duties. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Arrival of the Mists. This section aims to reconcile the module's assertion that Strahd made two pacts—one with a vestige, and one with the Dark Powers—as well as to set up Tatyana's relationship with the Dark Powers in order to give Ireena's character arc a suitable climax when she confronts her past lives' memories at Marina's Monument in Berez. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Aftermath of the Wedding. This section expressly links Katarina and the Seeker, replacing Katarina's pact with the evil Mother Night and justifying the Seeker's continued involvement in mortal affairs (when compared with the inactive Weaver and Huntress). The Heart of Sorrow has also been linked to the slaughtered castle guards to provide it with an appropriate origin story. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from—or, at least, not inconsistent with—the original module.

Ghosts of the Past. This period of history is unchanged from the original module.

Strahd's First Followers. The Dursts' history has been changed to enhance Death House's status as a "miniaturization" of Barovia, paralleling Elisabeth Durst's villainy to Strahd's. The shambling mound of the original module has been exchanged for a flesh mound bound to Walter's spirit, which both creates a more evocative final boss for the Death House dungeon and mirrors the Heart of Sorrow as a symbol of the local "Darklord's" fall from grace. Finally, Elisabeth Durst has been given an amber shard—a new kind of magical item that allows the players to connect with the vestiges of the Amber Temple before ascending Tsolenka Pass—in order to explain the source of her cult's power and to foreshadow the shards' appearance later on in the revised campaign.

Passage Into History. This section aims to explain why Strahd—a near-five hundred-year-old vampire—has not progressed beyond the expertise of a 9th-level wizard, and to incorporate old Ravenloft lore from prior editions of D&D to add further depth to Leo Dilisnya's destruction and Strahd's relationship with the Wachter family. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

The Decades Pass. This section moves Berez's destruction further into Barovia's past, creating opportunities for Tatyana's soul to experience additional reincarnations between Marina and Ireena. This section also aims to explain the Martikovs' inheritance of the Wizard of Wines, explain the winery's close relationship with Krezk, identify the source of Baba Lysaga's flying giant skull, and provide additional background for Strahd's vampiric brides, who have been given expanded roles in this guide in order to provide the players with level-appropriate antagonists before the final battle. The Grand Conjunction has been added to provide Strahd with a more active agenda in the time leading up to the final battle. Finally, Strahd's hibernation has been added to turn modern-day Barovia into a more active and dynamic environment and to explain the timing of Strahd's more antagonistic schemes (e.g., the destruction of the Wizard of Wines or the attack on St. Andral's church).

Echoes of Evil. This section aims to flesh out the history of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, explain why Ismark Koylanovich is called Ismark "the Lesser," develop the beginnings of the Keepers of the Feather, and—by requiring Strahd to reestablish his connection to the Forest Fane upon reawakening—prevent Strahd from obtaining the necessary energy for his Grand Conjunction plan during his hibernation, thereby providing the players with a meaningful opportunity to halt his plan by reconsecrating the Fane themselves. The cult of Chernovog is incorporated from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft to justify the disappearance of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

A New Generation. This section aims to reconcile the evident contradictions between Van Richten's account of past events (in which he claims that he killed Ezmerelda's parents) and Ezmerelda's account of the same (in which she claims that Van Richten showed them mercy). Arturi Radanavich, a character of the 2nd Edition book Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani, has been added to provide additional depth to Van Richten's character and introduce Van Richten's biography to the players at Tser Pool, thereby limiting the players' suspicion when they encounter him in Vallaki. This section also aims to explain the disappearance of the winery's third enchanted gem, the source of Izek's demonic arm, the source (and speed) of Victor Vallakovich's arcane learning, and the source of Fiona Wachter's spellcasting abilities. This period of history is otherwise unchanged from the original module.

Strahd's Return. This section further develops Van Richten's relationship with Arturi and reworks Van Richten's original plan to slay Strahd by removing the nonsensical (and ethically problematic) "saber-toothed tiger" plot. This section also sets the wheels in motion for the adventure to come, tying together Strahd's knowledge of Van Richten's presence, Doru's transformation into a vampire, the Barovian rebellion against Castle Ravenloft, Ismark's condemnation by the villagers of Barovia, and Escher's acceptance into Strahd's collection of consorts.

The Darkened Valley. This section provides a reasonable time period for Strahd's awakening to reverberate throughout Barovia, thereby setting up many of the challenges and conflicts, such as Kasimir's search for the Amber Temple and Stella Wachter's "illness," that the players will later face.

The Wrath of Strahd. This section provides context for the players' arrival in the village of Barovia, setting up Ireena's journey alongside them.

Strahd von Zarovich

Roleplaying Strahd

Strahd is cold and calculating, skilled in social manipulation and deception. As the adventure unfolds, his attitude toward the players shifts significantly. Though Strahd never conceals his nature or identity, this dynamic relationship manifests as three "roles" that he plays: the Gentleman, the Tyrant, and the Monster.

The Gentleman

When the players first enter Barovia, Strahd acts as the Gentleman—polished and poised, if somewhat sociopathic. He is welcoming, well-mannered, and insatiably curious. His goal—to learn the ins and outs of the players' minds, including their goals, strengths, and weaknesses.

As the Gentleman, Strahd should flatter the players with his interest and curiosity, offend them with his arrogance and condescension, and disgust them with his disregard for human freedom.

In this role, Strahd most often feels curious, amused, nostalgic, or disappointed. Consider channeling Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs), Don Corleone (The Godfather), or Frank Underwood (House of Cards) when playing him.

The Gentleman avoids clashes as much as he can, taking any player rudeness or defiance in stride. If pushed, he might send his minions to stop a player's physical attacks, but only as a last resort.

The Tyrant

When he learns that the players have relit the beacon of Argynvostholt at the conclusion Arc R: The Beacon of Argynvostholt, Strahd becomes the Tyrant—harsh, stern, and somewhat cruel. He keeps his cool and aloof demeanor, but treats the players less like guests and more like disappointing protégés. His goal—to push the players to their limits, testing their resilience and assessing their competence.

As the Tyrant, Strahd should offend the players with his insults and condescension, and disgust them with his disregard for human life.

In this role, Strahd most often feels disappointed, scornful, satisfied, amused, and contemptuous. Consider channeling Moriarty (Sherlock), Tywin Lannister (Game of Thrones), Severus Snape (Harry Potter), and Omni-Man (Invincible).

The Tyrant never strikes first—but will dare defiant players to back their words with action. Should a player back down, Strahd mocks their resolve and capabilities. Any players who attack him, though, are met with a swift and ruthless response—though never a lethal one.

The Monster

When he first learns that the players have restored the blade of the Sunsword in Arc V: The Sunsword, Strahd abandons all pretense and becomes the Monster—a cold, unfeeling sociopath, described further in Roleplaying Strahd (p. 10). His goal—to achieve his goals, no matter the cost.

As the Monster, Strahd should disgust the players with his complete indifference to life and death, inspire pity for his inability to feel happiness or love, and frustrate the players with his refusal to ever lose his cool.

In this role, Strahd most often feels indifferent, curious, satisfied, and determined. Consider channeling Stan Edgar (The Boys), Gus Fring (Breaking Bad), and Thanos (Avengers: Endgame).

The Monster crushes any resistance ruthlessly and efficiently. Though he can't be provoked, he's too proud to ever flee from a fight.

Strahd’s Relationships

Strahd has a complex web of relationships with the denizens of Barovia, many of which are described below.

Death House. Strahd views the cult of Death House with respectful disdain; he finds their methods and obsessions distasteful, but appreciates their efforts to bring worthy consorts and adversaries from the lands beyond the Mists.

Village of Barovia. Strahd believes, without romance or obsession, that Ireena Kolyana’s body is the host for Tatyana’s soul, and that Tatyana’s soul belongs to him. Through his spies, he is aware of Ismark Kolyanovich’s position and relationship to Ireena, but finds him to be a lackluster leader and a half-rate swordsman. He views Donavich and Doru with scorn, disdaining the convictions, pride, and faith that Doru had in life.

Tser Pool Encampment. Strahd finds Madam Eva a fascinating enigma, but has come to an unspoken understanding with her: she shall read his fortune whenever he requests it, and, in exchange, he will not delve too deeply into her history or affairs.

Old Bonegrinder. Strahd is aware of the night hag coven’s presence, but has little interest in their affairs.

Town of Vallaki. Strahd has no interest in Baron Vargas Vallakovich, but, through his spies, believes him to be a bumbling fool. He finds Lady Fiona Wachter to be a useful agent and favors her for her family’s history of loyalty, but cares little for her obsession with Vallakian politics. He is aware of the existence of the Keepers of the Feather (though not that the Blue Water Inn serves as their meeting-place), but does not view them as a significant threat.

Vistani Encampment. Strahd holds Arrigal as one of his favored spies. However, he pays little mind to the dusk elves—Kasimir especially—and has little interest in their affairs.

Argynvostholt. Strahd views the revenants of the Order of the Silver Dragon with disinterested contempt, but has long since determined that the knights pose no threat to him, and has largely ignored them as a result. He has heard the rumors that Argynvost’s spirit haunts the manor, but pays them no mind; he would refuse to believe that the beacon of Argynvostholt could be relit even if told to his face.

Wizard of Wines. Strahd is aware that the winery is a stronghold for the Keepers of the Feather, but does not view them as a significant threat. He has delegated their “discipline” to Ludmilla, ensuring that their insubordination and resistance will be properly punished.

Yester Hill. Strahd views the Forest Folk with disdain and some amusement. He finds their maddened worship to be more grating than gratifying, and views the modern generation as a poor shadow of their more distinguished forebears. He does find them to be useful tools, however, and knows that their “faith” is a necessary evil to ensure their continued loyalty.

Village of Krezk. Strahd has little interest in Baron Dmitri Krezkov or the people of Krezk. He is, amused by the Abbot’s descent into madness and corruption. He intends to temporarily “play along” with the Abbot’s efforts to construct a flesh golem bride for him, but has no serious intention of accepting Vasilka when complete.

Werewolf Den. Strahd finds Kiril Stoyanovich to be a useful and loyal servant, if somewhat brutish and unsophisticated. He intends to keep Emil Toranescu, the pack’s former alpha, as a prisoner in his dungeons until Emil is sufficiently mad with starvation to be “tamed.”

Tsolenka Pass. Strahd is peripherally aware that the Mountain Folk roam the Balinok Mountains, but—due to Elder Burebis’s protection—is unaware of the existence of their settlement Monsdav. He considers the Mountain Folk to be a lost and broken people and has no use for or interest in them.

Amber Temple. Strahd respects Neferon’s dedication to protecting the temple and finds him to be a worthy guardian of the treasures contained within. He has historically had a collegial respect for Exethanter, but, after awakening from his own hibernation, was disappointed by Exethanter’s loss of memory—something Strahd has little interest in restoring.

Castle Ravenloft. Strahd is amused by the efforts of his brides—Ludmilla Vilisevic, Anastrasya Karelova, and Volenta Popfsky—to placate and impress him. He is momentarily entertained by his newest consort, Escher, but has been distracted lately by other, grander designs. He views Rahadin as his most loyal, trusted, and favored servant, but spares little mind to the other staff and occupants of the castle, including Cyrus Belview, Lief Lipsiege, the coven of witches, and his own vampire spawn. By contrast, Beucephalus is his favored “pet” and most valued tool.

Strahd’s Goals

Strahd’s primary goal is simple: to free himself and Barovia from the Mists.

As a conqueror, Strahd craves new lands and the freedom—and power—to claim them. He seeks to restore his long-lost empire, with Castle Ravenloft and the valley of Barovia as its seat of power.

To this end, he needs three things: a pacified kingdom, a host of loyal servants, and—most importantly—an escape plan.

By defeating his servants and halting their schemes, the players can deny him the first; by defending Ireena Kolyana and resisting his temptations, they can also deny him the second. However, Strahd has plans within plans, and there is only one way to halt his final scheme: to destroy the vampire himself.

Reclaiming the Valley

When Strahd awoke from his century-long slumber, he found that much had changed.

The people of Barovia had forgotten why they feared him, and their burgomasters no longer served him faithfully. His servants and consorts had dispersed across the valley in pursuit of their own schemes and whims, and the wilds themselves had somehow cleansed the stain of corruption.

That, he knew, must be addressed.

He moved quickly to reclaim the Forest Fane as his own, restoring its bond to the Heart of Sorrow once more. He bade Rahadin to find staff and attendants for Castle Ravenloft, and to ensure that each of the keep’s occupants served their master’s will. And he summoned his brides and spawn to Castle Ravenloft, commanding them to spread his shadow across the valley once more.

Since then, Strahd has broken the village of Barovia and brought the werewolf pack to heel. He seeks next to break the town of Vallaki and the village of Krezk, to discipline the so-called “Keepers of the Feather,” and to capture the vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten.

When his servants’ work is done, Strahd expects to look down from the Pillarstone of Ravenloft upon a faithful and fearful populace, its people subservient to the Devil of Castle Ravenloft once more.

Renewing His Servants

When Strahd awoke from his slumber, he found that many of his vampiric brides and other servants had dispersed across the valley, forgoing his dark will in favor of their own petty pursuits. He has quickly moved to correct this—but some doubts still remain.

Strahd seeks assurances that, when he escapes Barovia, he will do so with an army that will heed his words and execute his will without error or hesitation. To this end, he has delegated many of his plots to reassert his authority to his servants. Should they succeed, they shall be exalted and placed in positions of authority beneath him; should they fail, they shall be locked in the crypts beneath Ravenloft for eternity.

Strahd is always hungry for new talent, however, and is on the lookout for new generals to serve his conquests and fresh consorts to keep him entertained. When the players arrive in Barovia, he focuses his attention on those who are especially charismatic, arrogant, intelligent, cunning, or attractive, seeking to determine whether any among the party are worthy of serving him in undeath.

Though Strahd has not said so expressly, his brides are well-aware of the risk of being replaced—a motivation that he hopes will fuel their efforts on his behalf.Strahd believes fully in the “survival of the fittest” and expects to see the strongest rise to the top.

Escaping the Mists

With Madam Eva’s reluctant guidance, Strahd has learned that the Grand Conjunction—a time when the barriers between worlds will be thinned, and the energies of the stars aligned—is a prime opportunity to free himself from the Dark Powers’ prison.

To this end, Strahd has crafted an ambitious and dangerous ritual to escape the Mists, using the Heart of Sorrow as its conduit and anchor. This ritual has three necessary components: a power source, a control mechanism, and a catalyst.

The Power Source. Strahd’s plan requires a substantial amount of power—far more than he can supply himself. So long as he remains bonded to the Fanes of Barovia, however, he can channel their power directly into the Heart of Sorrow for use in the ritual.

Using the Fanes in the ritual will also allow Strahd to bring the valley itself—and all of its inhabitants—along with him to the Material Plane. Given that Barovia was his final conquest and the centerpiece of his power, Strahd will not relinquish it so easily.

The Control Mechanism. The raw power of the leylines beneath the Fanes is wild and near-impossible to control. Even as their master, only a token of the Ladies’ divinity can allow Strahd to direct them. He has recently learned that a child with the blood of the Seeker resides somewhere within the valley—the Vistana Arabelle, though Strahd does not yet know her name—and has directed his spies to locate and capture her.

Should this plot fail, Strahd must instead journey to the Whispering Wall at Yester Hill and make a sacrifice of great personal value—his animated armor, the symbol of his early conquests and might—exchanging a piece of his past for a promise of his future.

The Catalyst. Power and control are all well and good. In order to break through a wall, however, all good conquerors need a point of attack. To this end, Strahd plans to forge a battering ram capable of piercing through the Mists—a siege weapon forged from the souls of the Barovians themselves.

The Mists, as creations of the Dark Powers, are born of apathy, fear, and despair. To escape the Mists without drawing their ire, therefore, Strahd intends to surround the Heart of Sorrow with a shell of wailing, hopeless souls. He believes that, by brutally reasserting his dominion over Barovia, his subjects will lose themselves to fear and despair, darkening their souls to meet his needs.

By consuming the Barovians’ souls, Strahd can also use the energies of his escape to repurpose their soulless husks as undead soldiers, forging a new army for his conquests to come. The sole exceptions include Ireena Kolyana and Dr. Rudolph van Richten, who Strahd will allow to keep their souls for his own purposes.

Plans Within Plans. If the players reconsecrate the Fanes, Strahd quickly devises a backup plan. By becoming the champions of the Fanes, the players will unknowingly have made themselves into conduits for their power, allowing Strahd to access the Fanes’ energies if he can lure the players to Castle Ravenloft.

He can do this by using the power stored in the Heart of Sorrow to plunge Barovia into eternal night, raising the deceased from their graves and sending a plague of undead against Barovia’s settlements—a siege that will end only if Strahd himself is defeated. As a bonus, Strahd believes that this undead apocalypse will surely drive the Barovians into fear and despair, counteracting the players' efforts to bring hope to the valley.

Strahd’s Allies

Strahd commands a vast host of beasts, undead, and other minions, which he can direct in a host of plots or schemes. They include:

  • Rahadin, Strahd’s dusk elf chamberlain
  • Beucephalus, Strahd’s nightmare steed
  • Strahd’s vampiric brides, Ludmilla, Anastrasya, and Volenta
  • Strahd’s vampire spawn, including his consort, Escher
  • Undead servants, including zombies, Strahd zombies, and wights
  • Loyal beasts, including Barovian bats, rats, wolves, and dire wolves
  • The werewolf pack commanded by Kiril Stoyanovich
  • Vistani spies, including Eliza (at Tser Pool Encampment) and Arrigal (at the Vallaki encampment)
  • The witches’ coven that dwells in Castle Ravenloft

However, Strahd always faces the final battle alone. Whether by pride, fate, or mere coincidence, this fight is his to win—or lose.

Strahd’s Tactics

Even in combat, Strahd is no ordinary foe. Like several of the enemies encountered in this adventure, he uses a multi-phase statblock in battle. Strahd’s statistics work as follows:

Phases

Strahd's combat statistics include three phases: the Mage, the Soldier, and the Vampire. Each phase has its own unique features, abilities, and an independent pool of hit points. (For example, damage dealt to the Soldier phase doesn’t carry over to the Mage phase.)

Strahd can choose which phase he begins in when rolling initiative. By default, his starting phase is the Mage.

When outside of combat, Strahd can:

  • switch into his Solder phase by drawing his longsword and extinguishing his focus;
  • switch into his Mage phase by lighting his focus (his cloak's ruby clasp) and stowing his longsword;
  • switch into his Vampire phase by stowing his longsword and extinguishing his focus.
Phase Transitions

When a phase is reduced to 0 hit points, Strahd’s statistics are immediately replaced by the statistics of another phase (your choice). When this happens, all conditions afflicting Strahd end. (For example, if Strahd was prone or paralyzed, he is no longer prone or paralyzed.) Damage dealt to one phase does not carry over to the next.

By default, Strahd's second phase is the Soldier, and his third phase is the Vampire. When Strahd enters his second phase, his eyes glow crimson red and his fingernails lengthen and harden. When Strahd enters his third phase, his fangs grow longer and sharper, and his nostrils become batlike slits.

A phase reduced to 0 hit points can’t be used again until Strahd completes a long rest in his coffin.

Defeat

If all three phases are reduced to 0 hit points, Strahd transforms into a cloud of mist instead of falling unconscious, provided that he isn't in running water or sunlight. If he can't transform, he is destroyed.

While transformed in this way, he has a fly speed of 30 feet, can hover, and has immunity to all damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight. He must reach his coffin within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his coffin, he reverts to his vampire form. He is then paralyzed until he regains at least 1 hit point. After 1 hour in his coffin with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point.

Attributes & Weaknesses

All three phases share the following vampire attributes and weaknesses:

  • Undead Nature. Strahd doesn't require air.
  • Forbiddance. Strahd can't enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
  • Chained to the Grave. Strahd cannot gain the benefits of a long rest except by resting in his coffin for eight consecutive hours between dawn and dusk.
  • Children of the Night. Strahd can comprehend and verbally communicate with Barovian bats, rats, and wolves (including dire wolves), which obey his commands.
  • Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into Strahd’s heart while he is incapacitated in his coffin, he is paralyzed until the stake is removed.

Additionally, Strahd can use the following action in his Vampire form:

  • Shapechange. If Strahd isn't in running water or sunlight, he polymorphs into a Tiny bat, a Medium wolf, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form. His statistics, other than his size and speed, are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. He reverts to his true form if he dies. While in mist form, Strahd can't take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature's space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and he can't pass through water. He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight.

While Strahd retains a connection to the Fanes of Barovia, he also possesses the following features in all three phases:

  • Dominion of the Mountain. While Strahd retains the power of the Mountain Fane, he is under the effect of a permanent nondetection spell. Additionally, Strahd can cast control weather as an action without components.
  • Dominion of the Swamp. While Strahd retains the power of the Swamp Fane, he can cast major image and move earth without components.
  • Dominion of the Forest. While Strahd retains the power of the Forest Fane, he can cast beast sense, locate creature, and animal shapes without components.
  • Rejuvenation. If Strahd is destroyed while he retains the power of at least one of the Fanes, he gains a new body in 24 hours, regaining all his hit points and phases and becoming active again. His new body appears within his coffin.
Vampiric Forbiddance

When deciding whether and how Strahd's Forbiddance feature applies, use the following definitions:

A residence is a place of residence that is not generally open to the public, including houses, apartments, cabins, and even certain types of rooms within a larger building, like an inn or church, provided they are used for living purposes and offer some degree of privacy. The definition does not include public places like taverns, shops, streets, or town squares.

An occupant is an individual who expects to reside in the dwelling indefinitely, or a guest of such an individual. This person must have some claim to the space, such as by being a homeowner, renter, tenant, or guest of one of the aforementioned.

Remember that an occupant charmed by the charm ability of Strahd’s Vampire phase will gladly invite him to enter if asked.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (50)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (51)

Strahd, the Mage

Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil

  • Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 331 (39d8 + 156)
  • Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
20 (+5)20 (+5)18 (+4)20 (+5)15 (+2)20 (+5)
  • Saving Throws Dex +11, Wis +8, Cha +11
  • Skills Arcana +17, Athletics +11, Deception +17, Perception +14, Religion +11, Stealth +17
  • Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
  • Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Giant, Infernal
  • Challenge 21, or 19 when fought in sunlight
  • Proficiency Bonus. +6

Complex Casting. If Strahd casts a spell on his turn using a bonus action, he can also use his action to cast a non-cantrip spell on the same turn.

Legendary Resistance (1/Day). If Strahd fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Regeneration. Strahd regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight. If he takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.

Spider Climb. Strahd can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving his hands free.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Innate Spellcasting. Strahd’s innate spellcasting ability is Intelligence. He can innately cast the following spells:

3/day: detect thoughts, animate dead

1/day: scrying

Actions

Multiattack. Strahd uses vampiric touch twice, or vampiric touch and telekinetic grasp once each.

Vampiric Touch. Strahd casts or attacks with vampiric touch. A creature hit by an attack made with this spell must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw or be dazed until the start of Strahd’s next turn. (That creature can move or take one action on its turn, not both. It also can’t take a bonus action or a reaction.)

Telekinetic Grasp. Strahd exerts his will on one creature that he can see within 60 feet and forces it to make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failure, that creature rises vertically, up to 20 feet, and remains suspended there until the start of Strahd’s next turn. That creature also takes 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and is restrained until the end of Strahd’s next turn. When the effect ends, the target falls to the ground if it is still aloft.

Bonus Actions

Circle of Sickness. A sphere of negative energy bursts from Strahd in a 10-foot radius. Each creature within range must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 28 (8d6) necrotic damage and gains disadvantage on its next attack roll made before the end of its next turn. A creature that succeeds on the roll takes half damage and doesn’t gain disadvantage.

Lightning Bolt. Strahd casts lightning bolt.

Reactions

Strahd can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn.

Misty Step. In response to taking damage, Strahd casts misty step.

Blindness/Deafness. In response to taking damage from a melee attack, Strahd casts blindness/deafness against the attacker. A creature that fails its saving throw against the spell takes an additional 7 (2d6) necrotic damage.

Lair Actions

While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair actions as long as he isn't incapacitated.

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Strahd can take one of the following lair action options, or forgo using any of them in that round:

Scatter. The air quivers around up to three creatures of Strahd's choice that he can see within 60 feet. Each creature must succeed on a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be teleported to an unoccupied space on the ground or floor that Strahd can see within 60 feet of him.

Fiery Sphere. A 10-foot diameter sphere of fire appears in an unoccupied space of Strahd's choice within 60 feet that he can see until initiative count 20 on the following round. Any creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of the sphere must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) fire damage. The sphere ignites flammable objects not being worn or carried, and it sheds bright light in a 30-foot radius and dim light for an additional 30 feet.

Strahd, the Soldier

Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil

  • Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 331 (39d8 + 156)
  • Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
20 (+5)20 (+5)18 (+4)20 (+5)15 (+2)20 (+5)
  • Saving Throws Dex +11, Wis +8, Cha +11
  • Skills Arcana +17, Athletics +11, Deception +17, Perception +14, Religion +11, Stealth +17
  • Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
  • Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Giant, Infernal
  • Challenge 21, or 19 when fought in sunlight
  • Proficiency Bonus. +6

Battlefield Awareness. Strahd has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see or hear, such as traps and spells.

Legendary Resistance (1/Day). If Strahd fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Regeneration. Strahd regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight. If he takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.

Spider Climb. Strahd can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving his hands free.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Actions

Multiattack. Strahd makes two attacks, only one of which can be an umbral net.

Longsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit:: 11 (1d10 + 5) slashing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, Strahd can force it to succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away and knocked prone.

Umbral Net. Ranged Spell Attack: +11 to hit, range 30/60 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and the target is restrained until the start of Strahd’s next turn.

Bonus Actions

Thunderous Wave. Strahd slams the point of his sword into the ground, creating a shockwave. Each creature within 5 feet must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw or take 14 (3d8) thunder damage and be pushed 5 feet away. A creature that succeeds on the roll takes half damage and isn’t pushed.

Dark Volley. Strahd conjures a rain of shadowy arrows to fall toward a point he can see within 120 feet. Each creature within a 10-foot radius, 40-foot-high cylinder centered on that point must make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) necrotic damage on a failure or half as much damage on a success.

Reactions

Strahd can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn.

Commander’s Retreat. In response to taking damage from a melee attack, Strahd forces his attacker to succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be pushed 5 feet away. He can then immediately move up to his speed away from them without provoking opportunity attacks.

Vengeful Strike. In response to taking damage from a spell or attack, Strahd moves up to his speed toward the attacker and can make a longsword attack against them. This movement doesn’t trigger opportunity attacks.

Lair Actions

While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair actions as long as he isn't incapacitated.

On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Strahd can take one of the following lair action options, or forgo using any of them in that round:

Ghostly Hands. All non-undead creatures in a 10-foot square starting from a point within 60 feet must succeed on a DC 19 Strength saving throw or be restrained by grasping ghostly hands until initiative count 20 on the following round.

Fog Bank. A 40-foot radius sphere of fog appears centered on a point within 60 feet of Strahd that he can see. The sphere spreads around corners, and its area is heavily obscured. It lasts until initiative count 20 on the following round or until a wind of moderate or greater speed (at least 10 miles per hour) disperses it. When the fog appears, Strahd can immediately take the Hide action as a reaction and move up to his speed.

Strahd, the Vampire

Medium undead (shapechanger), lawful evil

  • Armor Class 16 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 331 (39d8 + 156)
  • Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
20 (+5)20 (+5)18 (+4)20 (+5)15 (+2)20 (+5)
  • Saving Throws Dex +11, Wis +8, Cha +11
  • Skills Arcana +17, Athletics +11, Deception +17, Perception +14, Religion +11, Stealth +17
  • Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 24
  • Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Giant, Infernal
  • Challenge 21, or 19 when fought in sunlight
  • Proficiency Bonus. +6

Father of the Night. A humanoid killed by Strahd’s bite, or which is reduced to 0 hit points by it and dies without regaining consciousness, arises as a vampire spawn under Strahd’s control at the start of his next turn.

Legendary Resistance (1/Day). If Strahd fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Regeneration. Strahd regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight. If he takes radiant damage, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.

Spider Climb. Strahd can move up, down, and across vertical surfaces and upside down along ceilings, while leaving his hands free.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Actions

Multiattack. Strahd makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack. Strahd can replace one of his attacks with a charm.

Unarmed Strike. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, Strahd can grapple it (escape DC 19).

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +11 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Strahd, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 8 (1d6 + 5) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and Strahd regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest.

Charm. One humanoid within 30 feet that Strahd can see must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be magically charmed for 1 minute or until Strahd loses his concentration (as if concentrating on a spell).

A target that can't see Strahd automatically succeeds. While charmed, the target regards Strahd as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected; it isn't under Strahd's control, but takes his requests and actions in the most favorable way and lets Strahd bite it.

The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. If the target is still charmed at the end of the minute, the effect lasts for 24 hours, until Strahd is destroyed, or until he takes a bonus action to end it.

Bonus Actions

Bats’ Frenzy. Strahd summons a swarm of bat-like shadows from his cloak, forcing each creature within 10 feet to make a successful DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 15 (6d4) necrotic damage and gain disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the start of Strahd’s next turn. A creature that succeeds on the roll takes half damage and doesn’t gain disadvantage.

Predator’s Fury. Strahd summons a pair of wolf-like shadows from his cloak and chooses up to two creatures he can see within 60 feet that are within 5 feet of each other. A target must succeed on a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 16 (2d10 + 5) force damage and be knocked prone. A creature that succeeds on the roll takes half damage and isn’t knocked prone.

Reactions

Strahd can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn.

Night’s Retreat. In response to taking damage, Strahd can fly up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.

Blood Frenzy. In response to taking damage, Strahd can move up to his speed toward the attacker and make an unarmed strike attack.

Lair Actions

While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair actions as long as he isn't incapacitated. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Strahd can take one of the following lair action options:

Deluge of Blood. A wave of blood explodes outward from a point Strahd can see within 60 feet. Each creature within 10 feet of that point must make a DC 19 Strength saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage and is pushed 10 feet away from the point and knocked prone. The creature is also blinded until initiative count 20 on the next round.

Wails of the Damned. Strahd summons an ethereal torrent of shrieking specters in a 5-foot radius centered on a point within 60 feet that he can see. Each creature in that area must make a DC 19 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of Strahd until initiative count 20 on the next round. A creature frightened in this way is paralyzed and loses its concentration.

Design Notes: Strahd von Zarovich

Roleplaying Strahd. The Gentleman, the Tyrant, and the Monster reflect three distinct popular community interpretations of Strahd's character. Many DMs will attempt to combine two or more of these archetypes into their campaign at a time, but doing so can risk making Strahd's character feel inconsistent and unpredictable.

As such, this section provides a structured, methodical approach to developing Strahd's character through his relationship with the players. Importantly, each transition is tied to a particular point in the adventure's timeline, ensuring that Strahd does not, for example, spoil his relationship with the players before inviting them to dinner, or treat them as enemies before they have the capacity to defend themselves.

Strahd's Relationships. This section preserves Strahd's canonical relationship with Ireena in order to keep his (cold, calculating, and sociopathic) characterization consistent.

Strahd's Goals. This section is structured to ensure a high-tension, action-packed sequence of challenges from the beginning to the end of the campaign. Specifically, it explains:

  • why Strahd does not simply seize Ireena from the players (he fears the Dark Powers’ intervention if he does not escape Barovia first);
  • why Strahd’s forces are attacking St. Andral’s Church and the Wizard of Wines winery (he seeks to break the Barovians’ spirit to fuel his escape ritual);
  • why Strahd does not assist his forces in defeating the players at St. Andral’s Church or the Wizard of Wines winery (he seeks to separate the weak from the strong);
  • why Strahd “tests” the players instead of killing them (he wants to find generals for his future armies);
  • why the players must reconsecrate the Fanes (they must stop Strahd from using them in his ritual and remove Strahd's immortality);
  • why Strahd does not simply kill the players when they reconsecrate the Fanes (he seeks to use them as alternate conduits to the Fanes);
  • why the players cannot bring an army of allies to Castle Ravenloft (they are preoccupied defending their homes from Strahd’s undead apocalypse); and
  • why the players must confront Strahd at Castle Ravenloft (they must do so to end his undead apocalypse).

Strahd's Allies. For reasons of both balance and narrative, it is important that Strahd faces the final fight alone.

Strahd's Tactics. Strahd's original statblock is exceptionally fragile, allowing players to destroy him without the Sunsword as early as level 6. His phasing lair action, however, turns the original final battle into a torturous slog, ensuring that the players cannot win unless the Dungeon Master allows it or makes a mistake.

Many substitute statblocks have been proposed, increasing Strahd's Challenge Rating beyond his original difficulty. However, these strengthened statblocks fail for two simple reasons:

  • Any Strahd statblock that is powerful enough to survive the players' attacks for more than three rounds is also powerful enough to knock players unconscious with a single attack, thereby starting a "death spiral" that kills the entire party.
  • Any Strahd statblock that is unable to knock players unconscious with a single attack is fragile and must rely on hit-and-run guerilla tactics instead, disappointing and frustrating players who had rightfully expected an epic confrontation.

This issue can be solved by dramatically increasing Strahd's hit points and/or Armor Class (i.e., "Defensive Challenge Rating") while dramatically decreasing his attack bonus and/or damage output (i.e., "Offensive Challenge Rating"). These changes dramatically increase his lifespan without risking a TPK, ensuring a long, yet winnable boss battle

Long battles, however, leave players exhausted and bored—especially for playgroups whose combats run slow. To inject energy and dynamism into the fight, we can split Strahd's statblock into three parts, or "phases," with each phase bestowing Strahd with new abilities and features. Each phase has been calibrated using Challenge Ratings 2.0 to survive approximately three to four rounds against an average 10th-level party wielding the Sunsword and Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and accompanied by Ezmerelda d'Avenir, Ireena Kolyana, and Kasimir Velikov; the entire combat encounter should last nine to twelve rounds in total.

To strengthen the themes of the final fight, each phase reflects a part of Strahd's history and descent into darkness: the Soldier (reflecting his history as a conqueror); the Mage (reflecting his search for immortality); and the Monster (reflecting his passage into undeath).

Even with a multi-phase statblock, however, Strahd's battlefield remains relatively stagnant. To introduce additional tactics and dynamics into the fight, each of Strahd's phases have been given the following: two attack options (for moving enemies and imposing conditions, respectively); two bonus attack options (for punishing short- and long-range foes, respectively); and two reaction options (for escaping and aggressing, respectively).

Strahd's legendary actions have also been replaced with the ability to take multiple reactions per round, maintaining his ability to react to changing circumstances while reducing memory issues for the DM.

Note that the Mage statblock intentionally foregoes a traditional "spellcasting" feature in favor of an action-oriented selection of spells. While some DMs might be disappointed by Strahd's lack of choice, it is important to remember that each phase will survive for only a short period of time; as such, Strahd's spells have been carefully curated in order to provide players with the most challenging, tactical, and memorable experience possible.

Vampire Forbiddance. Tension is the key to horror, and monsters are therefore scary only when bound by meaningful rules. Permitting Strahd to enter any home simply because “he is the Land” removes the players’ ability to meaningfully prevent it, thereby removing a large amount of suspenseful gameplay.

Moreover, a monster is only as resonant as its most notable weaknesses; a werewolf that cannot be killed with silver, for example, is hardly a werewolf at all. Removing Strahd’s Forbiddance destroys a key part of the horror fantasy: the ability to defy a monster using its unique rules and weaknesses. As such, this guide intentionally retains that feature.

Adventure Organization

While Curse of Strahd, like most official campaign modules, is organized around specific areas and locations, Curse of Strahd: Reloaded is organized around narratives:

  • Acts. An act is a collection of adventures with similar settings and stakes that are meant to be completed in approximately the same timeframe (e.g., "adventures in Vallaki").
  • Arcs. An arc is a high-concept adventure within an act that has a particular goal (e.g., "restore the bones of Saint Andral").
  • Chapters. A chapter is a portion of an arc that takes place within a particular location (e.g., "the coffin-maker's shop").
  • Scenes. A scene is a particular scene that unfolds at a particular time and place within a chapter (e.g., "battling the vampire spawn").

While no Dungeons & Dragons campaign can be perfectly predicted, this guide uses a strategy of strong "dramatic questions," flexible narrative design, and the author's experience in running Curse of Strahd campaigns to craft a "critical path" of arcs, chapters, and scenes that are most likely to lead your players on your journey through Barovia.

Note that, because Curse of Strahd is a sandbox campaign, it is reasonably possible for the players to trigger a new act before completing all of the adventure arcs in the previous act. If this happens, the players can still continue and complete any adventure arcs in the previous acts—assuming, of course, that it is still possible for those arcs to be completed. (For example, if the players fail to recover the bones of Saint Andral before the night of Saint Andral's Feast, the congregation of Saint Andral's Church is massacred and the quest can no longer be completed.)

It is, of course, always possible for players to go "off the rails" and forge their own path in this adventure. This guide's Session Zero guidelines have been shaped with the explicit intent of minimizing this possibility (by, for example, discouraging players from creating non-heroic characters). However, it is important to remember that this guide's narrative presents, at best, a single "critical path" that your players may follow, and that the threads of fate might always guide them along another.

As a final note: The original Curse of Strahd: Reloaded was a highly modular guide, containing a number of distinct ideas, concepts, and challenges that could easily be extracted, applied, and recombined alongside a number of additional reworks or homebrew elements. However, this revision aims to take a more cohesive path, weaving together characters, narratives, and themes to forge a more evocative, dramatic, and memorable adventure.

As such, be cautious when removing, adding to, or changing aspects of this guide, as a seemingly innocuous detail may instead prove to be a load-bearing support. When in doubt, read the Design Notes for the relevant section and review the Adventure Summary below to confirm the context and purpose of the detail in question.

The Tarokka Reading

The Tome of Strahd

Insert the following text into the Tome of Strahd:

. . . I fear and hate it as much as the sun.

I have learned much, too, about this land of Barovia. Ancient are its ways, ancient beyond the knowledge of the simple folk of the valley. Ancient gods dwelt in this valley long before my coming, and three hidden fanes still give tribute to their memories. I visited the Swamp Fane, the Forest Fane, and the Mountain Fane, and claimed their power for my own. Their servants now serve me, and thus I have become the Land.

I have often hunted for Tatyana . . .

Source: amerigoV, Tome of Strahd, Savage Ravenloft (Oct. 10, 2010).

The pages following the legible text are filled with diagrams, equations, and thousands of strange symbols. The symbols are not written language, but a cipher devised by Strahd to conceal his secret plans. Several diagrams appear to depict a large, crystalline human heart, while others depict circles of standing stones.

Players who read through these sections find numerous annotations referencing (in Common) an individual named Exethanter. Multiple instances of Exethanter’s name are accompanied by the symbol of the Amber Temple: an equilateral triangle containing two concentric circles, which in turn contain a vertical wavy line. (The triangle represents the god of secrets, the circles the amber sarcophagi, and the wavy line the vestiges sealed within.)

The symbol can be identified by the dusk elf Kasimir Velikov (who has seen it in his dreams), by the revenant Sir Godfrey Gwilym (who once guarded the Temple), or by Victor Vallakovich (who has seen the symbol in his spellbook).

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (52)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (53)

The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind has been revised as follows:

Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement by a creature of good alignment)

The holy symbol has 5 charges for the following properties. It regains 1d4 + 1 charges daily at dawn.

Dawn's Embrace. As a reaction, when a creature you can see within 60 feet of you would be reduced to 0 hit points, you can expend 1 charge to cause that creature to drop to 1 hit point instead. That creature gains immunity to all damage until the start of its next turn.

Light of Hope. As an action, you can expend 1 charge and choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. All of the following conditions on that creature end: blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned, and stunned.

Sun’s Blessing. As an action, you can expend 3 charges to cause holy power to radiate from the symbol in a 30-foot radius for 1 minute. Nonhostile creatures in that radius deal an extra 1d4 radiant damage when they hit with a weapon attack.

You can also use the holy symbol as a spellcasting focus for your cleric and paladin spells. You gain a +1 bonus to spell attack rolls and to the saving throw DCs of your cleric and paladin spells.

The Sunsword

The Sunsword cannot be attuned to when the players first obtain it. Instead, the players must submerge it in the blessed pool near the Shrine of the White Sun to restore its radiant blade. (The hilt retains its sentience and ability to communicate telepathically before its blade is restored.) For more information about this arc, see Arc V: The Sunsword below.

Note that the Sunsword is a sentient magic item; as described in Conflict (Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 216), it may make demands of its wielder or attempt to seize control of them if they act contrary to its will. (This is especially likely to occur if, for example, its wielder is charmed by Strahd von Zarovich.)

Strahd’s Enemy

Strahd's enemy no longer possesses the Inspire action (Strahd's Enemy, p. 15). Instead, if she confronts the Dark Powers at Marina's Monument in Berez (see Arc X: Whispers of the Mists), Ireena Kolyana gains this ability as a bonus action. See Arc B: Welcome to Barovia for more information about Ireena's statistics.

The Card Reading

Immediately before the scene in which the players meet Madam Eva, if you are using a physical Tarokka deck for the reading, choose which five cards Madam Eva will draw and stack them on top of the deck in the order described in Card Reading (p. 11).

When choosing which card(s) to use for which part of the reading, select from the following lists.

The Tome of Strahd

Place the Tome of Strahd in one of the following locations:

  • Nine of Swords—Torturer. Choose the attic of the Burgomaster's mansion in Vallaki if you want to give the players a reason to befriend or antagonize Baron Vargas Vallakovich. (If you do, the Tome has been relocated in Victor Vallakovich’s workroom within the attic.)
  • Nine of Glyphs—Traitor. Choose the master bedroom of Wachterhaus if you want to give the players a reason to befriend or antagonize Lady Fiona Wachter.

The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

Place the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind in the shrine of Mother Night in the werewolf den (Five of Swords—Myrmidon).

The Sunsword

Place the Sunsword in one of the following locations:

  • Seven of Swords—Hooded One. Choose the head of the giant statue in the Amber Temple if you want to force the players to fight Neferon, the arcanaloth.
  • Eight of Glyphs—Bishop. Choose the sealed treasury of the Amber Temple if you want to give your players a reason to delve more deeply into the Amber Temple.

Strahd's Enemy

Assign the role of Strahd's Enemy to Ezmerelda d'Avenir (Mists—Queen of Spades).

Strahd's Location

Assign Strahd's location in Castle Ravenloft to K20. Heart of Sorrow, represented by the Marionette (Jack of Hearts).

Design Notes: The Tarokka Reading

The Tome of Strahd. The Tome of Strahd has been expanded to provide the players with secret information about Strahd's ultimate plan, as well as additional hooks to the Fanes of Barovia and the Amber Temple. (If the players restore his memory and show him the Tome, the lich Exethanter can interpret Strahd's ciphers and notes at their request.)

The Tome has been intentionally placed in Vallaki to ensure that the players find it (and are intrigued by its mysteries) as early as possible. Because they tie strongly into other quests, Rictavio's wagon (Seven of Stars—Illusionist) and the attic of the Blue Water Inn (Master of Coins—Rogue) have been removed as possible locations.

The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. The statistics of the Holy Symbol have been revised in order to ensure that its utility is not overshadowed by the Sunsword once the latter is obtained and to replace its nonstrategic Hold Vampires and Turn Undead features with tactical, engaging abilities. Its class restrictions for attunement have been removed to ensure that any party can use it—with or without a cleric or paladin.

The Holy Symbol has been intentionally placed in the Werewolf Den to ensure that the players find it after they have already confronted Strahd's brides (in Vallaki and at Yester Hill), but before they invade any truly dangerous locations (e.g., Castle Ravenloft, the Amber Temple, or the ruins of Berez).

The four foretellings leading to Krezk—the scarecrow in the garden of the Abbey of Saint Markovia (Two of Glyphs—Missionary), the main hall of the Abbey (One of Glyphs—Monk), the nursery of the Abbey (Two of Coins—Philanthropist), and the gazebo in the Shrine of the White Sun (Three of Glyphs—Healer)—have been removed to ensure that the players do not fulfill two of their Tarokka readings (i.e., both the Holy Symbol and Strahd's Enemy) while within the same relative area.

The Sunsword. The Sunsword's radiant blade has been withheld from the players to create a more organic opportunity to meet the spirit of Sergei von Zarovich, to manufacture a late-game interaction between Sergi and Ireena, and to create a more climactic and engaging narrative.

Due to its power in combat against Strahd, the Sunsword has been intentionally placed in the Amber Temple—the most dangerous and isolated location in the game—to ensure that the players do not obtain it too early. This placement also ensures that the players have a reliable hook to the Temple and a rewarding goal to achieve while there.

Strahd's Enemy. All possible allies other than the Vistana monster hunter Ezmerelda d'Avenir have intentionally been removed from the Tarokka reading.

Several of these allies, such as Sir Godfrey Gwilym or the (now nonexistent) archmage Mordenkainen are too powerful and unbalance the scales in favor of the party. Others, such as Nikolai Wachter or Clovin Belview, are far too weak to provide meaningful aid. Others still, such as Vasilka, Pidlwick II, Sir Klutz, or Parriwimple, lack sufficient character depth to serve a meaningful narrative role.

Many of the remaining possible allies—including Davian Martikov, Victor Vallakovich, or Ismark Kolyanovich—have been removed as possibilities because their revised character arcs tie them more strongly to their families, friends, or homes. The final alternative ally, Kasimir Velikov, has been removed to ensure that the players do not seek him out—and receive the deadly Amber Temple questline—until they are strong enough to do so.

That leaves Ezmerelda d'Avenir. Selecting Ezmerelda as Strahd's Enemy reduces the number of NPC allies that the players can recruit, keeping the party to a more manageable size; provides the players with a clear hook to Krezk and the Abbey of Saint Markovia, which unlocks several additional quests; and ensures that the players are neither outmatched by nor overpowered compared to their ally at any point in the game.

Strahd's Location. The location of the final battle with Strahd has been intentionally limited to K20. Heart of Sorrow. As the new centerpiece of Strahd's power and schemes, a perfect arena for tactical combat, and an area with clear views of the post-battle sunrise, the Heart—including its adjoining bridge and rooftop—is the ideal (and expected) place for the finale to unfold.

Strahd’s Spies

One or more of Strahd's spies check in on the players once each day and once each night, as described in Strahd's Spies (p. 29). However, the nature of Strahd’s spies may vary with the players’ location and the time of day. Use the following table when planning an encounter with a spy:

LocationDay EncounterNight Encounter
Village of Barovia1 Vistani bandit1d4 swarms of bats
Svalich Woods1 wolf or druid1 wolf or 1d4 swarms of bats
Town of Vallaki1 swarm of rats or 1 Wachter cultist1 swarm of bats
Village of Krezk1 swarm of rats1 swarm of bats
Mount Ghakis1 dire wolf or 1 berserker1 swarm of bats

Strahd's spies report the following information, which you should track using the Strahd's Espionage handout on the end of his guide:

  • any conversations that the players are heard having;
  • any spells, weapons, or abilities that the players are seen using; and
  • any locations or NPCs that the players are seen visiting.

Encounters with Strahd

Throughout the adventure, the players will have numerous encounters with Strahd von Zarovich. After meeting Strahd for the first time at the River Ivlis Crossroads (see Arc C: Into the Valley), the players may later speak with him at Yester Hill (see Arc M: The Missing Gem) and dine with him at Castle Ravenloft (see Arc L: Dinner with Strahd).

Once Strahd learns that the players have obtained the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind or relit the beacon of Argynvostholt, he refocuses his efforts toward determining whether any of them are worthy to serve as generals or consorts in his court. See Arc Y: The Devil’s Ordeals for more information.

Adventure Hooks

In contrast to the original Curse of Strahd module, this guide offers a single, original adventure hook to guide the players into Barovia. In this hook, Death House serves as a portal to Strahd's domain: the players enter Death House in their own world, and—upon defeating or pacifying the cult—emerge into the land of Barovia. However, this hook can be implemented in two possible ways:

Lost in the Mists. In this version, the players are members of a mercenary adventuring party that has been hired to investigate a series of mysterious disappearances tied to a particular house (Death House). This hook focuses the players' attention solely on Strahd's tyranny and the Barovians who suffer under his rule, encouraging the players to immerse themselves in the campaign's lore and to develop unique relationships with its diverse cast of characters.

Barovian Relics. In this version, one or more players possess certain relics that originated from Barovia and are tied to their backstories. When Death House manifests nearby, those relics are drawn to it, encouraging the players to enter and investigate. (Any players who do not wish to craft a backstory may instead choose to be a mercenary investigating recent disappearances, as in Lost in the Mists.) This hook focuses the players' attentions on their own interests and personal connections to the land of Barovia, encouraging them to invest their attention in NPCs and locations tied to their unique relics.

In general, Lost in the Mists may be viewed as a "pure" version of Curse of Strahd, focusing its narrative on the isolation and alienation of Barovia. By contrast, Barovian Relics is best used by Dungeon Masters who are passionate about Barovia's gothic atmosphere and environment, but whose players require a personal connection to the campaign to be emotionally invested.

See Arc A. Escape From Death House and A1. Daggerford for more information about how to run these hooks. If you choose to run Barovian Relics for one or more of your players, have each of those players choose a motivation from the Motivations section in Chapter 1: Into the Mists before beginning the campaign.

Design Notes: Adventure Hooks

The original module's four adventure hooks are fundamentally flawed: Plea for Help tends to make players to resent Ireena Kolyana; Mysterious Visitors tends to make players feel deceived (and therefore regret accepting Stanimir's mission); Werewolves in the Mist reaches its climax too early; and Creeping Fog offers little setup or emotional investment. Most significantly, aside from Mysterious Visitors, no adventure hook leads the players directly and inevitably to a final confrontation with Strahd.

Custom adventure hooks that tie player backstories directly to Barovia (e.g., by allowing players to rescue a lost loved one) tend to fall flat for three reasons: they lack a direct tie to Strahd; they distract the players from the fight with Strahd; and they violate principles of verisimilitude (i.e., by making Barovia a far busier place than it deserves to be). Importantly, players receiving such hooks may struggle to understand the importance of Madam Eva's Tarokka reading, especially while they retain unfinished business in the valley.

However, a large subset of Curse of Strahd DMs nonetheless prefer tying player backstories to Barovia in order to promote player engagement and emotional investment in the campaign itself. To this end, the Barovian Relics hook provides players with reasons to journey to Barovia that will inevitably lead them to a direct confrontation with Strahd. Meanwhile, Lost in the Mists serves as a fleshed-out substitute for Creeping Fog, aiding DMs who would prefer to keep Barovia as an eerie and alienating location.

Adventure Summary

Act I: Into the Mists

For 2nd to 3rd-level characters.

In this act, the players are lured into the haunted Death House, which mystically transports them into the land of Barovia. As the players gain their bearings, they travel to the village of Barovia, where they meet burgomaster Ismark Kolyanovich and his sister, Ireena Kolyana, and learn about the mysterious Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire that has recently awoken to plague the Barovian valley.

The players are asked to escort Ireena to the nearby town of Vallaki for safety; if the players agree, Ireena also asks them to assist in the burial of her late father, Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich. While at the local church, the players meet Doru, a vampire spawn at war with his bloodthirsty nature, and have an opportunity to reconcile him with his father, the priest Donavich.

Upon receiving a warning and invitation sent in a dream from the Vistani seer Madam Eva, the players depart the village of Barovia for a Vistani encampment at nearby Tser Pool. Following a brief encounter with Strahd himself, the players receive a mystical Tarokka reading from Madam Eva, who foretells the location of three mystical artifacts—and a companion—who will help them defeat Strahd.

As the players travel to Madam Eva's camp and the nearby town of Vallaki, they encounter a number of characters with ties to possible future adventures, as well as some adversarial encounters that will test their tactics, coordination, and combat skill.

Upon their arrival in Vallaki, the players can find shelter at the Blue Water Inn, and—if she is with them—help Ireena seek shelter at St. Andral’s Church. The act ends when the players take their first long rest in Vallaki.

Act II: The Shadowed Town

For characters of 4th level and higher.

In this act, the players are left to explore the shadowed town of Vallaki—a Barovian settlement that has fallen to tension and conflict in the wake of Strahd's awakening.

As the players seek to complete lingering obligations—escorting Ireena to St. Andral's Church, purchasing and delivering a toy for the Vistani child Arabelle, and uncovering the Tome of Strahd—they meet new allies and enemies, including Father Lucian, the priest of St. Andral's Church; Izek Strazni, Baron Vallakovich's brutal enforcer; and Lady Fiona Wachter, the Baron's Strahd-loyalist rival.

At St. Andral's Church, the players will be tasked with recovering the stolen bones of St. Andral in order to protect the church's holy protection. At the nearby Vistani encampment, the players will have an opportunity to prove themselves heroes by finding and rescuing Arabelle following her mysterious disappearance—and receive a mysterious prophecy if they do. And at Wachterhaus, the ancestral home of House Wachter, the players will be given a choice: slay Izek Strazni and allow Lady Wachter to seize power—or do nothing, and allow the Baron's mad reign to continue.

Meanwhile, one of the players begins to experience haunting apparitions, leading them to discover the tragic fate of Stella Wachter's soul—and an opportunity to restore her broken mind. Simultaneously, a nocturnal killer haunts Vallaki's streets, secretly working to drive the disguised vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten out of hiding.

Through it all, the players will have an opportunity to seek out clues leading to the hidden location of the Tome of Strahd, which—depending on the Tarokka reading they received—may be hidden in the Baron's mansion or in Wachterhaus. And as the date of the Festival of the Blazing Sun approaches, Izek Strazni and Ireena Kolyana grow closer to a fateful, yet tragic encounter.

Act II ends when the players reach 5th level. However, the players can still complete unresolved arcs from this act even after Act III begins—assuming, of course, that those arcs are still possible to complete.

Act III: The Devil's Hand

For characters of 5th level and higher.

In this act, the players receive a plea from Urwin Martikov to investigate the Wizard of Wines winery—and an invitation from Strahd to dine at Castle Ravenloft.

If the players agree to Urwin's request, they are joined by Muriel Vinshaw—the secret identity of the disguised wereraven that they rescued near Tser Pool. As the players work to free the winery from the scourge of druids and blights that have invaded it, Muriel relays an excerpt of Strahd's foretelling to Davian Martikov, an elder wereraven and the leader of the Keepers of the Feather.

Upon freeing the winery from the druids' clutches, Davian asks them to journey to Yester Hill to the south, where the druids are plotting a dark ritual that threatens the vineyard's destruction. Upon defeating the druids, the players will have an opportunity to speak with Strahd by the Whispering Wall and to learn of the hidden settlement of Soldav from Kavan, the spirit of an ancient Mountain Folk chieftain.

Once the players have recovered the winery's stolen gemstone and returned it to Davian Martikov, they can learn the true nature of the Keepers of the Feather and gain Muriel's knowledge of Strahd's cryptic fortunetelling.

Should the players accept Strahd's invitation to dine at Ravenloft, they will be escorted by Strahd's black carriage to the castle, where they will meet Strahd's servants, brides, and consorts. After dining with Strahd himself and learning of the castle's history, the players will have an opportunity to tour the castle, to dance with Strahd's brides, and—if they choose—to solve a brief mystery on Strahd's behalf.

Act III ends when the players complete or refuse both the Martikovs' quest and Strahd's dinner invitation. However, the players can still complete the Martikovs' quest until the end of Act IV, at which point the tree blight Wintersplinter destroys the winery if the druids' ritual hasn't already been stopped.

Act IV: Into the West

For characters of 6th level and higher.

In this act, the players have an opportunity to delve more deeply into the hooks they've received into the western portion of the valley, including the revenant's invitation to Argynvostholt, the location of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and the identity of Strahd's foretold enemy.

Upon gaining access to the village of Krezk, the players will have an opportunity to assist Baron Dmitri Krezkov in finding and rescuing his son, Ilya—a secret werewolf like his father—from the hidden werewolf den nearby. There, the players can meet Zuleika Toranescu, a werewolf priestess of Mother Night who asks them to rescue her mate, Emil, from the dungeons of Castle Ravenloft in exchange for the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

While within Krezk, the players can also meet the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia, a deva. Though the players can accept the Abbot's request to obtain a wedding dress from Vallaki in exchange for his resurrection magic, the spirit of Saint Markovia warns them that he has fallen from grace—and that they must obtain the holy symbol of the cleric Tasha Petrovna from the catacombs of Ravenloft in order to restore him.

Should the players visit Argynvostholt, the former headquarters of the Order of the Silver Dragon, they can learn the ancient history of the Order—and the nature of its current schism. From Sir Godfrey Gwilym, they can also learn that Kasimir Velikov, a dusk elf mage, shares an interest in the mysterious Amber Temple and has attempted to visit it in the recent past.

As the players explore the mansion, the spirit of Argynvost himself will set them a dangerous task: to recover his remains from the Hall of Bones in Castle Ravenloft. If the players assisted Lady Fiona Wachter in becoming Burgomaster in Act II, Vallaki's forthcoming "Blood Tax" can provide a night on which Strahd will be absent from the castle—and therefore present a perfect opportunity for a heist.

If the players infiltrate Castle Ravenloft, they can recover Argynvost's skull from the Hall of Bones, Emil Toranescu from the castle dungeons, and Tasha Petrovna's holy symbol from the catacombs beneath the castle. Along the way, they'll likely do battle with any or all of Strahd's brides.

By returning Argynvost's skull to Argynvostholt, the players can relight the beacon of the Order of the Silver Dragon, bringing hope to the valley and allowing the revenants' spirits to find peace. By rescuing Emil, they can gain a powerful ally in defeating the current leader of the werewolf pack, Kiril Stoyanovich, and win the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. Finally, by obtaining Tasha Petrovna's holy symbol and defeating the Abbot in combat, the players can restore the grace of his divine spirit, providing Krezk with a mighty protector.

Act IV ends when the players recruit Kasimir to journey to the Amber Temple. However, the players can still complete unresolved arcs from this act even after Act V begins—assuming, of course, that those arcs are still possible to complete.

Act V: Secrets of the Valley

For characters of 8th level and higher.

In this act, the players journey with the dusk elf Kasimir Velikov to the Amber Temple, traveling along Tsolenka Pass as they ascend Mount Ghakis. As they do, they can befriend the Mountain Folk of Soldav, including Elder Burebis, an ancient storm giant and devotee of the Ladies Three. From Burebis, the players can learn of the three Fanes of Barovia, and of the profane knowledge that Strahd took from the Amber Temple to desecrate them.

After overcoming the trials of Mount Ghakis's slopes, including Strahd's chamberlain Rahadin, the giant goat Sangzor, multiple fiends corrupted by the Amber Temple, and the roc of Mount Ghakis itself, the players can finally arrive at their destination. Within the Amber Temple, the players can obtain the broken hilt of the Sunsword, as well as the arcane secrets that Strahd used to corrupt the Barovian Fanes—and which can, in turn, be used to restore them.

Upon restoring the memory of the lich Exethanter and sharing with him the schematics found in the Tome of Strahd, the players can also learn Strahd's ultimate plan: to channel the power of the Fanes into the indestructible Heart of Sorrow within Castle Ravenloft, which Strahd will use to tear open the Mists and escape. The players will also learn that Strahd plans to consume the souls of all Barovia in order to power his audacious scheme, and that he cannot ever truly be killed unless severed from the Fanes' power.

With the broken hilt of the Sunsword in their hands, the players are called by a mysterious voice to return to the Shrine of the White Sun in Krezk. There, they can meet the spirit of Sergei von Zarovich, who offers to use the power of the blessed pool to restore the Sunsword's radiant blade.

If Ireena still accompanies the players, Sergei invites her to take sanctuary with him—an offer which she denies if the players have treated her with kindness and courage. If she rejects him, Sergei advises Ireena to journey to the ruined manor in Berez, where a wandering spirit can help her learn the true nature of Strahd's curse—and her own.

Soon after descending Mount Ghakis, the players also learn that the swamp-witch Baba Lysaga has sealed the Wizard of Wines and Blue Water Inn within dual mirage arcane spells and taken Muriel Vinshaw prisoner at her creeping hut—and that she plans to return with an army of wereraven-slaying strix to exterminate the Keepers of the Feather for good.

In Berez, the players can do battle with Baba Lysaga, freeing Muriel and the swarms of other ravens that Baba Lysaga has kept captive. Should the players bring Ireena to Marina's Monument nearby, they can also encounter the ghost of Burgomaster Lazlo Ulrich, the father of Marina Ulrich—one of Ireena's past lives.

Ulrich can guide the party to Marina's Monument within the swamp, where Ireena can experience the deaths of her past lives and learn the terrible truth: that, in order to escape Strahd's predation, each of her past lives ultimately accepted the gift of the Dark Powers themselves—the oblivion of death. With the players' aid, Ireena can defy the Dark Powers' temptations and reclaim a power of defiance and hope.

Act V ends when the players first enter the Swamp Fane (in Berez), Mountain Fane (by Old Bonegrinder), or Forest Fane (on Yester Hill). However, the players can still complete unresolved arcs from this act until all three Fanes have been reconsecrated—at which point all quests will become impossible to complete.

Act VI: The Curse of Strahd

For characters of 9th level and higher.

In this act, the players reconsecrate the Swamp Fane, the Mountain Fane, and the Forest Fane. Soon after the last Fane is restored, however, Strahd's masterstroke unfolds. By releasing the stored energy bound within the Heart of Sorrow, Strahd plunges Barovia into an eternal night—and turns the valley itself into desecrated ground.

As an undead apocalypse threatens to overwhelm the Barovian people, the players must journey to Castle Ravenloft to face Strahd at the Heart of Sorrow. As the final battle unfolds, the Heart of Sorrow shows visions of Strahd's undead siege from across Barovia—and of the heroic resistance shown by the allies and friends that the players have made across their journey:

Village of Barovia. If the players escorted Ireena to Vallaki, reconciled Doru with Father Donavich, befriended Dr. Rudolph van Richten in Vallaki, and inspired Ireena to reject Sergei's invitation, the village of Barovia is saved by the leadership and prowess of Ismark Kolyanovich, Doru and Donavich, Dr. Van Richten and the ghost Erasmus van Richten, and the spirit of Sergei von Zarovich.

Town of Vallaki. If the players restored the soul of Stella Wachter, aided Lady Fiona Wachter in defeating Izek Strazni, located the missing Vistana Arabelle, recovered the stolen bones of St. Andral, and rescued the Blue Water Inn from Baba Lysaga, the town of Vallaki is saved by the power and foresight of Lady Fiona Wachter and her cult; the young mage Victor Vallakovich; the Vistani Luvash, Arrigal, and Arabelle; the dusk elves; the priest Father Lucian Petrovich; and the wereravens Urwin Martikov and Danika Dorakova.

Village of Krezk. If the players rescued Ilya Krezkov from the Werewolf Den, rescued Emil Toranescu from the dungeons of Castle Ravenloft, and restored the Abbot's divine grace, the village of Krezk is saved by the might and savagery of the redeemed Abbot, the Belview mongrelfolk, the Krezkov werewolves, and Emil's new werewolf pack.

Wizard of Wines. If the players saved the Wizard of Wines from the druids and Wintersplinter, defeated Baba Lysaga, and relit the beacon of Argynvostholt, the winery is saved by the combined efforts of the Keepers of the Feather and the spirits of the Order of the Silver Dragon.

Settlement of Soldav. If the players aided the Mountain Folk within the Amber Temple and reconsecrated the Fanes of Barovia, the settlement of Soldav is saved by the sudden arrival of the Mountain Folk warrior Helwa, the chieftain Kavan and his warband of spirits, the bestial spirits of the Huntress, and the roc of Mount Ghakis itself.

Should the players defeat Strahd, the Mists vanish and the sun rises over Barovia once again—a free land, at long last.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (54)

A Taste of Horror

The following pages contain a guide to the first acts arcs of the campaign: Act I: Into the Mists and Act II: The Shadowed Town. Updates providing additional content are expected to follow regularly on the /r/CurseOfStrahd subreddit. You can sign up to receive update notifications in your email inbox by joining the free DragnaCarta community on Patreon.

You can also get an early peek at drafts of the chapters involving Act III: The Devil's Hand, as well as outlines and notes for all following acts and arcs, by supporting this guide on Patreon.

In this act, the players are lured into the haunted Death House, which mystically transports them into the land of Barovia. As the players gain their bearings, they travel to the village of Barovia, where they meet burgomaster Ismark Kolyanovich and his sister, Ireena Kolyana, and learn about the mysterious Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire that has recently awoken to plague the Barovian valley.

The players are asked to escort Ireena to the nearby town of Vallaki for safety; if the players agree, Ireena also asks them to assist in the burial of her late father, Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich. While at the local church, the players meet Doru, a vampire spawn at war with his bloodthirsty nature, and have an opportunity to reconcile him with his father, the priest Donavich.

Upon receiving a warning and invitation sent in a dream from the Vistani seer Madam Eva, the players depart the village of Barovia for a Vistani encampment at nearby Tser Pool. Following a brief encounter with Strahd himself, the players receive a mystical Tarokka reading from Madam Eva, who foretells the location of three mystical artifacts—and a companion—who will help them defeat Strahd.

As the players travel to Madam Eva's camp and the nearby town of Vallaki, they encounter a number of characters with ties to possible future adventures, as well as some adversarial encounters that will test their tactics, coordination, and combat skill.

Upon their arrival in Vallaki, the players can find shelter at the Blue Water Inn, and—if she is with them—help Ireena seek shelter at St. Andral’s Church. The act ends when the players take their first long rest in Vallaki.

Milestones

The players begin this act at 2nd level and should end it at 4th level, gaining milestone XP when they successfully do any of the following:

  • discover the secret staircase in Death House (200 XP)
  • successfully escape Death House, either after appeasing or defeating its monster (400 XP)
  • bury the remains of Walter Durst, thereby putting the spirits of Death House to rest (100 XP)
  • bury the remains of Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich in the cemetery of the village of Barovia (400 XP)
  • reconcile Doru with his father (100 XP)
  • receive the Tarokka reading from Madam Eva (500 XP)
  • find lodging in Vallaki (900 XP)

Arc A. Escape From Death House

The players begin in the town of Daggerford on the night before Highharvesttide, an annual feast and holiday celebration. The local inns are full for the night, and the players—vagabonds with little coin or company to speak of—find shelter in the stable of the Nightmare’s Bridle, a ramshackle tavern on the outskirts of town.

When the relics they carry sense the presence of Death House, however, the players are led through Daggerfords’ rainy streets and into the house’s waiting threshold.

Once inside, the players are trapped and told that a monster will hunt them down once it awakens. They have six hours to find it first and either appease it with a suitable sacrifice—or kill it. As they explore the house, they come to learn the house’s lurid history, as well as the true identity of the beast that lurks beneath.

If the players kill the monster, the house begins to collapse, forcing them to flee or be lost in the rubble. Upon emerging, they find that their surroundings have changed, transporting them to the darkened land of Barovia.

A1. Daggerford

A1a. The Nightmare’s Bridle

If one or more of your players are using the Barovian Relics hook, read the following text. Otherwise, proceed to A2. Death House below.

It’s the evening before Highharvesttide, and a storm has descended over Daggerford, with dark clouds pouring cascades of rain down upon the town below. Despite the weather, however, the town buzzes with anticipation of the impending falltime festival, each home filled with warmth and joy. Bright, cheery candlelight twinkles from every window, and the sounds of song and dance echo throughout the wet and muddy streets.

Amidst the merriment, however, you stand apart. Neither locals nor visitors, you’re vagabonds—travelers, ghosts passing through an unfamiliar town. As laughter rings out from inns and homes, you face a simpler, starker dilemma: the quest for shelter.

Every room in this town is claimed, every hearth filled to bursting, leaving you in the grip of the bitter storm. Until, that is, the owner of the ramshackle Nightmare’s Bridle tavern offers you a grudging reprieve: the hayloft above their stable. It’s nothing to boast about, leaving the biting cold and the lingering scent of musty hay as your only companions. But it’s a roof over your heads nonetheless—a small mercy on a night such as this.

One by one, you find a home amidst the muck and hay. Overhead, rain lashes the stable, thunder punctuating the rhythmic drumming on the roof. Flashes of lightning lance across the skies, casting the stable’s interior in stark lights and darks. Rainwater drips steadily down through a leak in the roof, snaking its way across the floor until it pools in the corner.

Here, then, you find yourselves: huddled in the darkness amongst strangers, while joy and mirth dance just out of reach.

Invite the players to describe each character's appearance and countenance, how they’ve positioned themselves, and how they’ve arranged their belongings.

When the players have finished introducing themselves, read:

A searing bolt of lightning rends the sky, illuminating the evening in a blinding flash of stark white. The booming thunder that follows is so loud it shakes the very ground beneath you, causing the timbers of the stable to creak and groan.

The light of the strike lingers unnaturally, silhouetting small wisps of fog that twist through the air. A thick, ankle-deep mist gathers outside, shrouding the earth in a ghostly veil. Its tendrils curl invitingly, as though beckoning you to the darkness beyond.

The rain continues to pelt the roof above, but the wind no longer howls, and the merry sounds of Daggerford’s festivities seem muted and distant. The horses in the stable beneath stir uneasily, their whinnies echoing loudly in the stillness. An uneasy feeling sweeps through the hayloft, a cold shiver that has nothing to do with the wind or rain.

One by one, the players’ relics then react as follows, in the following order.

  • Stone Crest. The crest emits a low hum and smells of pine needles and earthy soil, which both grow stronger when the crest is moved toward Death House.
  • Broken Blade. The blade emits a high-pitched hum and begins to tremble violently, spinning like a compass needle in the direction of Death House.
  • Dragon's Scale. The scale burns icy cold, one end glowing with a bright, silver light in the direction of Death House.
  • Sunrise Medallion. The medallion shines with a warm, golden glow, emitting rays of bright light in the direction of Death House.
  • Amber Shard. The shard glows with amber light and tugs its cord in the direction of Death House.
  • Wolf's Tooth. The tooth lengthens, glowing with silver moonlight, and tugs its cord in the direction of Death House.
  • Crumpled Page. The ink on the page glows with amber light, the runes reshaping themselves into a map that shows the page's location—and an arrow that guides toward Death House.
  • Tattered Banner. The sound of war-drums fills the air, and the banner blows in an unseen wind in the direction of Death House.
  • Electrum Coin. The coin lands on its edge and begins rolling across the muddy cobblestones in the direction of Death House.
  • Angel's Feather. The feather is swept away by an unseen wind, its barbs glimmering with golden light as it twirls through the streets toward Death House.
  • Raven's Feather. The feather is swept away by the wind, its shadow seeming to dance in the air, as it twirls through the streets toward Death House.
  • Wanderer's Scarf. The scarf is carried away by the wind, its patterns shifting and turning in the air as it whirls through the streets toward Death House.

If the players give chase, read:

You emerge from the hayloft into the swirling mists beyond, the stones of Daggerford's streets slick and gleaming beneath your feet. The city’s laughter and cheer is now but a hollow echo, the brightness of its revelry drowned in the fog that encircles you. The taste of the cold, damp air is sharp on your tongue, and the sound of your own breath loud in your ears.

Your relics call you forward, the mists parting to make way. You move slowly at first, then faster, your hearts pounding in your chest. As you venture deeper into the fog, each step you make feels heavier, each echo of thunder a beat in this relentless march.

The fog swallows the town, buildings reduced to looming shadows, their shapes dancing and flickering in the storm's sporadic flashes of lightning. Rain drums a relentless rhythm, the patter of drops on cobblestone accompanying the distant, mournful peal of thunder. For brief moments, you can feel something else beneath your feet: the steady pounding of a deep and distant heartbeat.

You're pulled left, then right, then left again, the relics guiding you through the murky labyrinth. Distance and direction have lost all meaning, the shadows around you contorting in twisted shapes. Your blood sings in your ears, and the air grows denser, electric, as the energy of the storm—of the chase—swells with reckless abandon.

And then—the pounding stops.

The thunder pauses.

And the mist breaks.

The fog pulls back like a curtain, revealing a tall, eerie silhouette that towers in the gloom before you.

This is Death House.

A2. Death House

If one or more of your players are using the Lost in the Mists hook, read the following text. Otherwise, proceed to A2a. The Arrival below.

Highharvesttide in Daggerford. It’s a time of joy and celebration, of hearth and home, of golden laughter ringing out into the night. But tonight, as a storm has swept over the town, you find yourselves apart from the warmth and revelry, drawn into the cold, dark embrace of mystery.

As mercenaries, you're no strangers to danger or the unknown. But this—this is different. Over the past few weeks, whispers have spread throughout Daggerford of disappearances: ordinary folk, vanished without a trace.

The only connection? A grand, old manor, known in hushed tones as “Death House.”

Tonight, as the storm rages outside, you've been summoned to investigate this mysterious dwelling. The town crier’s proclamation still echoes in your ears, a bounty for any brave souls who dare to uncover the truth. Driven by a mix of greed, curiosity, and perhaps a touch of bravado, you stepped forward.

Now, guided by the faint glow of your lanterns, you traverse the slick, fog-shrouded cobblestone streets. The distant merriment is a stark contrast to the eerie quiet around you. The world has been reduced to hushed whispers and the steady drumming of rain, a somber serenade to your perilous journey.

And then, as if answering an unspoken summons, the mists before you part, revealing the grim silhouette of your destination: the “Death House.” Its dark, stone façade and towering spires loom ominously against the storm-tossed sky, a wordless challenge against your resolve.

A2a. The Arrival

1. Entrance

Read all players the following text:

A grand manor stands before you, four stories of cold, soot-stained stone, tall narrow windows, and high peaked roofs forming a picture of austere, chilling grandeur. Midway up, a narrow balcony juts out from the third floor, offering a grim perch from which to survey the surrounding grounds.

The centerpiece of this imposing facade is the portico, a stone arch standing sentinel before the house's oaken doors. A wrought-iron gate fills this arch, its rusty hinges creaking as it sways in the wind.

On either side of the gate, oil lamps hang from chains, their light dim and flickering, casting a sickly glow that barely pierces the surrounding fog.

Beyond the gate, a set of sturdy oaken doors stand closed, framed by the gate and the lamps. The doors are old and weathered, their wood darkened by time, but they stand strong and and proud—an unwelcome entrance to the house beyond.

A gust of wind sweeps past you, carrying with it a whisper of cold dread that sends shivers down your spine.

Any players who began with the Barovian Relics hook can now see the players who began with the Lost in the Mists hook, and vice-versa. (If any of the players’ relics flew or rolled to Death House—as with the wanderer’s scarf or the electrum coin—they land on the house’s threshold, just beyond the portico.) The street is otherwise deserted.

The entrance beyond the portico is otherwise as described in 1. Entrance (p. 212).

Strahd & the Cult

The cult of Death House earned no love from Strahd in life. But in death, the two parties have come to an informal, unspoken understanding. In exchange for the permission to roam far afield from the misty land of Barovia to claim sacrifices, Death House is bound to return to the valley after each hunting excursion. Should any adventurers successfully escape the house's bloodied altar, they inevitably emerge into Strahd's domain—assuring him of a worthy crop of prey to pursue.

2. Main Hall

When the players pass through Death House’s threshold, any Barovian relics they carry cease to be active. (For example, the sunrise medallion ceases to glow.)

The main hall is largely as described in Main Hall (p. 212) but now contains a grandfather clock, which is placed in the circular space at the base of the stairs.

Instead of a longsword, the portrait of the Durst family from 6. Upper Hall (p. 213) now hangs above the fireplace. In the portrait, Rose is holding a smiling doll wearing a yellow lace dress. A plaque beneath the portrait reads: Mr. Gustav and Mrs. Elisabeth Durst, with their two children, Rosavalda and Thornboldt.1

Shortly after all of the characters enter the main hall, the front door slams shut, extinguishing all lights in the house. The sound of the rain outside completely vanishes, leaving the house eerily silent.

Bloody letters then begin appearing on the southern wall, just above the marble staircase. They read as follows:

Beneath this dwelling lurks a beast
Who hungers for a bloody feast.
He sleeps until the midnight chime
Then wakes to feed his dark design.
If morsels seek to flee their doom,
Then bring toward his secret room
A gift to soothe his savage mood
But mind the servants of his brood.

The grandfather clock then strikes six o’clock.

A player who opens any outside-facing door or curtain in Death House, or who exits onto any balcony, finds that the exterior of the house has been surrounded by thick, fleshy tendrils. Although the tendrils can be damaged, more grow back swiftly to replace them, sealing the players inside. A player who inspects the tendrils finds that they appear to be extruding from beneath the house.

A2b. The First Floor

1. Cloakroom

A player who investigates the cloakroom adjoining the Main Hall can observe an envelope poking from the pocket of one of the cloaks. The envelope, which is addressed to Lady Lovina Wachter, contains an invitation. It reads:

You are cordially invited to join

MR. GUSTAV & ELISABETH DURST

for a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the Durst Mill.

The Durst Residence, Barovia Village

6 o'clock p.m.
13 Neyavr, 348

Dinner and refreshments to be served.

2. Den of Wolves

This room is largely as described in Den of Wolves (p. 212). As the players enter this room, read:

As you crack the door to this room open, you catch a glimpse of something feral beyond: an amber eye that flashes in the darkness, and a bestial muzzle curled into a snarl.

If the players proceed, read:

The door cracks open, revealing a gray-furred wolf frozen into place. It's only a moment before you realize that it's not moving—and another before you realize that it's not alone.

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 two additional stuffed wolves—a large gray wolf and a smaller brown wolf.

Two padded chairs draped in animal furs face a hearth, with an oak table between them supporting an assortment of objects. A chandelier hangs above a cloth-covered table surrounded by four chairs, and two cabinets stand against the walls. A pair of small toys seems to have been forgotten beneath one of the chairs.

The discarded toys are small, plush gray wolves, whose threadbare coats show evidence of heavy mending and patchwork. Clumsy stitchwork on their stomachs reads ROSE and THORN, respectively.

In addition to its other contents, the east cabinet contains three silvered crossbow bolts mixed in with the other twenty bolts. Meanwhile, the north cabinet also contains a mounted piece of child's needlework that depicts a boy and girl holding the hands of a young woman, alongside clumsily stitched words that read FOR MISS KLARA. The young woman's face has been slashed and cut out.

The first time that no players are looking at them, the three taxidermied wolves move. When the players next look at them, the large gray wolf is standing beside the smaller brown wolf, and the first gray wolf has turned its snarl toward the others.

A player that succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) check can identify the large gray wolf as male and the other two as female.

Time in Death House

When the clock strikes six, place three six-sided dice on the table in front of the players, with each side showing a six. Each pip on the dice represents twenty minutes until midnight.

As the players explore the house, tick this dice clock downward to indicate the passage of time, always starting with the die showing the lowest number. If the lowest die shows a one, you can tick it down to “zero” by removing it from the group instead.

The dice clock counts down as follows:

  • Each time the players enter a new floor of the house or dungeon, tick the dice clock down by one.
  • Each time the players make a Perception or Investigation check to search an entire room, tick the dice clock down by one.
  • Each time the players complete a short rest, tick the dice clock down by three.

The grandfather clock in the Main Hall sounds on the hour, every hour, and can be heard throughout the house and dungeon.

When the clock strikes midnight, the flesh mound in the Ritual Chamber awakens and makes a beeline for the players, exiting through the Hidden Trapdoor into the Den of Wolves if necessary to reach them. At least one minute should pass between the time the mound wakes up and the time that it first reaches the players, nullifying its heavy sleeper feature and allowing it to use its multiattack actions.

Resting in Death House

Due to their midnight deadline, it is impossible for the players to take a long rest in Death House. However, the players might still need to take a short rest. Each time they do so in the main house, they experience one or more of the following hauntings:

  • A player hears rats scrabbling up and down the spaces between the walls. A thick, choking stench of rot seeps into the room.
  • A player hears the sound of a woman’s humming emanating from the opposite side of a closed door. If the door is cracked open, a cold blue eye stares back before vanishing.
  • A player hears footsteps descending from the attic, which stop outside of their door before moving away to the library. Soon after, a grinding noise can be heard coming from the library—the sound of the secret door.
  • A player hears maniacal laughter echoing from far below the house.
  • A player hears a pleading female voice in their right ear that swears that “it isn’t his.” Another, colder female voice in the player’s left ear scoffs and says, "You would say that, you little harlot."
3. Dining Room

Players that approach this door can hear the muffled sound of a lively dinner feast, including clinking glasses, quiet laughter, and distant conversation. If the players open or knock on the door, however, the room falls silent, leaving only the stillness and the cold grandeur of the room beyond.

This room is largely as described in Dining Room (p. 213). When the players enter it, read:

You enter into a wood-paneled dining room. The centerpiece 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 set with resplendent silverware and crystal glasses 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. Red silk drapes cover the windows, and a tapestry hangs from an iron rod bolted to the south wall.

The table groans beneath the weight of a delicious-looking feast. Exquisite dishes lay on grand platters: succulent roasted poultry glazed with a shimmering honey sauce, perfectly grilled cuts of beef still steaming lightly, a variety of cheeses and fresh fruits, and freshly baked breads giving off a comforting aroma.

A player who partakes in the food suffers no ill effects.

4. Kitchen and Pantry

This room is largely as described in Kitchen and Pantry (p. 213). When the players enter this room, read:

You enter a tidy kitchen, 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.

In the front right-hand corner of the room stands a small wooden door set into the wall.

If the players inspect the cookware, they find that the largest kitchen knife is missing.

A player who enters the pantry finds that one of the shelves contains a set of beautiful decorative plates painted with pictures of windmills. One of the plates appears to have been knocked off of the shelf and lies in shattered pieces on the floor, leaving an empty spot in the row of plates.

A few inches behind the empty spot on the shelf sits an antique copper pot, its lid slightly ajar. Peeking out from beneath the lid is the cork of what appears to be a bottle of wine.

A player who opens the pot finds it to contain a bottle of wine, a folded piece of delicate lace, a vial of a brownish dried powder, and a bouquet of wilted sunflowers tied to a small scroll of parchment.

  • The wine's label shows that it is from the Wizard of Wines winery and provides the name of the wine: Champagne du le Stomp. (A player that drinks the wine finds it to have turned to vinegar, as though it has magically aged centuries in mere moments.)
  • The piece of lace bears the initial "K" sewn onto one corner.
  • A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) check identifies the brown powder as dried silphium, a contraceptive herb.
  • The parchment scroll reads: "For the light of my life. —G."

If the players read the note, one of the knives in the kitchen flies off of its shelf and embeds itself in the opposite wall.

A2c. The Second Floor

1. Upper Hall

This room is largely as described in Upper Hall (p. 213). When the players enter this room, read:

Unlit oil lamps are mounted on the walls of this elegant hall. Hanging above the mantelpiece is a longsword with a windmill cameo worked into the hilt.

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 between them are carved with images of dancing youths.

The red marble staircase continues its upward spiral to a third floor, a cold draft whispering down from above.

2. Servants’ Room

This room is largely as described in Servants’ Room (p. 213). When the players enter this room, read:

This undecorated bedroom contains a pair of beds with straw-stuffed mattresses. At the foot of each bed is a closed foot locker. A door to the left appears to lead to a closet.

In the right-hand corner stands a small wooden door, a metal button set into the wall beside it. A basket full of unwashed laundry appears to have been left beside it.

The basket contains a man's laundry, including fine suits, tunics, neckties, pants, and stockings. However, a single, much-smaller woman's slip appears to have been mixed in with the rest.

3. Conservatory

Players that approach this door can hear the faint sound of a harpsichord playing from beyond the doors. If the players open or knock on the door, however, the music falls silent.

This room is largely as described in Conservatory (p. 214). When the players enter it, read:

You enter into an elegantly appointed hall, the windows of which are covered by gossamer drapes. A brass-plated chandelier hangs from the ceiling, and upholstered chairs line the walls.

Several 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.

The Harpsichord. A player who inspects the harpsichord finds that one of the keys appears to be permanently pressed in the "down" position. A player who investigates the interior of the harpsichord finds the cause: a rolled-up piece parchment tucked beneath one of the strings.

The parchment is a piece of handwritten sheet music for the harpsichord titled Waltz for Klara. If the sheet music is played on the harpsichord, read:

As you press your fingers to the keys, the notes echo, a haunting melody filling the quiet, dusty room. As you continue to play, the music seems to take on a life of its own, your hands moving across the keys unbidden as if guided by an unseen force.

From the edges of the room, spectral figures begin to materialize, spinning and weaving in a ghostly dance as though led by the song. Most are unfamiliar to you, but you recognize two: Elisabeth Durst, in the corner, watching Gustav's apparition dancing with a beautiful young woman wearing humble clothes.

The eyes of Elisabeth's apparition eyes narrow into a cold, furious stare. The dancers pay her little heed, however, the song growing faster as the spirits whirl to the rhythm of the harpsichord's crescendo.

With a swift movement, Elisabeth reaches for a pendant around her spectral neck—a shimmering amber shard hung on a cord of ethereal mist. As her ghostly fist curls around it, her eyes flash a bright, menacing amber—and the spectral dancers dissipate, swept away as if by an unseen wind.

Elisabeth's apparition lingers but a moment longer before disappearing with the rest. As it does, a sound resonates through the room: the low sound of scraping wood, originating from the room across the hall. The floor trembles faintly—and you hear a crash from the mantelpiece. Two of the alabaster figurines have fallen from their place on the shelf: one, toppled over on its side; the other, shattered across the floor.

A player who inspects the fallen figurines finds that the toppled figurine has cracked across its face, arms, and torso, and depicts a young and slender female dancer. The shattered figurine has broken into dozens of pieces, and appears to have once depicted a comely, older man. A third, female dancer figurine remains defiantly standing atop the mantelpiece where all three once stood.

4. Library

This room is largely as described in Library (p. 213-14). When the players enter this room, read:

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. A handwritten note sits atop the desk. It reads:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Durst,

In light of my current condition, I respectfully ask your leave for a brief time away from my responsibilities.

While my devotion to your dear children makes this decision difficult, I have taken it upon myself to find a solution that, I hope, will serve your household well. A good acquaintance of mine is experienced in the care of children, and I believe that she could assume my role during my temporary leave without difficulty.

I realize that my request is not without its complications. However, my years serving your family have shown me the depth of your understanding and compassion. I truly feel that I have become a part of this family, and I look forward to bringing another member of that family into this world.

Yours sincerely,

Klara

The top drawer of the desk now contains a number of receipts for candles, daggers, and incense, rather than the key to 20. Children's Room* (p. 215).

The Bookshelves. A small rock collection sits upon one of the shelves, each of the stones labeled with its scientific name.4 (This collection once belonged to Mr. Durst.)

Immediately beside the rock collection is a book titled The Tale of ________, with the final word being the name of the player character who first found it. It appears blank to any other creature, but, if read by that player character, tells the story of their life.2

The final written page of this book reads:

________ pulled the book down from the shelf and began to read, unaware of the creature that watched them from the shadows. Slowly, the beast began to creep forward.

The next page is blank, save for a bloodstain. A search of the room provides no evidence of any lurking monster.

A character that searches the room and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check can see flickering candle light emanating from beneath the secret door.4

The Secret Door. The secret door in this room has two components. First, a player must pull on the switch as described in Secret Door (p. 214). Doing so causes the bookshelf to swing forward, revealing a blank wooden wall behind it.

Once the bookshelf has been moved, the players can see a small panel made of dark wood behind it, built into the wall at approximately chest level. A small hollow niche, jagged and irregular, lies at the panel's center and emanates a faint amber glow.

The door cannot be opened unless the amber shard from the Master Suite (see below) is placed into the niche. The secret door then swings open, allowing the players to enter the Secret Room.

5. Secret Room

This room is largely as described in Secret Room (p. 214). When the players enter this room, read:

This small hidden room is packed with bookshelves groaning with old and ominous-looking leather-bound tomes. A heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet stands against the south wall, its lid half-closed. Sticking out of the chest, its ribs and head caught beneath the lid, is a skeleton in leather armor.

Change Strahd’s letter to read as follows:

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 one who brought me to this beautiful land. You are but a worm writhing in my earth.

You say that you are cursed, your fortune spent. Your husband took solace in the bosom of another woman, sired a bastard son, and drove you to abandon love for madness. Cursed by darkness? Of that I have no doubt. Save you from your wretchedness? I think not. I much prefer you as you are.

Your dread lord and master,

Strahd von Zarovich

The players do not recognize the name "Strahd von Zarovich."

A2d. The Third Floor

As the players ascend the spiral stairs to the third floor, remind them that they can see down the center of the staircase all the way to the bottom floor.

Making Multiple Ability Checks

As the players explore Death House and the many secret places within the land of Barovia, don't forget the Multiple Ability Checks rule, found on page 237 of the Dungeon Master's Guide, which reads as follows:

Sometimes a character fails an ability check and wants to try again. In some cases, a character is free to do so; the only real cost is the time it takes. With enough attempts and enough time, a character should eventually succeed at the task. To speed things up, assume that a character spending ten times the normal amount of time needed to complete a task automatically succeeds at that task. However, no amount of repeating the check allows a character to turn an impossible task into a successful one.

In other cases, failing an ability check makes it impossible to make the same check to do the same thing again. For example, a rogue might try to trick a town guard into thinking the adventurers are undercover agents of the king. If the rogue loses a contest of Charisma (Deception) against the guard's Wisdom (Insight), the same lie told again won't work. The characters can come up with a different way to get past the guard or try the check again against another guard at a different gate. But you might decide that the initial failure makes those checks more difficult to pull off.

1. Balcony

This room is largely as described in Balcony (p. 214). When the players enter this room, read:

You climb the red marble staircase to its full height, arriving at a dusty balcony. The air here is dry and musty, but tinged with a strange, coppery scent.

A suit of black plate armor stands against one wall, draped in cobwebs and marked by age. Oil lamps are mounted on the faded oak-paneled walls, which are carved with woodland scenes of trees, falling leaves, and tiny beasts.

When triggered, the animated armor will use one or both of its multiattack attacks to attempt to push a player over the railing using a shove attack, or attempt to grapple its nearest target before shoving them prone.

If the armor is thrown down to the first floor and the players do not reveal their presence atop the balcony, it is unable to observe them with its sixty feet of blindsight, and is too stupid to think to climb back up.

A creature that is pushed over the edge of the balcony falls two stories, or twenty feet, and takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage. That creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or land prone.

2. Master Suite

When a player first approaches this door, read:

These grand doors loom tall, their dark wood frames enclosing a pair of dusty stained-glass windows. Each pane is etched with intricate designs that resemble windmills, their once-vibrant hues now faded and obscured beneath a thick veil of grime.

Through the dusty haze that prickles your eyes , you catch a glimpse of something through the windows: a silhouette, standing mere inches behind the glass, lit from behind by a dim, amber glow. It's still and unmoving, but the mere sight of it seizes your muscles in a vice-like grip, your limbs refusing to obey your conscious mind.

The air around you thickens, its temperature plummeting to a bone-chilling cold. Your breath fogs the glass panes, a delicate frost creeping across them as the house's distance creaks and whispers are swallowed by a heavy silence.

The shadow behind the door is nearly formless—insubstantial—but its presence invokes a primordial dread deep within your marrow. Your heart beats faster, sweat beading on your forehead, pulse racing through your veins. Slowly, the silhouette begins to turn its head toward yours.

And then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the shadow evaporates. The biting cold ebbs away, and the house's quiet sounds return once more.

This room is largely as described in Master Suite (p. 214). When the players enter this room, read:

You enter a dusty, cobweb-filled master bedroom with burgundy drapes covering the windows. A four-poster bed with embroidered curtains and tattered gossamer veils stands against the center wall.

A door facing the foot of the bed has a faded full-length mirror mounted on it. In the right-hand corner of the roomstands a small wooden door, its surface half-rotted by age. A tarnished metal button is set into the wall beside it.

A rotting tiger-skin rug lies on the floor in front of the fireplace, which has a dust-covered portrait of the man and woman from the first-floor portrait hanging above it. A web-filled parlor in the southwest corner contains two chairs and a table holding several items, as well as a door with a dark, dirt-flecked window.

The room also contains a matching pair of wardrobes, a padded chair, and a vanity with a wood-framed mirror and a silver jewelry box. A soft amber glow emanates from beneath the jewelry box's lid.

The Bed. A player that approaches the bed can see that a large, bloodstained kitchen knife has been driven into one of the pillows.

The Jewelry Box. The jewelry box is empty of valuables. Instead, it is filled with grain, with an amber shard resting in the center of the box. (This amber shard is the unique key to the secret door in the Library.)

A roll of parchment is half-buried in the grain beside the shard. If unfurled, it reads as follows:

Drasha,

I have selected you as the Beast’s custodian in my absence. Should the Beast grow unruly or show signs of agitation while I am away, I have left this amber shard to weaken it and soothe its fury.

Should the need arise, present the shard and speak the Beast's name to quiet its tantrums—but be sure to begone from the house before it awakens at midnight.

So long as the Beast draws breath, it—not you—is the heart of this house, and no meal shall ever sate its appetite. Should you linger in its domain, it will mean doom for you all.

Elisabeth

A player can present the shard and speak Walter's name as a bonus action while within 30 feet of the flesh mound in the Ritual Chamber (see below) to force the mound to make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be dazed until the start of the player's next turn. (A dazed creature can move or take one action on its turn, not both. It also can’t take a bonus action or a reaction.)

3. Bathroom

This room is as described in Bathroom (p. 215).

4. Storage Room

This room is largely as described in Storage Room (p. 215). When the players enter it, read:

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 leans against the far wall.

When a player first approaches within 5 feet of the broom of animated attack, it attacks with surprise as soon as they avert their eyes or turn away, thwacking them once upside the head. It then immediately returns to its initial position—now cobweb-free. On its future turns, the broom uses its multiattack to continue to attack any player not looking at it who remains within 5 feet, foregoing opportunity attacks against players that move away.

5. Nursemaid’s Suite

This room is largely as described in Nursemaid’s Suite (p. 217). When the players enter it, read:

Dust and cobwebs shroud this elegantly appointed bedroom. A large bed stands against the far wall, its once-opulent coverings now faded and threadbare.

Beside the bed, a mildew-covered towel covers most of a dusty yellowed book on one of its two end tables. On the far side of the room, you can see a pair of two more stained-glass doors, their windows flecked with dirt and grime.

To the left stands an empty wardrobe, its doors slightly ajar. Mounted beside it stands a full-length mirror, its wooden frame carved to resemble ivy and berries.

To the right, an empty doorway leads into a darkened nursery. You can see the silhouette of a crib, its quiet form veiled by a hanging black shroud. A strange substance seems to cover the floor beneath it.

As you look around the room, you notice that the blankets atop the bed lift slightly away from the mattress, as though something is lying atop the mattress beneath. As you watch, you can see the coverings, almost imperceptibly, slowly rise and fall with low, rhythmic rustling.

The Bed. A player that removes the covers from the bed finds that there is nothing beneath them. Instead, the player only finds a bloodstained mattress and crude hand-and-foot restraints made from barbed wire nailed to the four posts of the bed frame.

The Doors. A player that exits the bedroom through the stained-glass doors and onto the balcony sees that the town of Daggerford has vanished. Instead, the balcony looks out over an endless, mist-filled chasm.

The Book. The book is a cobwebbed copy of a raunchy romance novel titled Blue-Blooded Lips. It tells the story of a peasant woman's romance with a wealthy duke.

The Nursery. If a player enters the nursery, read:

The air in this small nursery is strangely warm and tinged with a coppery scent. Blood-red runes cover the walls, arranged in concentric circles around the crib in the center, which seems to have a name carved into its side. Strange, flesh-like tumors have grown along the floor around it in sparse clusters, and slowly pulsate as if they're breathing.

Looking down, you notice that a small object seems to have fallen beneath the crib. In the distance, you can faintly hear the sound of an infant's soft whimpering.

The object is a severed human finger with several pieces of flesh stripped from it. Tiny toothmarks can be seen around the wounds. A DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check identifies the finger as a woman's, and the teethmarks as a human child's.

The name "Walter" has been lovingly carved into the head of the crib. A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) identifies the runes around it as dark necromantic magic.

The Mirror. The nursemaid’s specter does not appear in this room. Instead, when a player approaches the mirror, the nursemaid’s spirit appears as an apparition in the glass.

The spirit resembles a pale, skeletally thin young woman, with all of her fingers and toes removed, her eyes sewn shut, and her lips and teeth torn from her mouth. Countless knife-thin scars line her entire body, including the flesh around her wrists and ankles, and her hair has been carelessly hacked to stubble.

Though its appearance is disturbing, players observing the spirit feel that it is simply watching them with shy curiosity.

The spirit can neither speak aloud nor exit the mirror. However, it shows no hostility toward the players, and can answer basic questions by nodding or shaking its head. It knows everything that the nursemaid did in life. It shows fear at any mention of Mrs. Durst’s name, sorrow at any mention of Mr. Durst’s, melancholic fondness at any mention of Rose or Thorn, and despair at any mention of Walter.

If the players ask the spirit for aid in reaching the basement or finding the “monster,” the spirit steps aside—vanishing from sight—and the secret door behind the mirror slowly swings open. The spirit does not return.

A2e. The Attic

1. Attic Hall

This room is largely as described in Attic Hall (p. 215). When the players enter this room, read:

This bare hall is choked with dust and cobwebs. Several doors lead from this attic corridor, including a door held shut with a padlock.

A low creak cuts through the air as one of the unlocked doors slowly creaks open.

The door leads to the Spare Bedroom (see below).

2. Spare Bedroom

This room is largely as described in Spare Bedroom (p. 215). When the players first enter it, read:

This cold, 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 frowning doll in a lacy yellow dress sits in the northern window box beside a tarnished old music box, cobwebs draping it like a wedding veil.

The players can recognize the doll as the same doll that Rose was holding in the family portrait in the Main Hall.

The music box contains a rusted, bloodstained skinning knife as well as the key to the padlock on Rose and Thorn's bedroom door.

The music box also contains two curled-up pieces of parchment. The first parchment shows a basic floor plan split into three rectangles labeled QUARTERS, SHRINE, and ALTAR. QUARTERS and SHRINE are connected at the top by a single line, and at the bottom by a double line, which connects both to ALTAR. The second parchment contains a list of unfamiliar names beneath the word RECRUITMENT.

As the players exit the room, the rocking chair begins to rock softly and the music box opens and begins to play. The sound of motherly humming floats through the air for two measures, but grows off-key and distorted before coming to a violent, screeching halt. The rocking chair then stops rocking.

3. Children’s Room

This room is largely as described in Children’s Room (p. 215-16).

Profile: Rosavalda "Rose" Durst

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Rose should inspire sympathy for her insecurities and fears, endearment for her dedication to Thorn, and gratitude for her earnest efforts to aid the players.

Emotions. Rose most often feels apprehensive, curious, defiant, or bold.

Motivations. Rose wants to keep Thorn safe and comforted, and to allow their spirits to finally find peace.

Inspirations. When playing Rose, channel Eleven (Stranger Things), Matilda (Matilda), and Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Rose is Thorn's fiercest protector. To those she trusts, Rose is a lost, fearful, and traumatized young girl.

Morale. In a fight, Rose would plead for peace, but flee with Thorn if that proved impossible.

Relationships. Rose is Thorn Durst's older sister, Walter Durst's half-sibling, and the eldest child of Elisabeth and Gustav Durst.

Profile: Thornboldt "Thorn" Durst

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Thorn should inspire sympathy for his shyness and fear, and endearment for his childlike joy.

Emotions. Thorn most often feels uncomfortable, joyous, anxious, or terrified.

Motivations. Thorn wants to keep close to Rose and find toys to play with.

Inspirations. When playing Thorn, channel Neville Longbottom (Harry Potter) and Piglet (Winnie the Pooh).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Thorn is a frightened young boy who clings to his sister. To those he trusts, Thorn is a quietly observant and insightful child.

Morale. In a fight, Thorn would cower and cry, pleading for Rose to rescue him.

Relationships. Thorn is Rose Durst's younger brother, Walter Durst's half-sibling, and the youngest child of Elisabeth and Gustav Durst.

In life, Rose was a budding wizard who discovered a small spellbook in her father’s library, and took great care in copying the mending, light, and shocking grasp cantrips into her diary.4

As the ghost children speak with the players, Thorn levitates one of his toys into the air, which falls and breaks. Rose swiftly uses her mending spell to repair it. If her use of magic is remarked upon, she shyly shares her diary’s location, which can be found hidden in the cobweb-covered pillowcase on her bed.

In addition to her cantrips, Rose’s aged and faded diary also contains entries regarding her studies, her friends, her younger brother, her nursemaid (“Miss Klara”), and arguments between her mother and father. (Rose doesn't know anything about the content of those fights.)

Rose knows the way down to the basement, but “isn’t supposed to go down there.” If the party convinces her to show them the way, she points them toward the dollhouse, revealing the secret entry. In exchange, she asks the players to take her and Thorn's bones with them when they escape, burying them in the garden outside.

The dollhouse contains small dolls that depict tiny, twisted molds of any characters and creatures currently visible in the house. The dolls are made of painted resin. Any character looking inside the dollhouse while in Rose and Thorn’s room can see the appropriately-placed dolls of all living creatures within the manor. The dollhouse only contains rooms within the house itself, and does not depict the dungeon levels below.

When the secret door is revealed, Thorn shyly asks the players if he and Rose can accompany them downstairs to aid them, and attempts to possess a friendly player if permitted. When Rose or Thorn attempts to possess a player, describe it as “a child’s tiny hand, desperately seeking the touch of another soul.”

A player possessed by Rose can cast the cantrips in her diary, while a player possessed by Thorn can gain the effects of the mage hand cantrip as an action, without the use of components. (The spectral hand is invisible.)

4. Storage Room

This room is largely as described in Storage Room (p. 215). When the players enter this room, read:

This dusty chamber is packed with lumpy, squat shapes draped in dusty white sheets. An old iron stove stands against the right-side wall, next to what looks to be a large trunk covered by a sheet.

The nursemaid’s specter does not appear in this room. Instead, a character who opens the trunk finds the nursemaid’s corpse, with wounds consistent with those seen on the spirit’s body in the Nursemaid’s Suite. A DC 14 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that the woman died of starvation.

A player inspecting the remains feels a cold breath on their shoulder and the unshakeable sense of being watched. Meanwhile, if another player has previously uncovered a nearby mirror from its sheet covering, that player can see an apparition of Elisabeth Durst within the mirror staring at the player near the chest. Once observed, the apparition swiftly vanishes.

Milestone. Descending into Death House's dungeon level completes a story milestone. When the party gains access to the secret stairs, award each player 200 XP.

5. Guest Bedroom

This room is as described in Spare Bedroom (p. 215).

6. Secret Stairs

This room is largely as described in Secret Stairs (p. 217). However, opening the secret door reveals only a stone slab on the opposite side, inset with a small bronze panel at approximately chest level. A small hollow niche identical to the one in the library lies at the panel's center, emanating a faint amber glow. When the niche is exposed, the amber shard from the Master Suite glimmers faintly and swings in the air toward it, as though held aloft by an unseen force.

To allow the stone slab to swing open and reveal the hidden stairs on the opposite side, the players must place the amber shard into the niche.

When the players enter this room, read:

The secret door opens to reveal a narrow spiral staircase built of aged-looking wood within a tight shaft of mortared stone. Thick cobwebs fill the staircase as it descends into the darkness below.

As the players descend the stairs, read:

The broken cobwebs around you sway like a gossamer wedding veil, beckoning you forward as the ancient stairs creak and groan underfoot. The gaping maw of the stairwell draws you deeper, swallowing you up as you descend further down its gullet. You descend one floor—two floors—three.

The walls of the stone shaft narrow around you, forcing you to hunch your shoulders and pull in your elbows to continue downward. In the darkness, you can only hear the shuffle of your feet, the choking groan of the stairs, and the pounding of your blood in your ears.

Finally, after what feels like hours, the descent levels out, and the spiral staircase ends at a darkened landing of packed earth. A narrow tunnel supported by aged timber braces stretches ahead of you, its stone walls seeming to bleed with deposits of streaked, red clay. Eight feet ahead, the tunnel splits, branching to the left and right.

As your eyes and ears adjust to the cold, subterranean corridor, you notice that the tunnel isn't as silent as the staircase above. An eerie, low-pitched sound echoes through the space—and you soon recognize it as a deep, incessant chanting.

A2f. The Basement

1. Family Crypts

These rooms are largely as described in Family Crypts (p. 217-18).

As the players approach the Empty Crypt and Walter’s Crypt, read:

This side-corridor branches again to the left and right. On either side, large standing stone slabs have been set aside to lean against the walls, opening the way to a pair of dark, quiet crypts. The slab to the right is etched with the name "Walter Durst"; the slab to the left is blank.

If the characters enter the Empty Crypt, read:

You peer past the leaning stone slab to see an empty earthen crypt.

If the characters enter Walter’s Crypt, read:

Swollen, bloody cysts cover the walls of this crypt like tumors. From time to time, they pulsate and burst, streams of pus oozing down to collect on the floor. In the distance, you can hear an infant's quiet whimpers.

As the players approach Gustav’s Crypt and Elisabeth’s Crypt, read:

This side corridor branches again to the left and right. Large standing stone slabs seal the entrance to the tunnels on either side, blocking the way forward. The slab to the left is etched with the name "Gustav Durst"; the slab to the right is etched with the name "Elisabeth Durst." The tunnel here is unnaturally quiet, and a thin mist clings to the floor.

If the characters enter Gustav’s Crypt, read:

The crypt beyond the slab contains a stone coffin lying atop a dusty stone bier. Silence hangs heavy over the lonely chamber.

If the characters enter Elisabeth’s Crypt, read:

A thick, acrid miasma hangs over the interior of this crypt, which holds a stone-carved coffin resting atop a stone bier. The floor before it is littered with the bodies of hundreds of dead termites. Many cling to the elongated, bloated body of a dead termite queen, while others appear to have died atop the scarred, mutilated bodies of four larger beetles not far away.

As the players approach Rose’s Crypt and Thorn’s Crypt, read:

This side-corridor branches again to the left and right. Large standing stone slabs seal the entrance to the tunnels on either side, blocking the way forward. The slab to the left is etched with the name "Rosavalda Durst"; the slab to the right is etched with the name "Thornboldt Durst." Each slab exudes the silence of a forgotten grave.

If the characters enter either crypt, read:

This small chamber contains a stone coffin resting on a stone bier. The air in this crypt hangs heavy with sorrow.

The players cannot help Rose or Thorn’s ghosts find peace by placing their remains in their coffins. Neither Rose nor Thorn finds these crypts comforting. Both prefer to leave as quickly as possible.

2. Cult Initiates’ Quarters

This room is largely as described in Cult Initiates’ Quarters (p. 218).

As the characters move to descend to the Well and Cultist Quarters (p. 218), a sudden splashing sound can be heard—which then quickly subsides.

2. Well and Cultist Quarters

This room is largely as described in Well and Cultist Quarters (p. 218). When the players enter this room, read:

The ceiling of this dark, earthen chamber rises a foot higher than the cramped tunnel. It's supported by thick wooden posts and cross beams that have rotted with age and bear deep holes indicative of hungry insects.

Here, a lonely well stands at the center of the room, surrounded on three sides by several smaller, alcove-like chambers that have been carved into the walls. Old footprints criss-cross the floor, leading into the alcoves, around the well, up a staircase on the other end of the room, and back upstairs the way you came.

An old hempen rope attached to a rusted pulley descends past the mouth of the well, swaying gently in the stagnant air as if just abandoned by an unseen occupant.

The well comprises a 4-foot-diameter well shaft with a 3-foot-high stone lip, and descends 30 feet to a water-filled cistern. A wooden bucket hangs from a rope-and-pulley mechanism bolted to the cross beams above the well. The interior of the shaft is covered with an ash-black species of fungi.

If the players toss an object down the well and then turn away, they hear loud splashing and tearing sounds coming from below. When they turn back, the object has been torn to pieces, with large parts missing.

Replace the silvered shortsword in footlocker 25E with a book bound in grimy black leather. This journal, which one of the cultists kept as a log of the cult’s victims, contains a list of names and physical descriptions associated with each name. Each entry includes gruesome details describing the victim’s sacrifice, such as “struggled profusely” or “no sedative given,”1 and ends with the phrase, "Fed to Walter."

3. Hidden Spiked Pit

This room is largely as described in Hidden Spiked Pit (p. 218). If the characters enter this area from Well and Cultist Quarters, read:

The staircase leads to a quiet landing. To the front, the stairs continue upward and vanish around a bend. To the right, the landing continues straight into a lonely corridor. This tunnel hallway seems surprisingly clean and bereft of debris; at its far end, another earthen staircase descends into darkness.

The incessant chanting that has filled the air of this underground complex grows stronger toward the far end of this corridor. Its source seems to lie beyond the descending stairs.

If the characters enter this area from Dining Hall, read:

The staircase descends to a quiet landing. To the front, the stairs continue to descend, opening into a broader chamber. To the left, the landing continues straight into a lonely corridor. This tunnel hallway seems surprisingly clean and bereft of debris; at its far end, another earthen staircase descends into darkness.

The incessant chanting that has filled the air of this underground complex grows stronger toward the far end of this corridor.

If the characters enter this area from Ghoulish Encounter, read:

The staircase descends to a quiet landing. To the left, the stairs continue to descend, rounding a bend before vanishing into darkness. The incessant chanting that has filled the air of this underground complex appears to be echoing from below.

To the right, the landing continues straight into a lonely corridor. This tunnel hallway seems surprisingly clean and bereft of debris; at its far end, the corridor branches left and right.

4. Dining Hall

This room is largely as described in Dining Hall (p. 218). When the players enter this room, read:

This room contains a plain wooden table flanked by long benches. Moldy humanoid bones lie strewn on the dirt floor. A thick stench of rot and gore fills the chamber, so coppery with blood that you can taste it on your tongue.

A few dozen moldy bones have been piled into a grotesque and misshapen pyramid in a dark alcove to the south.

5. Larder

This area is largely as described in Larder (p. 218).

The grick in this alcove—the warped remains of Gustav Durst’s flayed corpse—is coiled on the ceiling, and drops onto its victim when they enter. A DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check allows a player to determine its presence before entering.

If the players disturb the grick, read:

A horrific creature—a long, flesh-like worm the breadth and length of a human man—drops from the ceiling. Its flayed muscles split open to reveal a flapping, gaping maw ringed by hundreds of tiny, humanlike teeth and a gnashing, bony beak.

It lets out a high-pitched, gurgling squeal as it hurls itself forward, writhing, tendon-like tentacles lashing toward your face.

6. Ghoulish Encounter

This area is largely as described in Ghoulish Encounter (p. 218). When the players first approach this area, read:

A deathly stench emanates from this corridor. The stone walls bear cracked, red stains, and a trail of old bones leads deeper down the tunnel.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (55)

When a player first enters one of the 5-foot squares at the entrance of the corridors (marked T on the map), three ghouls rise up out of the ground in the spaces marked G and attack.

As the ghouls attack, they mindlessly repeat any or all of the following phrases:

  • “Beautiful. We’re so beautiful.”
  • “We are perfect. We are immortal.”
  • “Help us live forever.”

If the players continue down the corridor, read:

The trail ends at the center of a quiet intersection. The incessant chanting you've heard since first entering the dungeon is noticeably louder down the northern branch of the intersection.

7. Stairs Down

This room is largely as described in Stairs Down (p. 218). When the players approach this area, read:

A dark set of chiseled stone steps descends into darkness. It's clear that the origin of the muffled chanting you've been hearing lies below.

8. Darklord’s Shrine

This room is largely as described in Darklord’s Shrine (p. 218). When the players enter this room, read:

This room is festooned with moldy skeletons that hang from rusty shackles against the walls, their mouths hanging open in silent screams.

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 beside him. The statue's right hand holds a smoky-gray crystal orb, and its painted gaze stares down toward you, a cold and cruel glint to its eye.

Five ashen shadows are burned into the walls, with soot marks stretching across the floor toward the statue.

The room has exits to the west and north. Chanting can be heard coming from the west.

A player that approaches the orb can hear many voices whispering the following phrases:

  • “His gaze burns upon us.”
  • “The Darklord’s eyes are always watching.”

Additionally, that player’s shadow begins to writhe and twist, its edges growing tattered and blurred as it lashes erratically across the floor. A player who touches the orb feels as though a “dark, ancient evil” has suddenly turned its eye upon them.

If the orb is removed from its position, the ashen shadows upon the walls begin to stir. Each round, up to two of the shadows “awaken,” swooping across the walls. As they awaken, they murmur and moan the following phrases:

  • “Begone from this place!”
  • “Look not upon us.”
  • “Return the Darklord’s offering!”

Once all shadows have awoken, they attack, with each shadow preferring to target a different player. If the orb is returned to its place on the statue, the shadows return to their original positions and become dormant once more.

If the players approach the door leading to Cult Leaders’ Den, read:

This old wooden door is covered in ancient red stains.

If the players have not already seen this door from the opposite side, add:

The half-eaten body of a rat lies at its base, its head torn off and half of the spine poking from its severed lower torso.

Any creature that touches the door becomes adhered to it, whereupon the mimic attacks. The mimic also attacks if its takes any damage.

When the mimic attacks, the victim's hand is sucked inside of it. The door then deforms, sprouting dozens of mouths and eyes, with the nearest mouth attempting to bite down on the now-stuck victim.

If the mimic is attacked at range by a wary or alerted PC, it flees, vanishing around the corner and reappearing as a door, chest, or longsword elsewhere in the dungeon.

9. Hidden Trapdoor

This room is largely as described in Hidden Trapdoor (p. 219). When the players find and enter this area, read:

The clay staircase ends at a cramped landing. Six feet above the ground, a half-rotted ceiling of close-fitting planks holds a closed wooden trapdoor leading to an upper floor. The trapdoor is bolted shut from this side.

10. Cult Leader’s Den

This room is largely as described in Cult Leaders’ Den (p. 219). When the players enter this room, read:

This quiet room contains a wooden table flanked by two high-backed chairs and holding a clay jug and two flagons. Above the table is suspended an unlit cast-iron chandelier. Iron candlesticks stand in two corners of the chamber, their candles long since melted away. A short corridor at the north end of the room leads to a darkened chamber beyond.

See Darklord’s Shrine for more information on running the mimic here.

11. Cult Leader’s Quarters

This room is largely as described in Cult Leaders’ Quarters (p. 219). When the players enter this room, read:

This room contains a large wood-framed bed, the feather mattress rotted by years of disuse. An old wooden wardrobe carved with demonic faces stands against the wall to the left, and a faded wooden footlocker stands quietly at the foot of the bed.

The room is suffused with a familiar stench of death—but far stronger, mixing with a noxious scent that fills your lungs with every breath.

The wardrobe contains several old robes, a pair of iron candlesticks, and an open crate containing thirty torches and a leather sack with fifteen candles inside it. A rotting aroma also emanates from a pair of rotted organs—a half-eaten liver and a gnawed intestine—lying hidden beneath the hems of the robes.

Folded inside the foot locker, on top of its other contents, is a boneless (Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, p. 228) made of the recognizable flayed skin of Gustav Durst. When the foot locker is opened, the boneless springs out to attack the nearest creature.

No ghasts attack if a player removes any items from the foot locker, and there are no hidden cavities behind the walls.

A2g. The Dungeon

1. Reliquary

This room is largely as described in Reliquary (p. 219). When the players enter this room, read:

The dusty stone steps descend past a landing and around a bend until they end at a cold, rectangular chamber. A thin, wafting mist clings to the ground, and the wooden cross beams that support the ceiling groan beneath the weight of the house and underground complex above.

The walls of this room are cut with small, chiseled alcoves, each holding a strange, ghastly trinket or relic. A corridor with a sagging ceiling exits the chamber and bends out of sight to the right. Past it, you can see a stone slope that descends into black, murky water. The ghostly chant you've heard since entering the basement is strongest here, and seems to be emanating from the other side of a rusted, closed portcullis.

You can finally understand the words.

They say, over and over again, in a ceaseless refrain:

"He is the Ancient."

"He is the Land."

2. Prison

This room is largely as described in Prison (p. 219). When the players enter this room, read:

The sound of clinking chains melds with a quiet, near-imperceptible rustling as you round the bend into a long, darkened dungeon. Rusted shackles hang patiently from the walls, as if waiting to bite into prisoners' flesh once more.

3. Portcullis

This area is largely as described in Portcullis (p. 219). When the players approach this area, read:

The floor is submerged beneath two feet of dark, murky water that sloshes around your calves and boots. The tunnel forward is blocked by a rusty iron portcullis. Beyond its iron bars, you can make out the dark outline of a half-submerged chamber, a raised stone dais, and a thick cloud of rolling mist.

Flesh Mound, 1st Form

Large undead, chaotic evil

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18)
  • Speed 20 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
16 (+3)8 (-1)16 (+3)3 (-4)10 (+0)5 (-3)
  • Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion
  • Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  • Languages
  • Challenge 3, or 2 when its heavy sleeper feature is active.

Heavy Sleeper. If either of the mound’s forms has been unconscious within the past minute, it can’t use its multiattack.

Instinctual Defense. When the mound drops to 0 hit points, it expels each creature currently engulfed by it. (Those creatures appear prone in an empty space within 5 feet of the mound.) The mound’s statistics are then instantly replaced by the statistics of its second form. Its initiative count doesn’t change.

Actions

Multiattack. The flesh mound makes two Slam attacks. If it has a Medium or smaller creature grappled, the flesh mound then uses its Engulf on it.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the attack hits a Medium or smaller target, the target is grappled (escape DC 13).

Engulf. The flesh mound engulfs a Medium or smaller creature grappled by it. The engulfed target is blinded, restrained, and unable to breathe, and it must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw at the start of each of the mound’s turns or take 8 (2d4 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the mound moves, the engulfed target moves with it. The mound can only have one creature engulfed at a time.

The wooden wheel that opens the portcullis remains on the western side of the gate (i.e., the side facing the Ritual Chamber). However, the chain-link mechanism to open the portcullis has broken, preventing the players from proceeding without repairing it (e.g., by using Rose’s mending cantrip) or lifting the portcullis by hand. (If the players lift the portcullis by hand and then release it, its weight causes it to shut once more unless propped open.)

4. Ritual Chamber

This room is largely as described in Ritual Chamber (p. 219). When the players enter this room, read:

The smooth masonry walls of this forty-foot-square room provide excellent acoustics. Featureless stone pillars support the ceiling, and 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. A small, white bundle lies atop it, surrounded by pulsating, fleshy tendrils.

The tendrils run to a breach in the far wall that leads to a dark cave, their fleshy masses connecting to a dark, hulking shadow that lies within, its bloated mass rising and falling with a slow, shuddering rhythm.

As soon as you step foot into the chamber, the ghostly chanting you've heard suddenly falls silent.

A player that approaches the altar sees that the words "FEED HIM" are carved into its flat stone surface just below the white bundle, surrounded by several fleshy tendrils inset with human teeth. The tendrils belong to the flesh mound (see below), which awakens and attacks if the tendrils are damaged.

The bundle atop the altar is the size and shape of an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. If unwrapped, the players instead find it to hold a rusted, serrated dagger stained red with ancient blood.

The dark shadow in the cave is a flesh mound containing Walter’s spirit and remains.1 It is a swollen, bloated mound of bones, flesh, and gore that seems to breathe as its mass rises and falls. A player that observes it concludes that it appears to be sleeping.

The cultists' shadows described in “One Must Die!” (p. 220) do not appear when a player climbs the altar. Instead, the players have two choices: sacrifice a living creature on the altar, or attack the flesh mound.

If a creature is sacrificed on the altar, the flesh mound's tendrils accept its corpse and pull it to the mound's lair. There, the mound messily devours it before returning its tendrils to the altar once more. Feeding the mound does not free the players, because its hunger cannot be sated.

The flesh mound awakens if attacked. When it does, its subsequent screeching wail causes the earth to tremble, sending the Portcullis crashing to the ground if it's been opened and damaging the mechanism responsible for opening it.

In combat, the flesh mound begins in its first form. For one minute after it has awoken, the flesh mound’s heavy sleeper feature prevents it from using its multiattack actions in either form.

A creature engulfed by the mound’s first form can hear the faint sound of a baby crying at the center of its swollen bulk.

Elisabeth's Amber Shard

Remember that a player in possession of Elisabeth's amber shard from the Master Suite can present the shard and speak the name "Walter" while within 30 feet of the flesh mound, forcing the mound to make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be dazed until the start of the player's next turn. (A dazed creature can move or take one action on its turn, not both. It also can’t take a bonus action or a reaction.)

A2h. Escape From Death House

When the flesh mound dies, the players can hear the sound of the house’s front door opening far overhead, and the distant thunderstorm beyond.

When the players next begin to move toward the exit, read:

A guttural moan ripples through the air—and a terrifying apparition manifests before you: the spirit of Elisabeth Durst, her once-beautiful features now grotesquely distorted. Her lustrous hair is a wild, disheveled mess, her skin a deathly pallor, and her lips peeling back to reveal sharp, yellowed teeth. An amber shard glows ominously on a cord around her spectral neck, a shadowed wisp swirling within its depths.

The spirit levitates high above the floor, sunken eyes blazing with malice and mouth twisted into a snarl. "You may have evaded my pet," it rasps, "but I will tear this house apart before I let you escape." It throws its head back and lets loose a blood-curdling scream that reverberates across the stone walls—and sets the very foundations of the house trembling.

Far above, the grandfather clock begins to chime, the sound mounting to a thunderous cacophony. Dust and debris rain down as the floor shakes beneath you, the wooden cross beams of the ceiling starting to splinter and crack. Elisabeth's spirit fixes you with a feral grin—and then dissipates into thin air, leaving only echoes of its spiteful laugher as the house rumbles, shifts, and groans.

Flesh Mound, 2nd Form

Large undead, chaotic evil

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 51 (6d10 + 18)
  • Speed 20 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
16 (+3)8 (-1)16 (+3)3 (-4)10 (+0)5 (-3)
  • Condition Immunities blinded, deafened, exhaustion
  • Senses blindsight 60 ft., passive Perception 10
  • Languages
  • Challenge 3, or 2 when its heavy sleeper feature is active.

Heavy Sleeper. If either of the mound’s forms has been unconscious within the past minute, it can’t use its multiattack.

Innocent Heart. The front of the mound contains a large, misshapen rib cage. Within the rib cage hovers the infant corpse of Walter Durst. Walter's corpse has AC 17, 20 hit points, and the same ability scores as the flesh mound. If Walter's corpse is reduced to 0 hit points, the flesh mound instantly dies.

Actions

Multiattack. The flesh mound makes two tentacle attacks and uses its gore spray.

Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) bludgeoning damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Gore Spray. The mound spews blood and gore in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, a creature takes 7 (2d6) necrotic damage and is blinded until the end of the mound's next turn. On a success, a creature takes half as much damage and isn't blinded.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (56)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (57)

The players must flee from the ritual chamber to the Entrance of Death House before the entire structure collapses upon their heads. However, they don't need to roll initiative, and the architectural changes described in The Cult is Denied are not present.

Instead, as the players escape the crumbling Death House, they face two additional obstacles.

Gustav's Ghost. As the players move to exit the Reliquary, the ghost of Gustav Durst (use the statistics of a poltergeist, but without its invisibility feature) confronts them. Read:

An ethereal apparition appears before you, obstructing the stairs—the ghost of a man. He is a gaunt and pale figure, with sunken, haunted eyes and trembling hands, wearing once-fine clothing now tattered with age.

"Please," the spirit says, tears beading at the corners of his eyes. "You have to stay here and die. She won't accept anything else."

The spirit is recognizable as Gustav Durst. Gustav pleads with the players to give up, insisting that Elisabeth's spirit is simply too powerful—too fearsome—to disobey. A DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that Gustav is terrified of Elisabeth—and ridden with guilt, doubt, and self-loathing.

If the players attempt to bypass or attack Gustav, a swarm of levitating debris and shrapnel arises around him. He pleads with the players again, insisting that he doesn't want to fight them, but that he doesn't know that he has any other choice.

The players can convince Gustav to step aside with a successful DC 20 Charisma (Intimidation) check. Alternatively, if the players reference Gustav's history with Elisabeth and Klara, they can convince him to stand aside with a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check, succeeding automatically if they show him empathy or kindness.

If the players successfully persuade Gustav to stand aside, he warns them that "her other servants" are lying in wait ahead to block the players' escape. "Don't fear them," he says. "Their only power is fear." He then vanishes.

The Cult's Return When the players first reach the Family Crypts or (if they have previously found and opened the hidden trapdoor described in 32. Hidden Trapdoor, p. 219) the Darklord's Shrine, the spirits of the cult arise to stop them. Read:

The changing rises once more as thirteen dark apparitions appear around you, obstructing the way forward—as well as the way back. 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. "He is the Ancient!" they chant, over and over. "He is the Land!"

The apparitions are harmless and intangible figments that can't be damaged, turned, or dispelled. At the end of each round, each player that remains between the apparitions must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or take 2 (1d4) bludgeoning damage from falling debris.

A2i. Outside Death House

When the players exit Death House, the storm overhead has slowed to a mere drizzle, and the mists around the house have disappeared. Night has long since fallen, and the waning moon is high in the sky.

Most surprisingly, the players now find themselves in a dark forest clearing at the beginning of the Old Svalich Road (p. 33), rather than in the streets of Daggerford. The road travels west. To the east lie dark, endless woods filled with the Mists of Ravenloft (p. 23).

The house then collapses into the earth, leaving a dark and bottomless pit behind. If the players still have it, Elisabeth Durst's amber shard then crumbles into dust. The pit vanishes the first time the players depart the clearing.

If they’re still possessing the players, Rose and Thorn’s spirits end their possessions. The children remark that the woods look like their home—Barovia.

As the players explore their surroundings, they can quickly see the top of an old, ruined stone tower poking up through the treetops. The architecture of the tower is as described in Will-o'-Wisp (p. 33), but the interior is not desecrated ground, there is no wooden chest on the ground, and there are no zombies or will-o'-wisps inside or around the tower.

The players can easily surmise that this ruin appears to be a safe place to spend the night. Rose and Thorn offer to serve as sentries while the players rest, watching the woods and awakening the players should any threats emerge.

The night passes without issue. When the players awaken the following morning, Rose and Thorn ask the players if they can bury their remains before proceeding any further, so that they can finally rest. (The children's spirits will not proceed further into Barovia, instead pleading for the players to allow them to rest.) If the players bury their remains here, the children’s spirits thank them before vanishing.

The players can find the beginning of the Old Svalich Road a short ways through the woods away from the tower. Arc B: Welcome to Barovia then begins.

Milestone. Escaping Death House completes a story milestone. When the party begins their first long rest after escaping the house, award each player 400 XP. (This should allow the players to advance to 3rd level.)

Death House Design Notes

The Arrival. The illusory Rose and Thorn have been intentionally removed from this version of Death House in order to ensure that the players enter the house of their own volition and trust the real Durst children upon meeting them.

The countdown and poem have been added to provide the players with a clear sense of direction and purpose while exploring the house, and to prevent the players from taking a long rest (and therefore disrupting the balance of subsequent combat encounters) while doing so.

The First Floor. The feast in the dining room has been made intentionally harmless in order to encourage the players to trust the safety of Strahd's dinner invitation when they later receive it. Additional clues have been added to convey to the players the relationships within the Durst family, including Mr. Durst's affair.

The Second Floor. Clues have been added to ease the discovery of the library's secret room and to convey the depth of Mr. Durst's affair, as well as the nursemaid's pregnancy.

The dog Lancelot, a popular community character, has been intentionally cut from Death House to avoid providing the players with an easy sacrifice to make at the altar in the ritual chamber—a sacrifice that is no longer functional (because the cult no longer releases the players upon making a sacrifice) and which rings hollow when compared to the campaign that procedes it (because Strahd's "hunger" cannot be sated.)

The Third Floor. The nursemaid's specter now serves as a vital tool that allows the players to find the attic staircase without undue frustration or delay. Additional clues have been added to convey the fate of Walter, Mr. Durst, and the nursemaid.

The Attic. Clues have been added to convey the nursemaid's fate and the founding of Mrs. Durst's cult.

The Dungeon. Several of the encounters in this area have been changed to reduce the probability of a TPK and to teach the players to act cautiously and make wise decisions. In the ritual chamber, the cult is no longer willing to accept the sacrifice of a beast (e.g., Lancelot), foreshadowing that Strahd will not be content with Ireena alone. The shambling mound has been replaced by a two-stage flesh mound, whose statistics have been calibrated to provide a challenging fight without risking a TPK.

Escape From Death House. The original "escape from Death House" sequence has been replaced with a pair of social encounters that reward the players for investigating the history of the house, and which serve to foreshadow the characterizations of Sergi von Zarovich, Lady Fiona Wachter, and Strahd's brides and servants in the adventure to come.

The frequent community addition of a skill challenge to escape the house has been removed to ensure a smooth and simple transition from the flesh mound's death to the players' exit from the house, to remove any friction with players who may struggle to learn the mechanics of a new system of gameplay in the heat of the moment, and to preserve the players' immersion in the narrative of the escape, rather than its gameplay.

This guide has intentionally foregone a popular community addition that places a bottle of wine—courtesy of Strahd—at or near the exit of the house. Strahd is not omniscient, and the players' efforts to avoid or foil his spies will prove a recurring aspect of gameplay through the adventure. Moreover, Death House is too far from Barovia proper for Strahd to have obtained and delivered a fresh bottle of wine to its location. A villain is only as evocative as their limitations, and Strahd has many. Finally, it is an intentional design choice of this guide that the players do not encounter Strahd directly until their meeting at the River Ivlis Crossroads, which ensures that their relationship with Strahd before then is built solely on rumor, second-hand knowledge, and superstition. Earlier direct exposure would wholly spoil this effect.

Arc B: Welcome to Barovia

In this arc, the players travel to the gloomy village of Barovia, which has been ravaged by death and despair in the wake of Strahd’s revival. When a disguised wereraven guides them to the Blood on the Vine Tavern, they meet Ismark, the eldest child of the village’s recently deceased burgomaster.

In exchange for food, shelter, information, and assistance against Strahd, Ismark asks the players to escort his sister Ireena—a target of Strahd’s interest—to St. Andral’s Church in the walled town of Vallaki to the west, where he believes she will be safe. Ismark is soon approached by "Mad Mary," a villager whose daughter, Gertruda, has recently left the village in search of her betrothed.

If the players agree to help him, Ismark escorts them to the Burgomaster's Mansion. There, Ireena insists on a burial for her father before departing, which can be performed at dawn with the aid of the village’s priest, Father Donavich. As the players rest in the mansion, they receive a shared dream from the Vistani seer Madam Eva, who warns them that they are in grave danger and invites them to journey to her tent at Tser Pool Encampment to learn their fates.

Upon delivering the Burgomaster's coffin to the church the following dawn, the players can meet Doru, Father Donavich's son, who Strahd transformed into a vampire spawn as punishment for his rebellion. The players then face a choice: Will they destroy Doru, as Father Donavich requests—or spare him?

B1. Old Svalich Road

This scene largely unfolds as described in Old Svalich Road (p. 33). However, as the players travel down the road away from Death House's clearing, read:

Heavy mists roll in across the road, creeping between the weather-worn trees like gnarled, ghostly fingers. The air carries an unnatural chill, and the hush of silence falls over the woods like a burial shroud.

As you walk, something catches your eye—a hunched silhouette in the fog, watching silently from the underbrush. Then, as quickly as it came, it vanishes.

Pause briefly to allow the players to interject. If they do not, proceed to read the following:

Your footsteps quicken on the path, boots squelching in the wet brown mud. Gray-tinged light filters weakly through the treetops—and then darkens, an enormous avian shadow overhead briefly blocking out the day. It disappears, leaving not even a stir to the air in its wake.

Not moments pass before the daylight blinks out once again—this time, by a reptilian silhouette that soars across the heavens, batlike wings spread wide. It, too, plunges into the mists, devoured by the fog as dozens of tiny, birdlike shadows flit among the ancient branches far above. The birds' silhouettes follow the dragon's into the mist, and silence falls once more.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (58)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (59)

More visions come, fleeting and ephemeral, like whispers on the wind. A tall, slender figure looms in the darkness, feathered wings spreading elegantly from its back before it, too, melts into the shadows. In the distance, a broad-shouldered silhouette lurks among the moss-covered trunks, the shadow of an axe across its shoulder as it slowly curls a clawed, swollen hand. It hold your gaze for a moment, then fades back into the fog from whence it came.

A final figure—a tall, cloaked silhouette sitting atop a horse whose shadowed mane seems to ripple like flames—flickers in the fog betwixt three ancient yews. It seems to appraise you, its presence palpable even from a distance—and then a roll of distant thunder echoes across the skies. Before you can even blink, the figure is gone, the forest falling silent once more.

These silhouettes depict, in order: Madam Eva, the Roc of Mount Ghakis, Argynvost, the Keepers of the Feather, the Abbot, Izek Strazni, and Strahd von Zarovich. The figures are illusions of the mists, and bear no deeper bond to the individuals they represent.

When the last silhouette disappears, the mists part on the road ahead, revealing the Gates of Barovia.

B2. Gates of Barovia

This scene unfolds as described in the Gates of Barovia section (p. 34).

B3. Svalich Woods

This scene begins as described in the Svalich Woods section (p. 34). However, when the players find the corpse of Dalvan Olensky, he is not holding a crumpled envelope, and his clothes appear to have been torn by brambles and thorns, rather than claw marks. He doesn't appear to have any visible wounds, but a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals that he died of exhaustion.

Instead of the envelope, Dalvan is now holding an old, tarnished copper compass, whose needle trembles strangely even when held still. (The compass is an ordinary compass, but acts strangely the closer it gets to the vicinity of the borders of Barovia.)

Dalvan's hand holding the compass is now splayed out in the direction of a nearby tree, which bears forty-three tally marks and an arrow that points deeper into the woods, along what seems to be a well-traveled footpath.

If the players follow the footpath in the direction of the arrow, they soon come to a second tree, which bears another forty-three tally marks and an arrow that points further along the direction of the footpath. The edge of the footpath here bears the corpse of a horse, which is in a similar state of decay to Dalvan's.

If the players continue to follow the footpath in the direction of the arrows, they come to a third tree, which bears another forty-three tally marks and an arrow that points further along the direction of the footpath, which visibly vanishes into a wall of impenetrable fog.

What Happened to Dalvan?

In the wake of Strahd's attack on the village of Barovia, one of the survivors—a young man named Dalvan Olensky—was overcome with terror and despair.

Determined to find a way free from Barovia, Dalvan traveled to the Vistani encampment at Tser Pool, seeking out the reputed Vistani seer Madam Eva. There, Madam Eva read his future in the Tarokka cards, and drew the Horseman—a card that predicted that he would die in the Barovian valley.

Panicked, Dalvan returned to the village of Barovia under cover of night, stole a horse and compass, and set off for the eastern road out of Barovia. When the Svalich Road seemed to end, Dalvan delved into the woods, crossing through the mist and reemerging on the opposite side of the road.

A terrified, desperate, and delirious Dalvan repeated the loop forty-three times, his stolen horse expiring of exhaustion halfway through. It wasn't long before Dalvan succumbed to the effects of the Barovian fog as well—though not before inscribing his own epitaph in the form of the carving on the fourth tree.

Madam Eva regrets Dalvan's fate—but as the avatar of the Seeker, she is bound to read the future when asked, and knows that no efforts to escape can unravel a future that she has foreseen.

The fog is part of the Mists that surround and entrap Barovia. If the players brought Dalvan's compass with them, the needle is now spinning wildly in circles.

If the players follow the footpath through the fog, they emerge after 2d4 minutes in an unfamiliar portion of the Svalich Woods. Each time the players emerge from the wall of fog around Barovia, they must make a DC 5 Constitution saving throw or take 1 level of exhaustion, as the fog saps their energy and drains their life force. (The DC increases by 5 each time that the players pass through the fog again.)

Upon emerging from the fog, the players can see a fourth tree, which bears another forty-three tally marks an an arrow that points further along the direction of the footpath. In addition, the fourth tree appears to bear a carving and has an object protruding from its trunk. If the players inspect it, read:

Someone has stabbed an old, dagger in the trunk of this old, gnarled tree. Beside it lies a rough carving of a figure atop a horse, just above two sets of rough-hewn words:

"THE HORSEMAN RIDES.

"THE SEER SPOKE TRUE."

If the players follow the footpath in the direction of the arrow, they find that it crosses the Svalich Road before returning to the location of Dalvan's corpse.

If the players then leave Dalvan's corpse and return, they find that both his and the horse's remains have vanished.

B4. Barovian Overlook

When the players emerge from the Svalich Woods, read:

The dark woods fall away, revealing a misted, gloomy valley dotted with thick clouds of fog.

Rolling thunderclouds cast a gray pall over the land below, no sun visible in the cold, grey light. Evergreen trees climb the sides of the mountains that enclose the valley. To the north rises a stony mount with tufts of trees; to the south, a snow-capped peak with rugged slopes towers imperiously above the land below.

The muddy road continues on ahead, passing through yellowed grasses and farmland until it reaches a small, humble settlement hunkered down in the earth. Alongside the road, a river flows as clear as a blue winter sky through the valley.

Far above the village looms a dark, twisted castle, standing alone atop a pillar of sheer stone. For an instant, a distant spear of lightning crackles, illuminating the towering keep in harsh lights and shadows—and then a thick bank of fog rolls in, concealing the village and castle from view.

B5. The Village of Barovia

B5a. The Raven’s Guidance

This scene largely unfolds as described in Approaching the Village (p. 41). Modify the description as follows:

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. Not a sound cuts the silence, save for the quiet flapping of wings.

The flapping is made by a raven with blue-tipped wings, which perches atop one of the houses flanking the street. This raven is Muriel, a disguised wereraven and member of the Keepers of the Feather.

Once noticed by the players, Muriel caws and takes off once more into the air, attempting to lead them through the misty streets to the Blood of the Vine tavern, where she perches atop its sign.

The players do not encounter Morgantha, the night hag peddler, while exploring the village of Barovia. (They will meet her later on the Old Svalich Road instead.)

B5b. The Blood on the Vine Tavern

This area is largely as described in Blood of the Vine Tavern (p. 43). However, insert the following at the beginning of this area’s description:

An old, chipped stone statue stands at the center of this town square, depicting a man wearing leather armor and holding a sword.

The statue bears a weather-worn plaque at its base. It reads: “ISMARK ANTONOVICH THE GREAT. Burgomaster of Barovia. Bane of Vampires. 618—662 B.C.” (“B.C.” stands for “Barovian Calendar.”)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (60)
Entering the Tavern

Instead of Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia—the three Vistani found here in the original module—Arik is the sole owner and proprietor of the tavern. Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia are merely patrons, visiting from Tser Pool to drink and gather news.

When the players enter, these Vistani eye them with brief interest, but soon return to their drinks, departing the tavern soon after. (Alenka and Mirabel return to Tser Pool. Sorvia, a spy for Strahd, travels to Castle Ravenloft to report that new outsiders have entered Barovia.)

As the PCs speak with Arik, Ismark approaches, offers to pay for their drinks, and invites them to his table. He notes that the players appear to be newcomers to Barovia, apologizes for the state of the village, and asks sympathetically how they've come to arrive in the valley.

Profile: Ismark Kolyanovich

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Ismark should inspire flattery with his genuine interest and empathy for the players, sympathy for his guilt and desperation, endearment for his anxiety to step beyond his ancestor's shadow, and gratitude for his friendliness and aid.

Emotions. Ismark most often feels concerned, guilty, friendly, melancholy, defiant, hopeful, desperate, and grateful.

Motivations. Ismark wants to keep his village and Ireena safe, keep his father's memory alive, and one day match his ancestor's legacy.

Inspirations. When playing Ismark, channel Jon Snow (Game of Thrones), Faramir (Lord of the Rings), and Trevor Belmont (Castlevania).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Ismark is a courageous, reliable, and compassionate leader. To those he trusts, Ismark is a self-doubting, struggling warrior desperate to keep his loved ones safe. Deep down, Ismark worries that he will never live up to his ancestor's deeds—and fears that he has already irreparably failed.

Morale. In a fight, Ismark would first seek to mediate the parties' conflict, but would gladly draw his sword—and even fight to the death—if he believed that he was fighting for something or someone worth protecting.

Relationships. Ismark is the adoptive brother of Ireena Kolyana, and the great-grandson of Ismark the Great.

As Ismark and the players await their drinks, read:

The door to the tavern swings open once more, and a woman steps through, clad in a tattered and threadbare cloak. Her hair, tied into two loops that fall around her neck, is unkempt and tangled, and her wide eyes dart across the room with fearful energy.

Her gaze falls upon Ismark, and she steps shakily forward. As her features come into the light, you see that her face is pale, her eyes blotchy, with dried tears staining the flesh across her cheeks. Her voice is a ragged, haunting whisper as she says, "Burgomaster Kolyanovich—I apologize for interrupting you and your guests. I need your help."

Ismark greets her, addressing her as Mary. He gently reminds her that he is not yet burgomaster—not until the village elects him to replace his father—but asks how he can aid her. Read:

Mary swallows, sways, and—for a moment—appears as though she's about to faint. "It's Gertruda," she says. "I think she's gone to the castle."

Though her voice is little louder than a whisper, the tavern immediately falls silent.

Ismark reels back as if struck, then his eyes crease with worry. He gives Mary his condolences, and promises that he will organize a search party as soon as the last one returns. Mary thanks him, gives the players a pale, wide-eyed look, and departs swiftly through the door.

Arik then delivers the players' drinks, and the taproom slowly fills once more with murmurs of conversation and the occasional clinks of tankards. Among them, the players can hear someone spit into a mug and snarl, "Ismark the Lesser." (Ismark stiffens at the epithet, but refuses to discuss it further.)

Drinks with Ismark

As the players drink, in addition to the information given in Roleplaying Ismark (p. 43) and Barovian Lore (p. 26), and the village’s recent history described above, Ismark can share the following information:

  • The players have entered the land of Barovia, a realm surrounded by deadly fog and ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, a powerful vampire who slumbered in Castle Ravenloft until recently.
  • Outsiders are occasionally spirited into Barovia by the mists. (Ismark has no knowledge of Death House, but vaguely remembers tales of unorthodox ways by which travelers have come to the valley.) There is no escaping Barovia once an outsider has entered it.
  • The village of Barovia was recently decimated by a siege from Strahd's undead forces. While the undead were dispatched, the village suffered heavily, and many Barovians fled to Vallaki, a fortified town to the west. Many are still missing, and Ismark has had to dispatch several search parties across the nearby woods in search of survivors.
  • All Barovians call Strahd “the Devil,” fearing that speaking his name gives him power and draws his attention. (This is a myth.) Ismark is unsure whether he believes this, but warns the players that Strahd’s spies are thought to be always watching— bats, wolves, and even human servants, including some among the Vistani.
  • St. Andral’s Church in Vallaki is said to be hallowed ground, protecting its congregants from vampires and other undead. Ismark hopes to bring his sister, Ireena there, but is currently unable to due to his duties as his father's successor.

If the players ask about Mary and Gertruda, Ismark can share the following information:

  • Just over three months ago, Gertruda's betrothed, a man named Doru, led a revolt against Castle Ravenloft. Doru and the members of his mob never returned.
  • Shortly thereafter, a dusk elf named Rahadin visited the village to deliver a warning: the Devil had awoken from his coffin, and the villagers of Barovia had ninety days to make peace with their gods. Some Barovians fled for Vallaki, but a majority chose to remain in Barovia and defend their homes.
  • Two weeks ago, Strahd made good on his threat. A horde of undead came to lay siege on Barovia. The villagers fended them off for a week, but suffered dozens of casualties. The siege only ended when Ismark's father, Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich, perished in battle and the undead withdrew.

If the players ask about the statue outside the tavern, Ismark can share the following information:

  • In life, Ismark Antonovich, also known as Ismark the Great, was a mighty warrior and the burgomaster of the village of Barovia. In his prime, he fought scores of vampires and other undead left behind when Strahd vanished from public view. He eventually died defending a group of trappers from a dire wolf attack at the age of 44, and the statue outside was erected in his honor.
  • Ismark Antonovich was Ismark Kolyanovich's great-grandfather. Ismark's father gave him that name in the hopes that he would one day become a great warrior.

Ismark doesn't believe that the players will be able to find either answers or protection in the village of Barovia, but suggests that they might find both in the town of Vallaki to the west. In the meantime, he is glad to offer the players room and board at his own home. (The Blood on the Vine Tavern doesn't have rooms for rent.)

If the players indicate an interest in traveling to Vallaki, he asks if they would allow Ireena to accompany them, escorting her to St. Andral's Church in Vallaki.

B5c. The Burgomaster’s Mansion

This area is largely as described in Burgomaster’s Mansion (p. 44). However, Kolyan’s corpse still bears the wounds that killed him: a deep gash on his forehead, and multiple lacerations across his chest.

Additionally, Ireena wears a thick red scarf to cover the marks of Strahd’s teeth on her neck. (It was knitted for her by her late mother, Korina, who died of illness fourteen years ago.)

The Argument

Ireena is surprised to see the players and assumes them at first to be merely travelers. If Ismark informs her that they are to escort her to Vallaki, however, Ireena asks the players to excuse them and has a brief conversation with Ismark in private.

The entire conversation takes no more than five minutes. If the players do not choose to listen in, they are free to wander around the manor, talk amongst themselves, or simply wait for Ireena and Ismark to finish.

The players can eavesdrop on this conversation with a successful DC 13 Dexterity (Stealth) check or a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Read:

The murmurs from the next room are largely indistinct, obscured by the low groans of the old house's timbers. As you strain your ears, however, the siblings' words come slowly into focus.

Ireena's voice, sharp with indignation, pierces the silence. "You had no right, Ismark. You can't just decide to send me away without even discussing it with me first! The village still needs help with rebuilding. We can't just abandon them."

Ismark's reply is measured, though laced with an unmistakable note of worry. "Strahd still has his sights set on you—and even if we don't believe the legend about women with red hair, others might. Barovia just isn't safe for you anymore."

A snort of defiance echoes from the other side of the thin wooden partition. "I am no coward, Ismark, and I will not abandon our friends and neighbors in their hour of need."

There's a pause. Then, Ismark says, quietly, "Gertruda is gone."

You hear a choked sob from Ireena's direction. "No."

"She must have gone after Doru," Ismark murmurs. "I told her to give up on him—to accept that he must simply be dead—but I don't think she ever could."

There's a long, suffering silence. Then—

Ismark seems to hesitate, his words slightly fumbled. "I'm not asking you to abandon them. But there are others who need your help. Think about our neighbors who fled for Vallaki. They need guidance, advocacy—and perhaps a leader to bring them home one day."

There is a long pause, filled only with the muffled sounds of low, haggard breaths. Ireena's voice is low when she finally speaks—barely even audible. "Do you truly see no other way?"

Ismark's response is quiet. "It's your choice. I can't take that away from you. But after losing Father, I can't... I can't bear the thought of losing you too."

The silence that follows is palpable, weighted with unspoken emotions. Finally, Ireena's voice breaks it, fragile and quiet. "I will go. If only for you. But on one condition."

Ireena's next words are too quiet to hear. When Ismark and Ireena emerge a few moments later, a player with a passive Wisdom (Insight) score of 12 or more notices that both have blotchy, red eyes, as if from crying.

Ireena’s Fate

If the players refused Ismark’s request and chose to proceed alone, he and Ireena set off to bury their father two nights after the players depart. Torn between his village and his sister, Ismark chooses the latter, promising himself that he will soon return to aid his broken village. Soon after departing Barovia, however, Ismark is fatally wounded by wolves on the road to Vallaki, and Ireena buries him by the Barovian Gates near Castle Ravenloft.

Despite finding lodging at St. Andral’s Church, Ireena is frightened after an encounter with Izek Strazni and flees Vallaki for Krezk. Before she can arrive, however, Rahadin spirits her away to Castle Ravenloft by means of Strahd’s black carriage.

Before Strahd can turn her into a vampire spawn, however, Ireena hears the voice of the Dark Powers luring her to K59. High Tower Peak (p. 73). There, an emotional outburst drives her to offend Pidlwick II, who pushes her down a flight of stairs shortly therafter, killing her.

Profile: Ireena Kolyana

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Ireena should inspire flattery with her genuine interest in the players' goals and interests, sympathy for her sense of guilt and fear of Strahd, endearment for her determination to continue moving forward, and gratitude for her efforts to help the players succeed.

Emotions. Ireena most often feels curious, thoughtful, melancholy, guilty, stubborn, joyful, determined, defiant, and anxious.

Motivations. Ireena wants to keep her fellow Barovians and Ismark safe, honor her parents' memory, learn new stories, and one day explore distant lands.

Inspirations. When playing Ireena, channel Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Elizabeth Swann (Pirates of the Caribbean), Eowyn (Lord of the Rings), Hermione Granger (Harry Potter) and Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Ireena is a compassionate, curious, yet stubborn young noblewoman. To those she trusts, Ireena is an anxious, yet determined young woman who dreams of freedom and adventure. Deep down, Ireena wonders whether giving herself up to Strahd would be the best way to protect those she loves.

Morale. In a fight, Ireena will always turn to words before a sword. If necessary to defend herself, though, she'll draw her rapier—reluctantly, if protecting herself, and proudly, if protecting another.

Relationships. Ireena is the (knowing) adopted sister of Ismark Kolyanovich, the (unknowing) sister of Izek Strazni, and the (unknowing) reincarnation of Tatyana Federovna.

Ismark then asks the players if they will assist him in transporting their father’s remains to the local church shortly before daybreak the following morning, so that he can be buried at dawn before they depart. (Ireena will not willingly leave Barovia before this is done.) If they agree, Ireena and Ismark are both vocally grateful.

Settling In

Ismark soon departs to gather a search party to locate Gertruda—one that he clearly fears will be in vain. As he does, Ireena offers to help the players get settled in, setting them up in the mansion's two guest bedrooms and providing them with basic supplies.

If the players are looking to purchase additional supplies, Ireena offers them directions to Bildrath’s Mercantile, but warns them not to mention Ismark's name. If the players ask her why Ismark is called "the Lesser," Ireena winces, and can share the following information:

  • When Strahd's dusk elf servant—a cruel-looking man named Rahadin—delivered his warning three months ago, many Barovians were prepared to flee the village for Vallaki.
  • Ismark, however, delivered a thundering and inspiring speech, invoking the memory of Lugdana and Ismark the Great to encourage them to stay and fight for their homes. Most did so.
  • In the aftermath of Strahd's siege, many who had lost homes or loved ones in the battle blamed Ismark, who they felt had led them astray with his foolish fantasies of heroism and valor. They now call him "Ismark the Lesser" in mockery of his ancestry.
  • No one feels more guilty or ashamed than Ismark himself, who has taken the weight of every death incurred in the siege on his own shoulders—and the weight of the rebuilding that followed.

If the players ask about their parents, Ireena freely shares the following information while asking after the players' own families:

  • Ismark and Ireena's parents were Kolyan Indirovich and Korina Targolova. Korina died of a sickness fourteen years ago, but Kolyan has done his best since then to continue raising both children alone. (The scarf Ireena wears is her last memory of her mother.)
  • Kolyan, their father, was the one who found Ireena when she was a young girl, by the edge of the Svalich Woods near the Pillarstone of Ravenloft. Ireena doesn't remember anything of her past before then, but is grateful to her parents for taking her in and loving her dearly.

A few hours later, dusk arrives over Barovia. Ismark returns, weary and somber, but carrying a small bag in his hands. He joins Ireena to prepare a meal for the players: a stew of turnips and rabbit-meat, plus a somewhat stale loaf of bread. Ismark apologizes for the sparse meal, but the players can clearly see that the siblings' pantry is nearly bare, and can surmise that Ismark purchased the rabbit while out.

Over dinner, Ismark and Ireena ask the players about their interests and lives outside of Barovia. Ireena especially is fascinated by tales of the world beyond the mists. When the meal has finished, Ismark and Ireena retire to bed, leaving the players to their own devices.

Night at the Mansion

That night, as the players rest in the mansion, each of them—including those who do not ordinarily sleep—are drawn into a shared dream.

In the dream, the players find themselves within Madam Eva's Tent (p. 37), seated across from an old crone—Madam Eva—whose face is concealed by the cowl of her cloak.

Madam Eva greets them and delivers the following message, pausing after every paragraph to allow the players to interject:

"Welcome, weary travelers," she says, "to my humble tent. You may call me Madam Eva. I have been expecting you.

"The winds of fate have brought you to this land, but do not be fooled—they are not winds of change, but winds of doom. I can see a shroud of darkness descending upon you. The lord of this land knows that you have trespassed into his domain, and he has set you in his sights. He is a creature of eternal hunger, and he will not rest until he has claimed your souls.

"But there is yet hope. I have been blessed with the gift of foresight, and I can see the twisting paths that lie ahead. Seek me, in my tent at Tser Pool, so that I may read the cards for you and decipher the strands of fate. Together, we may yet escape this darkness.

"But be warned: Time is running out, and the shadows are growing longer. Will you find me at Tser Pool?"

If the players appear suspicious of Madam Eva's motives, she says, "Your fates are more than your own. My vision is obscured, but I can see that your futures are intertwined with the very destiny of the land itself. In conquering this shadow, you may yet find salvation for others as well—and, in failure, deliver damnation instead."

If the players ask for directions to Tser Pool, Madam Eva says only, "I am not far. Travel west. The path to my tent begins at a place of death."

Soon after Madam Eva delivers her warning, the "light" in the tent visibly dims, as though a shroud of darkened mist has descended upon it. In response, Madam Eva stirs and says, "He has sensed me. He cannot know of our meeting. Fly, travelers! I shall await you at Tser Pool!"

The players then violently awaken, hearts beating fast and covered in sweat. Outside, the pale, ethereal light of the March of the Dead—just now beginning the march to Castle Ravenloft—is visible from the Old Svalich Road. The players can also see two swarms of bats—Strahd's spies—gathered on the eaves of a nearby house, watching silently from the darkness.

Waking Up

Ismark rouses the players shortly before dawn, gathering them to deliver the burgomaster’s remains to Barovia’s church.

If the players ask Ismark about the March of the Dead, he can tell them that the ghosts began appearing shortly after the failed revolt, when Strahd presumably first awoke. Until that time, the villagers had thought the so-called “March of the Dead” to be a myth from older times. If asked, Ismark awkwardly explains that the March is said to be a parade of outsiders that had become trapped in Barovia and sought, unsuccessfully, to slay the vampire Strahd.

If the players ask Ismark about Tser Pool, he can tell them that a Vistani encampment is known to reside there. To reach Tser Pool, he says, they must first travel west from Barovia down the Old Svalich Road, then travel north from the River Ivlis Crossroads.

B5d. Bildrath’s Mercantile

This area is largely as described in Bildrath’s Mercantile (p. 43). However, instead of selling items for ten times the price listed in the Player’s Handbook, Bildrath sells them for only twice the price, citing the recent economic upheaval.

If Ismark is present (or if the players mention him), Bildrath mocks him as “Ismark the Lesser” and instead raises his prices to five times the price listed in the Player’s Handbook, spitefully claiming them to be a “special deal” for friends of the town’s “great hero.” (Bildrath lost his sister and brother-in-law—Parriwimple’s parents—in Strahd’s recent siege, and blames Ismark for his failure to protect them.)

During the players’ conversation with Bildrath, Parriwimple enters the room carrying a box of wares that Bildrath asked him to fetch. He is excitedly curious about the players’ presence, but Bildrath orders him to return to his bedroom in order to avoid “disturbing the customers.”

If Bildrath orders Parriwimple to remove the players from the store, Parriwimple attempts to grapple them and pull them out the door, preferring to avoid violence if at all possible.

B5e. The Barovian Church

When the players arrive at the church with the burgomaster’s body, Ismark is disturbed by the damage wrought to its walls and roof. As he knocks on the front door, calling for Father Donavich, read the following:

As Ismark's knock echoes through the cold air, a voice rings out from the darkened street: "He won't come out."

A hulking silhouette steps forward from the mist—a young man, tall and brawny. His shaggy brown hair falls messily across his face, and his crooked teeth glint in the moonlight. Though muscles ripple beneath his tunic, there's a lightness and immaturity to his posture that belies his strength and size.

The young man fidgets with the hem of his tunic as your eyes fall upon him. "Not since two weeks ago," he mumbles.

The young man is Parriwimple, described further in E1. Bildrath's Mercantile (p. 43). Despite the early hour, he’s out for a walk. (He hasn’t been able to sleep well since his parents died in the siege, though he’s grateful to his uncle, Bildrath, for taking him in.)

Parriwimple can share the following information with the players:

  • Father Donavich used to be a kind and friendly man, always ready to share a word of wisdom or a warm crabapple pie with visitors.
  • Ever since the siege started, however, Donavich has shut himself inside the church and turned away visitors more often than not. When Parriwimple last saw him three days ago, Donavich looked like he hadn’t slept or bathed in a week.
  • Father Donavich hasn’t worn his holy symbol (a bronze sunburst) since the rebellion, which Parriwimple considers odd. (Parriwimple always loved how the light would glint off of its surface, and adored hearing Donavich’s son, Doru, tell stories of how the sun once shone in Barovia.)
  • Parriwimple misses Doru, who left to lead the rebellion against Strahd three months ago alongside the stranger, Alanik. (Parriwimple also misses Alanik’s pet monkey, which he loved to play with.) Despite his uncle telling him that Doru died at Castle Ravenloft, Parriwimple hopes that he somehow survived.
Profile: Parriwimple

Resonance Parriwimple should inspire sympathy for the loss of his parents, endearment for his childlike mannerisms and optimistic perseverance, and flattery for his fascination with the players’ exotic weapons and clothes.

Emotions. Parriwimple most often feels curiosity, hope, wonder, melancholy, and confusion.

Motivations. Parriwimple wants to help his friends and neighbors, take care of his Uncle Bildrath, and honor his late parents’ memories.

Inspirations. When playing Parriwimple, channel Lenny Small (Of Mice and Men) and Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Parriwimple is a cheerful, simple-minded young man. To those he trusts, Parriwimple is a thoughtful, insightful, yet grieving orphan, desperate to move past his parents’ deaths by proving useful to others.

Morale. In a fight, Parriwimple would hold up his hands and plead for peace. If ignored, however, he would swiftly use his strength to restrain any combatants—with righteous fury if defending his uncle Bildrath.

Relationships. Parriwimple is an orphan and the nephew of the general-store owner Bildrath Cantemir.

Parriwimple won’t accompany the players inside of the church, but wishes them well and invites them to visit him at Bildrath’s Mercantile before departing.

Inside the Church

This area is largely as described in Church (p. 45). However, modify the descriptive text for E5a. Hall (p. 45) to remove Doru’s scream:

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.

Doru does not cry out to his father when the players enter the chapel. Instead, when the players first approach the chapel, Donavich’s prayers halt. Add the following line to the chapel’s description in place of Doru’s cry:

The sound of mumbled prayer stops, and a hoarse, tired voice rings through the chamber from the figure kneeling behind the altar. “I cannot offer the blessing you seek. Go, and leave this accursed place in peace.”

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (61)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (62)

A Recent History of the Church

Father Donavich was no supporter of Doru’s march on Castle Ravenloft. A mild and soft-spoken man, Donavich feared that Doru would meet only his end beyond the walls of the keep. To keep his son safe, however, and as a token of his love, Donavich gave Doru his holy symbol, as well as his blessing.

Donavich’s holy symbol, however, did little to protect his son. When Strahd began his siege on the village of Barovia two weeks ago, his undead forces were not alone: Strahd also sent Doru, now a freshly turned vampire spawn, to terrorize the church and torment his father. Donavich barely managed to lure and trap Doru in the undercroft, where he remains imprisoned still.

Since Doru returned, Father Donavich has been unable to cast any spells and no longer feels the Morninglord’s presence when he prays. When Strahd sent Doru back to Barovia, he allowed Doru to continue wearing his father’s holy symbol as a cruel joke. As a result, Donavich wrongly believes that Doru’s undead nature has corrupted his symbol—and, therefore, his relationship with the Morninglord—and so prevented him from reaching the Morninglord’s divine grace.

In fact, however, it is Father Donavich’s own loss of faith that hinders him—a crisis that blinds him to an even starker truth. Donavich believes that his son, Doru, is dead, and that the vampire spawn trapped in the undercroft is a foul and profane beast that wears Doru’s skin. He is mistaken: though his body is now undead, Doru’s soul is very much alive.

Though he cannot ignore Strahd’s direct commands, and though his thirst for blood weighs heavily on his thoughts and actions, Doru continues to fight bitterly against his own vampiric nature. Though he doesn’t always succeed, it was this resistance that allowed his father to entrap him in the undercroft at all. When hope rises in him, Doru calls out to his father to release him, pleading for salvation and forgiveness. Donavich, however, has so far refused to respond.

Doru continues to wear his father’s holy symbol, both to reassure himself that they will one day reconcile and to steel his will when the vampire’s urges rise too strongly within. His ability to resist the call of blood has slowly grown since his imprisonment—but so too has his exhaustion, exacerbated by slow starvation. Now, Doru’s sanity balances on a knife’s edge, and a simple push could mean salvation—or damnation.

Profile: Father Donavich

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Donavich should inspire sympathy for his sorrow and fears, pity for his separation from the Morninglord, endearment for his kindness and hospitality, and discomfort for his zealous condemnation of Doru’s undead nature.

Emotions. In his current state, Donavich most often feels grief, guilt, exhaustion, compassion, and obsession. If reconciled with Doru, he most often feels hope, relief, gratitude, confusion, fear, and shame.

Motivations. Father Donavich wants to free his son from Strahd’s clutches—at any cost.

Inspirations. When playing Father Donavich, channel Eddard Stark (Game of Thrones), Walter White (Breaking Bad), and Boromir (The Lord of the Rings).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Father Donavich is a grieving, yet zealous father. To those he trusts, Donavich is a broken man adrift in the world, lost and confused without guidance or purpose.

Morale. In a fight, Father Donavich would ordinarily fight to defend his people and church. In his current state, however, he would immediately surrender, too wracked with guilt to even defend his own life.

Relationships. Father Donavich is Doru’s father and the priest of the Barovian church.

If he learns that Ismark is with the players, Donavich acts more warmly toward them and apologizes for the chapel’s state of disrepair.

As the conversation unfolds, the following exchanges might occur:

  • If Ismark or a player asks about burying the deceased burgomaster, Father Donavich informs them that he would be glad to oversee a burial, but that he cannot perform the holy rites that would sanctify Kolyan’s remains. (Donavich is sorrowful to hear of Kolyan’s death, and expresses his condolences for his passing.)
  • If Ismark or a player notes the damage done to the church, Father Donavich informs them that it was caused by a vampire spawn that attacked amidst the siege—the undead husk of his son, Doru.

If the players inquire further, Donavich can share the following information:

  • When Doru set off for Castle Ravenloft, Father Donavich gave him his holy symbol of the Morninglord—a bronze sunburst on a leather cord—to keep him safe in the face of darkness. When Doru failed to return, however, Donavich feared the worst.
  • Two weeks ago, as the siege was beginning, Doru returned to the church at midnight, now transformed into a vampire spawn. Donavich managed to lure Doru into the undercroft and trap him there.
  • Ever since Doru returned, Donavich hasn’t been able to cast spells or feel the Morninglord’s presence. He believes that this is because Doru still has his holy symbol, and that Strahd’s foul influence has corrupted Donavich’s connection to the gods.
  • Donavich believes that his son is dead, and that the creature that wears his skin is a mockery that must be destroyed.

Donavich knows that he can’t defeat Doru and can’t bear to see his son’s face again. If the players are willing, however, Donavich asks them to descend to the undercroft, destroy Doru’s body, and retrieve his holy symbol. In exchange, Donavich offers to complete the proper burial rites and to tell the players of a place where they can find safety from the Devil Strahd.

If the players agree, Donavich produces the key to the to the padlock in E5d. Trapdoor (p. 45) and allows them to enter. (Ismark accompanies them unless told otherwise, but allows the players to take the lead when interacting with Doru.)

Descent to the Undercroft

The undercroft is largely as described in E5g. Undercroft (p. 47). However, modify the last sentence of the description as follows:

Candlelight from the chapel above slips through the cracks, but there's no sign of any creature in the gloom.

Doru, a vampire spawn, has used his spider climb feature to cling to the ceiling at the sound of the players’ approach. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher automatically spots him in the darkened upper corner on the far side of the room. Otherwise, read the following after one round has passed.

A young man’s voice, strained and tired, echoes from the darkness above. “You’ve come to kill me, haven’t you?”

Doru prefers to speak with the players from the safety of darkness, but won’t refuse if the players command him to reveal himself. If he does, read the following:

From the darkness of the cross beams above, a figure unfurls itself like a moth from its cocoon, moving like a spider as it lowers itself slowly to the ground. As it comes into the faint light, the shadow resolves into the form of a young man, his youthful features strikingly reminiscent of Father Donavich.

His skin is ghostly pale, with dirt and grime streaked across his face. His clothes are ripped and worn, and his hair is an unkempt mess of tangles and knots. His eyes are red and bloodshot, his gaze darting from face to face. A leather cord hangs around his neck, holding a bloodstained bronze sunburst that rests against his chest. He swallows and licks his lips—and a pair of pointed fangs pokes through.

"If you want to kill me, I won't stop you," he says, his voice cracking. "But I just have one request first."

Profile: Doru

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Doru should inspire sympathy for his struggles against his vampiric nature, mild discomfort with his occasionally inhuman mannerisms, and endearment for his clear dedication to his father and Gertruda.

Emotions. Doru most often feels grief, guilt, shame, desperation, resignation, and hope.

Motivations. Doru wants to reconcile with his father and ensure Gertruda's safety.

Inspirations. When playing Doru, channel Theon Grejoy (Game of Thrones), Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad), and Steve Harrington (Stranger Things).

Character Information.

Persona. To the world, Doru is a monstrous, bloodthirsty vampire spawn. To those he trusts, Doru is a broken, guilty man who is desperate to avoid hurting those he loves.

Morale. In a fight, Doru would seek to flee to avoid hurting anyone—but if his father or Gertruda were endangered, he would fight savagely to protect them.

Relationships. Doru is Father Donavich's son, Escher's former friend, and Gertruda's betrothed.

Doru’s request is simple: to prove to himself that he can control his vampiric urges, he wants the players to expose him to the scent of fresh blood. If he can refrain from attacking for a full minute, he wants the players to tell Father Donavich that his son is still alive. If he can’t, he wants the players to kill him. In either case, he won’t stop the players from taking the holy symbol once the experiment is complete.

Doru can also share the following information with the players if asked:

  • As a child, Doru was enraptured by stories of the sun and the light and hope that it once brought to the valley. As he grew older, he learned swordsmanship from Ismark and studied the book Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires to learn how to destroy the undead. He dreamed of one day destroying the Devil of Castle Ravenloft and bringing freedom to his people.
  • Sixteen weeks ago, a foreign scholar calling himself Alanik Ray arrived in Barovia and rented a room in the burgomaster's manor. When an enormous undead dire wolf attacked a group of children who had strayed too far from the village, however, Doru alone saw "Alanik" fend it off with expert skill—and when the wolf knocked the hat off of "Alanik's" head, his appearance magically changed, revealing him to be the legendary vampire hunter Dr. Rudolph van Richten.
  • Doru confronted him and insisted that Van Richten lead the village in revolt against Castle Ravenloft. Though Van Richten was reluctant at first, he eventually agreed—on the condition that Doru allow him to keep his disguise. Two days later, Doru, aided by a man named Escher—the village bard and Doru’s oldest friend—had assembled more than two dozen fighters to march on the keep.
Doru Will Remember That

When the players’ conversation with Doru begins, secretly place a six-sided die on the table, with its top face showing a one. Each time the players antagonize or discourage Doru, increase the number on the die by one. Each time the players are encouraging or kind, decrease the number on the die by one. (The number can’t go below zero.)

If the players agree to perform Doru’s experiment, roll a second six-sided die when the experiment begins. If the result on the second die is equal to or greater than the number on the first, Doru resists his vampiric addiction and the test ends successfully. If the result on the second die is less than the number on the first, however, Doru succumbs to his bloodlust and attacks the source of the blood.

For example, if the players antagonize Doru twice and offer no kindness or encouragement, the first die should show a three. If the second die rolls a one or a two, Doru attacks.

  • With Van Richten’s aid, the mob struck down any undead guards that tried to stand in their way. However, when they finally opened Strahd’s crypt, Escher was nowhere to be found—and Strahd’s coffin was empty. (If asked, Doru forcefully denies that Escher betrayed them.)
  • Shortly thereafter, Strahd emerged from the shadows and attacked the mob with merciless force. Most of Doru’s companions were slain. Doru himself was turned into a vampire spawn, and later learned that Escher had been as well. Doru doesn’t know what happened to Van Richten, but was forced to confess the old man’s identity when Strahd interrogated him later.
  • Doru spent nearly three months at Castle Ravenloft, during which Strahd repeatedly forced him to drink the blood of his former companions. Two weeks ago, Strahd commanded Doru to return to the church and his father.
  • Doru can’t disobey Strahd’s direct orders, and can feel his presence at all times. His vampiric bloodthirst is a constant distraction, and it’s difficult to control his predatory urges and instincts. When he first returned to the church, he was almost grateful that his father had locked him in the undercroft, where he couldn’t do any harm.
  • Doru doesn’t know if his soul or body can be saved, but he’s kept his father’s holy symbol to remind him of his faith and family, and to steel his will against the addictions of his new form. If not for that, he suspects that he would have lost control days or even weeks ago. (Doru doesn’t know why Strahd allowed him to keep it, but suspects that Strahd viewed it as a form of ironic amusement.)

As the conversation continues, Doru might ask the players:

  • whether Escher has been seen in the village, and
  • whether Doru’s betrothed, Gertruda, survived the siege.

If told that Gertruda has left the village for Castle Ravenloft—likely in a misguided effort to save Doru himself—Doru becomes visibly distraught with guilt and regret, despairing at the thought that she might already be dead. Though he doesn’t ask them to travel to Castle Ravenloft, he asks the players to look out for her—and bring her home should they find her. Doru feels that he has earned his fate, but believes that Gertruda, a good and compassionate woman, deserves far better.

Doru's Trial

If the players agree to fulfill Doru’s request by exposing him to fresh blood, he asks them to remain silent while he resists—and to strike him down if he succumbs. When the trial begins, read the following:

Doru’s muscles tense and he squeezes his eyes shut. A few moments later, his nostrils flare, and a thin line of saliva begins to run down his lips. He whimpers, his clawed fingers flexing and twitching.

"When the shadows come,” he whispers, “I will not yield. Darkness is the destroyer, and temptation its weapon. I will face the night and its horrors and await the horizon. For in the light of the Morninglord's love, only light can remain."

Doru's voice shakes, his emaciated body trembling. One fist is clenched at his side, the other squeezing the bloodstained sunburst that lies across his neck.

"In the light of the Morninglord's love," he repeats, gasping for breath. "In the light of the Morninglord's love. Gertruda. Gertruda. Gertruda—"

If Doru succumbs to the bloodlust (see Doru Will Remember That above), he pauses, then attacks. Roll initiative.

Otherwise, if Doru successfully resists the bloodlust, read:

After what seems like an eternity, Doru's body finally relaxes. His tense muscles seem to uncoil, his breath grows steadier, and the look of strain fades from his face. His eyes remain closed a moment longer, then flutter open.

"I have not yielded," he whispers hoarsely. "Not yet."

Doru thanks the players and relinquishes the holy symbol without protest.

Doru also warns the players that Strahd will likely take an active interest in newcomers to his land, and that they should therefore be careful. As a token of his gratitude, he provides the players with the location of a hidden weapons cache that Van Richten kept in case of emergencies. To reach it, the players must cross the River Ivlis Bridge and travel down the Old Svalich Road three hundred paces south into the woods, until they arrive at an ancient oak tree. They'll find the cache nestled in a hollow beneath the tree's roots.

Before the players depart, Doru asks them once more to tell Father Donavich that his son is still alive.

The Burial

If the players return to Father Donavich with his holy symbol in hand, he accepts it with gratitude.

If the players tell Father Donavich that they killed Doru to obtain the symbol, read:

Donavich's eyes well up with tears as he clasps the symbol in his hands, holding it so tightly his knuckles begin to turn white. A strangled sob escapes him as he sinks to his knees, cradling the sunburst like an infant.

"My boy—my dear, precious boy," he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. "May the Morninglord forgive me for what I've done—and for what I couldn't do."

He swallows and his face tenses, his expression growing as hard as stone. "It had to be done. For his sake—and ours."

Otherwise, if the players spared Doru and relay his final message, read:

Donavich stumbles back as if he's been struck, his face pale and his eyes wide with shock. For a moment, he simply stands there, silent—and then the silence is broken by a pained noise, a cross between a gasp and a sob, as he clutches the symbol to his chest.

His eyes glisten as he runs a trembling hand through his hair, a myriad of emotions playing across his face in quick succession: disbelief, rage, grief, shame, and—finally—hope. He sags against a nearby pew, his body shaking with exertion.

"My boy," he chokes out. "He's—he's still my boy?"

Once he’s received his holy symbol, Father Donavich gladly agrees to conduct Kolyan’s burial.

The cemetery is as described in E6. Cemetery (p. 48). At night, it is watched by two swarms of bats—spies of Strahd’s—who hang to the eaves of the church and the nearby mausoleums, watching the players.

Upon entering the cemetery, Donavich retrieves four shovels from a shed abuting the church and shares them with the players. When the grave is fully dug and dawn has begun, Donavich offers prayers to the Morninglord, asking for Kolyan’s deliverance in the following refrain:

O Morninglord

Lord of blessed light and patron of new beginnings

We commend into thy mercy and thy radiance Master Kolyan Indirovich

Now departed hence from us and gone evermore into your glory.

We beseech thee to grant unto him thy mercy and everlasting peace

As thou deliver'st him from this everlasting darkness into infinite light

From pestilence into growth

From shadow into day

And from death into new life.

Grant him entrance into Your land of light and joy

In the fellowship of thy saints

And the brilliance of thy presence

By Your will and grace.

At the conclusion of Donavich’s prayer, any players who wish to may offer words, prayers, or tributes of their own. If he has recovered his holy symbol, Donavich first casts gentle repose to sanctify Kolyan’s remains. Donavich then directs the players to lower the coffin into the ground.

With the burial concluded, Strahd’s bats take off into the air, vanishing up into the mist surrounding the base of Castle Ravenloft.

Donavich takes the bats’ presence as a bad omen. In a surprisingly lucid moment, he warns the players and Ismark of a Barovian superstition that young women with red hair often find that ill luck travels beside them, and asks if Ireena plans to remain in Barovia now that the Devil has awoken. If told that Ireena intends to leave, Donavich suggests she and the players travel to the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk, which was once a bastion of good, and may yet still offer some protection.

Return to the Mansion

When the players return to the burgomaster’s manor following the burial, Ireena meets them with a hot breakfast prepared. She and Ismark then engage the players in a discussion of their next steps, which largely proceeds as follows unless redirected by the players:

  • Ismark confirms that St. Andral's Church in Vallaki is Ireena's destination.
  • Ireena asks the players about their destination or plans in Vallaki, as well as whether they expect to make any stops along the road there.
  • If the players have mentioned their intent to visit Tser Pool, Ismark notes that the journey to Vallaki is more than a day's travel if the players plan to visit Tser Pool first, and that Ireena and the players will likely need to spend a night on the road. He recommends doing so at Tser Pool itself.
  • If the players haven't mentioned their intent to visit Tser Pool, Ismark notes that the Svalich Road can be dangerous, and advises the players to set a waypoint to rest and recuperate along the way. (Better to be cautious, he says, than to rush into a more taxing journey than necessary.) He suggests Tser Pool as a potential waypoint.
  • In either case, Ismark notes that Tser Pool is a bit under two hours' journey from Barovia. (Though some Vistani are rumored to be in league with Strahd, Tser Pool is known to be a safe place for travelers to spend the night, especially given the reputation of the Vistani leader, Madam Eva.)

Given the short distance to Tser Pool, Ireena tells the party that she'll be ready to leave at noon. Until then, the players are free to explore the village, shop at Bildrath's Mercantile, or otherwise pass the time.

Ireena's Detour

Approximately an hour before noon, Ireena quietly slips out of the mansion, walking to Lugdana's Knoll, a small, quiet hill to the north of Barovia. (The hill is named for the paladin Lugdana, who, according to legend, first met Burgomaster Ismark Antonovich the Great upon that hill.)

Shortly before noon, if the players haven't been keeping track of her, Ismark—who's currently briefing a pair of Barovian scouts regarding Gertruda's disappearance—notes Ireena's absence with minor concern and asks the players to find her and bring her home.

Because Strahd and his servants have only visited at night, Ismark isn't notably alarmed by Ireena's absence, but still wants to see her brought home as quickly as reasonably possible. Ismark advises that the players check Lugdana's Knoll first—one of Ireena's favorite spots around the village—and provides brief directions to get there.

If the players visit the knoll, read:

As you pass through the sea of tall grasses north of the village, a gentle knoll rises before you, bordered on the far side by the clutches of the dark Svalich Wood. Plants with white, feathery flowers and a sweet, earthy scent seem to dance amidst the grass atop the hill, their leaves rustling in a whispering wind.

A lonely tree stands atop the hill, its gnarled branches reaching skyward like outstretched arms. Beneath its shade kneels a female figure, her gaze fixated upon the ground.

The figure is Ireena, who has adorned her chestplate and rapier. As the players approach, they can see that she is using a trowel to dig a hole in the earth between the tree's roots. Ireena, fixated upon her work, doesn't notice the players until they call out to her or otherwise enter her field of view.

Ireena greets the players with warmth, though with some embarrassment for having driven them to come search for her. She shares freely that she is digging for a small wooden chest that she and her mother, Korina Targolova, buried here before her mother's death fourteen years ago—a coffer whose contents she hopes to take as a keepsake when she departs for Vallaki, given that she doesn't know when, if ever, she'll be able to return home.

If allowed to finish unearthing the chest, Ireena opens it, revealing its contents. The chest contains a silver bracelet set with gemstones, a pressed aster flower, a wooden charm in the shape of the yarrow flower on a leather cord, and a handkerchief with floral patterns.

The flower (which Ireena found and her mother pressed), charm (which Ireena's mother wore as an apprentice to the town's healer), and handkerchief (which Ireena's mother helped her to sew) are all mementos of Ireena's childhood with her mother. The bracelet is an item that Ireena was found carrying when Kolyan found her in the Svalich Wood, which Korina kept as a memento of their "miracle child" after she learned that she could bear no more children.

The bracelet holds no sentimental value for Ireena, and she doesn't remember why she was carrying it when Kolyan first found her, or where she obtained it. She offers it to the players as a gift for their agreement to escort her to Vallaki, as compensation for their trouble.

The silver bracelet, which is tarnished and clearly hundreds of years old, is worth 100 gp and bears an intricate pattern of the moon and stars along the exterior, with a moonstone gem embedded at the center of the moon and five lapis-lazuli serving as the stars. On the inside of the bracelet, in tiny, elegant script, the following message is engraved in Common: "Tatyana: May you find your path, and may you find light even in the darkest places—Mother & Father."

Ireena doesn't know who Tatyana is. (Unbeknownst to Ireena, the bracelet was a gift from Tatyana Federovna's parents on Tatyana's eighteenth birthday. It was lost in the Svalich Wood when Tatyana leapt to her death from the Castle Ravenloft overlook.)

Ireena gladly returns to the mansion with the players, or returns on her own shortly after noon if the players failed to find her. She then retrieves a packed traveling bag from her room.

When the players are ready to leave, Ireena bids Ismark a heartfelt farewell and sets off on the road.

Milestone. Burying the Burgomaster completes a story milestone. If the players depart Barovia with Ireena accompanying them, award each player 400 XP. If Doru successfully passed his test of will, award each player an additional 100 XP.

Ireena Joins the Party

Ireena has the statistics of an expert sidekick (Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, p. 142), using the base stat block of a noble.

Ireena's starting level is the same as the average level of the party at the time she first joins them. She begins with additional proficiencies in History, Medicine, Perception, Religion, and Stealth.

Ireena also gains a level whenever the party does, whether or not she accompanied them, ending the adventure at 10th level. (See Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, p. 142 for more information about how to run and level sidekicks.)

By default, Ireena chooses the following sidekick options as she gains levels:

  • 3rd Level. Ireena gains expertise in the Insight and Medicine skills.
  • 4th Level. Ireena’s Dexterity score increases by 2 to 14.
  • 8th Level. Ireena’s Dexterity score increases by 2 to 16.
  • 10th Level. Ireena’s Dexterity score increases by 2 to 18.

None of Strahd's servants or monsters—regardless of their intelligence, and least of all Strahd himself—ever attack Ireena.

B5f. Mad Mary’s Townhouse

There should be no reason for the players to visit Mad Mary’s Townhouse (p. 44) in this revision. However, if they do, the following changes have been made:

Mad Mary did not hide Gertruda in this house for her entire life. Instead, Gertruda lived a fairly ordinary life—albeit one with a fairly overbearing widowed mother. (Ireena and Gertruda initially bonded as young girls over the loss of their parents—Ireena's mother and Gertruda's father.) When he was alive, Gertruda’s father was a merchant who raised Gertruda on stories of great lords and ladies, using their family’s meager funds to purchase her occasional books from Vistani caravans regarding diplomacy and military history.

The first floor of this old, dirty dwelling comprises a one-room divided living space. To the north lies a small kitchen, its countertops dirty and covered with dust. There is a broken glass on the floor and a rotted meal for two set on a table covered with a dirty blue tablecloth. (Mary poured herself a glass of wine to steady her nerves after realizing Gertruda's disappearance, and dropped it on the floor in anguish.)

A small sitting area to the south contains a fireplace, two comfortable armchairs, and a dirty rug. Stairs lead up from here to the second floor.

The second floor corridor contains three wooden doors. One leads to a bathroom with an unemptied chamber pot and a bowl of dirty bathwater. Another leads to Mary’s bedroom, which holds a writing desk and a bed. (If found here, Mary is sitting on the bed, quietly sobbing.)

The third door, which is slightly ajar, leads to Gertruda’s bedroom; a tray holding a broken tea kettle and cup has shattered on the floor before it. (Mary was bringing Gertruda tea when she found her daughter missing, and dropped it in horror.)

Gertruda's room holds a clumsily handwoven dress and a shelf holding a dozen well-read, dog-eared books, as well as a hairbrush, a rug, and an open window.

Design Notes: Village of Barovia

The Raven's Guidance. This scene has been added to foreshadow the Keepers of the Feather, to inform the players that ravens are helpful, to provide guidance and comfort to players who have recently entered a strange and alienating land, and to introduce the players to Muriel, a recurring member of the Keepers of the Feather who will accompany the players on multiple occasions in the future.

Morgantha has been relocated from the village of Barovia to the Barovian refugee camp outside of Vallaki to ensure that the players do not develop an antagonistic relationship with her too early and to make her more accessible in future arcs.

The Blood on the Vine Tavern. The statue of Ismark the Great has been added to clearly set up Ismark's personal struggles to define himself apart from his ancestor, and to foreshadow the tale of Lugdana and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind that the players will hear at Tser Pool.

Arik has been made the sole owner of the tavern to create a sharper distinction between the Barovians and the Vistani.

Ismark has been intentionally made a friendlier and more sympathetic character to encourage the players to build a warm and trusting relationship with him and his sister, Ireena.

Mad Mary's plea has been relocated to the tavern and combined with Ismark's introduction to create a more dramatic and engaging opportunity for the players to learn about the village's plight.

Gertruda has been changed to be Doru's betrothed to provide her with a more rational reason to have willingly gone to the castle, and to add additional tragic irony to Doru's secret imprisonment in the undercroft of the church.

It is intentional that Ismark neither offers payment for Ireena's escort, nor requests it for allowing the players to stay at his home. By graciously offering the players a place to stay, free of charge, Ismark should easily earn goodwill from the players, thereby encouraging them to accept his request when he asks if Ireena can accompany them to Vallaki.

The Burgomaster's Mansion. Ireena and Ismark's conversation has been added to make Ireena a more sympathetic character.

Ireena now knows that she was adopted and bears no ill will or melancholy regarding this fact. Her ignorance of her adoption in the original module serves no narrative purpose, and her devotion to Kolyan Indirovich is far more endearing if her love is undiminished by their adoptive relationship. Knowledge of her adoption also foreshadows her relationship to Izek Strazni later on, thereby ensuring that the reveal of their connection packs a greater dramatic punch.

Madam Eva's dream invitation has been added to provide the players with a clear, urgent, and meaningful reason to travel to Tser Pool before traveling to Vallaki. The players' vision of the March of the Dead from the burgomaster's mansion also establishes the danger of opposing Strahd, raising the tension for when the players first encounter him at the River Ivlis Crossroads.

This sequence intentionally foregoes a popular community modification involving an overnight siege of the mansion staged by Strahd's forces. Such a dangerous experience would make the players less comfortable with escorting Ireena to Vallaki, would establish Strahd as a savage and hostile antagonist, and would deny the players their first opportunity for rest and recovery since the campaign first began.

Ireena Kolyana is intentionally not offered as a potential player character—despite an occasional community interest in making her so—because providing the players with a Barovian player character diminishes the "fish-out-of-water" experience of exploring Barovia; because few players are willing or able to endure Strahd's abusive relationship with Ireena (along with Izek's stalking and kidnapping of her); because, for the first half of Act II: The Shadowed Town, the adventure relies upon Ireena's nature as a generally passive character whose path diverges from the party's; and because Ireena's particular arc throughout the campaign is likely to conflict with player expectations and preferences for their own character's arc.

Bildrath's Mercantile. Bildrath has been changed to be slightly more reasonable and far more sympathetic, aiming to discourage players from attacking him and thereby alienating Ismark and Ireena.

The Barovian Church. Parriwimple has been placed by the entrance to the church to inspire curiosity regarding Donavich's strange behavior and Doru's ultimate fate, and to further develop the tragedy endured by the residents of the village.

The plotline involving Donavich's holy symbol and Doru's blood trial has been added to provide the players with an opportunity to interact with Doru, to enhance the exposition with dramatic tension, and to teach the players that NPCs generally should be aided, not attacked. The players' conversation with Doru also sets up Gertruda's and Escher's presence in Castle Ravenloft and introduces Dr. Rudolph van Richten.

The Burial. This guide intentionally foregoes two popular community additions to the burgomaster's burial: Rahadin's delivery of Strahd's condolences and Strahd's silent observation of the ceremony

Throughout this campaign, it is critical to remember that Strahd is not omniscient. In fact, the players' efforts to avoid and foil his spies serves as a recurrent source of tension and gameplay as they travel through Barovia. As such, from a practical matter, it is important to note that neither Strahd nor Rahadin would have any way of knowing that the burgomaster would be buried on this precise date and time.

More significantly, Strahd views Ireena with neither romance nor regret. He has no illusions that he might win her hand for his own, nor does he believe that such efforts might prove worth his while. A message expressing his condolences to his prey—or a silent vigil observing the burial—are sentiments that Strahd would never express.

Finally, this guide also foregoes a popular community modification that adds an attack by Strahd's wolves and undead during the ceremony. In addition to the fact that Strahd, unaware of the date and time of the burial, would have no opportunity to send it, such an overt attack would immediately antagonize the players and ensure that they feel actively unsafe around Strahd. It is a delicate balancing act to ensure that the players hate and fear Strahd while still feeling safe enough to accept his invitation to dine at Ravenloft. An outright assault on the players destroys that fragile balance utterly.

Arc C: Into the Valley

In this arc, the players depart the village of Barovia for Tser Pool and the town of Vallaki. As they journey through the woods, they can encounter a pair of Barovian scouts searching for a missing family, distract or do battle with a horde of zombies, and recover a weapons cache left by Dr. Rudolph van Richten.

Upon their arrival at the River Ivlis Crossroads, the players encounter Strahd von Zarovich for the first time, accompanied by Escher, one of his vampiric consorts. After a tense conversation, the players can head north to Tser Pool.

On the way to Tser Pool, the players encounter a raven—the disguised wereraven Muriel Vinshaw—fleeing a monstrous strix, a scarecrow of the skies crafted by the swamp-witch Baba Lysaga. If the players defend Muriel from the strix’s onslaught, she joins them for the remainder of their journey to Vallaki, though without revealing her true identity.

Soon afterward, the players finally arrive at the Vistani encampment at Tser Pool. There, they receive a magical Tarokka reading from Madam Eva, which foretells the location of three artifacts that will assist them in the fight against Strahd, as well as an ally who is destined to aid them.

While staying at Tser Pool, the players hear Vistani tales of Strahd's history and the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, and can also meet Arturi Radanavich, a wandering Vistana who claims to have once known Rudolph van Richten. As the players depart, they also receive a mission from Madam Eva to purchase a toy in Vallaki for delivery to her great-grand-niece, Arabelle.

If the players are tasked with escorting Ireena to St. Andral's Church in Vallaki, or if they have their own reasons for doing so, they then return to the Old Svalich Road via the River Ivlis Crossroads, traveling west through the mountains. Along the way, they encounter a strange skeletal rider, a pair of fresh graves, a watchful revenant, the night hag Morgantha in her peddler's disguise, two flocks of friendly ravens, and a werewolf accompanied by its pack of ravenous wolves.

Upon arriving in Vallaki, the players can find lodgings at the Blue Water Inn. There, they can meet a host of colorful characters, including the ringmaster Rictavio and the sons of Lady Fiona Wachter. When morning comes, the players can also have a fateful encounter with Baron Vargas Vallakovich and his brutish enforcer, Izek Strazni...

The Road From Tser Pool

The module’s map of Barovia depicts a dotted line that appears to connect the Tser Pool Encampment to Tser Falls. Despite its appearance, Tser Falls (p. 37) makes clear that this is not a shortcut. Instead, this dotted line is a footpath that leads to the base of Tser Falls, one thousand feet below the bridge overhead. At no point does it actually reconnect to the main road.

To travel from the Tser Pool Encampment to Vallaki, the players will instead need to travel south, back toward the River Ivlis Crossroads, then take the Old Svalich Road westward.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (63)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (64)

C1. The Svalich Woods

The journey from the village of Barovia to the River Ivlis Crossroads is three miles long and takes one hour.

C1a. The Barovian Scouts

As the players travel, read:

You set off from the silent village of Barovia, the fog creeping around your feet as you pass onto the Old Svalich Road. A sea of tall, pale-green grasses stretches out before you on either side of the road, all the way up to the edge of the Ivlis River. The sky above is a dull grey, the clouds heavy with the promise of rain.

It's not long before you can see the old arched stone bridge in the distance that spans the clear blue river ahead. Crossing it, you find yourselves on a muddy road that winds its way through the trees. The air is thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, and the trees press in close, casting deep shadows that carve dark gouges across the road.

If any players have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher, they hear a rustling noise and see a silhouette crouching in the misty underbrush. Otherwise, the players simply hear a voice call out, muffled and diffuse in the fog: “Who goes there? Name yourselves.”

The voice belongs to a gruff female Barovian scout named Kereza, who is joined by a second, soft-spoken male scout named Korga. The two warily demand to know if the players are spies or servants of Strahd. If reassured, the scouts warn the players that Strahd’s spies are numerous throughout the Svalich Woods, including wolves, bats, and—at times—the very trees themselves. (If asked about the trees, the scouts can describe seeing animate vines, saplings, and bramble-patches that wander through the woods with hostile intent.)

If Ireena is with the players, she can aid the players in reassuring the scouts, who recognize her and greet her with quiet respect. The scouts are surprised to see Ireena venturing forth from the village, but agree that Vallaki is likely a safer place than Barovia—assuming, of course, that she can make it there safely. (Ireena stubbornly insists, however, that her journey is a diplomatic and humanitarian one, and that the players are her escorts and bodyguards.)

The scouts are searching for the Lansten family: two parents and three young children—a girl and two boys—who went missing during the zombie attack on the village and haven’t been seen since. After asking whether the players have seen their quarries on their journey, the scouts warn them not to stray from the road, noting that dead and dark things lurk beneath the treetops. Kereza and Korga then respectfully depart.

Shortly after the players resume their trek down the Old Svalich Road, a light drizzle begins to fall, stirring a fine mist that drifts through the underbrush.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (65)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (66)

C1b. Van Richten’s Cache

As the players continue down the road, read:

You travel further into the woods, the muddy road guiding you deeper and further away from civilization. As the road bends, the river brushes up against you once more. Here, the river is wider, its waters dark and calm. You can see the reflection of the trees and fog in its surface. The sound of the quiet, trickling water is met only by the rustling of leaves and the drizzle of soft rain. No birdsong breaks the silence that hangs over the woods.

If the players received the location of Van Richten’s hidden weapons cache from Doru in Barovia’s church, they can enter the woods to the south to find it. If they do, read:

You step from the road and into the woods, crossing the treeline as your feet squelch into mud and loamy soil. Wisps of fog curl across the earth around you, gnarled trees reaching their arms overhead as gray light filters through the canopy. You walk for three hundred paces, stepping softly through the mulch and mist until you arrive at a clearing, the woods parting to make room for a tall, ancient oak whose knotted black trunk rises far above its peers.

You soon realize, however, that you’re not alone. Five figures shamble or stand aimlessly within the clearing, their clothes muddied and torn and their flesh just beginning to turn pallid and gray. A sixth figure, bearing the remnants of tattered leather armor, stands just beside the tree, its white eyes staring dully into the canopy overhead. This figure’s flesh, though rotting, is a smooth, sickly white, its skin run through with raised, crimson veins. A faint cloud of reddish mist spills from its mouth and down onto the forest floor around it before dissipating into the air.

The five figures are zombies. They also match the descriptions of the Lansten family provided by the scouts—two parents, a young girl, and two young boys. The sixth figure is a zombie plague spreader (Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, p. 255) created by Strahd, and the former leader of the undead siege.

The players can attempt to lure the zombies away from the clearing; given the zombies’ low intelligence, doing so should be reasonably easy. Alternatively, the players can attempt to ambush and attack the zombies to destroy them altogether.

If the players reach the oak tree, they can find Van Richten’s weapons cache where Doru told them: in a hollow nestled beneath the tree’s roots. The cache itself is a small, unlocked wooden chest containing 20 silvered crossbow bolts, a light crossbow, two healer’s kits, two vials of holy water, and one potion of healing.

C2. River Ivlis Crossroads

As the players approach this area, the drizzling rain stops. Read:

Soon, the river bends once more out of sight and the dark woods surround the road once again. Finally, though, the trees pull away, revealing a tall cliff at the base of a foggy mountain slope. The air is cold and damp here, and soft wisps of fog swirl around the base of the cliff.

The players have arrived at the River Ivlis Crossroads, which is largely as described in River Ivlis Crossroads (p. 35). Do not check for a random encounter when the players arrive.

This scene begins similarly to River Ivlis Crossroads (p. 35). However, the first time the players move to depart for Tser Pool, instead of seeing The Hanged One, they can hear the sound of a horse-drawn carriage or wagon approaching through the fog. Almost as soon as the sound appears, Strahd’s black carriage, as described in Black Carriage (p. 37) and Carriage House (p. 54), comes into view.

C2a. Strahd’s Arrival

The players can see a driver sitting in the coach box: the vampire spawn Escher, as described in K49. Lounge (p. 70). An ugly red scar now runs across Escher’s right cheek. (The scar was left by Dr. Rudolph van Richten in a recent skirmish. See Arc E: The Missing Vistana for more information.) If present, Ireena gasps at the sight of him, whispering that she thought that he was dead.

What If The Players Flee?

The players should have little time to attempt to conceal themselves before Strahd’s carriage comes into view. However, if the players attempt to flee the carriage into the woods, Strahd’s dire wolves—one for each player—emerge from the fog behind them and snarl, obstructing the players' escape.

The carriage then comes to a stop. Read the following, modifying the text as necessary if Ireena isn’t present, and pausing briefly after each paragraph to allow the players a short opportunity to act or react:

The driver releases the reins, steps down from the coach box, and moves to open the side door of the carriage, bowing deeply. A moment passes—and then a man steps out from the carriage.

He is tall, gaunt, and dressed in finery befitting a man of aristocratic, even royal stature. A black cloak is pulled neatly around his shoulders, tied at the neck by a blood-red brooch. A longsword rests ensheathed at his hip, its polished hilt gleaming beneath the dim light. His scarlet tunic is worked with intricate designs, and his hair is pulled back into a sharp and immaculate widow's peak.

His eyes are dark, and as he moves to adjust the ruby at his neck, you see that his fingernails form long, elegant claws. It's only then that you realize that his skin is pale—unnaturally so— and that his eyes glint with a deep, intelligent hunger.

If Ireena is with the party, add:

Ireena rocks backward, as if slapped. She averts her eyes from the man's gaze, her entire body tightening. "Don't look into his eyes," she chokes out.

The man's gaze rests briefly on Ireena, and he smiles—though no warmth reaches his eyes. "Lady Kolyana," he says. "What a pleasant surprise." He then turns his gaze to you.

Whether Ireena is with the party or not, add:

"Good day," he says. "I am Count Strahd von Zarovich—and it is a pleasure to finally meet the newcomers to my domain. My friends have told me so much about you." His eyes linger over each one of you in turn, regarding you like a cut of meat weighed at market, an intriguing but inanimate trinket—a prey animal spotted by a predator in the bush.

C2b. The Conversation Begins

If undiverted, Strahd greets each of the player characters individually—by name, if his spies have had a chance to learn them and report back to him. While doing so, he makes a personal comment regarding each character’s species, class (if apparent from their equipment or dress), and/or personality (if reported by his spies). If possible, he frames each comment in the form of a compliment, sympathetic remark, or (sparingly) exceptionally veiled threat.

If Ireena is present, Strahd then asks if “Lady Kolyana” has properly introduced them to his domain, and apologizes for any “folktales” his subjects may have shared about him.

(He does not, however, deny his attack on the village of Barovia, noting only that the people of the village defied him in an act of utmost treason. "I am sure that you can agree that my response was a measured one," he says. "After all, no lord could tolerate a settlement that fostered such sedition. The good people of Barovia needed to be taught a lesson. Their discipline was a kindness that few others would entertain.")

As the conversation progresses, Strahd notes that he's heard "such wonderful things" of the players' exploits at "a certain old house at the edge of my domain." Strahd then makes brief reference to the players' actions in Death House, sardonically lauding:

  • their "heroic and compassionate spirits" if they put Walter's spirit to rest;
  • their "fierce and fiery valor" if they defeated the flesh mound; and/or
  • their "cunning and ruthless will" if they made a sacrifice on the cult's altar.
Strahd’s Foretelling

At the time that he encounters the players, Strahd is returning from a visit to Madam Eva’s tent at the Tser Pool Encampment. Finding the Forest Fane’s power difficult to control due to Baba Zelenna’s interference during his slumber, he sought Madam Eva’s counsel in his preparations for the Grand Conjunction. He received the following fortune:

"The Darklord—the master of shadows, the beast in the labyrinth that tears at his chains.

"The Six of Stars, the Evoker—the power you covet, a force untamed by mortal hands, raw and wild with burning fury.

"The Artifact—the token you seek, the key to power. Divinity’s heart waits, but where?

"The Innocent. I see a maid of raven hair and twilit eyes. She is one way to the token.

"But there is another—the Broken One. The path of sacrifice opens another door. The wall that whispers awaits your tribute.

"The threads of fate yet spin. The Seven of Swords, the Hooded One, is next. Strangers walk the land—their presence a riddle, their intentions a maze. They dwell in the dusk, their role yet unclear.

"But the One of Stars, the Transmuter, is last. Change comes on newcomers’ wings, the dusk of an era upon us. As one age ends, another is born."

Much of Strahd’s foretelling was overheard by Muriel Vinshaw, an eavesdropping wereraven, until Strahd detected her presence and drove her away. Both Muriel and Strahd were unaware that Madam Eva knew of Muriel’s presence all along. As the hidden avatar of the Seeker, Eva bears a special bond with Barovia’s wereravens, and deliberately continued her foretelling to allow Muriel to hear it.

Muriel heard the first five cards that Madam Eva read, but doesn’t know the last two. More information about Muriel and her escape from Strahd’s minions can be found in C3. The Strix below.

(If the players ask about the nature of Death House, or its purpose in bringing them to Barovia, Strahd smiles coldly and says only, "The souls of the damned are tragically twisted things. Do not linger upon their madness.")

If the players ask about Strahd's driver, Strahd introduces him as Escher, "my coachman and cupbearer." Escher does not respond to the players’ questions or statements and simply stands demurely at Strahd’s side.

C2c. Strahd's Questions

During the conversation, at moments when it seems natural to do so, Strahd poses the players the following questions (in no particular order):

  • "Ismark Kolyanovich defied me by keeping his sister from me. Why should I, as his lord, not punish him for his disloyalty?"
  • "I have claimed Ireena Kolyana, and twice marked her as my own. Why should I not take her with me to Castle Ravenloft right now?"
  • "You are trespassers in my lands, and the last outsider that entered Barovia fostered sedition and treachery. Why should I not dispatch with you now, in the same way that I dispatched with him?" (Strahd's question is referring to Dr. Rudolph van Richten.)

If the players buried Walter's bones and put the spirits of Death House to rest, Strahd poses an additional question:

  • "Immediately prior to your entry to my lands, you caused great damage to a group of my servants—the occupants of a particular house on the borders of my domain. I had relied upon those servants to bring me specimens of interest, but your activities have left them indefinitely indisposed. Why should I not punish you for your crimes against them?"

Strahd frames each of these questions as a hypothetical. In asking them, his tone is inquisitive, curious, and at least somewhat amused. If the players despair at the prospect of answering these questions at all, Strahd notes, "I am not an unreasonable man. If there is some reason or rationale that I might have missed, then by all means do enlighten me."

C2d. Strahd's Concessions

As the players attempt to answer his questions, Strahd delights in playing Devil's advocate, pushing back against their responses and probing at the holes in their reasoning. Ultimately, though, if the players' points are at least reasonably well-argued, Strahd is willing to accept them. (It should be fairly clear to the players, however, that he is merely humoring them by accepting their responses.)

The players can push Strahd to make the following concessions:

  • He agrees to overlook Ismark's transgressions, so long as Ismark does not defy him or act counter to his will again.
  • He agrees to allow Ireena to depart the River Ivlis Crossroads safely. (Strahd will not grant a longer grace period than that.)
  • He agrees to refrain from judgment against the players unless they take action directly against his person.
  • He agrees to forgive the players their transgressions against the cult of Death House.

The players might successfully exact these concessions using a variety of arguments, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • The players have promised Ismark that they will escort Ireena to Vallaki and they must be allowed to fulfill their word.
  • The players have taken no hostile action against Strahd and should be granted a presumption of innocence.
  • The players' actions in Death House were conducted in self-defense, and therefore should be excused.
The Players Misbehave

If any of the players act rudely toward Strahd, he doesn't feel a need to "punish" or "discipline" them. Instead, he responds with amusement, like a parent soothing a child throwing a tantrum. Strahd doesn't view the players as a threat to either his ego, his person, or his reputation, and treats them accordingly.

In such a situation, Strahd might draw upon the following lines of dialogue when responding to a misbehaving player:5

  • "Do not imagine that you are the first to invade my realm."
  • "If you are trying to impress me, you have failed."
  • "What lies do you tell yourself before you close your eyes at night?"
  • "There is none in all of Barovia whose honor you have more cause to trust."
  • "Faith is that faculty which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue."

If, at any point during the encounter, the players move to threaten Strahd or flee, read:

From behind Strahd, you hear a chorus of low, feral growls. Multiple pairs of eyes glint from the underbrush—each one the height of a man's shoulder.

Slowly, from the shadows, slinks a pack of massive wolves, each one as tall as a horse and twice as muscled, measuring nine feet in length from head to haunches. Their fur is a thick, mottled grey, and saliva drips from their yellowed, sharpened teeth.

They take up positions behind and around Strahd, flanking him like a noble's honor guard.

"You must forgive my pets," Strahd says. "They can be . . . overenthusiastic at the sight of new friends."

The wolves are dire wolves, as described in Dire Wolves (p. 30). (The number of dire wolves in the pack is equal to the number of players in the party.)

If the players appear to need further persuading, the dire wolves step forward, growling with their hackles raised. If the players proceed to attack Strahd or flee, the wolves attack.

If the players appear to doubt Strahd's fidelity to his concessions, he promises, "Fear not, dear children. I am no liar. We both know deception is for the weak."5

When the players have answered all of Strahd's questions to his satisfaction, he bids them farewell and steps back into the black carriage.

As he does, Strahd’s six dire wolves emerge from the woods, if they haven’t already, and move to flank the carriage. Strahd notes that he and his “friends” shall see the players again—perhaps very soon. The carriage then departs for Castle Ravenloft.

C2e. Departing the Crossroads

As the players move to depart the River Ivlis Crossroads after Strahd has left, they encounter The Hanged One (p. 35). The character hanged from the gallows should be the character who was the rudest to Strahd or the least cooperative with his questions.

C3. The Strix

Halfway down the path from the River Ivlis Crossroads to Tser Pool Encampment, the players hear the sound of a distressed bird cawing from above. A raven with blue-tipped wings—recognizably the same raven that met them in the village of Barovia—then crashes into the road at the players’ feet, visibly wounded. This is, again, the wereraven Muriel, in disguise with 1 hit point. Her wings and torso have been penetrated by several dozen silver barbs, leaving her unable to fly, regenerate, or transform until removed.

The raven’s arrival is followed soon after by a terrible, grating shriek and the arrival of a greater strix (using the statistics of a manticore): an enormous artificial “bird” crafted of wood, animal skins, burlap, and hundreds of black raven’s feathers. (Instead of actual tail spikes, the greater strix’s tail spikes attack releases a volley of dozens of tiny silver barbs from its wings.)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (67)

The greater strix is joined by two swarms of lesser strix (each using the statistics of a swarm of ravens). Each lesser strix is an artificial “crow” slightly larger than a raven, crafted of burlap, straw, twigs, and sharp stone teeth.

These abominations were built by the witch Baba Lysaga to hunt down wereravens. These particular strix—a gift from Baba Lysaga to Strahd upon his awakening—have been ordered to hunt and kill Muriel, who was spotted eavesdropping on the Tarokka reading that Strahd received from Madam Eva earlier that morning. It continues to pursue Muriel, attacking the players if they obstruct it. It fights to the death.

If rescued, Muriel remains with the players until she can discern their intent. A player can remove the silver barbs in her body and wings with a DC 15 Wisdom (Medicine) check, reducing her to 0 hit points and causing her to fall unconscious on a failure. Once the barbs are removed, however, Muriel’s regeneration immediately returns, healing her wounds in a matter of seconds.

If she learns that the players plan to travel to Vallaki, Muriel travels with them while maintaining her raven disguise, hoping to rely upon safety in numbers until she can report her findings to Urwin Martikov at the Blue Water Inn. Under no conditions does Muriel willingly reveal her true nature to the players at this time.

C4. Tser Pool

The journey from the River Ivlis Crossroads to the Tser Pool Encampment is one-and-a-half miles long and takes thirty minutes.

C4a. Arrival at Tser Pool

This area is largely as described in G. Tser Pool Encampment (p. 36). However, none of the Vistani at the camp are intoxicated, and only one—a Vistana woman named Eliza—serves as a spy for Strahd.

Lycanthropy in Barovia

In Barovia, the curse of lycanthropy spreads as described in Player Characters as Lycanthropes (Monster Manual, p. 207). However, an infected player or other creature does not automatically receive any changes to their ability scores or Armor Class, nor do they automatically receive the benefits of the lycanthrope's stat block (e.g., immunities or regeneration).

Instead, an infected creature only receives the benefits of lycanthropy upon transforming into their hybrid form on the night of the full moon. During this time, the creature becomes an NPC under the DM's control until dawn, at which point the creature loses the benefits of lycanthropy.

An infected creature can embrace the curse of lycanthropy—and so gain its full benefits—by completing a certain task, depending on the nature of their curse:

  • An infected werewolf must voluntarily kill another humanoid and devour their flesh.

  • An infected wereraven must be knocked unconscious while voluntarily attempting to protect another humanoid from (what they believe to be) near-certain death.

An infected lycanthrope can be recognized by the scar of the wound that originally transmitted the curse. The wound will never entirely heal, and remains raw and bloody until the curse is lifted.

The child of two lycanthropes possesses the full benefits of lycanthropy from birth, and may learn to control their curse as they age.

Finally, while the mists remain, the lunar cycle is accelerated in Barovia: the full moon arrives once every two weeks, instead of once every four. The first full moon that the players experience takes place on the sixth night after they first arrive in Vallaki.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (68)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (69)

As the players enter the camp, they are met by Stanimir, an old Vistana who informs them that the leader of their encampment, Madam Eva, has been waiting for them and points them toward Eva’s tent. Stanimir, a jovial, colorful old man with a twinkle in his eye is largely as described in Mysterious Visitors (p. 19). However, he has the spell major image prepared rather than vampiric touch.

Stanimir is happy to answer any questions that the players may have about the Vistani or about Barovia, as described in Vistani Lore (p. 27). However, he will not discuss Strahd’s business at Tser Pool. Instead, he shares his belief that Strahd will not soon return, and reassures the players that anything discussed at their meeting with Madam Eva will not reach the vampire’s ears.

If the players ask whether Strahd obtained a foretelling from Madam Eva, Stanimir tells them that Madam Eva shares her gifts freely with all—but that each person’s future is different, and often difficult to discern.

C4b. The Tarokka Reading

This scene unfolds largely as described in Madam Eva’s Tent (p. 37). After greeting the players, Madam Eva names each player character personally, giving them one or more symbolic epithets related to their histories, their goals, and/or their capabilities.

She thanks the players for making the journey to Tser Pool. If asked about Strahd’s visit, she says only that each person’s future is their own to know, and that, while her duty binds her to seek the whispers of Fate for any who invoke her name, she is bound not to reveal what she sees to anyone else.

If Muriel is with the players in raven form, Madam Eva regards her with an emotion nearly resembling fondness and asks to inspect her. She strokes Muriel’s wings and notes that she once had a beloved pet raven named Turul long ago.

“I have only seen him once these past ten years, however,” Eva adds, somewhat mournfully. “Doubtless, he has gone wild without me.” (Madam Eva is referring to the Roc of Mount Ghakis, which served her when she retained the mantle of the Seeker of the Ladies Three.)

If the players ask Eva about Dalvan Olensky's corpse, she shares only that he was a Barovian named Dalvan Olensky who came to her tent in the aftermath of Strahd’s siege on the village of Barovia, and that he insisted upon hearing— and then defying—his fate, a choice with tragic consequences. (As with Strahd, Eva can’t disclose the nature or content of Dalvan’s foretelling.)

Madam Eva then asks the players if they would like their fortunes read, and produces a worn deck of cards if so. She then pauses and closes her eyes, though they flash wide open again soon after. Read:

Madam Eva’s voice is a low hiss as she speaks, her silhouette dancing in the flickering candlelight. "A shadow is approaching my tent: a lone servant of Darkness. They seek knowledge of your future—secrets that I am sworn never to reveal to any but their keepers.

“Do not look, child, nor rush to greet them; if they learn the import of what we have discussed, all may be lost. Do not reveal, even, that you know of their true nature, for their master will know that I have told you, and his wrath will descend upon us all. I will read the cards as swiftly as I dare before they arrive, and you will listen closely, for I shall never again repeat what they say. Are you ready?"

If the players respond affirmatively, read the following text, choosing the appropriate descriptions and narration where appropriate:

Profile: Madam Eva

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Madam Eva should inspire discomfort with her intimate knowledge of the players’ pasts, gratitude for her dedication to the players’ journey, and reassurance with her confident predictions.

Emotions. Madam Eva's most frequent emotions are amusement, solemnity, concern, and contemplation.

Motivations. Madam Eva wants to see the land of Barovia healed and freed from Strahd's corruption.

Inspirations. When playing Madam Eva, channel The Ancient One (Doctor Strange) and the Fates (Hercules).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Madam Eva appears as a wise, yet maddened crone who speaks in prophecies and riddles. To those she trusts, she appears as a kind, yet frustratingly opaque and stubborn old woman.

Morale. In a fight, Madam Eva would calmly insist that her opponent cease their attacks, then—if her Vistani aides prove unable to stop her assailant—weaken them with the harm spell before demanding their surrender.

Relationships. Madam Eva alone knows that she is an avatar of the Seeker.

Her old hands working deftly, the ancient seer removes fourteen cards from the top of the deck, setting them aside. The remaining cards, she shuffles nimbly twice, three times, four.

Madam Eva sets both decks upon the surface of the velvet table. Closing her eyes, she places her right hand over the surface of the larger deck. The crimson flames dim and swirl in eldritch patterns as her lips move silently, a distant tension spreading through the air. The sounds of the rustling trees and rippling pool beyond the tent's walls begin to dim, the external world growing mute and insubstantial as the space within grows more solid—more real.

Slowly, reverently, the crone draws three cards from the top of the deck, laying them face down separately on the table, with the second laid between and above its partners. She then moves to the smaller deck, drawing two more cards. The first, she places below the first three, forming a cross. The second, she places in the center.

The lights of the candles sway like silhouettes, leaning in toward the cards like anxious watchers—yet the air in the tent is perfectly still. No light intrudes through the seams in the tent's walls; no voice rings out in the silence. Shadows and mist swirl at the boundaries of the tent, where the darkness of deepest night dwells—but here, at its center, light yet reigns.

The crone then moves her wrinkled hand to the left-most card—the first. She closes her eyes and tilts her head, as if listening to an unspoken word. The arcane lights swirl and then shift, their colors changing to a deep, piercing blue.

"This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy."

She flips the card.

The cerulean light dances across its surface, revealing an illustration of:

  • Nine of Swords—Torturer. A scowling, bearded man, clad in leather armor and a hood tipped with spikes, his calloused, gnarled hands turning the wheel of a grisly device. “The Nine of Swords—the Torturer.” Her dark pupils shift from side to side, as though reading from an unseen text. (See Swords (Spades), p. 12, for this card’s foretelling.)

  • Nine of Glyphs—Traitor. A smirking guardsman looking up at a haughty priest, the priest’s pointing fingers mere inches from the guardsman’s nose as the guardsman readies a wickedly curved dagger behind his back. “The Nine of Glyphs—the Traitor.” Her dark pupils shift from side to side, as though reading from an unseen text. “Look for a wealthy woman. A wary servant of the devil, she keeps the treasure under lock and key, with the bones of an ancient enemy.”

She moves her hand to the second card, this one at the top of the cross. As she closes her eyes and listens once more, the candlelight flares, its color bursting into a fierce, cheery yellow.

"This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope." She flips the card.

This time, the light reveals a new illustration: an armored warrior clutching a cracked iron sword and a leather-bound wooden shield, his face obscured by a heavy iron helmet. “The Five of Swords—the Myrmidon.” Her eyes stare deep into the shadows that lurk in the corners of the tent. (See Swords (Spades), p. 12, for this card’s foretelling.)

She moves her hand to the third card, at the right arm of the cross, her eyelids closing like a trance, her lips pursed in quiet contemplation. The candlelight vanishes, for a heartbeat—and then returns in a nova of fierce, burning white, so pure and strong and clean that it hurts to look at, burns to see—

Madam Eva's eyes snap open, burning with a fierce determination.

"This is a card of power and strength. It tells of a weapon of vengeance: a sword of sunlight." She flips the card.

The light reveals a third illustration: a solemn-faced man clad in holy vestments, one hand clutching the chain of a bronze censer that billows with burning smoke. “The Eight of Glyphs—the Bishop.” The crone's voice is strong with purpose. (See Glyphs (Hearts), p. 14, for this card’s foretelling.)

She moves to the fourth card, at the bottom of the cross, and listens once more, tracing small circles across its back as she hums a contemplative note. The magic flames leap and dance upon their wicks, now casting swirling violet embers into the air as the walls of the tent gleam with the shimmer of twilight.

"This card sheds light on one who will help you greatly in the battle against darkness."

She flips the card.

This time, the illustration revealed is a quiet graveyard choked with fog, its entrance sealed with a sharp iron fence. "The Mists." Madam Eva leans forward. (See Strahd’s Enemy, p. 15, for this card’s foretelling.)

Finally, she moves her hand to the fifth card—and nearly recoils, her brow furrowing until the wrinkles split her forehead like a trench. Behind her, shadows encircle the candlelight until the light is very nearly swallowed by the creeping dark. When next she speaks, Madam Eva's rasping voice is scarce above a whisper.

"Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. When the hour of judgment arrives, this card will lead you to him!"

Her hand trembles above the card for a silent moment—and then deft, ancient fingers reveal its opposite side.

In the darkness, the fifth and final illustration is only barely visible through the smoke and unnatural murk. Upon the card's surface dwells a depiction of a crowned, grinning emperor clad in royal finery and reaching for a goblet of wine—though his limbs are wooden puppet’s limbs, lashed to corded strings that disappear into the darkness overhead.

Madam Eva slowly exhales. "The Marionette." (See Strahd’s Location in the Castle, p. 17, for this card’s foretelling.)

As the last syllable passes her lips, the old woman freezes—and then rocks back in her chair, her eyes rolling until their whites gleam like pearls in the darkness—and then she snaps back, the candlelight burning down to its ordinary crimson glow.

The sound of the outside world returns—the voices of the Vistani, the crackling of the bonfire, the whisper of the wind, and the lapping of the waves against the shore of the pool. Light, grey and insubstantial, filters in once more through the canvas walls of the tent, and you feel yourselves breathe for the first time since the reading began. Beyond the tent’s walls, you think you can hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

Madam Eva says nothing. She only regards you silently with dark, heavy eyes.

Madam Eva refuses to elaborate on the players’ readings or provide any additional information or assistance. If asked to, she says only, “The threads of Fate cannot be beckoned like a servant or conjured like a magician’s trick. I see only what the cards show me, and no more.” Before the players leave, she whispers to them again to tell no one of what they have just heard.

Milestone. Receiving the Tarokka reading completes a story milestone. When the party exits Madam Eva’s tent, award each player 500 XP.

C4c. Vistani Hospitality

Upon exiting Madam Eva’s tent, the players find two other Vistani waiting outside of the tent: a woman named Eliza and a man named Arturi Radanavich. Stanimir joins the group a few moments later.

Unless the players intervene, the conversation unfolds as follows:

  • Eliza greets the players immediately, giving them a warm welcome to the Tser Pool Encampment.
  • As Stanimir approaches, Eliza clicks her tongue and scolds him for his lack of hospitality, noting that the players seem to have traveled a long way.
  • Stanimir amusedly reminds Eliza that fate waits for no one, but nonetheless invites the players to rest their weary feet at the camp’s central fire, offering wine, food, and song should the players join.
  • If the players accept and move to accompany Stanimir, Arturi hesitates, then asks if the players would mind if he accompanied them. He notes that he has heard that they have just arrived from Barovia, and has recently arrived himself from the west to seek information regarding the village. (He adds, somewhat awkwardly, that it has been some time since he had last shared a Vistani fire, and apologizes for imposing upon them and the others.)
Arturi and Eliza

Arturi Radanavich, a close friend of Dr. Rudolph van Richten, has recently arrived at the Tser Pool encampment. He has now heard that travelers have arrived from the village of Barovia and hopes to hear whether the Barovians have obtained any information regarding Dr. Van Richten’s whereabouts. (See The Curse of Arturi Radanavich below for more information about Arturi's connection to Dr. Rudolph van Richten.)

Arturi is a thoughtful, soft-spoken man in his late thirties with a distant, almost absent-minded countenance and a near-painful sincerity.

Meanwhile, Eliza, one of Strahd’s spies, has heard that outsiders have entered the pool from beyond the Mists, and hopes to glean information about their goals, capabilities, and weaknesses. (Eliza had hoped to eavesdrop on the players’ Tarokka reading as well, but was foiled by Madam Eva’s foresight.)

In sharp contrast to Arturi, Eliza is a cheery, excitable woman in her early thirties, always glad to insert herself into a conversation with a brash or witty comment.

The Curse of Arturi Radanavich

Dark Beginnings. Twenty years ago, when Arturi Radanavich was only seventeen, several members of his extended family amongst the Radanavich caravan invited him on a “hunting trip.” Awkward, lonesome, and desperate for connection, Arturi accepted their invitation gratefully.

It wasn’t long, however, before Arturi learned the true nature of their hunt. His uncle, a man named Radu Radanavich and the leader of the caravan, had recently seen his son, Ionel, fall deathly ill. When the Vistani’s treatments proved fruitless, Radu had taken Ionel to a healer in a nearby village—a doctor named Rudolph van Richten. Ionel, however, had died under Van Richten’s care, and a vengeful and grieving Radu sought to visit his pain upon Van Richten in turn.

Arturi felt bewildered and afraid—but each time he thought to open his mouth, he imagined the insults and jeers of his cousins or Uncle Radu’s smoldering glare. And so, Arturi watched silently as his family kidnapped Van Richten’s fourteen-year-old son, Erasmus, spirited him away to a darkened mire, and sold him to the vampire lord Baron Metus.

It wasn’t long after Erasmus was sold that Van Richten tracked the Vistani caravan down, ambushing the d’Avenirs—a Vistani husband and wife who then traveled with the Radanaviches and had aided Radu in his vengeance—and demanding to know where his son had been taken. Arturi later learned that Van Richten had spared the d’Avenirs’ lives—a mercy that would not last forever.

Three years later, Van Richten returned, grim-faced and surrounded by a swarm of ravenous undead. His son Erasmus had died—transformed into a vampire spawn and killed by Van Richten’s own hand. Torn by fury and grief, Van Richten released the undead horde upon the Radanavich caravan, howling, “Undead take you as you have taken my son!”

Arturi alone survived, hiding himself away in his grandmother’s magical trunk. When he finally emerged, hours later, he found the encampment shattered, his family slaughtered—and Van Richten nowhere to be found.

Arturi's Curse. Arturi soon learned, however, that Van Richten’s vengeful words had taken on a life of their own, clinging to him like a burial shroud. “Undead take you,” Van Richten had promised—and so they did, pursuing Arturi wherever he went. The Vistani banished him from their camps after dusk, naming him mortu, or “outcast,” a word that can also be more directly translated as “living dead.” No village gave Arturi sanctuary; no town’s walls would protect him.

For eighteen years Arturi wandered, ever-evading his eternal pursuers. One day, however, he came upon a Vistana caravan while traveling the roads, from whom he learned that Van Richten, the murderer of Arturi’s family, had suffered beneath the weight of a curse as well—a curse placed by the raunie, or leader, of the Radanavich caravan with her dying words: “Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws!” A flutter of hope emerged in Arturi’s heart—hope that, together, their two curses might be lifted.

Arturi spent three weeks searching for Van Richten, eventually finding him in a small cottage at the edge of a sleepy village. Concealing himself from view, Arturi watched Van Richten rage against the lives taken by the raunie’s curse, then finally crumple into sleep, alone and undefended. No lust for vengeance stirred Arturi’s hand to the dagger at his side, though—instead, he felt only commiseration and pity.

When Van Richten awoke, Arturi was there to greet him, suggesting that, together, they could aid one another and see their curses lifted. Though Arturi was not sure how, he suggested that the two spend a year traveling among the Vistani caravans, so that Van Richten could come to know the people that had taken his son, and so Arturi could come to know the man who had murdered his family. After some discussion, Van Richten reluctantly agreed.

Redemption & Understanding. The two men set off together—awkwardly, at first, but soon coming to a quiet understanding. For the next twelve months, they visited each of the largest Vistani caravans in turn, exposing Van Richten to the lives, joys, and sorrows of his most hated foes. Arturi, in turn, learned of Van Richten’s grief: of the love he bore for his son, Erasmus, and the guilt he felt for his friends who had fallen.

When the year had ended, Arturi warned Van Richten that only blood could pay for his crime. Van Richten, head bowed with the weight of his guilt, promised not to resist should Arturi choose to take his life. Instead, however, Arturi sliced both their palms and took Van Richten’s hand, allowing their lifeblood to intermingle. In that moment, the two became blood-brothers, and released their hatred forever.

Somehow, the two knew that there was one thing left to do. They traveled to the old wreckage of the Radanavich caravan and set it aflame, defending its burning husk from legions of the undead that swarmed from the darkness. When dawn finally broke, the undead had gone—and the wreckage was naught more than a pile of smoking ash. The two men embraced, laughing, knowing that their curses had finally come to an end.

The Next Chapter. Arturi and Van Richten parted ways soon after—Van Richten returning to his family home to compile a lifetime’s notes, and Arturi returning to the solitude of the roads, too distant from his people to truly return to their camps. Not long thereafter, Arturi’s travels took him to a southern port, where he purchased a small, trained monkey—a baboon named Piccolo—and had him delivered to Van Richten’s home as a memento and gift.

Several months later, Arturi heard rumors from the Vistani that Van Richten had been sighted once more—this time, in Barovia, the cursed valley of the vampire Strahd von Zarovich—and that he was now widely believed to be dead. Fearful for his friend, Arturi set off for Barovia through the Mists, hoping to find Van Richten should he still be alive—and to ensure him a proper burial should he have fallen in battle.

Source: Wise, David. Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani. Wizards of the Coast, 1995.

If the players make their way to the Vistani fire, Eliza—and Arturi, if he is present—introduce themselves. Eliza also asks the players’ names in return. (If asked why he has not shared a Vistani fire until recently, Arturi winces and admits only that the situation is complicated.)

While seated around the fire, the players are given wine and food, including a midday meal of bread, cheese, and pickled beets. As they eat, Eliza asks the players about their next destination. If the players note that they are headed toward Vallaki or otherwise indicate an interest in staying the night, Stanimir invites them to rest at the camp overnight, noting that the roads can be long and dangerous beyond Madam Eva’s wagons.

C4d. The Dancing Fire

As dusk descends around the campfire, the Vistani serve the players a dinner of a hearty stew of rabbit, potatoes, turnips, lentils, and parsnips alongside hearty chunks of flatbread.

If he hasn’t already, Arturi asks the players for news from Barovia, inquiring specifically whether they have encountered a man named Rudolph van Richten. If asked about his interest, Arturi notes sorrowfully that Van Richten is a friend of his, and that he had recently heard a rumor that he had come to harm while traveling to Barovia. Arturi is unsure whether he believes Van Richten to be dead, but is hopeful that he still lives—if for no other reason than that the old man is impressively hard to kill.

After dinner, Stanimir cheerfully informs the players that, as guests at a Vistani fire, they are now expected to play the Game of Stories, and asks whether the players will accept. To play, each participant must put up a wager, which can be an object of small monetary, intellectual, or sentimental value. Each participant must then share a story to make a man “laugh or weep.” Each time a story is told, the other participants in the game must guess whether the story is truth, falsehood, or both. At the end of the game, the participant with the most correct guesses wins the pot.

If the players accept the challenge, Eliza, Arturi, and Ireena also offer to join the game. The participants’ wagers are as follows:

  • Stanimir wagers a worn deck of Tarokka cards that once belonged to his late wife. (“They’ve sat unused and dusty in my wagon for long enough,” he says with a sad smile. “I think she’d like it if they were out in the world again.”)
  • Eliza wagers a collapsible brass spyglass with a small, maneuverable mirror, allowing the user to peer around corners.
  • Arturi wagers a short manuscript on werewolves authored by Dr. Rudolph van Richten.
  • Ireena wagers a painted wooden hairclip in the shape of a sunflower that she once wore as a child.

Give the players a few minutes away from the table to plan out their stories before the game begins.

Arturi’s Manuscript

Arturi’s manuscript—authored by Dr. Rudolph van Richten—is two pages long. It is titled “A Study of the Werewolf’s Curse,” and reads as follows:

Werewolves are among the most fearsome lycanthropes, bearing a curse as ancient as it is terrifying. For them, the affliction of lycanthropy transforms even the most civilized individual into a monstrous beast, warping the lines betwixt man and nature.

In its humanoid form, a werewolf retains many of the characteristics of its original identity, save for certain nuances such as heightened senses, an explosive temper, and an odd preference for rare meats. Over time, subtle features that hint at their animalistic nature begin to manifest. Nevertheless, it is in their wolf and hybrid forms that the true horror of the curse is revealed. A werewolf's hybrid form is particularly terrifying, with a muscular humanoid body crowned by the head of a ravenous wolf. It is capable of wielding weapons, though its favored means of attack are its devastating claws and powerful bite.

Werewolves typically abandon civilization soon after their transformation. Those who reject the curse flee in fear of harming their loved ones, whereas those who accept it fear exposure and the repercussions of their violent deeds. Out in the wild, they form packs, living in cohesion with ordinary wolves and dire wolves alike.

The most tragic aspect of lycanthropy is its transmission. A humanoid can contract this curse through a wound inflicted by a lycanthrope or through inheritance if one or both of its parents are lycanthropes.

The cursed have two paths: they may resist the beast within or embrace it. Those who resist bear unending strain—until the rising full moon triggers a compulsory and horrific transformation. These individuals often experience bloody, haunting dreams: echoes of the carnage wrought in their madness.

Some twisted souls, however, choose to accept their beastly nature. With time, they can master their abilities, calling upon the wolf's resilience and strength as they will. To do so, however, they must first perform a gruesome act: to murder another and consume their flesh.

One sure way to identify an afflicted individual is the presence of a perpetually raw, bloody wound: the scar of the initial curse transmission. This wound never fully heals until the curse is lifted.

Beyond this mark, however, these creatures bear an extraordinary resilience. Conventional methods of harm prove ineffective in permanently subduing a werewolf. Only through the bite of silver or the chill of death's power can a werewolf be truly put to rest.

A spell of removal can also cure an afflicted lycanthrope, though those who accept the beast may fight it bitterly. As for those unfortunate souls born under the curse, they are doomed to bear their affliction for life. As far as my research has shown, there exists no cure, no respite for such individuals. They are caught in an eternal struggle, forever haunted by the wolf within.

Stanimir’s Tale

Stanimir goes first, delivering the same tale as described in The Dancing Fire (p. 20). However, exclude the final paragraph, and instead end with the sentence, “The figure in the dancing fire vanquishes its final foe, then disperses in a cloud of smoke and embers.” Throughout his tale, the players can notice Stanimir using the major image spell to create the shapes in the flames.

When his tale has ended and all participants have made their guesses—Eliza and Arturi going last, with Eliza voting “True” and Arturi voting “Half-True”—Stanimir reveals that his story was indeed a true tale of the Vistani people, and that the wounded prince lived on as a friend to the Vistani, even when his heart was led astray by shadows and mist. (If asked, Stanimir admits that the prince was Strahd von Zarovich in the days before he came to Barovia, and that his promise to the Vistani is why they remain in the valley to this day, “without fear or favor.”)

Eliza’s Tale

After one of the players has gone, Eliza then shares the following tale:

“It is said that within each raven flutters a lost soul, and that each raven’s song tells a tale of ages past. They whisper, so listen closely.”

She takes a deep breath; when she speaks again, her voice is quiet, with an eerie, melodic quality to it.

“Sing, ravens, of Barovia, birthed from the mists and bathed in twilight. Sing of Lugdana, the Morninglord’s stalwart, dawn-touched foe to the deep-lurking dark. The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, her radiant testament, the warrior’s beacon of faithful resolve.

“Sing, ravens, of Chernovog’s rise, named Green-God and Demon-Lord upon Yester Hill. Lugdana, gray-haired, weary of battle, her longsword and shield yet polished and ready. Guided through shadows, toward sacred ground, she clashed with the demon, their tempest-like dance.

“Sing, ravens, of Lugdana’s last fury, of Ravenkind’s token now blazing with light. The battle’s tide turning, a hero’s brave cry, a final onslaught with divinity’s grace. The Demon-Lord banished, the warrior now fell, the wound at her side gouged too deep to bear.

“Sing, ravens, of light’s final moments, a shadow descending from radiance on high. Sing of the angel, black-feathered and beaked, the Morninglord’s angel reclaiming its gift. The Symbol retaken, in ravens’ claws held.

“Sing, ravens; you are the keepers, the watchers, the tellers of stories untold. Sing, ravens, of Lugdana’s memory, the shadows that lurk, and heroes to come.”

When her tale has ended and all participants have made their guesses—Stanimir and Arturi going last, with Stanimir voting “True” and Arturi voting “False”—Eliza reveals that her story was half-true.

Lugdana was indeed a paladin of the Morninglord who bore the legendary Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. According to legend, the symbol was given to Lugdana by an angel in the guise of a raven. Eliza notes with a chuckle, however, that no one knows what happened to the Symbol after Lugdana fell at Yester Hill, nor where it resides today.

Arturi’s Tale

After three of the players have gone, Arturi then shares the following tale:

“There was once a silver Fox, renowned among all for his curative touch. On a cold, moonlit night, however, a rustle of wings disturbed his peaceful reprieve. A flock of Sparrows brought him one of their own, the tendrils of Death clutching its small, shivering body. The Silver Fox took the sickly sparrow into his den, but with all his wisdom and skill, he could not cure its ailment, and it breathed its last in his paws.

“Fearing the Sparrows’ anger, the Fox begged them to take anything in exchange for peace. The Sparrows, hearts filled with grief, departed into the moonlit night. It was only at dawn that the Fox realized what they had taken: His beloved kit had vanished, taken by the Sparrows’ claws.

“The Fox pursued the sparrows through barren lands and shadowed woods. He found them slumbering amidst the branches of a gnarled tree—and, in his cleverness, snatched two of their flock in the jaws of his teeth.

“‘Where is my kit?’ the silver Fox roared. The Sparrows, now prey in his claws, shared the terrible truth: they had given his kit to the Kingdom of Night, where the cursed Sovereign of Dusk dwelled in the darkness.

“And so the Fox passed from light into dark, his legs aching and sore, his paws bramble-pricked and bloody. It was in the keep of Dusk’s Sovereign that he found his lost quarry—and uncovered his kit’s dreadful fate. His kit now shared the Sovereign’s curse, the features of life now twisted and warped, his once-lively eyes now deadened and cold.

The kit begged for reprieve—for his father to free him from his cursed existence. And the silver Fox, with a heart heavier than the mountains, with eyes stinging with tears, did the unthinkable—and ended his kit’s torment. As the Fox’s anguished howl shattered the night, so, too, did his heart. A father had entered the Kingdom that day, but it was a phantom, born of anguish and rage, that vanished into the shrouded night.”

When his tale has ended and all participants have made their guesses—Stanimir and Eliza going last, with Stanimir voting “True” and Eliza voting “False”—Arturi reveals that his story was true. He politely declines, however, to reveal anything further, noting only, with a sad smile, that “Some stories are not mine to tell.”

Ireena’s Tale

After all of the players have gone, Ireena (if present) then shares the following tale:

"When I was a child, my father took me and my brother to a vast, tranquil lake. I remember the sand beneath my bare feet, and the lapping of the waves against the shore.

"But then, something broke the silence—a low growl that echoed through the wind. As I turned, I saw a beast emerge from the fog: a wolf, far larger than any I'd ever seen. I still remember its eyes—yellow, cold, and hungry.

"My father screamed for me to run. I took off for the woods, and the wolf followed, its snarls echoing through the underbrush. I remember branches whipping against my face, thorns cutting at my feet as my legs burned and my breath grew ragged, but my fear drove me forward.

"It was only much later, when my heart had quieted in my chest and the wolf's footsteps had faded into silence, that I finally allowed myself to stop. By then, though, the woods were strange to me, and my father's shouts had faded.

"A heavy mist had descended around me, and shadowed shapes lurked in every corner. I stepped forward, one hand reaching fearfully into the fog—and a wolf made of mist leapt forth, its jaws opened wide to devour me. And then—everything went black.

"The next thing I remembered, I awoke in my own bed, my father's humming echoing from the kitchen. I don't know how I got there, or what became of the wolf, but I can still remember its teeth as clearly as ever."

When her tale has ended and all participants have made their guesses—Stanimir voting “True” and Eliza and Arturi voting “False”—Ireena reveals that her story was false. With a quiet laugh, she shares that the story is a dream that she’s had since childhood, noting that there are no lakes near the village of Barovia and that she’d never seen a dire wolf until recently.

If challenged on his vote, Stanimir merely says, with a mysterious smile, that many dreams have a kernel of truth. He then thanks Ireena for sharing her tale.

Confronting Arturi

If one of the players confronts Arturi after the Game of Stories has ended and suggests that the Silver Fox of his tale is a pseudonym for Dr. Rudolph van Richten, Arturi graciously admits it. He notes, wistfully, that Van Richten has suffered many pains in life—some just, some unjust—but that, in due time, he found healing and redemption for both his sins and the sins of others. Arturi says, however, that the continuation of Van Richten’s tale is not for him to tell.

Arturi does note, though, that Van Richten did later find precious friends who began to heal his broken heart, including his student Ezmerelda d’Avenir. He concludes by sharing his hopes that Van Richten still lives, if only so that he may one day find the peace he has long searched for.

C4e. A Gift for Arabelle

As the players prepare to depart Tser Pool, they are approached by Madam Eva, who greets them with a friendly cackle. Once pleasantries are disposed of, she proffers a velvet pouch containing 10 gp and asks the players to bring it to Blinsky Toys, in Vallaki, to purchase a toy for her great-grand-niece, Arabelle. (Blinsky’s are Arabelle’s favorites.) She adds that the players are welcome to keep any change as payment for their efforts.

Madam Eva asks the players to deliver the toy to the Vistani encampment to the southwest of Vallaki by the end of Arabelle’s tenth nameday, which is in two days’ time. Eva claims that she would go herself, but that long journeys are simply too taxing for her old bones. She adds, with a cryptic smile, that the players may enjoy speaking with Arabelle, as she is “a most interesting child.”

Madam Eva concludes the conversation by wishing the players well on their journey. She then returns to her tent.

C5. The Skeletal Rider

When the players return to the River Ivlis Crossroads after receiving the Tarokka reading, they encounter a skeletal rider, as described in Skeletal Rider (p. 31). If the players saw Dalvan Olensky’s corpse upon entering Barovia, they notice that the rider’s clothing is recognizably similar to his.

C6. The Watchtower

As the players travel west from the River Ivlis Crossroads, read:

You leave the crossroads behind and resume your westward journey. You follow the road as it bends around, then ascends the cliff, trudging up its steep, rocky incline.

The fog is thick here, obscuring the top of the cliff overhead. The road itself grows narrow and treacherous, with loose stones and deep ruts that make it difficult to maintain your footing.

Soon enough, though, the road levels out, continuing past a ruined three-story watchtower perched atop the edge of the cliff.

The tower's old stone walls are covered in moss and ivy, its rotten wooden door hanging off its hinges. Nearby, two fresh graves sit against the road. An animal's corpse seems to lie in the tall grass not far away.

Pause to allow the players to act or react. If the players remain silent, continue to Tser Falls below. Otherwise, allow the players to explore the area.

The Watchtower

The ruined watchtower was built as a lookout post by the Order of the Silver Dragon long ago. It has the same structure as the Guard Tower (p. 157) at Tsolenka Pass, with the following changes:

  • The tower door has been half-pulled from its hinges and can be opened easily.
  • The temperature and wind in the tower are far less severe.
  • There is no dire wolf's head mounted above the hearth.
  • There are neither statues nor skeletons atop the battlements.

If the players explore the watchtower, they find a broken pendant of a silver dragon lying on the ground of the first floor, close to the entrance. The pendant is always cold to the touch.

From atop the battlements of the watchtower, the players can see Tser Falls to the northwest and Tser Pool to the northeast. To the south, above and beyond the slopes of Mount Ghakis, they can see only an impenetrable wall of thick, gray fog.

The Graves

The two graves hold the remains of two Barovian refugees who were slain by wolves during the journey to Vallaki some time ago. A DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals that the graves are no more than a few days old.

Small pebbles have been arranged in the soil atop each grave to form the shape of a rising sunburst.

The Corpse

The corpse belongs to a wolf killed by spears and crossbow bolts. The Barovian refugees left it here after slaying it and driving off the other members of its pack.

C7. Tser Falls

The journey from the River Ivlis Crossroads to Tser Falls is seven-and-a-half miles long, or two-and-a-half hours.

The High Road

As the players travel west on the Old Svalich Road, read:

You continue down the winding mountain road, the jagged peaks looming ominously through the fog far above.

The air grows colder as the road passes through a dark evergreen forest, the thick canopy once more blocking out much of the sky's dim light. The only sounds that follow you are the crunching of fallen leaves and an occasional rustling in the underbrush.

While traversing this section of the Old Svalich Road, the players are stalked by one of Strahd's spies: a wolf. (See Strahd's Spies on pg. 29 for more information.)

If the players dispatch, ignore, or fail to notice the wolf, continue:

As you curve around the edge of the mountain, the right-hand cliffs fall away, leaving a sheer drop to a forested gully below. The road bends, doubling back around this ravine before plunging dramatically and winding around a smaller mountain peak.

The players then arrive at Tser Falls (p. 37).

Tser Falls

This area is largely as described in Tser Falls (p. 37). Additionally, when the players arrive, they can see a revenant (p. 31) standing alone at the midpoint of the bridge with its hands resting on the pommel of its sword, the blade of which is planted firmly on the ground.

If the players call out to this nameless revenant or step onto the bridge, it hails them in a raspy voice and asks their business. Upon hearing their response, it says, "Old things are stirring and the lord of Castle Ravenloft roams the valley. Tell me: Do you serve him?"

If the players claim to serve Strahd, the revenant visibly stiffens, but stands aside, saying coldly, "Then be gone on your way, and may your foul work bring you ruin and despair."

If the players deny serving Strahd, the revenant is visibly relieved and invites them to approach so that it may "get a closer look at them." It introduces itself as a knight of the Order of the Silver Dragon, but claims to have long forgotten its name in life.

If the players' weapons are clearly visible, it asks the players if they oppose the lord of Castle Ravenloft. If the players claim to oppose Strahd, the revenant advises them to travel to Argynvostholt to the west, where Sir Godfrey Gwilym awaits those who would raise their swords against the darkness that lurks in the castle's depths.

If the players inquire about the Order of the Silver Dragon, the revenant shares only that the knights of the Order opposed the lord of Ravenloft in life and suggests that the players speak with Sir Godfrey to obtain further information. If the players obtained the silver pendant in the watchtower by the River Ivlis Crossroad, the revenant recognizes it, but refuses to comment further on its significance.

If the players ask the revenant why it is guarding the bridge, it says only, "Because I raised my voice against my commander and was banished. Now, I stand like my brothers- and sisters-in-arms, watching the dark places of this land and awaiting an order that will never come."

Vladimir’s Fury

This nameless revenant was banished, along with a dozen of its peers, from the ruins of Argynvostholt shortly after the failure of Doru’s rebellion three months ago.

When news of Strahd’s planned counterstroke reached them, the knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon raised their voices, begging Vladimir Horngaard to allow them to lend their swords to the cause.

Vladimir denied them and, when the knights grew enraged and unruly, banished them from the manor and forbade them from raising their swords against Strahd or any of his creatures. Now, only Sir Godfrey Gwilym, Vladimir Horngaard, and the spirits of the phantom warriors that once fought for the Order remain in Argynvostholt.

If the players ask why it cannot take up arms against Strahd itself, it says only, "Because my commander forbids it, and my spirit is bound from disobeying his will." It is willing to share that its commander's name is Sir Vladimir Horngaard, but is unwilling to share more, advising the players to speak with Sir Godfrey instead.

If the players ask for directions to Argynvostholt, the revenant advises them to travel "west, beyond the walled town, then south upon the ash-gray path."

If the players mention Strahd's carriage, the revenant notes its disgust for "the beast von Zarovich" and advises the players to be cautious of him and his servants and spies. If the players mention the skeletal rider, the revenant recalls that "the Wandering One has long sought a road to freedom through the mists. It has never succeeded."

The revenant will not leave its post on the bridge under any circumstances.

C8. Black Carriage

The journey from Tser Falls to the Black Carriage (p. 37) is one-and-a-half miles and takes thirty minutes. As the players make this journey, read:

You continue down the winding road, which climbs a short distance north before bending west to avoid a bald-headed peak on the right, its craggy cliffs bearing an array of sharp rocks that jut out over the roadway.

It's not long before the road bends north once again, a second hill arising from the fog on your left. Twisted trees dot its steep slopes, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers.

As you travel deeper between the hills, the road narrows and the cliffs grow taller. Soon, though, the hills fall away once more, the road continuing forth into a small, fog-choked basin.

This area is as described in Black Carriage (p. 37). (Strahd's carriage is not present, though the players can see deep grooves in the muddy road that pass from the Old Svalich Road onto the old cobblestone-strewn thoroughfare that leads to Castle Ravenloft.)

The journey from the Black Carriage to the western Gates of Barovia is a quarter-mile and takes five minutes. This area is as described in Gates of Barovia (p. 38), but seen from the opposite side.

C9. Old Bonegrinder

The journey from the Gates of Ravenloft to Old Bonegrinder is two-and-a-half miles long and takes forty-five minutes. As the players make this journey, read:

The road continues forward, passing between a patch of dark woods. The air here is as quiet as the grave, the trees standing perfectly still in the unnerving silence.

Not far from the road, nestled in the overgrown underbrush, stands a mossy stone slab standing just under six feet in height. It rests on an old, cracked stone circle, and seems to bear some kind of carving.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (70)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (71)

Briefly pause to allow the players to act or react. If the players choose to investigate the slab, they find that it bears a crude carving of a raven over an engraved three-pointed star, the grooves lined with lichen and moss. (The slab is an ancient monument to the Seeker, and the three-pointed star the symbol of the Ladies Three.)

If the players remain silent or continue ahead, read:

The road soon emerges from the woods once more, veering between two hills. Before long, it bends to the north, hugging the base of a mountain.

The players emerge at the base of the hill upon which Old Bonegrinder rests, as described in Approaching the Windmill (p. 125).

As the windmill comes into view, the players also notice Morgantha approaching from the opposite direction with her cart, as described in Dream Pastries (p. 48).

This scene largely unfolds as described in Dream Pastries (p. 48), but Morgantha is coming from the town of Vallaki, not the village of Barovia, and she doesn't have a child stuffed into a sack in her peddler's cart. (Because her shapechange ability is a polymorph effect, a paladin’s divine sense and similar abilities don’t detect her fiendish nature.)

Morgantha greets the players warmly, calling them "weary travelers," and shares her hope that the road has not been too hard on them. She freely shares the following information if asked:

  • She is a peddler who sells baked wares to the "good people of Barovia."
  • She is just returning from a day peddling her goods to the townsfolk of Vallaki and the "poor, hungry dears" camped outside the gates. (Her latter comment is referring to a camp of Barovian refugees that has not been allowed to enter the town.)
  • She lives in the old windmill up the hill with her two daughters, Bella and Offalia. (She kindly declines to share what happened to her "husband," saying only, "Now, that's an old woman's business, meant to be shared only if she chooses.")

Morgantha has a few "dream pastries" left from her workday—"filled with the light and love of dreaming"—which she offers to the players for free as a "first sample." She advises the players that the dream pastries taste best after a warm meal, "especially with a nice bit of wine to wash them down." (The dream pastries, if eaten, affect the players as described in Dream Pastries, p. 125.)

If asked how she manages to travel the roads safely, Morgantha only smiles and promises the players that "an old woman has her tricks." ("But," she complains, "my back and poor feet do complain from time to time. I can't wait to soak them in a tub of nice, hot water once I'm home.")

When the conversation runs out of steam, Morgantha bids the players a safe journey, and lets them know that they can find her outside of Vallaki's gates in the future, should they like to purchase additional pastries.

Before she departs, Morgantha warns the players that the guards at the Vallaki gates are confiscating silver coins and visible silver items from travelers as a tax. "But," she says, tapping her nose with a cheeky, half-toothed grin, "you didn't hear it from me."

C10. The Deep Woods

The journey from Old Bonegrinder to the Town of Vallaki is five-and-three-quarter miles long and takes two hours. As the players make this journey, read:

The winding valley road hugs the mountainside as it meanders north. The dark woods cling to the opposite side of the road, the tall, gnarled trees creeping as close as they dare. You can hear the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves and the occasional creak of branches. From time to time, it almost sounds like the trees are whispering among themselves, or stirring their ancient roots in the old, rotten mulch.

As the road continues, the forest swallows it up on both sides. The trees towering far above your heads, blocking out all but the barest hints of gray light. The air grows thick and heavy with the scent of moss and rotting leaves; in the distance, you hear a raven's gurgling croak, followed by the sound of fluttering wings.

Before long, it becomes clear that your presence in this dreary land has not gone unnoticed. A raven follows you for several minutes while keeping a respectful distance.

This encounter unfolds as described in Swarms of Ravens (p. 32), with the party joined by two swarms of ravens. If she is with the party and able to fly, the disguised Muriel takes wing alongside the flock, but keeps a sharp eye on the players as they travel.

As the players proceed down the road, read:

Ahead, the trees to the north break, revealing a grassy field. The tall grasses sway in the chill air, the field stretching until it reaches the shores of a dark, distant lake. Fog clings to the shoreline. Even from a distance, you can hear the faint sound of water lapping against the rocks.

If Ireena is with the party, she freezes and asks the players if the party can take a quick detour across the field to the lake. If asked, she notes only that the lake seems strangely familiar.

Lake Zarovich is as described in L. Lake Zarovich (p. 38), but without the beached rowboats or Bluto's boat visible.

Upon arriving at the shore of the lake, Ireena notes with trepidation that it appears to be the same lake that she has seen in her dreams. (If she hasn't already shared it, Ireena tells the story of her dream, described in C4d. The Dancing Fire above.)

Ireena is certain, however, that she has never visited this lake with Ismark and her father, Kolyan. She is uncertain of the implications, but becomes lost in thought if a player reminds her that her father found her wandering the Old Svalich Woods as a child.

C11. The Werewolf's Hunt

As the players continue down the road, read:

As quickly as it appeared, the field is swallowed up by the forest again, the trees closing in around you once more. The dark undergrowth rustles and stirs in the wind, and the weight of the forest presses in from all sides. You're unable to shake the sense that, somehow, you're being watched.

If one of the players has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 14 or higher, or if one of the players makes a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check, add:

As your footsteps squelch into the old, muddy road, you glimpse a flicker of movement in the underwood: a flash of gray fur, amber eyes, and sharp, white teeth. Then, as soon as it appeared, it vanishes, skulking back into the shadows.

The movement belongs to a wolf. Its six wolf packmates—led by a single werewolf (in wolf form)—are not far behind.

Soon after the first wolf appears, the pack attacks. Read:

The woodland road takes you through a small, forested clearing, the circular treeline littered with dense thickets, moss-covered boulders, and craggy ridges.

Then, without warning, eight snarling shadows launch from the underbrush, fangs bared and claws outstretched!

Have the players, wolves, werewolf (in wolf form), and (if they are with the party) Ireena, the two swarms of ravens, and Muriel (a wereraven in raven form) roll initiative. Any character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score lower than 14 is surprised.

Use the statblock below for the werewolf, rather than the one in the Monster Manual.

Each wolf gains the following additional action option:

  • Maul. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) piercing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the wolf can grapple the target (escape DC 11).

In combat, the wolves work together, using their Bite to knock characters prone, then using their Maul to grapple prone targets. Once the wolves have dragged a grappled character away from the party, the werewolf shifts its attention to target them with its bite. The first character targeted in this way notices that the werewolf is slightly larger than the rest and has intelligent, disturbingly human eyes.

The werewolf flees if it begins its turn with 20 hit points or fewer and doesn’t regenerate, or if it begins its turn with 0 hit points on three turns in a row. Any surviving wolves follow soon after.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (72)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (73)

Werewolf

Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger), Chaotic Evil

  • Armor Class 11 in humanoid form, 12 (natural armor) in wolf or hybrid form
  • Hit Points 84 (13d8 + 26)
  • Speed 30 ft. (40 ft. in wolf form)
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
16 (+3)13 (+1)14 (+2)10 (+0)11 (+0)10 (+0)
  • Saving Throws Str +4
  • Skills Perception +4, Stealth +3
  • Senses darkvision, passive Perception 14
  • Languages Common (can't speak in wolf form)
  • Challenge 3, or 2 without its regeneration
  • Proficiency Bonus +2

Keen Hearing and Smell. The werewolf has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Pack Tactics. The werewolf has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the werewolf's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Regeneration. The werewolf regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the werewolf takes necrotic damage or bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage from a silvered weapon, this trait doesn't function at the start of the werewolf's next turn. The werewolf dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn't regenerate.

Actions

Multiattack. The werewolf makes two attacks: two with its spear (humanoid form) or one with its bite and one with its claws (wolf or hybrid form).

Bite (Wolf or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8 + 3) piercing damage. Instead of dealing damage, the werewolf can grapple the target (escape DC 11). Additionally, if the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with werewolf lycanthropy.

Claws (Wolf or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Spear (Humanoid Form Only). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft. or range 20/60 ft., one creature. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage, or 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage if used with two hands to make a melee attack.

Bonus Actions

Shapechange. The werewolf polymorphs into a wolf-humanoid hybrid or into a wolf, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its AC, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying melds into the new form. It reverts to its true form if it dies.

If the werewolf dies, it reverts to its true form: a young man with pale, freckled skin and a lean, muscled frame. A bloody, raw, and blighted wound is visible on his side—the source of the young man's lycanthropic affliction.

Any players who failed their saving throw against the curse of lycanthropy soon find that, although they regain hit points normally, the original wound remains cosmetically bloody and raw—just as described in Van Richten's manuscript on the werewolf's curse. The next full moon takes place on the night of the sixth day after the players’ arrival in Vallaki.

C11. The Town of Vallaki

C11a. The Vallakian Gates

The road continues forward to the Town of Vallaki, largely as described in Approaching the Town (p. 95). However, remove the first sentence of the descriptive text and add the following text at the end of the first paragraph:

More than a dozen ramshackle tents have been set up against the palisade wall. Among them, dozens of ragged, emaciated people mill about or sit by low-burning campfires and bedrolls, their hollow gazes watching silently as you approach.

If Ireena is visibly traveling with the party, add:

Some of them regard Ireena with dull recognition, but none lift a hand in greeting or make any gesture of warmth.

This area, the Morning Gate, is largely as described in Town Gates (p. 95). The tents are a camp of Barovian refugees, housing those who survived the trek from the village of Barovia in the wake of Strahd's siege.

The Refugee Camp

If she is with the party, Ireena is heartbroken and enraged at the sight of the refugee camp. She suggests that she meet with the refugees while the players find lodging in town, and promises to join the players later. The players can dissuade her with a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Otherwise, Ireena approaches one of the cookfires, either alone or—if the players have insisted on joining her—with company.

The members of the refugee camp, which include Emeric, a melancholy older man, and Magda, a grief-stricken young woman, can share the following information:

  • The Barovian refugees arrived at Vallaki's gates a few days ago, but were barred from entering. When they attempted to breach the gates by force, the guards summoned a man they called Izek, who bore a twisted devil's arm and conjured fire to drive the refugees back.
  • Since then, the refugees have set up camp outside the town's walls, clustering together for protection and warmth. They've managed to secure some minor necessities, such as the tents, by bribing the guards at the gates, but have been unable to persuade the guards to allow them entry or to even invite the town's Baron to discuss their plight.
  • Swarms of bats and packs of wolves have plagued the camp each night since they've arrived. Thankfully, no one has died yet, but several refugees have been wounded.
  • Due to losses they suffered on the road and the threat of the Devil in Castle Ravenloft, the refugees are unwilling to risk the journey back home, instead hoping to wait until the Baron sees reason and allows them to enter the walls.
  • Roughly one-quarter of the refugees have become addicted to "dream pastries," a foodstuff sold by the peddler Morgantha. These refugees seek an escape from the misery and despair of their situation. Those who eat a dream pastry fall into a trance as described in Dream Pastries (p. 125).

The refugees are lost in despair. Many are cold toward Ireena, and all are unwilling to accept her offers of help. Some blame her, as well as Ismark "the Lesser" and the late Burgomaster of Barovia, for their failure to protect them from Strahd's awakening and invasion. Others recall a superstition that red-haired Barovian woman bring misfortune, and suggest that Ireena herself has brought a curse upon their people. None have any wish to deal with her further.

Following her interaction with the refugees, Ireena is enraged by the Baron's callousness, and vows to make her best efforts to secure entry for the refugees into Vallaki.

The Guards at the Gates

The guards at the gates largely act as described in Town Gates (p. 95). One has a silvered spear, while the other has a quiver containing a dozen crossbow bolts, half of which are silvered.

The guards demand that each person first identify themselves, then pay 1 gold piece as a toll in order to enter the village. (The Baron has imposed this law to prevent werewolves or Vistani from entering the town.)

The guards refuse to accept payment on behalf of the refugees, who the Baron has specifically barred from entering, claiming concerns of "sickness, unruliness, and malicious unhappiness."

If the players pay the toll, the guards also insist that each entrant opens their purse (or equivalent) and surrender any silver pieces in their possession. (If the players complain, the guards assure them that the silver is needed to produce the silvered weapons necessary to defend the town from werewolves.) In exchange for any silver coins that they give up, the players receive an amount of copper coins of equal value—minus a ten percent tax.

If asked about lodging, the guards can share information about the Blue Water Inn, as described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96). The guards are also willing to provide additional directions to other landmarks in the town in exchange for a bribe of 1 gold piece.

Each time the players pass through the gates, including the first, the guards nod at them and intone the Baron's favored phrase: "All will be well."

Entering the Town

As the players pass down Vallaki's main avenue, read:

You pass from the earthen road onto cobblestone streets, mud staining your boots and the bottoms of your pants. Behind you, the gates close with a slam, and you can see the guards resume their posts behind it. In the distance, you can see two other figures bearing pikes, patrolling the walls as they look down on the twisted forest beyond.

The eaves of the buildings hang with old banners and tattered fabrics that flap and twist in the chill breeze. The banners are painted with faded words and illustrations, but time has robbed them of both their legibility and any beauty they may have once had.

If the players arrive during the day, add:

The streets are filled sparsely with townsfolk, many wearing drab, patched grey clothes that have faded with age. They shrink back toward the sides of the streets as you pass, their pale faces growing paler with faint fear at the sight of you. Their frightened eyes linger on your strange appearances, and quiet whispers fill the air.

A few townsfolk bear strained, silent smiles, but no mirth reaches their eyes. There's not a glint of hope or joy—only weariness, tainted with fear.

As you pass by them, the tension leaves the townsfolk and they return quietly to their business.

Otherwise, if the players arrive at night, add:

Flickering candlelight lingers behind the shuttered townhouse windows, and humanoid shadows move beyond closed curtains.

Long shadows lurk in the alleyways, where the grass grows long and twisted beneath the stained and sagging wood of the buildings above.

The streets are empty, though you can see a single cloaked figure traveling away from you down the central road. In the distance beyond the walls, a lone wolf howls, and a cold gust of wind cuts through the night like a knife.

The cloaked figure is Willemina Rikalova, as described in St. Andral's Church (p. 97). She is traveling to the church to pray for the freedom of her son, Udo Lukovich.

As the characters pass through the streets, they are noticed by Ernst Larnak, who intently watches them—though doesn't follow them—as described in Lady Wachter's Wish (p. 124). (Ernst does not yet deliver an invitation to dine with Lady Wachter, though he does return to N4. Wachterhaus (p. 110) to report back to Lady Wachter when the players leave his sight.)

C11b. The Blue Water Inn

This area is largely as described in N2. Blue Water Inn (p. 98).

When the players first arrive, assuming they arrive between late afternoon and early evening, the inn contains the following notable NPCs:

  • Danika Martikov, who is pouring drinks and serving patrons in the N2c. Taproom;
  • Urwin Martikov, who is cooking bread and beet stew in the N2e. Kitchen;
  • Brom and Bray Martikov, who are playing with toys in N20. Boys' Bedroom; and
  • Rictavio, who is feeding his horse, Drusilla, in N2f. Stable.
Entering the Inn

When the players first enter the inn, Danika greets them and asks them to wait at the bar while she tends to other patrons.

If the characters approach the bar, Urwin exits the kitchen carrying a tray of fresh-baked bread, hot beet stew, and wolf steaks, which he sets down on the bar. (The food smells mouthwateringly delicious.)

Urwin greets the players warmly and welcomes them to the Blue Water Inn. If the players don't direct the conversation elsewhere, he notes that they look like travelers and asks if they need rooms for the night.

Before Urwin can reply to the players, Danika returns and apologizes to the players for her delay. Assuming the players do not interrupt, the conversation then proceeds as follows:

  • Danika lightheartedly accuses Urwin of plotting to rent rooms to guests "for free" again, an allegation that Urwin cheerfully denies.
  • Danika tells the players that Urwin has already let one other guest stay for free for almost a week, and would "bankrupt the inn" with generosity if she weren't there to keep the books. (Urwin graciously concedes the point.)
  • "After all," Urwin says cheekily, "why else did I marry you?" With a smile, Danika replies, "A rare instance of common sense, I imagine."
  • Danika pecks Urwin's cheek with a kiss and says, "The table by the window is getting hungry." Urwin winks at the players, picks up the tray again, and exits the bar to deliver the food.

Danika then tells the players the rates for room and board, as listed in N2. Blue Water Inn (p. 98). (Both the large guest room, N2m. Guest Room (p. 102), as well as the two small guest rooms, N2l. Guest Rooms (p. 102), are available for rent.) When Urwin returns, he offers to take the players' orders for dinner, assuming they're hungry.

The players then have a few minutes to talk with Urwin and Danika or amongst themselves. During this conversation, Urwin and Danika can provide the players with information about Rictavio, the Festival of the Blazing Sun, and the nearby Vistani camp, as described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96).

Both Urwin and Danika can provide directions to any major landmark inside of Vallaki, including N1. St. Andral's Church, N5. Arasek Stockyard, and N8. Town Square. If the players ask about the inn's other guest, Urwin and Danika can also share information about Rictavio, which is largely as described in N2c. Taproom (p. 100), except that Rictavio first arrived that same morning.

The inn's most recent shipment of wine is slightly late, but has not been sufficiently delayed as to make Urwin alarmed. As such, he does not ask the players to investigate the Wizard of Wines at this point. (This quest will not become available until the players reach level 5. See Arc K: The Stolen Gem for more information.)

The Wolf-Hunters Arrive

If the players order food or wine in the taproom, Danika offers to seat them at the long table at the south end of the taproom. (See Map 5.2: Blue Water Inn.) While the players wait to be served, Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni Krushkin enter the inn and proceed to the bar, where they order pints of wine.

Assuming the players do not interrupt, they can overhear the following conversation between Danika, Szoldar, and Yevgeni while Danika pours the wolf-hunters' drinks:

  • Danika greets Szoldar and Yevgeni and asks how the day's "wolf hunt" has gone.
  • Szoldar tells Danika that they've managed to kill several wolves in the Svalich Wood west of Vallaki, but more keep coming—both ordinary wolves and horse-sized dire wolves.
  • Danika thanks the two for their work, and notes that the inn will need another shipment of wolf steaks soon, an order that Szoldar promises to fill.

Szoldar and Yevgeni then take two seats at the south side of the bar, where they nurse their drinks for the rest of the evening.

If the players approach them and strike up a conversation, Szoldar and Yevgeni are largely as described in N2c. Taproom (p. 100). Additionally, the wolf-hunters can tell the players about Lake Zarovich, the nearby Vistani camp, the haunted mansion to the west, and the abandoned village to the south, as described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96).

Profile: Urwin Martikov

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Urwin should inspire amusement with his bad puns and jokes, gratitude for his fatherly counsel and support, and comfort from his compassion and sincerity.

Emotions. Urwin most often feels amused, satisfied, cheerful, thoughtful, concerned, and hopeful.

Motivations. Urwin wants to raise his children well, serve guests with hospitality and skill, and see the people of Barovia freed from Strahd’s tyranny.

Inspirations. When playing Urwin, channel Vander (Arcane), Greg Universe (Steven Universe), and Linda Belcher (Bob's Burgers).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Urwin is a kind fatherly figure, family man, and welcoming host with an ever-present twinkle in his eye. To those he trusts, Urwin is a cunning spymaster and tactician with fierce hope for the future of Barovia. Deep down, Urwin fears for his sons’ futures in a realm ruled by Strahd.

Morale. In a fight, Urwin would immediately attempt to defuse the situation, and attempt to flee if unsuccessful—though not before escorting anyone else out of harm's way.

Relationships. Urwin is the father of Brom and Bray Martikov and the husband of Danika Dorakova. He is also the exiled son of Davian Martikov, and the beloved older brother of Adrian, Elvir, and Stefnia Martikov. In addition to co-owning the Blue Water Inn, Urwin is the spymaster of the Keepers of the Feather.

Profile: Danika Dorakova

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Danika should inspire amusement with her “straight-man,” good-natured banter with Urwin, gratitude for her hospitality and motherly care, and comfort from her practical, down-to-earth nature and her fierce dedication to her family, home, and guests.

Emotions. Danika most often feels fond, satisfied, congenial, determined, defiant, and affectionate.

Motivations. Danika wants to keep her family safe, run a successful business, and ensure that her children one day see sunlight over Barovia.

Inspirations. When playing Danika, channel Tenzin (Avatar: The Legend of Korra), Bob Belcher (Bob's Burgers), and Garnet (Steven Universe).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Danika is a practical, no-nonsense businesswoman with a heart of gold. To those she trusts, Danika is a fierce mother with a deep dedication to the Martikov clan. Deep down, Danika is grimly prepared to defend those she loves—at any cost necessary.

Morale. In a fight, Danika would swiftly attempt to de-escalate, but would fight to the death to defend her family or her guests.

Relationships. Danika is the mother of Brom and Bray Martikov and the wife of Urwin Martikov. In addition to co-owning the Blue Water Inn, Danika is a high-ranking member of the Keepers of the Feather.

Dinner is Served

Shortly after Szoldar and Yevgeni are served their drinks, if the players ordered dinner, Danika approaches their table with a tray of food. As she serves them, she is suddenly jostled from behind, sending one of the bowls of soup tumbling from her grasp. The two players sitting at the northernmost end of the table must make DC 10 Dexterity saving throws, catching the bowl on a success. (If both players succeed, the player with the higher result catches the bowl first. If neither player succeeds, the bowl topples onto the floor, spilling the soup.)

Danika turns, revealing the culprit: a red-cheeked Brom Martikov wearing one of the painted wooden clown masks as described in N2o. Boy' Bedroom (p. 102). (Bray Martikov, wearing the other mask of the pair, is cowering behind one of the chairs of the nearest table.)

If the players do not interrupt, Danika scolds the boys as follows:

  • Danika sharply (though not unkindly) addresses Brom and Bray by their full names. Both children snap to attention.
  • Danika asks the boys, "What did your father tell you about wearing those masks in the taproom?" Both boys remove their masks, flushed, and Brom says, sheepishly, "We're not supposed to do it."
  • Danika then asks the boys, "And what did I tell you about running in the taproom?" The two are quiet, then Bray pipes up, " . . . we're not s'posed to do it?" Danika replies, "Exactly."

If the soup was spilled, Danika directs Bray to fetch a pail of water from N2a. Well outside, and Brom to fetch a mop from the kitchen to clean up the mess. If the soup wasn't spilled, Danika reminds the boys that they're supposed to be helping their father cook dinner, and shoos them into the kitchen.

In either case, Danika apologizes to the players and offers them free meals the following evening. If the players ask about Brom and Bray, Danika smiles fondly and says, "They can be a handful sometimes, but they're good boys."

If the players ask about the children's masks, Danika tells them that Urwin bought them from the local toymaker, Gadolf Blinsky, who works at N7. Blinsky Toys (p.118).

The Brothers Wachter

As the players eat their dinner, Nikolai and Karl Wachter enter the taproom, obviously at least somewhat drunk. (The two are as described in N2c. Taproom (p. 100).)

Slightly slurring his words, Nikolai announces to the bar, "My fellow Vallakians! All is not well!" The room abruptly becomes quiet and tense. If the players do not interrupt, a beat later, Karl steps forward, leaning on his brother, and booms, " . . .at least, not until I've got a bellyfull of wine!" A tense, humorless chuckle rolls through the taproom, and the other patrons return to their business.

Karl and Nikolai then stumble toward the bar, where Danika is regarding them skeptically. If the players do not interrupt, they can overhear the following conversation:

  • Danika greets Karl and Nikolai by name, and asks, "Haven't you already had too much to drink, boys?"
  • Nikolai waves away her words and says, "Nonsense—we've only begun! Two pints of wine to start, and keep them coming."
  • Danika replies, "We're starting to run a bit low on some of our vintage stock—can I start you with some Purple Grapemash No. 3?" Nikolai scoffs and says, "What do you take us for—tasteless peasants? Red Dragon Crush, and don't be stingy."
  • As she pours their wine, Danika says idly, "Does your mother know what you're up to this evening?" Karl waits until he receives his pint, then grunts, "Mother's far too busy these days. And what she doesn't know can't hurt her." ("Or us," Nikolai charms in, elbowing his brother. The two chuckle, then return to their drinks.)

Shortly after the Wachter brothers arrive, Urwin exits the kitchen carrying a tray of food, which he sets down at a nearby table. On his way back to the kitchen, he stops at the players' table and asks their opinions on the food.

If the players ask about the Wachter brothers, Urwin can tell them the information listed in N2c. Taproom (p. 100). If the players ask about their mother, or about the response to Nikolai's declaration that "All is not well," Urwin becomes visibly uneasy, and promises to speak with the players further in the morning.

If the players speak with the Wachter brothers, Nikolai and Karl are wary at first, but happy (if prodded) to rant about:

  • the Festival of the Blazing Sun,
  • Vallaki's recent history of festivals,
  • the Baron's response to those who speak ill of the festivals, and
  • the flashes of purple light that have been seen from the attic of N3. Burgomaster's Mansion

(See Vallaki Lore (p. 96)). Once the players have won the brothers' trust, the conversation proceeds as described in N2c. Taproom.

The Ringmaster Arrives

Soon after the Wachter brothers receive their drinks, Rictavio arrives, entering the taproom through the front door. He is largely as described in Rictavio (p. 238) and N2c. Taproom (p. 100).

Though Rictavio appears to be headed for the stairs leading to N2j. Great Balcony, Nikolai and Karl catch sight of him and begin to hoot and holler in his direction, calling, "It's the carnival-man! Tell us a story, carnival-man!" (As they do, the players can see Brom and Bray standing beside the bar, helping Danika wipe some glasses dry.)

A few patrons around the bar pick up the cry, and Rictavio turns, flourishing his cape, and beams, vowing, "Who would Rictavio be if he did not quench his fans' thirst for revelry?"

Unless interrupted, Rictavio then leaps halfway up the staircase leading from the taproom to N2j. Great Balcony, where he delivers the following tale:

I was making my way through the forest on Drusilla, my trusty steed, along with my coterie of carnival companions, when I heard something carried to me on an errant breeze. A voice it was, singing a melody so beautiful it brought a tear to my eye.

I couldn't help but follow the sound, leading Drusilla deeper into the woods. And soon enough, I found the source of the singing.

There, before my very eyes, was a plant quite unlike anything I had ever seen. It was gigantic, towering high above me with a mouth that could swallow a grown man whole. And yet, there it was, singing with a voice that could fill an angelic choir with jealousy.

By all the gods, I could not believe my luck. A singing plant! This was just the kind of oddity I had been looking for.

I approached it, trying to get a better look at it. That's when I saw one of my companions from the carnival—a man by the name of Wilfred—approaching the plant with a mischievous grin on his face.

"What are you doing, Wilfred?" I asked.

He laughed and replied, "I'm going to give this plant a taste of what it's been missing."

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (74)

Before I could stop him, Wilfred dropped his trousers and began to, ah, "water the bushes"—right on the plant's stalk.

Well, let me tell you, that was not the wisest move on Wilfred's part. The plant, it seems, was not amused. It opened its giant mouth and, with one swift movement, swallowed Wilfred whole. There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the plant continued to sing as if nothing had happened.

Despite what I had just seen, I couldn't help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all. And as I looked around at my carnival members, their faces a mixture of shock and disbelief, I knew: This singing, man-eating plant would be the star of our next show.

And so it was. "Ladies and gentlemen," I announced not long thereafter, curtain rope in hand. "It is with equal parts caution and excitement that I present to you, the singing carnivorous plant! And do remember, folks—keep your distance, and try not to pour out any libations on it, lest you wind up on the menu."

The carnival erupted in giddy laughter and applause. In a moment, I knew that this would be one of our greatest hits. And, as for poor Wilfred—well, I suppose he'll be singing in a different kind of choir now.

The patrons of the inn burst into laughter and applause—a welcome respite from the previous dreary mood. Rictavio takes another flourishing bow and excuses himself, retiring for the night to N2n Private Guest Room.

Any player who watches as Rictavio makes his way along N2j. Great Balcony sees him pass Brom and Bray, who are crouched along the balcony in front of N2o. Boys' Bedroom. (The boys are dangling the stuffed bat described in N2o. Boys' Bedroom (p. 102) over the bar below, giggling while Nikolai and Karl drunkenly swat at it. The boys used the N2i. Secret Stairs and Hall (p. 101) to scamper quietly from the kitchen to the balcony during Rictavio's tale, unseen by the inn's patrons.)

End of the Evening

The taproom slowly clears out over the following two hours. If the players rented rooms for the night, Danika eventually approaches their table and offers to show them to their rooms. (See N2l. Guest Rooms and N2m. Guest Room (p. 102)). During the tour, Danika lets them know that they're free to request fresh linens or a tub of hot water (for a bath) be brought up to their rooms. "Breakfast is served an hour after sunrise," she says warmly, and adds, "Feel free to let us know if you need anything else."

Milestone. Arriving in Vallaki completes a story milestone. When the party takes its first long rest in Vallaki, award each player 900 XP, plus an additional 100 XP if they successfully escorted Ireena to Vallaki. (The players don't need to bring Ireena to St. Andral's church to receive this XP.)

B4c. Morning in Vallaki

Urwin's Advice

When the players next awaken in the Blue Water Inn, Urwin knocks on their door and asks to speak with them.

Profile: Rictavio

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Rictavio should inspire amusement for his flamboyant dress, his ringmaster’s extravagance, and his colorful manner of speech, which most often includes referring to himself in the third person.

Emotions. To onlookers, Rictavio most often appears to feel amused, delighted, or satisfied.

Motivations. Rictavio wants to maintain his reputation as an amusing, though somewhat outrageous carnival ringmaster.

Inspirations. When planning Rictavio, channel Varrick (Avatar: The Legend of Korra) or a stereotypical carnival barker.

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Rictavio appears as a flamboyant, irreverent, and occasionally narcissistic carnival ringmaster.

Morale. In a fight, Rictavio would attempt to fast-talk his way out of trouble, fleeing from battle if hostilities seem unavoidable. (He might, however, step in to defend an innocent from harm at the hands of the supernatural—though doing his best to preserve his secret identity.)

Relationships. Rictavio is secretly Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the famed vampire hunter.

After exchanging pleasantries, Urwin warns the players that they must be cautious in Vallaki—both due to the town's harsh system of law enforcement and recent political tensions. Urwin can share the following additional information, as described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96):

  • The date of the Festival of the Blazing Sun,
  • Vallaki's recent history of festivals,
  • The Baron's strict rules regarding his festivals—and the fates of those who speak ill of them,
  • The brutish nature and terrible strength of Izek Strazni, the baron's henchman. ("Many have tried to test his strength," Urwin notes grimly. "All have failed.")

Urwin quietly notes, however, that the Baron is known to be highly susceptible to flattery—and that should the players ever need to win his favor, his ego may be a prime target.

If the players ask whether the Baron has any enemies in Vallaki, Urwin can also share the information about Lady Fiona Wachter described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96).

Exiting the Inn

As the players exit the Blue Water Inn on their first morning in Vallaki, they find the street full of townsfolk. Assuming the players do not interfere, the following scene then unfolds:

  • The players hear the sound of a whinnying horse from down the street—and the townsfolk freeze and fall silent. A small procession lies to the south: Baron Vargas Vallakovich (as described in Roleplaying the Vallakovich Family, p. 105) riding upon his chestnut horse, flanked by his two mastiffs named Claw and Fang, and followed by three guards. Izek Strazni leads the procession.
  • The players can see that an old, frightened-looking woman wearing threadbare commoner’s clothes has just stumbled away from the horse and fallen into a puddle of mud a few feet away from the horse. The horse has come to an abrupt halt, and the procession has stopped along with it. Izek’s devilish arm is outstretched, suggesting that he has just pushed—or flung—the old woman into the mud. (The woman is Willemina Rikalova, the mother of the imprisoned shoemaker Udo Lukovich.)
  • The Baron angrily scolds the woman for getting mud on his cloak with her “filthy peasant’s hands.” The old woman, her voice quavering, apologizes and pleads with the Baron to release her son, Udo, claiming that he meant no harm with his “foolish joke.”
  • The Baron insists that Udo needs “rehabilitation” for his “malicious unhappiness,” and suggests that the woman does as well. He commands Izek to seize her and lock her in the stocks, suggesting that “a few days in the stocks ought to tighten her tongue.” Izek steps forward, flexing his devilish arm with a cruel glint in his eye.
  • Izek grabs the woman, hauls her to her feet, and thrusts her rudely into the guards’ waiting arms. Two of the guards pull the old woman’s arms behind her back and begin to pull her south as she struggles, weeps, and pleads for her son’s freedom. No townsfolk dare to help her.
  • As the old woman is hauled away, the Baron turns to the townsfolk surrounding him and announces: “Let that be a lesson as to the dangers of malicious unhappiness! The Devil’s hand is long, but our joy shall overcome his shadow.”

If the players interrupt Willemina’s arrest, the Baron greets them as outsiders and asks, with amusement, whether they seek to claim responsibility for the “old fool’s” rehabilitation themselves.

Diplomacy. If the players make a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check or make an argument that sufficiently flatters the Baron’s ego, he directs the guards to release her into their custody. He welcomes them to Vallaki and pompously commands them to ensure that they educate themselves as to the town’s rules and traditions.

Hostility. If the players indicate a willingness to start a fight, the Baron’s eyes narrow and his mastiffs begin to growl. Meanwhile, Izek’s arm burns with a crimson flame, his grip tightening around the haft of his silvered battleaxe.

The Baron first demands to know whether the players are “spies of the Devil Strahd.” The players can attempt to calm the situation and secure Willemina’s arrest peacefully, but any subsequent Charisma checks made to sway the Baron are made with disadvantage.

If it appears that combat is imminent, Father Lucian Petrovich (as described in N1. St. Andral's Church, p. 97) steps forth from the crowd and urges peace. The Baron greets him warmly by name, and Father Petrovich apologizes for Willemina’s behavior, noting that she has been troubled in recent days at his congregations. He promises to escort her to St. Andral’s Church and see that her troubled mind is eased—a proposition that the Baron reluctantly accepts.

Profile: Baron Vargas Vallakovich

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Vargas should inspire frustration with his obstinance, disgust for his narcissistic arrogance, and mild amusement for his utter and ridiculous self-assurance.

Emotions. Vargas most often feels annoyed, offended, satisfied, outraged, impatient, or smug.

Motivations. Vargas wants to secure his power free from Strahd's influence and lead Vallaki to escape the Mists by forcing everyone in the town to be happy.

Inspirations. When playing Vargas, channel Lord Farquaad (Shrek), Joffrey Baratheon (Game of Thrones), and Governor Ratcliffe (Pocahontas).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Vargas is an entitled, narcissistic, blue-blooded noble with a bad temper, delusions of salvation, and a love for praise and adoration.

Morale. In a fight, Vargas would command his dogs, Claw and Fang, as well as Izek Strazni and any present guards to seize any who oppose him. If deprived of his defenders, Vargas would either attempt to flee, or—if flight were obstructed—grovel pathetically at the feet of his attacker, begging for mercy.

Relationships. Vargas, the burgomaster of Vallaki, is the father of Victor Vallakovich, the husband of Baroness Lydia Petrovna, the brother-in-law of Father Lucian Petrovich, and the son of the late Baron Valentin Vallakovich. He is also the employer and adoptive "father" of Izek Strazni, his captain of the guard and chief enforcer.

Profile: Izek Strazni

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Izek should inspire disgust with his cruelty and indifference to human life, and discomfort with his unnerving interest in Ireena Kolyana.

Emotions. Izek most often feels irritated, enraged, impatient, sadistic, obsessed, or bored.

Motivations. Izek wants to serve the Baron faithfully—and, far more importantly, find and possess the woman he's been dreaming of.

Inspirations. When playing Izek, channel Ser Gregor Clegane (Game of Thrones), Fenrir Greyback (Harry Potter), and Kratos (God of War).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Izek is a cruel and brutish enforcer with a love for fire and blood.

Morale. In a fight, Izek would gladly draw his silvered battleaxe and fight to the death.

Relationships. Izek is the adoptive "son" of Baron Vargas Vallakovich, the captain of Vallaki's town guard, a frequent customer of the toymaker Gadof Blinsky, and (unbeknownst to either of them) the biological brother of Ireena Kolyana.

The Baron also wonders aloud whether he should punish the players for their insolence. Father Petrovich assures the Baron that they are merely outsiders, untaught in Vallaki’s ways, and that he shall see to it that they are properly educated.

The Baron imperiously orders that he see to it, then informs the players that they have caught him “in a good mood,” and that they should be grateful for “the Morninglord’s mercy.” He warns them, however, that future lawbreaking shall be met with harsh punishments.

Departure. As the Baron departs the scene, he announces to the crowd: “I shall expect to see you all at the Festival of the Blazing Sun four days hence. All will be well!”

The townsfolk, bearing smiles that better resemble grimaces, grimly intone, “All will be well.” The Baron nods, evidently satisfied, and continues riding north, followed by Izek, his mastiffs, and any remaining guards. The activity of the street resumes shortly thereafter.

If Ireena is with the party, she has drawn up the cloak of her hood upon exiting the inn. Nonetheless, unless the party has taken specific action to prevent Izek from noticing her, he catches Ireena’s eye and holds her gaze for a long, lingering moment before ultimately departing, leaving Ireena feeling uncomfortable and cold. Arc H: The Strazni Siblings then begins.

If asked, Ireena notes with uncertainty that something about Izek seemed almost familiar, though she can’t remember why.

If the players defied Vargas or Izek in any way, or otherwise assisted Willemina, Ernst Larnak reports their actions to Lady Fiona Wachter at Wachterhaus. Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish then begins.

End of an Act. When the players set off from the Blue Water Inn for their first full day in Vallaki, Act I ends and Act II begins.

Design Notes: Journey to Vallaki

The Lansten Family. The encounters with the Barovian scouts and the undead Lansten family have been added to underscore the tragedy of Strahd's siege on the village of Barovia, to introduce Strahd's undead forces, and to foreshadow Strahd's ultimate plan to turn the Barovians into undead to forge his new army upon escaping the Mists.

Encounter with Strahd. Many community encounters with Strahd create situations in which, in order to drive home Strahd's power and cruelty, the players inevitably "lose." Such encounters are likely to frustrate players and endear apathy or despair instead of a tense, yet enjoyable gameplay experience. However, it is equally important that Strahd not be allowed to "lose" his initial encounter with the players, even by proxy (e.g., combat with his minions). To allow Strahd's power to be questioned at this stage would fundamentally undermine his capacity as a villain.

As such, this encounter intentionally creates a circumstance in which both Strahd and the players can "win" by the end—the players, by convincing Strahd to let them and Ireena go, and Strahd, by gleaning useful information from the players' arguments and by clearly signalling that he is merely humoring their efforts.

While running this scene, recall the wise words of Tywin Lannister: "Any man who must say 'I am the king' is no true king." So too for Strahd: allowing the players to successfully irritate, annoy, or otherwise drive him to "punish them" functionally allows the players to gain a certain measure of control over the conversation, reducing Strahd's appearance of real and apparent control, and indicating that Strahd is a petty noble who cares about his own ego. Always remember that, especially at this stage, the players cannot hurt Strahd in any meaningful way—and, as such, he feels no need to hurt them in any meaningful way.

Altogether, the intended effect of this encounter is to introduce the players to Strahd, make the players hate and fear him, put the players on notice of Strahd's minions and servants, to reassure the players that Strahd will be an inevitable antagonist, and to make the players appreciate Strahd's Lawful Evil alignment—that, while inhabiting his Gentleman, he will do them no harm until and unless they give him reason to do so.

The Strix. The greater and lesser strix have been introduced to provide Baba Lysaga and the druids of Yester Hill with a meaningful way of combating the wereravens of the Keepers of the Feather. Muriel has also been added here to foreshadow the Keepers of the Feather, to foreshadow Strahd's prophecy (which the players will have an opportunity to learn after defeating the druids at Yester Hill), and to continue setting up Muriel's existence before her formal introduction at the beginning of the winery quest.

Changes to Lycanthropy. Due to the game-breaking impact that a lycanthrope player character can have on your game, it has been intentionally made as difficult as possible to achieve the full benefits of the curse. This version creates clear-cut rules to delineate lycanthropes who have "embraced" their curse and those that have not, and ensures that these rules rely on character-driven storytelling, rather than arbitrary game mechanics.

Lycanthropic immunity has been changed to silver-based regeneration in order to ensure that lycanthropes resonate with common understandings of lycanthropy and to ensure that all classes can meaningfully contribute to a lycanthrope's defeat, with or without magic weapons or spell. Lycanthropes have also been made weak to necrotic damage (in addition to damage from silvered weapons) in order to provide creative players with an alternate means of halting their regeneration and (more importantly) to explain how Strahd, who owns no silver weapons, is able to keep the werewolves in line.

The Tarokka Reading. Madam Eva's warnings at the beginning of the reading have been added to increase the tension of the reading, to ensure that players treat it with the weight and care that it deserves, and to introduce a minor element of dramatic intrigue in the scenes that follow.

Arturi Radanavich. Arturi Radanavich is a creation of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons sourcebook Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani. His tale (and his character) have largely been transplanted directly into this guide in order to further introduce Van Richten's legend (and tragedy), to provide an explanation for Van Richten's transformation into a more sympathetic character, to introduce Ezmerelda d'Avenir, and to create player investment in Van Richten's history upon uncovering his burned journal in Van Richten's Tower.

The Dancing Fire. The Game of Stories has been introduced to provide the players with an opportunity to decompress in a relatively safe location while engaging with and exploring one anothers' histories and interests. The Game itself—along with its wagers—introduces an aspect of dramatic tension to the encounter, ensuring that players remain invested and engaged with each story told.

Stanimir's tale indicates the relationship between Strahd and the Vistani, thereby foreshadowing Arrigal's loyalty to him. Eliza's tale introduces the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and the sympathetic nature of ravens, as well as Baba Zelenna's interference with the Forest Fane at Yester Hill (i.e., by using it to summon Chernovog). Arturi's tale colorfully introduces the tragedy of Dr. Rudolph van Richten, building the suspense for a character that the players will soon have an opportunity to meet. Finally, Ireena's tale foreshadows her relationship to Izek Strazni and her true origins in Vallaki.

A Gift for Arabelle. Madam Eva's request has been added to create a hook to Blinsky Toys in Vallaki (allowing the players to observe Izek's commissioned Ireena-shaped doll) and to the Vistani encampment outside of Vallaki (allowing the players to begin the quest to find the missing Arabelle).

The Skeletal Rider. The encounter with the skeletal rider is a short, but evocative scene that aims to resonate with the themes of undeath, loneliness, and mystery that infuse this arc.

The Watchtower. This short landmark serves to foreshadow the tragedy of the Barovian refugees, the fate of the Order of the Silver Dragon, and the bloodstained history of the valley.

Tser Falls. The encounter with the revenant has been added to provide the players with a clear, though non-urgent hook to Argynvostholt. The revenant's responses are intentionally kept terse in order to ensure that the players learn little of the Order of the Silver Dragon until their meeting with Sir Godfrey Gwilym.

Meeting Morgantha. This scene has been intentionally structured to discourage the players from uncovering Morgantha's true identity, attacking the night hags, or entering Old Bonegrinder. (They will have a full opportunity to do so later in Arc I. The Lost Soul.) Instead, this scene merely introduces Morgantha as a character, foreshadows her domain over dreams, and informs the players that she lives in the old windmill with her two daughters (i.e., her coven).

The Deep Woods. The swarms of ravens have been added to ensure that the players view ravens (and, by extension, wereravens) as friends and allies. Ireena's reaction to Lake Zarovich has been added to further foreshadow her relationship to Izek and her origins in Vallaki.

The Werewolf's Hunt. This brief combat encounter introduces werewolves and provides the swarms of ravens (and Muriel) with an opportunity to assist and defend the players. The wolves' Maul action option has been added to create a more tense and dynamic combat scenario.

Design Notes: Welcome to Vallaki

The Refugee Camp. The Barovian refugee camp has been placed here to provide the players with an additional reason to hate Baron Vallakovich and Izek, and to provide Morgantha with a natural constituency for her dream pastries. By rejecting Ireena's efforts to help them, the refugees progress her character arc by allowing her to realize that she cannot help her people so long as Strahd survives, which fuels her ultimate decision to join the party in their fight.

The Tax. The guards' tax gives the players an additional reason to hate Baron Vallakovich. The silver tariff also indicates to the players the wealth of silvered weapons and ammunition that the Baron has hoarded.

The Blue Water Inn. This sequence has been intentionally structured to slowly and manageably introduce the players to several of the key players in Vallaki: the Martikovs, the Wachters, the wolf-hunters, and the ringmaster Rictavio. Rictavio's tale has been written to be as baudy and comedic as reasonably possible in order to discourage the players from taking him seriously until the reveal of his identity in Arc E: The Missing Vistania.

Exiting the Inn. The players' encounter with Baron Vallakovich and Izek on the roads of Vallaki has been added to provide the players with an immediate reason to dislike them, to introduce the players to Father Lucian Petrovich, to set up the core dramatic tension of the Baron's tyrannical rule over Vallaki, to kick off Izek's pursuit of Ireena, and to provide Lady Fiona Wachter with an actionable reason to invite the players into her machinations. It is essential that the players do not fight Izek here, and all reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure this.

In this act, the players are left to explore the shadowed town of Vallaki—a Barovian settlement that has found itself embroiled in tension, tragedy, and intrigue in the wake of Strahd's awakening.

As the players seek to complete lingering obligations—obtaining the Tome of Strahd in Arc D: The Tome of Strahd, escorting Ireena to St. Andral's Church in Arc E: St. Andral's Feast, and delivering a toy to the Vistani child Arabelle in Arc F: The Missing Vistani—they'll meet new allies and enemies, including Victor Vallakovich, the son of Baron Vargas Vallakovich; Lady Fiona Wachter, the Baron's rival for power; Father Lucian Petrovich, the priest of St. Andral's Church; Luvash and Arrigal, the leaders of the Vallakian Vistani camp; and Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the veteran vampire hunter and lone survivor of Doru's rebellion.

At St. Andral's Church, the players will be tasked with recovering the stolen bones of St. Andral before the night of St. Andral's Feast in order to sustain the church's hallowed defenses. At the Vallakian Vistani encampment, the players will be asked to find and rescue Arabelle following her mysterious disappearance. And, depending on the location of the Tome of Strahd—at the Baron's mansion or in Wachterhaus—the players will be asked to help restore Stella Wachter's missing soul or kill Izek Strazni, the Baron's brutal enforcer.

Soon after the players' arrival in Vallaki, Lady Wachter may invite them to dine with her personally at her family estate, Wachterhaus, seeking to recruit them into a dangerous conspiracy in Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish. Meanwhile, Izek Strazni prowls Vallaki's streets for his long-lost sister, Ireena, in Arc H: The Strazni Siblings. And following a close encounter with the spirit of Erasmus van Richten, the players will be tasked with obtaining a heartstone from the night hags of Old Bonegrinder—a mission that ultimately culminates in an ethereal combat with the vengeful ghost of Leo Dilisnya in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Act II ends when the players reach 5th level. (See Milestones below.) However, the players can still complete unresolved arcs from this act even after Act III begins—assuming, of course, that those arcs are still possible to complete.

Milestones

The players begin this act at 4th level and end it at 5th level, with each player gaining an equal amount of milestone XP when they successfully do any of the following:

  • restore the bones of St. Andral (1,250 XP)
  • find the missing Arabelle (1,250 XP)
  • defeat Izek Strazni (1,250 XP)
  • obtain the Tome of Strahd (750 XP)
  • restore the soul of Stella Wachter (1,750 XP)
  • gain entry to the gates of Krezk (750 XP)
Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (75)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (76)

Timeline

Once the players arrive in Vallaki and Act II begins, the timeline of events unfolds as follows.

Day of Arrival

Before the players arrive, the ringmaster Rictavio reserves a room at the Blue Water Inn. That night, the church groundskeeper, Milivoj, steals the bones of St. Andral and delivers them to the local coffin-maker, Henrik van der Voort.

First Day After Arrival

At dawn, Father Lucian Petrovich discovers the missing bones. Players who bring Ireena to St. Andral's Church after this point begin Arc E: St. Andral's Feast.

Izek Strazni and two guards put up posters in the Vallaki Town Square advertising the Festival of the Blazing Sun. Players who bring Ireena to the Town Square at this point in time begin Arc H: The Strazni Siblings if Izek has not already seen Ireena.

Ireena Kolyana seeks an audience with Baron Vargas Vallakovich in order to obtain aid for the Barovian refugees. She is denied, but learns that the Baron's household has experienced a series of recent hauntings. Players who seek to speak with the Baron about these problems after this point begin Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Second Day After Arrival

If the players defied Baron Vallakovich or aided Willemina Rikalova on their first morning in Vallaki, the players receive an invitation left by Ernst Larnak inviting them to dine with Lady Fiona Wachter at Wachterhaus. Players who accept Lady Wachter's invitation at this point begin Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish.

If Izek Strazni saw Ireena outside of the Blue Water Inn on the players' first morning in Vallaki, he visits the Inn while the players are away—preferably at dusk, during Lady Wachter's dinner—and ransacks it in a search for Ireena. Arc H: The Strazni Siblings then begins.

Third Day After Arrival

If the players accepted Lady Wachter's mission to kill Izek Strazni, Ernst Larnak meets them at the Blue Water Inn with a poisoned bottle of wine and a burlap sack for Izek's head.

That night, if the players completed Arc F: The Missing Vistana and have not yet begun Arc I: The Lost Soul, the spirit of Erasmus van Richten appears to the players as a poltergeist and invites them to meet with Victor Vallakovich.

Fourth Day After Arrival

If the players have not restored the bones of St. Andral to St. Andral's Church, the church's protective wards fail at dawn.

If Baron Vallakovich is still in power, Vallaki observes the Festival of the Blazing Sun in N8. Town Square (p. 119) at noon as described in Festival of the Blazing Sun (p. 123).

At sundown, the parishioners of St. Andral's Church attend a service observing the holiday of St. Andral's Feast.

If the protective wards of St. Andral's Church have not been restored, Strahd's vampiric bride Volenta Popofsky attacks the church during the service, killing dozens of Vallakians and Baroness Lydia Petrovna.

Fifth Day After Arrival

If the players failed to prevent Volenta's attack or otherwise defend St. Andral's Church in Arc E: St. Andral’s Feast, an angry mob forms outside of Baron Vallakovich's manor. The hunter Szoldar Szoldarovich also finds Milivoj, the church groundskeeper, hanging from a tree outside Vallaki—dead by apparent suicide—and returns his body to his family.

Shortly after sundown, if the players failed to prevent Volenta's attack or otherwise defend St. Andral's Church in Arc E: St. Andral’s Feast, the angry mob assaults the manor, capturing the Baron and lynching him in the town square. Victor Vallakovich escapes, taking shelter in one of the abandoned houses abutting Vallaki's western walls. If he still lives, Izek Strazni also escapes, taking shelter in Q9. Servants' Quarters (p. 133) in Argynvostholt.

Sixth Day After Arrival

At sundown, the full moon rises over Vallaki. (Due to Barovia's strange cosmology, the next full moon will arrive just two weeks later.)

Seventh Day After Arrival

If the players have not yet restored Stella Wachter's soul to her body, her spirit vanishes into the Ethereal Plane at dawn, and is reincarnated into a newborn infant in the village of Krezk. If he's still alive, a grieving Victor Vallakovich hears the call of an amber shard buried in the cemetery of St. Andral's Church. Upon unearthing it, he travels to the Amber Temple in search of a means of restoring Stella to life.

Ireena's Diplomacy

The day after she speaks with the refugees for the first time, Ireena attempts to meet with the Baron, using her noble birth as a means of obtaining his attention. Though she expects to meet with him alone, she welcomes the players' support and assistance if offered.

If Ireena has already encountered or heard of the Baron’s temperament, she is under no illusions as to the difficulty of winning his favor. However, she is determined to do her best to at least try to help her people—and, as a noble, she is no stranger to the realities of negotiation, compromise, and manipulation.

During Ireena’s meeting with the Baron—whether the players are present or not—the Baron dismisses out of hand any suggestion that the refugees be allowed to enter the town. However, he is willing to allow Ireena to come and go from the town into the refugee camp without requiring her to pay the toll at the gates. If the players are present at this meeting and befriend or antagonize the Baron, he responds as described in Roleplaying the Vallakovich Family (p. 105).

Diverging Paths

The town of Vallaki can be a tangled web of assorted paths in the original module. While this guide aims to present it in a more streamlined and predictable manner, DMs may still find the number of possible events, characters, and outcomes to feel overwhelming. To help you digest this act, two of many potential paths have been provided below to guide you in understanding how your players' choices might drive the narrative forward.

The Zealous Crusaders

In this potential narrative, the players are passionate, quick-moving characters with a penchant for action over thought.

Day Zero. After reserving rooms at the Blue Water Inn on their first night in Vallaki, the players befriend Karl and Nikolai Wachter and learn of the Wachter family's hatred of the Vallakoviches.

Day One. Upon encountering Izek Strazni and Baron Vargas Vallakovich for the first time, the players leap to Willemina Rikalova's defense, nearly inciting an all-out brawl until Father Lucian Petrovich steps in to calm the tension. Their decision to act draws the attention of Lady Fiona Wachter in Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish.

The players and Ireena accompany Father Petrovich to St. Andral's Church, where they receive the hook for Arc E: St. Andral's Feast. After investigating and interrogating Milivoj, the players recruit Father Petrovich and travel to the coffin-maker's shop, where they do battle with Volenta Popofsky and recover the stolen bones.

Later that same afternoon, the players visit Blinsky Toys to purchase a toy for Arabelle, followed by the Vistani encampment. There, they learn of Arc F: The Missing Vistana, and accept the signet ring from Kasimir Velikov.

That night, the players break into the Baron's Mansion, hoping to investigate the ring's history—only to be caught by Victor Vallakovich, who leads them to his workroom and informs them of Khazan's tower at Lake Baratok. A chance sighting of Stella Wachter's silhouette in Victor's spirit mirror sparks a conversation, and the players begin Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Day Two. The players receive a dinner invitation from Lady Fiona Wachter at the Blue Water Inn, thereby beginning Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish. While waiting for Szoldar and Yevgeni to return, the players visit the Barovian refugee camp outside of Vallaki's walls, meeting the refugee Franz and learning of Morgantha's true night hag nature in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

After contriving an excuse to speak with Victor again, the players travel north to Szoldar and Yevgeni's dressing shack to obtain directions to Lake Baratok in Arc F: The Missing Vistana. The players venture forth on their own, and quickly discover Rictavio's true identity. The players return to Vallaki by evening, confronting Dr. Rudolph van Richten and Arrigal in Arasek Stockyard, where they hear Arabelle's prophecy.

That night, the players dine with Lady Wachter at Wachterhaus, continuing Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish. Though receptive to her hostility to the Baron, they're suspicious of her loyalty to Strahd, and decline her assassination mission.

Upon returning to the Blue Water Inn, however, the players find it ransacked by Izek himself—thereby beginning Arc H: The Strazni Siblings. Enraged, the players return to Wachterhaus and accept Lady Wachter's offer of aid in killing Izek once and for all. Ireena, upon learning of Izek's attack, demands the right to assist them.

Day Three. The players continue Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish when they meet Ernst Larnak in the taproom of the Blue Water Inn, where they receive the poisoned wine for Izek. The players sneak into the Baron's Mansion and persuade Tereska, the Baron's cook, to include the poisoned wine as a "gift" to Izek. The players stalk Izek for the rest of the day, eventually killing him on the shores of Lake Zarovich and delivering his severed head to Lady Wachter. That night, Lady Wachter intimidates Baron Vallakovich into surrendering power.

Day Four. The players learn of the night hag binding ritual from Victor in Arc I: The Lost Soul. Following Lady Wachter's speech in the town square at the end of Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish, the players convince her to lower the protective circle around Wachterhaus, allowing Stella Wachter's spirit to manifest there and recruiting Lady Wachter as an ally.

Together with Lady Wachter and her cult fanatics, the players set off for Old Bonegrinder. There, they steal the night hag coven's contract, allowing Lady Wachter to bind the hags to the Material Plane. The players vanquish the hags and take their heartstones for use in Victor's etherealness ritual.

Day Five. With the full moon—and, in Arc I: The Lost Soul, Victor's etherealness ritual—just over twenty-four hours away, the players take a daytrip to the village of Krezk in Arc J: The Walls of Krezk, hoping to pick wolfsbane that Dr. Rudolph van Richten can use to quell the curse of lycanthropy for one among them.

After receiving Baron Krezkov's quest, the players travel south to the ruins of Berez, where the witch Baba Lysaga scries on Ilya Krezkov in exchange for Baron Krezkov's gift. The players then return to Krezk to pick wolfsbane. Given the proximity of the Abbey of Saint Markovia, the players also ascend to the Abbey's gates, where they meet the Abbot and are informed to return in two days to meet with Ezmerelda d'Avenir, their foretold ally in Arc M: Strahd's Enemy.

Day Six. The players return to Vallaki and spend a day of downtime exploring the town and acquiring gear. That night, the players join Victor and Lady Wachter to travel to the Ethereal Plane in Arc I: The Lost Soul, where they do battle with the spirit of Leo Dilisnya while Victor restores Stella's soul to her body.

The Cautious Explorers

In this potential narrative, the players are cautious, soft-spoken characters with a preference for passivity over boldness.

Day Zero. After reserving rooms at the Blue Water Inn on their first night in Vallaki, the players watch the half-elf Rictavio carefully, viewing him with suspicion.

Day One. Upon encountering Izek Strazni and Baron Vargas Vallakovich for the first time, the players remain quiet along the sidelines, unwilling to risk their necks for a stranger.

The players bring Ireena to St. Andral's Church, where Father Petrovich delivers them the hook for Arc E: St. Andral's Feast. Agreeing that the night of the feast is far in the future, the players, leave Ireena at the church and depart for Blinsky Toys, followed by the Vistani encampment outside of Vallaki, where they begin Arc F: The Missing Vistana.

After accepting the signet ring from Kasimir Velikov, the players visit the Baron's mansion to research its origins. There, Baron Vallakovich agrees to allow them access to his library in exchange for their investigation into a series of paranormal events that have lately plagued the mansion.

As the players investigate the attic, they meet Victor Vallakovich and the spirit of Stella Wachter, beginning Arc I: The Lost Soul. The players decide to bargain with the night hag coven, rather than fighting the hags, and agree to set off toward Old Bonegrinder after rescuing Arabelle and retrieving St. Andral's bones.

Late that afternoon, the players travel to Szoldar and Yevgeni's dressing shack, where they recruit Szoldar as a guide to Lake Baratok in Arc F: The Missing Vistana. When they return to the Blue Water Inn, they find that Izek Strazni has ransacked it in search for Ireena.

Day Two. The players and Szoldar travel west to Lake Baratok, where they uncover Rictavio's true identity. They return to Vallaki and confront Dr. Rudolph van Richten and Arrigal in Arasek Stockyard, where they hear Arabelle's prophecy.

That afternoon, the players return to St. Andral's Church in Arc E: St. Andral's Feast. After investigating and interrogating Milivoj, the players recruit Father Petrovich and travel to the coffin-maker's shop, where they do battle with Volenta Popofsky and recover the stolen bones.

Day Three. The players travel to Old Bonegrinder alone, where they attempt to bargain with the night hag Morgantha for the loan of her heartstone in Arc I: The Lost Soul. Because the players are unwilling to pay her price, however, Morgantha dismisses them without a deal. The players attempt to take her heartstone by force, but are easily dispatched by the coven, which locks them in the attic and infects them with cackle fever.

That night, the players escape from Old Bonegrinder and return to Vallaki, where they learn that the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk can cure their cackle fever.

Day Four. The players set off for the village of Krezk in Arc J: The Walls of Krezk. After receiving Baron Krezkov's quest, the players travel south to the ruins of Berez, where the witch Baba Lysaga scries on Ilya Krezkov in exchange for Baron Krezkov's gift.

The players then return to Krezk and ascent to the Abbey of Saint Markovia, where they meet the Abbot. The Abbot heals their cackle fever in exchange for a promise to undertake Arc N: Something Borrowed. The players are informed that their foretold ally in Arc M: Strahd's Enemy, Ezmerelda d'Avenir, will return to the Abbey in two days.

Day Five. The players return to Vallaki and find that Ireena has been kidnapped by Izek Strazni in Arc H: The Strazni Siblings. The players gain entry to the Baron's mansion with Victor's help and do battle with Izek in the corridors of the manor.

With Ireena freed, the players and Victor discuss the prospect of defeating the night hag coven through a binding ritual in Arc I: The Lost Soul. The players visit Wachterhaus and convince Lady Wachter to lower the protective circle around Wachterhaus, allowing Stella Wachter's spirit to manifest there and recruiting Lady Wachter as an ally.

Day Six. Together with Lady Wachter and her cult fanatics, the players set off for Old Bonegrinder. There, they steal the night hag coven's contract, allowing Lady Wachter to bind the hags to the Material Plane. The players vanquish the hags and take their heartstones for use in Victor's etherealness ritual.

That night, the players join Victor and Lady Wachter to travel to the Ethereal Plane, where they do battle with the spirit of Leo Dilisnya while Victor restores Stella's soul to her body.

Arc D: The Tome of Strahd

In this arc, the players must locate and retrieve the Tome of Strahd from one of two locations, depending on which Tarokka card Madam drew in Tser Pool: the attic in Baron Vallakovich’s mansion or the master bedroom closet of Wachterhaus. To obtain the Tome, the players must somehow gain access to its hiding spot through subterfuge, infiltration, or by performing a task for Victor Vallakovich or Lady Wachter, respectively. Upon finding it, the players must either bypass the magical lock securing it or uncover the passphrase that unseals its secrets . . .

What Happened to the Tome?

One hundred years ago, Strahd used his Tome as a repository for his secret plans involving the Grand Conjunction and the Fanes of Barovia. When he began his hibernation amidst the crypts of Ravenloft, he did his best to hide his Tome away, safe from prying eyes. Nonetheless, it was found—by the wereraven Livius, who was searching for the legendary Sigil of the Sun (later renamed the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind) while Lugdana and Ismark Antonovich kept the guardians of the castle occupied.

When the trio escaped the castle, Livius shared with them the Tome, wondering aloud which of Strahd’s secrets it might hold. Because they could not open its magical lock, however, Lugdana took the Tome to a bookbinder in Vallaki with a reputation for puzzle-solving and lockpicking, hoping that he might be able to open it instead.

Lugdana, however, was betrayed. The bookbinder’s apprentice—a scion of House Wachter—overheard their conversation and made plans to steal the Tome instead:

The Tome in Wachterhaus. If the modern Tome is located within the master bedroom closet of Wachterhaus, the apprentice hid the Tome away in the bookbinder’s desk, then returned that night to steal it. The Tome has remained locked away in Wachterhaus ever since. (Because her parents died while she was still a teenager, Lady Fiona Wachter never learned of the Tome’s true origins.)

The Tome in the Baron's Mansion. If the modern Tome is located within the attic of the Burgomaster’s mansion, the apprentice hid the Tome away in a pile of books with the intent to later return to steal it—but didn’t realize that that particular pile included an assortment of books that Baron Vallakovich’s ancestor had dropped off at the shop for re-binding. The pile of books was picked up later that day, before the apprentice could return and steal the Tome. The Tome itself was soon discarded and forgotten amongst the many items scattered in the Vallakovich attic, where it remained until Victor Vallakovich found it using the detect magic spell. (Victor hasn’t been able to successfully unlock it yet, but is curious to know what the book contains.)

D1. Burgomaster’s Mansion

D1a. Entering the Mansion

The players can gain access to the attic of the Burgomaster’s Mansion through persuasion or infiltration. See F3a. Entering the Mansion for more information. (Because the players are likely to visit the mansion on multiple occasions—either during Arc F: The Missing Vistana, Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish, Arc H: The Strazni Siblings, or Arc I: The Lost Soul—it is likely that they will obtain the Tome of Strahd on one such occasion.)

D1b. Obtaining the Tome

The Tome of Strahd can currently be found on the edge of Victor Vallakovich’s workdesk. A player viewing it through a detect magic spell can see that it is surrounded by magic, and can use an action to discern that the magic is of the abjuration school.

Victor won’t relinquish the Tome willingly. After finding it in his parents’ attic and recognizing the Von Zarovich crest, he is determined to one day unlock and read its contents. However, he is willing to surrender it to the players if they first help him restore the soul of Stella Wachter to her body. See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information on this quest.

D2. Wachterhaus

As with the Burgomaster’s Mansion, the players can obtain the Tome of Strahd in Wachterhaus through persuasion or infiltration.

Wachterhaus is largely as described in N4. Wachterhaus (p. 110), but with the following changes:

  • Lady Wachter’s late husband, Nikolai, was buried in the cemetery after his death several years ago and is no longer in Lady Wachter’s bed in N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113).
  • Stella Wachter doesn't scratch at her door or call out to the players in N4l. Upstairs Hall (p. 113). If found, she is dull-eyed and non-responsive, incapable of speaking to the players or even moving of her own volition. (This is because she has lost her soul, which is currently trapped in the Ethereal Plane. See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information.)
  • Stella's room is neither musty nor dark, and her bed is not fitted with leather straps. Instead, her room is well-appointed, including a woven lavender rug, a comfortable armchair with floral patterns, and a small bookcase with a collection of carved wooden cats atop it. (The cats were whittled by her older brother, Karl, as get-well gifts following Stella’s illness.)
  • The manuscript and treatise contained in the iron chest in N4q. Storage Room (p. 114) are now titled Voices of the Mist (a religious text written by Lady Fiona Wachter attesting that the worship of Ezra, goddess of the Mists, can bring peace, understanding, and solemnity), and The Grimoire of Night's Whispers, a ritual book and religious text to Mother Night written by the witch Baba Lysaga.
  • The high shelf in N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113) also holds a thirteen-inch scale model of Wachterhaus, crafted of twigs, clay, and painted thatch.

Additionally, while Lady Wachter still has the statistics of a priest, she has a different list of prepared spells:

Cantrips (at will): light, toll the dead, thaumaturgy

1st level (4 slots): command, sanctuary, bane

2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, zone of truth, hold person

3rd level (2 slots): animate dead, spirit guardians

D2a. Persuading Lady Wachter

The players can persuade Lady Wachter to give them the Tome of Strahd by:

  • bargaining for it as a condition to killing Izek Strazni, or
  • requesting it as a gift after killing Izek Strazni or restoring the soul of Lady Wachter’s daughter, Stella. (See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information.)

Because Lady Wachter was an adolescent at the time of her family’s tragic death, her parents never had an opportunity to reveal to her the true nature and origins of the Tome. As a result, while Lady Wachter is aware that the sigil on the cover is the crest of House Zarovich, she has always assumed that the book itself is a record of House Wachter’s service to Strahd, rather than Strahd’s own journal.

If the players make explicit reference to an item kept “under lock and key,” or an item kept “with the bones of an ancient enemy,” Lady Wachter immediately knows that they’re referring to the Tome of Strahd.

If she feels cordial toward the players, Lady Wachter plays coy, pretending to dismiss the idea of keeping “bones” in one’s home and slyly asking the players how they came upon such knowledge. If pressed further, however, she carefully concedes the hypothetical existence of such a book and attempts to bargain with the players as a means of securing it.

If she feels warmly toward the players (e.g., because they have killed Izek for her), Lady Wachter instead gladly retrieves the Tome from her closet and presents it to them.

In either case, Lady Wachter warns the players that she cannot be held responsible for what the book contains. Before handing the Tome over, she also exacts a promise that the players tell no one of where they obtained it.

D2b. Infiltrating the Estate

The players may choose to infiltrate Wachterhaus, rather than obtaining the Tome with Lady Wachter’s permission.

The NPCs in the mansion behave as follows:

  • Lady Wachter can generally be found in N4p. Library (p. 113) in the mornings, N4i. Parlor (p. 112) in the afternoons, N4t. Cult Headquarters (p. 114) in the evenings, and N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113) at night. (Lady Wachter is, however, a light sleeper; treat her passive Perception while asleep as the same as her passive Perception while awake.)
  • Karl and Nikolai Wachter can generally be found in N4m. Brothers' Room (p. 113) in the mornings and late at night, and spend much of their remaining time out of the house carousing.
  • Stella Wachter can generally be found sitting on a sofa in N4i. Parlor during the day, and lying in N4n. Stella's Room (p. 113) at night.
  • Dhavit, Lady Wachter’s cook, can generally be found in N4c. Kitchen (p. 112) or N4d. Storage Room (p. 112) during the day, and N4h. Servants' Quarters (p. 113) at night.
  • The four cult fanatics can be found in N4t. Cult Headquarters (p. 114) in the evening.
  • Madalena, one of Lady Wachter’s maids, can generally be found on the first floor during the morning, in the gardens outside of the house in the afternoon, and in N4h. Servants’ Quarters (p. 113) at night.
  • Amalthia, the other maid, can generally be found on the second floor during the morning, assisting Lady Wachter or Dhavit in the afternoons, and in N4h. Servants’ Quarters (p. 113) at night.
  • Haliq, Lady Wachter’s valet, can generally be found assisting Lady Wachter in the mornings, running errands in town in the afternoons, and in N4h. Servants’ Quarters (p. 113) at night.
  • Ernst, Lady Wachter’s spy, can generally be found in N4k. Den (p. 112) in the mornings, and spends much of his remaining time out of the house spying.
1. Raising the Alarm

Each of Lady Wachter’s servants carries a small, spherical wax bauble on a cord around their neck. Each wax bauble contains a small iron ingot carved with arcane runes. When a servant crushes or breaks the wax around their bauble and exposes the ingot to air, the runes flicker with grey light and cast a single thaumaturgy spell, creating the sound of a crow’s caw that echoes through the house. If she is in the house, Lady Wachter hears the crow's caw and quickly moves to confront the intruders.

Alternatively, if the players activate the skeleton trap in N4s. Cellar (p. 114), Lady Wachter senses it and arrives from N4r. Cellar Entrance (p. 114) in the second round of combat to command any remaining skeletons to halt.

In either case, Lady Wachter arrives with a crow (her disguised imp, Majesto) perched upon her shoulder, retaining a cool, diplomatic head at all times. (She doubts her ability to defeat the players through force, even with the aid of her cult, and prefers to resolve their differences peacefully. Despite her arcane power, Lady Wachter is no warrior.)

First, Lady Wachter greets the players warmly and asks them their business. If the players refuse to tell her what they’re looking for, she guesses aloud that, because they haven’t assassinated or kidnapped her yet, they’re not here on Baron Vallakovich’s orders, and are therefore looking for an item in her possession. (She further wonders aloud that it is either something incredibly valuable which they seek to steal to enrich themselves, or something non-valuable that they want, but which they don’t trust her to barter for.)

If she has previously met the players at dinner and asked them to kill Izek, Lady Wachter sadly mourns their lack of trust in her and notes that she had hoped to work with them, and in fact still does. She then offers to obtain the item that they seek if they are willing to speak with her as equals.

If she has not met the players before, Lady Wachter instead offers a bargain in exchange for the item that the players seek. (If the players express interest in such an arrangement, she offers their desired item in exchange for the head of Izek Strazni. Negotiations proceed as described in G2d. The Vallakovich Problem.)

Profile: Lady Fiona Wachter

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Lady Wachter should inspire wariness for her loyalty to Strahd, grudging respect for her streak of pragmatic rationality, endearment for her dedication to her children, and pity for the tragedy of her family.

Emotions. Lady Wachter most often feels concerned, apprehensive, irate, melancholic, satisfied, thoughtful, determined, stern, or (with her children) compassionate and loving.

Motivations. Lady Wachter wants to keep Vallaki—and especially her children—safe from harm. To that end, she hopes to see Baron Vargas Vallakovich removed from power and to reassure Strahd von Zarovich that Vallaki is no danger to his rule.

Inspirations. When playing Lady Wachter, channel Moiraine Damodred (The Wheel of Time), Olenna Tyrell (Game of Thrones), Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter), and Lady Jessica (Dune).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Lady Wachter is a cold, cunning, and cordial noblewoman. To those she trusts, Lady Wachter is a melancholic, wry, yet fiercely determined advocate for what she sees as the good of Vallaki. Only Lady Wachter herself appreciates the depth of love she feels for her children—and her shattered sense of faith and hope.

Morale. In a fight, Lady Wachter would attempt to negotiate or flee, seeking any means necessary to quell hostilities, up to and including outright surrender. If necessary to save her life or those of her children, however, she would fight to the death with bitter ferocity.

Relationships. Lady Wachter is the widow of the deceased Nikolai Wachter I, and the mother of Nikolai Wachter II, Karl Wachter, and Stella Wachter. She is the employer of the spy Ernst Larnak, and an outspoken critic of Baron Vargas Vallakovich.

If the players indicate or imply that they don’t trust her, Lady Wachter asks the players for their permission to cast two spells: one to ensure that they are alone and away from prying eyes, and one to prove to them that she is telling the truth. (If permission is granted, she immediately casts detect evil and good, her eyes flashing briefly gray as she confirms that none of Strahd’s undead servants are currently watching them.)

2. Lady Wachter’s Offer

The second spell that Lady Wachter seeks to cast is zone of truth, which she explains aloud to the players. To prove her credibility, she suggests casting the spell and stepping inside of it, permitting the players to question and interrogate her to their hearts’ content. By doing so, she hopes, they will be able to assuage any of their fears regarding her loyalty to Strahd.

Lady Wachter is more than glad to permit the players to tie her up during the interrogation, and even suggests that the players move their conversation to N4p. Library (p. 113) so that they may question her free from prying eyes and ears. She freely offers the key to the library—both so that the players can unlock the door and lock it behind them—and suggests that the players restrain her to a chair and hold a dagger to her throat if it puts them at greater ease.

If the players point out her extraordinary nonchalance, Lady Wachter asks them, quite mildly, if panicking or arguing would help her situation. “I am entirely at your mercy,” she observes. “Armed foreigners have broken into my house, evidently for nefarious or criminal purposes, and taken me prisoner. Would you have me fight back and die, or attempt to flee and be restrained nonetheless?”

If the players refuse Lady Wachter’s offer and continue their burglary, she makes no effort to resist them. If, however, the players accept Lady Wachter’s offer and choose to restrain her during the interrogation, she asks only that her hands be kept free, so that she may perform the somatic components necessary to cast zone of truth.

Lady Wachter is well-aware that the players may not trust that her spell is legitimate. As such, she invites the players to test the spell in two ways: first, by stepping into the zone of truth and experiencing its effects themselves; and second, by compelling her to share her deepest, darkest secrets.

If asked her secrets when under the effects of zone of truth, Lady Wachter shares any or all of the following pieces of information:

  • She has intentionally gathered a conspiracy of Vallakians dedicated to the worship of Ezra, the goddess of the Mists. These conspirators are all fervently loyal to her and aim to overthrow Baron Vargas Vallakovich should Izek be killed.
  • The cellar of Wachterhaus, the cult’s headquarters, is protected by nearly a dozen skeletons, which Fiona stole from the town cemetery and animated with dark magic.
  • For one full year after her husband’s death, Fiona kept the corpse of her late husband, Nikolai, magically preserved in the bed of her master bedroom. (He eventually received a proper burial when she moved past her grief.)
  • The crow upon Fiona’s shoulder is an imp named Majesto, who Fiona summoned and bound using the profane teachings of her mentor, the swamp witch Baba Lysaga.

If questioned regarding her allegiance to Strahd, Lady Wachter truthfully tells them the following:

  • The Wachter family owes a debt of allegiance to Strahd, who rescued their ancestors from a slaughter many centuries ago.
  • Lady Wachter herself considers Strahd to be a dangerous individual, but one whose temper can and must be managed and controlled through strategic shows of fealty.
  • Lady Wachter will obey Strahd’s direct orders for as long as necessary to ensure the peace, prosperity, and safety of the people of Vallaki.
  • Lady Wachter bears no ill will toward the players, even if they consider themselves to be enemies of Strahd, and will lift no hand against them unless compelled to do so.
  • She has heard rumors from Strahd’s servants among the Vistani (relayed to her through her spy, Ernst) that he intends no harm toward the players, at least for now, and has in fact ordered that they be kept alive for his own purposes. (Lady Wachter isn’t sure why, and admits as much.)

If questioned regarding her proposed bargain, Lady Wachter truthfully tells them that she will provide them with the item they seek, if it is within her physical power to do so, as soon as Izek Strazni is dead. (She is glad to assist them in doing so. See Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish for more information.) If the players describe Madam Eva’s reading to her—specifically by mentioning an item “kept under lock and key” or “with the bones of an ancient enemy,” Lady Wachter instantly realizes that they are referring to the magical book locked in the trunk in the closet of N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113) and promises to deliver it to them once they fulfill their end of the bargain.

If the players refuse her bargain, Lady Wachter takes no action to resist them, but will not disclose the Tome’s location under any circumstances, even under threat of physical harm. She remains cold and unhelpful toward the players for the remainder of the adventure (though she takes no actual hostile action against them), until and unless they restore the soul of her daughter, Stella. (See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information.)

D3. Unlocking the Tome

The Tome of Strahd is kept closed by a locked steel clasp enchanted with an arcane lock spell cast at 5th level. The pass phrase to suppress it is "I come in Dostron's memory." (Only Strahd and his eldest bride, Sasha Ivliskova, know this pass phrase. See Arc L: Dinner with Strahd for more information about Sasha Ivliskova.)

The clasp ordinarily takes a successful DC 15 Strength check to break, but requires a successful DC 25 Strength check instead while under the effects of the spell. Similarly, the lock itself ordinarily requires a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check to open, but requires a successful DC 25 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools) check instead while under the effects of the spell. An attempt to pick the lock takes 1 minute to complete.

The lock is also enchanted with a magical trap. A character that fails to break, pick, or dispel the lock must make a DC 19 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) necrotic damage on a failure or half as much on a success.

Reading the Tome

Once successfully opened, the contents of the Tome now read as follows: 6

I am the Ancient. I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.

All goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god's grace or justice.

I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.

From the families of the valley, one spirit shone above all others: a rare beauty, who was called 'perfection,' 'joy,' and 'treasure.' Her name was Tatyana, and I longed for her to be mine. But 'Old One' was my name to her—'elder' and 'brother' also. Her heart went to Sergei. They were betrothed. The date was set.

With words she called me "brother," but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name: "death." It was the death of the aged that she saw in me. She loved her youth and enjoyed it, but I had squandered mine. And so I came to hate death—my death.

But I would not be called "death" so soon. I made a pact with Death. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother, and sealed my pact with his blood.

I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the chapel. She fled from me, and I pursued. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft, and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.

It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found, and not even I know her final fate. Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.

I have studied much since then. 'Vampyr' is my new name. I still lust for life and youth, and I curse the living that took them from me. Even the sun is against me, but little else can harm me now. Even a stake through my heart does not kill me, though it holds me from movement. But the sword, that cursed sword that Sergei brought! I must dispose of that awful tool! I fear and hate it as much as the sun.

I have learned much, too, about this land of Barovia. Ancient are its ways, ancient beyond the knowledge of the simple folk of the valley. Ancient gods dwelt in this valley long before my coming, and three hidden fanes still give tribute to their memories. I visited the Swamp Fane, the Forest Fane, and the Mountain Fane, and claimed their power for my own. Their servants now serve me, and thus I have become the Land.

Since my passage into eternity, I have often hunted for Tatyana. I have even felt her within my grasp, but each time, she flees from me again. But she cannot run forever—and I have nothing but time.

I now reside far below Ravenloft. I live among the dead and sleep beneath the very stones of this hollow castle of despair. I have abandoned the riches of my conquests beneath the toll of the belfry, sealed behind a reminder of the treasure I once lost. Yet one day, I shall rise again from the ashes of my glory, and reclaim what is rightfully mine.

The pages following the legible text are filled with diagrams, equations, and thousands of strange symbols. The symbols are not written language, but a cipher devised by Strahd to conceal his secret plans. (Only the lich Exethanter knows the key to decode Strahd's cipher. See Arc T: The Amber Temple for more information about Exethanter.) Several diagrams appear to depict a large, crystalline human heart, while others depict circles of standing stones.

Players who read through these sections find numerous annotations referencing (in Common) an individual named Exethanter. Multiple instances of Exethanter’s name are accompanied by the symbol of the Amber Temple: a thick-bordered equilateral triangle containing an inverted equilateral triangle, which in turn contain a vertical wavy line. (The triangle represents the god of secrets, the inverted triangle the amber sarcophagi, and the wavy line the vestiges sealed within.)

The symbol can be identified by the dusk elf Kasimir Velikov (who has seen it in his dreams), by the revenant Sir Godfrey Gwilym (who once guarded the Temple), or by Victor Vallakovich (who has seen the symbol in his spellbook). Of these three, only Kasimir and Godfrey know what the Amber Temple is and where it can be found, and only Kasimir is willing to tell the players how to get there.

Design Notes: The Tome of Strahd

This arc has been intentionally written to draw the players into one of Vallaki's two largest arcs: Arc I: The Lost Soul (if the Tome is located within Victor Vallakovich's workroom) or Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish (if the Tome is located within Lady Wachter's master bedroom closet).

What Happened to the Tome? This brief history of the Tome aims to explain how it was retrieved from Strahd's castle, tying it together with the history of the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and providing two possible alternative paths that it took once retrieved.

Burgomaster's Mansion. The Tome has been placed to encourage the players to interact with Victor and to naturally entice them to begin Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Wachterhaus. The Tome has been placed to encourage the players to interact with Lady Wachter and to naturally entice them to begin Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish.

Should the players decide to steal the Tome from Lady Wachter (e.g., because they mistrust her as a servant of Strahd), this section has been written to provide Lady Wachter with a believable and in-character approach to winning the players' trust, while introducing her relationship to the cult and Baba Lysaga (both of which will prove essential later on in Arc I: The Lost Soul).

Unlocking the Tome. The Tome of Strahd has been made somewhat more difficult to open in order to ensure that the players have an appreciate for the importance of its contents, and to explain why Victor Vallakovich and Lady Wachter are ignorant of its content. (The Tome should generally be simple to open, though some parties may be unable to do so until learning or preparing dispel magic upon reaching 5th level. Parties unable to do so might be able to obtain the aid of Sasha Ivliskova in doing so in Arc L: Dinner With the Devil).

The Tome's contents have been revised to foreshadow the existence of the Fanes of the Ladies Three and to guide the players to Ravenloft's hidden treasury, which they will have an opportunity to raid in Arc T: Ravenloft Heist. The Tome has also been revised for tone in order to remove traces of romantic sentiment and to make Strahd's cold, predatory, and sociopathic character more apparent.

The Tome also contains a coded section discussing Strahd's plot to escape the Mists, as well as the means by which Strahd corrupted the Fanes of Barovia. This section has been included to ensure that the Tome remains useful to the players through the latter portions of the campaign, ensuring that it retains equal weight to the Sunsword and Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.

This guide intentionally foregoes any other additions to the Tome, including any modifications that implement its history as "visions" that the players can experience or any modifications that turn the Tome into a combat-ready item.

In the former case, this guide aims to keep Strahd as a pseudo-mythic figure whose exploits are less seen than heard, and works to lay the seeds of his past as quickly as possible to drive the plot forward and build player intrigue, rather than sowing them slowly over the course of many sessions.

In the latter case, Madam Eva's reading regarding the Tome of Strahd specifically states that "Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy," not that knowledge will assist them in defeating him. The Tome is unique in that its value is derived from knowledge, not martial power. This guide seeks to preserve that uniqueness. (In addition, in a campaign built upon defeating Strahd through defying his philosophy—selfishness—it would be a strange thing indeed for the players to defeat Strahd through a tool of his own making.)

Arc E: St. Andral's Feast

In this arc, the players escort Ireena Kolyana to St. Andral's Church in Vallaki, fulfilling their vow to her brother, Ismark. However, Father Lucian, the church's priest, informs them that the bones of Saint Andral—the source of the church's protective magic—have recently been stolen, placing its wards and parishioners at risk.

The players have until the night of their fourth day after arriving in Vallaki to identify the thief (the church groundskeeper, Milivoj), track down the bones to their hiding place (the Vallaki coffin maker's shop), and return them to their rightful place in the church. Their mission will bring them into direct conflict with Volenta Popofsky, Strahd's most sadistic vampiric bride, and her vampiric minions.

Can the players defeat Volenta's plan and restore the church's protection? Or will the church be lost in darkness and blood, its flickering light snuffed out in the shadows?

E1. St. Andral's Church

The church is largely as described in N1. St. Andral's Church (p. 97). Milivoj, the church groundskeeper, isn’t present when the players arrive.

The church's occupants follow the following schedule unless interrupted:

  • At dawn, Yeska joins Father Lucian for prayers in the chapel and assists him in preparing breakfast.
  • In the morning, Yeska runs errands around Vallaki while Father Lucian sweeps the chapel, dusts the pews, polishes the altar, and tidies up the kitchen.
  • In the afternoon, Father Lucian teaches Yeska how to read, and educates him in basic history and theology.
  • In the evening, with Yeska's assistance, Father Lucian leads the congregation in prayer and delivers a sermon promising sanctuary and comfort.

E1a. Meeting Father Lucian

When the players first meet Father Petrovich , he greets them warmly, recognizing them as newcomers to Vallaki, welcoming them to St. Andral's Church, and asking if they have come seeking fellowship or to pray to the Morninglord.

If informed that Ireena is seeking sanctuary in the church from Strahd or other monsters, Father Petrovich first ensures that no other congregants are present—shooing away Yeska if present—and swears the players to secrecy.

If the players agree not to spread his words beyond the church, Father Petrovich sorrowfully informs them that, while he would love nothing more than to extend Ireena an offer of permanent shelter, recent events have left the church's wards in a precarious state. He can also share the following additional information at the players' prompting:

  • The church is ordinarily hallowed ground, as though the building was protected by a hallow spell. This magical ward prevents fiends and undead from entering the church, and keeps them from magically charming, frightening, or possessing those within it.
  • The source of this protection is the crypt of Saint Andral, which has historically held the blessed bones of Andral himself, the founder of Vallaki's church and a great cleric of the Morninglord.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (77)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (78)

  • Originally, only Father Petrovich knew of the bones' existence. However, after news the siege of Barovia reached Vallaki a few days ago, he shared the knowledge of the bones with Yeska, as described in Bones of St. Andral (p. 97).
  • To retain the church's protection, Father Petrovich must invoke a particular rite of protection over Saint Andral's bones once every year, at dawn on the morning of Saint Andral's Feast—a holy day that memorializes Andral's life.
  • If the rite cannot be carried out at that time, the wards will fall until the rite is completed on a subsequent dawn.
  • Last night, someone broke into the church's crypt and stole St. Andral's bones. Without them, Father Petrovich can't complete the protective rite, and the wards will fall at dawn on the day of St. Andral's Feast.
  • Father Petrovich is fearful that some fell creature or wicked soul has manufactured this crisis as an opportunity to cause his congregation harm; though the Baron is confident that no monsters could breach Vallaki's walls, Father Petrovich fears that the town is not as safe as it appears.

Father Petrovich can also share the date of St. Andral's Feast, which will take place on the fourth day after the players arrived in Vallaki. He has not reported the theft of the bones for the reasons described in Bones of St. Andral (p. 97).

Father Petrovich does not know that Yeska has told anyone of the bones' existence, and firmly believes that the boy would not be capable—physically or otherwise—of stealing them. He does not suspect Milivoj of stealing the bones either, having no reason to do so.

If the players express an interest in doing so, Father Petrovich is glad to allow them to inspect the crime scene—having made neither heads nor tails of it himself—and to interview Yeska, so long as they promise to be patient and gentle with the boy.

If the players ask for the identities of other possible witnesses, Father Petrovich notes that the only other employee of the church is the groundskeeper, Milivoj. However, Milivoj hasn’t come into work today. Father Petrovich can give the players directions to Milivoj’s house, which is located in the northwestern quarter of Vallaki.

Before allowing the players to begin their investigation, Father Petrovich asks them to promise to retrieve him as soon as they learn of the bones' location. He takes personal responsibility for their disappearance, and—given his connections across the town and his service to the Morninglord—wishes to assist the players in recovering them if necessary.

E1b. The Scene of the Crime

Father Lucian is glad to lead the players to the location of the crypt if prompted. The players can inspect the replaced floorboards behind the altar for clues, and Father Lucian will also reluctantly allow them to pry up the floorboards again if they want to investigate the crypt itself.

The crypt is as described in Bones of St. Andral (p. 97), lying beneath the chapel's altar and concealed by the chapel floorboards. The interior of the crypt is a dark and damp chamber, its walls made of rough-hewn stone blocks that are stained with age and moisture. Its center contains a small stone slab, which held the bones until recently.

Profile | Father Lucian Petrovich

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Father Petrovich should inspire gratitude with his hospitality, flattery with his willingness to listen and empathize, comfort with his warmth, serenity, and wisdom, and sympathy for his anxiety regarding the missing bones and the safety of his congregation.

Emotions. Father Petrovich’s most frequent emotions are thoughtfulness, hopefulness, concern, and compassion.

Motivations. Father Petrovich wants to keep Vallaki's spirits up, to keep the church a place of sanctuary and comfort, and to raise Yeska as best as he can.

Inspirations. When playing Father Petrovich, channel Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Michael Carpenter and Father Forthill (The Dresden Files), and Mr. Rogers (Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood).

Character Information

Persona. To strangers, Father Petrovich is a serene, humble, and compassionate priest who is always happy to share a word of praise or a few pearls of wisdom. To those he trusts, Father Petrovich is a dedicated and stalwart defender of his community, who nonetheless worries about his ability to keep his congregants safe. Deep down, Father Petrovich harbors a twinge of doubt about the Morninglord's providence and power, wondering if Strahd's awakening is a test of Barovians' faith or a sign that the land is forsaken forever.

Morale. In a fight, Father Petrovich would prefer to dissuade his attackers, surrendering peacefully if necessary to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. However, if an innocent life or the members of his congregation were threatened, he would fight to the death with a prayer on his lips and peace in his heart.

Relationships. Father Petrovich is a mentor and father figure to the orphan and altar boy Yeska, the employer of the groundskeeper Milivoj, the brother of Baroness Lydia Petrovna, and the distant descendant of Tasha Petrovna, an ancient cleric of the Morninglord whose remains are kept in the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft.

The players can find the following information by investigating the area around the crypt:

  • While investigating the floorboards, the players can find a torn piece of gray wool fabric snagged on a nail with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check, and a line of rust-stained dirt smeared across a floorboard with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check.
  • While investigating the interior of the crypt, the players can find several clumps of earth with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check. Each clump is in the shape of a large bootprint, and contains several blades of pale green grass and white flower petals.
  • While investigating the altar or the stone slab in the crypt, the players can find a few strands of dark black hair with a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check.

The fabric was torn from Milivoj's shirt as he lowered himself down, and the rust was left when he used his shovel to pry up the floorboards.

The clumps of earth were left when Milivoj's boots hit the floor of the crypt. Father Lucian can inform the players that the petals are from the ramson plant, which grow in several patches in the church graveyard.

The hair is Milivoj's.

E1c. Interviewing Yeska

If the players choose to interview Yeska, Father Lucian asks them not to press him too hard for information. The boy is still emotionally fragile from the death of his parents three months ago, and Father Lucian doesn't wish to harm his mental well-being over a mere suspicion of danger.

If one of the players asks Yeska whether he has told anyone else about the bones and makes a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check, he admits to telling Milivoj about the bones three days ago. If the players first tell Yeska that the bones have been stolen, however, the DC increases to 15, and Yeska begins to cry upon admitting his actions.

E2. Milivoj’s House

Milivoj’s house is located in the impoverished northwest quarter of Vallaki, a short walk from St. Andral’s Church.

The muddy road that leads into the town’s northwest quarter is rough and uneven, chilled by a persistent fog that seems to cling to the soaked earth beneath your feet. As you move further from the town’s center, the streets narrow and the houses grow grimier and more dilapidated, the smell of damp wood and mildew filling your nostrils.

Your path leads you to a leaning, decrepit structure that seems to sag beneath its own weight. Its timbers are rotting, the windows cracked and filthy. At its front, a ramshackle wooden door stands slightly askew in its frame atop a small, mud-spattered porch.

If the players knock on the door, it’s answered a few moments thereafter by Jarzinka, Milivoj’s mother. Read:

The door groans open, revealing a gaunt, glassy-eyed woman standing on the other side. Her hair is matted with grease and hangs in knots across her shoulders, and a painted beaded necklace hangs around her neck, its colors faded and chipped with age.

Behind her, a trio of young children wrestle and shout as they roll across a cramped living space stuffed with old, threadbare furniture and an old, stained rug. Two other children—a near-adolescent boy with long, shaggy hair, and a freckled girl of similar age wearing cracked, oversized glasses—peer curiously around a pair of overstuffed, patchwork armchairs at the sight of you.

The woman at the door grunts, her hollow gaze scanning you expectantly.

The children in the armchairs are a twelve-year-old boy named Bogan and a ten-year-old girl named Zondra. The three children wrestling on the ground are named Lazlo (eight years old), Grilsha (seven years old), and Dargos (five years old).

Jarzinka is a woman of few words, and is annoyed because she has just finished the last of her dream pastries. If the players ask to speak with Milivoj, she turns to Bogan and Zondra, then grunts at them. The conversation then proceeds as follows:

  • Bogan cheerfully informs the players that Milivoj is sick and doesn’t want to talk to anyone today.
  • If the players succeed on a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check or insist that the matter is urgent, Zondra turns and hollers, “Milo! Someone wants to speak to you.”

A few moments later, Milivoj exits a swollen wooden door at the back of the room, with his three-year-old brother Jirko giggling delightedly from atop Milivoj’s shoulders and his four-year-old twin sisters, Victoria and Vasha, hanging from his biceps.

Profile: Milivoj

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Milivoj should inspire scorn with his gruff, cynical, and stubborn personality, sympathy for his frustration at his parents' addiction to dream pastries, and endearment to him for his wholehearted dedication to provide for his siblings, no matter the cost to himself.

Emotions. Milivoj's most frequent emotions are annoyance, worry, frustration, boredom, bitterness, and cynicism, and (when with his siblings) compassion, mirth, and joy.

Motivations. Milivoj wants to provide for himself and his siblings.

Inspirations. When playing Milivoj, channel Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games), Arya Stark (Game of Thrones), and Carl Fredericksen (Up).

Character Information

Persona. To strangers, Milivoj is a quiet, gruff, and hardworking groundskeeper. To those he trusts, Milivoj is a loving and dedicated elder sibling, a frustrated and bitter son, and a desperate and confused young man.

Morale. In a fight, Milivoj would brandish his shovel in an attempt to get his attacker to back down, but would quickly surrender if seriously wounded. (If defending his siblings, however, Milivoj would fiercely and gladly fight to the death.)

Relationships. Milivoj is employed by Father Lucian Petrovich, secretly works for the coffin maker Henrik van der Voort, and is the eldest of nine children belonging to Oleg and Jarzinka, two dream pastry-addicted Vallakians.

Upon spotting the players, Milivoj’s face visibly falls, and he gently shakes Victoria and Vasha from his arms and sets Jirko down in Bogan’s lap. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals his body language has grown tense, and that he is shifting uncomfortably.

As Milivoj reaches the door, he tersely addresses Jarzinka as “Mother” and gives her a grudging nod. Jarzinka grunts and shuffles away from the door, disappearing into the room from which Milivoj came.

If the players inform Milivoj that they want to speak with him about St. Andral’s bones, he scowls, insists that he knows nothing about the matter, and attempts to close the door. A player can prevent him from doing so with a successful DC 10 Strength or Dexterity check. (If Milivoj successfully closes the door, the players can make him open it again by making a sufficient nuisance of themselves, by succeeding on a DC 10 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check, or by forcing the door down with a successful DC 10 Strength check.)

Milivoj denies any knowledge of the bones or their theft if asked about them outright. However, he claims to have seen a cloaked figure watching the church two days ago from an alleyway. (The description of the cloaked figure coincidentally matches the appearance of Ernst Larnak, Fiona's spy, though Milivoj doesn't know Ernst or the nature of his employment.) A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals that he is speaking slightly too quickly.

If the players accuse Milivoj of stealing the bones and succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Intimidation) check, Milivoj admits to stealing them, as described in Bones of St. Andral (p. 97). Players who confront Milivoj with evidence from the crypt or Yeska's confession automatically succeed. Milivoj can't take the players to the coffin maker's shop himself, but notes that Father Petrovich can lead them there.

If asked his motive for stealing the bones, Milivoj shares the reasons described in Bones of St. Andral (p. 97). He can also share that, after his father—a former Vallakian guard—was wounded in a recent wolf attack, both of his parents began regularly purchasing dream pastries from the peddler Morgantha outside of the gates. With both parents addicted to Morgantha's wares, Milivoj sees himself as his siblings' sole means of avoiding total poverty. (If asked, Milivoj can provide a basic description of the effects of dream pastries, as described in Dream Pastries (p. 125).)

If informed that the bones may have been stolen to allow an attack upon the church, Milivoj dismisses the idea, insisting that the bones are just a "moldy old relic" and that "he doesn't have time to believe in fairy tales."

Milivoj’s Revelation

If he is later informed that Henrik's actions were directed by one of Strahd's vampire spawn, and that the theft of the bones could have allowed a slaughter at the church, Milivoj is overcome with anxiety, horror, and guilt. He prostrates himself before Father Petrovich and begs for his forgiveness, offering to exile himself to the Svalich Woods if doing so will make up for the harm he has caused. (Father Petrovich, of course, declines, tearfully embracing and forgiving Milivoj instead.)

E3. Return to the Church

Once Milivoj has admitted to the bones' theft, Father Petrovich can lead the players to the coffin maker's shop. (He knows the owner, Henrik, well, and hopes that he can reason with the man.) If the players appear skeptical, Father Petrovich—who has the statistics of a priest—reveals that he bears the holy symbol of Tasha Petrovna—his ancestor and a mighty follower of Saint Markovia—and promises them that he is more than capable of defending himself.

If the players suggest reporting the theft of the bones to the burgomaster, Father Petrovich is reluctant to do so, fearing the possibility of raising a panic. With a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, however, the players can convince Father Lucian to join them in reporting the theft to Baron Vallakovich, who responds as described in N6. Coffin Maker's Shop. (If the players don't have Father Petrovic with them, the burgomaster refuses to believe that the bones are responsible for the church's divine protection or to assist the players in recovering them.)

Reporting the Theft

If the players report the theft to Baron Vallakovich and do not accompany his guards, the four guards gain access to the coffin maker's shop as described in N6. Coffin Maker's Shop, but are slaughtered when they accidentally trigger Volenta's trap and alert the vampires to their presence.

One day later, Baron Vallakovich responds by sending Izek to summon the players to N3. Burgomaster's Mansion, where he accuses them of causing his faithful guards to disappear and threatens to exile them from Vallaki. (The players can win back his good graces by promising to recover the bones themselves.)

E4. Arasek Stockyard

Arasek Stockyard is largely as described in N5. Arasek Stockyard (p. 115). However, while Rictavio's wagon is mostly covered by old and faded paint, the Carnival of Wonders sign on its side is brand new and fresh-painted.

If one of the players expresses an interest in breaking into the wagon, Father Petrovich discourages them from doing so if he is present.

If a player nonetheless attempts to unlock or force open the door to the wagon, the entire wagon suddenly rocks violently from side to side. The players can also hear the sound of something with large, heavy claws scratching against the interior of the wagon. (The rocking and scratches are made by the ghost of Erasmus van Richten, a poltergeist seeking to protect Arabelle by scaring visitors away.)

If the players successfully break the door to the wagon or pick its padlock, they find that the wagon’s interior contains a soft bed of straw, a comfortable woolen blanket, a few books, and a young Vistana girl—Arabelle—who is clutching a plush saber-toothed tiger to her chest and wearing a beaded necklace with a carved copper amulet. (For more information about Arabelle, see Arc F: The Missing Vistana.)

E4. Coffin Maker's Shop

The coffin maker's shop is largely as described in N6. Coffin Maker's Shop (p. 116). However, the crates in N6f. Vampire Nest now contain only two vampire spawn, as well as Volenta Popofsky, one of Strahd's vampiric brides.

Henrik van der Voort, the coffin maker, follows the following schedule:

  • In the morning, he sleeps in, remaining in bed in N6e. Henrik's Bedroom.
  • In the late morning, he anxiously checks that the wardrobe containing St. Andral's bones hasn't been disturbed, and then prepares breakfast in N6d. Kitchen.
  • In the afternoon, he builds coffins in N6c. Workshop.
  • In the evening, he prepares an evening meal in N6d. Kitchen.
  • At night, he sleeps in N6e. Henrik's Bedroom.

E4a. Entering the Shop

The players cannot access the shop through persuasion, deception, or intimidation; in each case, Henrik will respond as described in N6. Coffin Maker's Shop.

Additionally, note that the windows are locked from the inside and the doors are barred. As such, the players cannot open a window or door by use of thieves tools. Instead, the players can enter the shop by either of the following means:

  • They can break down one or both of the barred doors with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. Doing so alerts Henrik, who comes to confront them.
  • They can use magic (e.g., mage hand or misty step) to open the windows or doors from the inside. Doing so avoids alerting Henrik, who remains in his current location.

In either case, Henrik offers no resistance as soon as he sees that the players have entered the shop. Instead, he rightfully guesses that they have come to recover the bones and informs them of the bones' location and the danger of the vampire nest, as described in N6. Coffin Maker's Shop. In exchange, he pleads with them to protect him from the vampires, who he rightfully fears will butcher him for his betrayal. He won't retrieve the bones alone, but will accompany the players upstairs if demanded.

Henrik does not know that Volenta has secretly installed a poison needle trap and tripwire bell in the wardrobe secret compartment where the bones are kept. He assumes that the players will be able to quietly recover the bones, depart the shop, and escort him elsewhere to safety.

E4b. Recovering the Bones

The bones have been concealed as described in N6e. Henrik's Bedroom (p. 117). However, Volenta Popofsky has added two additional safeguards to the secret compartment:

  • a poison needle trap (Dungeon Master's Guide p. 123), which triggers unless a particular wooden panel is pushed before the compartment is opened, and
  • a hidden wire attached to the compartment's opening, which connects to a noisemaker at the base of the compartment shaped vaguely like the head of the toymaker Gadof Blinsky, including his jester’s cap and bells.

The poison needle trap can be identified and disarmed as described in the Dungeon Master's Guide (p. 123).

The hidden wire can be identified before the compartment is fully opened with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check, and disarmed with a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check.

Opening the compartment without disabling the wire or unsuccessfully attempting to disarm the wire causes the noisemaker to loudly screech, “Is no fun, is no Blinsky!” repeatedly for 1 minute, alerting the vampires in N6f. Vampire Nest.

E4c. Volenta's Trap

If the players allow the bell to ring, Volenta and her two loyal vampire spawn arise to confront them one round later, either by forcing their way into N6d. Kitchen or (if the players have already exited N6e. Henrik's Bedroom) by obstructing the players' path down the stairs. When the vampires appear, they use their spider climb to clamber across the walls before dropping down to the players’ level, with Volenta crouching upside-down on the ceiling behind them.

Volenta uses the two vampire spawn with her as cover, placing them between her and the players. After briefly taunting the players, she playfully notes that it's lucky that they're in a coffin shop, adding, "After all, they'll need somewhere to put your parts when I'm through with you." She then directs the other vampires to attack.

Profile: Volenta Popofsky

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Volenta should inspire revulsion with her obsession with pain and gore, discomfort with her sadistic and psychotic personality, and a strange sort of flattery with her flirtatious—if eccentric—attitude.

Emotions. Volenta most often feels amused, curious, irritated, bored, fascinated, enraged, and gleeful.

Motivations. Volenta wants to impress Strahd and earn her place as foremost among his brides, to satisfy her frequent sadistic urges, and to find novel ways to cause suffering and pain through tinkering and innovation.

Inspirations. When playing Volenta, channel Jinx (Arcane), Ty Lee (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Harley Quinn (Batman).

Character Information

Persona. To strangers, Volenta is a manic, impulsive, and trigger-happy sadist with a flair for invention and innovation.

Morale. In a fight, Volenta would gleefully relish the opportunity to test her custom-made weapons on hostile subjects—and, when pushed far enough, to tear those subjects apart with her bare hands and teeth.

Relationships. Volenta is fanatically loyal to Strahd von Zarovich, and views his other brides and consosrts—especially Anastrasya, Ludmilla, and Escher—with deep resentment, jealousy, and suspicion.

Volenta, First Form

Medium undead, chaotic evil

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 82 (11d8 + 33)
  • Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
16 (+3)18 (+4)16 (+3)16 (+3)14 (+2)14 (+2)
  • Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +5
  • Skills Perception +5, Stealth +10
  • Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
  • Languages Common
  • Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
  • Proficiency +3

Regeneration. Volenta regains 10 hit points at the start of her turn if she has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or running water. If Volenta takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of her next turn.

Spider Climb. Volenta can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Volenta takes 20 radiant damage at the start of her turn, and she has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Nimble Escape. Volenta can take the Disengage or Hide action as a bonus action on each of her turns.

Awakened Bloodlust. When Volenta drops to 0 hit points, her statistics are instantly replaced by the statistics of her second form. Her initiative count doesn't change.

Actions

Multiattack. Volenta uses hail of daggers twice, or uses hail of daggers once and either tanglefoot or thunderstone.

Hail of Daggers. Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, 15 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (2d4 + 4) piercing damage.

Tanglefoot (1/day). Volenta hurls a bag of writhing, sticky black tar at a point on the ground within 30 feet. The bag bursts on impact, covering up to two creatures within 5 feet of one another with sticky tar and forcing each target to succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be restrained. A target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success.

Thunderstone (1/day). Volenta hurls a crystalline shard at a creature, object, or surface within 30 feet. The shard shatters on impact with a blast of concussive energy. Each creature within 10 feet of the point of impact must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be knocked prone and pushed 10 feet away from that point. A creature that fails the save is also deafened until the start of Volenta’s next turn.

Alchemist's Firebomb (1/day). Volenta hurls a flask of concentrated alchemist's fire and hurls it at a point within 30 feet. The vial shatters on impact and detonates in a 10-foot radius. Any creature in that area must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity saving throw or take 2d6 fire damage and be set ablaze. A creature set ablaze in this way takes 1d4 fire damage at the start of each of its turns, and can make an additional DC 14 Dexterity saving throw at the end of each of its turns to extinguish the flames.

1. Volenta

Volenta begins combat in her first form, preferring to start the fight by lobbing her alchemist's firebomb. Afterward, she alternates between using her multiattack to use tanglefoot and thunderstone.

When using her hail of daggers, Volenta prefers to target the players instead of Father Petrovich. As she fights them, she taunts Father Lucian gleefully, noting, "I'd intended to rip out your throat in front of your cute little congregation, but I guess decorating the church steps with your friends' heads and entrails isn't a bad second place!"

Volenta flees from combat, smashing through a nearby window and galloping across the rooftops like a four-legged beast, if either of the following happens:

  • both of her vampire spawn are defeated and her first form is reduced to 0 hit points; or
  • her second form is reduced to 50 hit points or fewer.

In either case she first snarls, “You think your precious little church can keep you safe? He'll burn down the rest of Vallaki to get to you, and kill the rest of this stinking vermin to force you out!” Before departing, she sneers at the players and promises to see them again soon.

2. Father Petrovich

Father Petrovich retains the statistics of a priest. However, his divine eminence feature now reads as follows:

  • Divine Eminence. As a reaction when he sees another creature within 30 feet hit with a weapon attack, Father Petrovich can expend a spell slot to cause that attack to magically deal an extra 10 (3d6) radiant damage to a target on a hit. If Father Petrovich expends a spell slot of 2nd level or higher, the extra damage increases by 1d6 for each level above 1st.

Volenta, Second Form

Medium undead, chaotic evil

  • Armor Class 15 (natural armor)
  • Hit Points 82 (11d8 + 33)
  • Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
16 (+3)18 (+4)16 (+3)16 (+3)14 (+2)14 (+2)
  • Saving Throws Dex +7, Wis +5
  • Skills Perception +5, Stealth +10
  • Damage Resistances necrotic; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
  • Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
  • Languages Common
  • Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Regeneration. Volenta regains 10 hit points at the start of her turn if she has at least 1 hit point and isn't in sunlight or running water. If Volenta takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn't function at the start of the vampire's next turn.

Spider Climb. Volenta can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.

Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Volenta takes 20 radiant damage at the start of her turn, and she has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Blood Frenzy. Volenta has advantage on melee attack rolls against any creature that doesn't have all its hit points.

Actions

Multiattack. Volenta makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Volenta, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) necrotic damage. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and Volenta regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (2d4 + 3) slashing damage. Instead of dealing damage, Volenta can grapple the target (escape DC 13).

Bonus Actions

Leap. Volenta moves up to her speed without provoking opportunity attacks. As she does, she can replace 10 feet of movement with a 10-foot high jump.

Reactions

Spit Blood. In response to taking damage from a melee attack, Volenta spits a wad of blood at the attacking creature’s eyes, forcing it to make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failure, the creature is blinded until the end of its next turn.

Aggress. In response to taking damage from an attack or spell, Volenta moves up to her speed toward a hostile creature she can see without provoking opportunity attacks.

In combat, Father Petrovich directs the players to form a defensive line around the door, hoping to funnel the vampires one-by-one into a choke point in order to dispatch them individually. Father Petrovich himself attempts to end his turns behind full cover on each round of combat, ducking out only briefly to target vampires with his offensive spells.

On his first turn, Father Petrovich uses his action to cast spirit guardians, filling the air with a galaxy of swirling, fiery suns that burn with fierce golden light. He stands as near to the front lines as possible while remaining behind full cover, seeking to ensure that any attacking vampire spawn will inevitably be drawn into range of his spell.

On his second turn, Father Petrovich casts spiritual weapon, summoning and attacking with a golden ethereal mace whose head resembles a sunburst—a facsimile of the mace that his ancestor, Tasha Petrovna, once wielded in battle. He then casts sacred flame, targeting any vampire that is currently attacking the players.

On his third and subsequent turns, Father Petrovich uses his action to cast guiding bolt and his bonus action to attack with spiritual weapon once again.

If any of the players are reduced to 0 hit points, Father Petrovich spends his action casting cure wounds on them. If his concentration is ever disrupted, he spends his action to renew spirit guardians instead.

Dying NPCs

Because Volenta and her vampire spawn prefer to target the players instead of Father Petrovich, it's unlikely that Father Petrovich will be reduced to 0 hit points in this battle.

However, as noted in Monsters and Death (Player's Handbook, p. 198), allied non-player characters—such as Father Petrovich, Ireena Kolyana, and any other NPC fighting alongside the players—should fall unconscious upon being reduced to 0 hit points. When they do, they follow the same rules for death saving throws as player characters, described further in Death Saving Throws (Player's Handbook, p. 197).

3. The Vampire Spawn

The two vampire spawn fight by using their claws to grapple enemies, who they then drag away to feast upon in private—preferably by hauling grappled prey out of the windows and onto the rooftop of the shop. Both spawn are prepared to fight to the death, but retreat with Volenta if she does.

E5. Retrieving the Bones

If the players and Father Lucian successfully return the stolen bones to St. Andral’s Church by dawn of the fifth day after the players arrived in Vallaki, Father Lucian thanks the players and invites Ireena to remain under their protection for as long as she desires. Volenta’s attack is averted, and the celebration of St. Andral’s Feast begins without a hitch.

Milestone. Restoring the bones of St. Andral completes a story milestone. If the church is successfully reconsecrated, award each player 1,250 XP.

A Peaceful Recovery

If the players recover the bones of St. Andral without alerting or defeating Volenta and her vampire spawn, Volenta is enraged by Henrik’s failure to stop them and humiliated by her plan’s failure. That same night, she uses her alchemist’s firebomb to burn down the shop, causing a fire that also damages two nearby warehouses before it’s extinguished.

If Henrik still dwells within the shop, Volenta spirits him away to Castle Ravenloft. There, she locks him in a cage in K76. Torture Chamber and visits painful torments upon him each night as punishment for his betrayal.

Design Notes: St. Andral's Feast

St. Andral's Church. The original module's requirement that one of the players be a cleric or paladin to receive this quest has been removed to make it more accessible.

Though it doesn't exist in the original adventure, the holy day of St. Andral's Feast has been added to provide a clear deadline for the players' efforts to recover the bones, and to ensure a safe place for Ireena to stay while the arc unfolds.

The date of the bones' theft has been moved to the night of the players' arrival in Vallaki to ensure that the scene of the crime is sufficiently undisturbed for the players to do substantive detective work while investigating. An assortment of clues has been added to clearly point the finger at Milivoj.

Milivoj himself has been relocated to his family home—both to show (not tell) his motivation for stealing the bones, to provide dramatic distance between the players' investigation and their confrontation with its prime witness, and to accentuate the appearance of Milivoj's guilty conscience.

Return to the Church. Father Petrovich asks to accompany the players to the coffin maker's shop in order to ensure that the party has the benefits of his spirit guardians spell during the fight with Volenta's vampire spawn (i.e., to counteract their regeneration).

Arasek Stockyard. Erasmus's ghost has been added to discourage the players from investigating the wagon while also carefully avoiding encouraging them to do it out of spite.

The fresh paint for the Carnival of Wonders sign has been added to intentionally foreshadow that Rictavio (who the players will confront in Arc F: The Missing Vistana) is not all that he seems.

Coffin Maker's Shop. Volenta's two traps have been added to increase the probability that the players do battle with the vampires, thereby introducing them directly to Strahd's minions and the threat posed by vampires. The number of vampire spawn has been reduced from six to three, including Volenta, to ensure that the encounter is balanced for a 4th-level party.

Volenta has been placed as the mastermind of this scheme in order to provide the players with a low-level boss that they can reasonably defeat—but who will recur as an antagonist throughout the adventure.

Volenta's statblock has been designed to provide the players with a dynamic, tactical experience while ensuring that she is not the first of her minions to die.

Meanwhile, Father Petrovich's divine eminence feature has been modified to allow the players to reap its benefits and ensure that the encounter is not too deadly, as well as to ensure that martial characters without access to magical weapons can deal substantive damage despite the vampires' resistances to nonmagical weapon damage.

Arc F: The Missing Vistana

In this arc, at Madam Eva’s request, the players visit Blinsky Toys, the home of Vallaki's resident toymaker, to purchase a nameday gift for Eva’s great grand-niece, Arabelle. There, the players learn new information about the traveling ringmaster Rictavio, and the Baron's brutish enforcer, Izek Strazni.

After obtaining a toy for Arabelle, the players visit the Vistani encampment located a short distance away from Vallaki's walls. There, the players can meet the camp’s leaders: Luvash and Arrigal, Arabelle’s father and uncle, respectively.

When the players learn that Arabelle has recently disappeared, Luvash asks them to retrieve a clue from the scene of her disappearance—a strange platinum signet ring—from Kasimir Velikov, one of the dusk elves whose hovels circle the encampment. Luvash believes that the ring may hold the key to finding his daughter, and promises the players a wealth of treasure if they research its secrets in the Baron’s personal library in Vallaki and uncover Arabelle’s location.

Upon obtaining the ring from Kasimir and returning to Vallaki, the players must gain access to Baron Vargas Vallakovich’s personal library—either by cunning, diplomacy, or subterfuge. Once inside, they are soon met by the Baron’s son, Victor Vallakovich, whose spellbook bears the same sigil as the signet ring.

In exchange for the players’ promise to bring back any relics found therein—including, if possible, a proper wizard’s staff—Victor tells them that the sigil was the personal symbol of the archmage Khazan, whose abandoned tower sits on the shores of Lake Baratok. Though Victor doesn’t know how to get there, he can direct the players to Szoldar Szoldarovich, a Vallakian wolf-hunter who knows the Svalich Woods well.

The players can hire Szoldar as a guide, or simply buy him a drink to get directions to Lake Baratok. Upon arriving at the lake, the players can find the trapped wagon of the Vistana monster hunter Ezmerelda d’Avenir, as well as the ancient mage’s tower of Khazan himself. After bypassing the tower’s magically locked door, the players can find clues revealing Arabelle’s fate—and suggesting that the ringmaster Rictavio is not all he appears.

If the players return to Vallaki, confront Rictavio, and persuade him that they’re friends, rather than foes, he reluctantly reveals his identity and leads them to Arabelle’s hiding place: the carnival wagon stored in the Arasek Stockyard. Unbeknownst to the players, however, Arabelle’s uncle, Arrigal, has followed them into Vallaki—and when Arrigal reveals himself and demands her return, the players must decide which man to trust. And even once the tension has settled, Arabelle delivers a dark and cryptic prophecy . . .

F1. Blinsky Toys

After receiving Madam Eva’s request in Arc C: Into the Valley to purchase and deliver a toy for her great grand-niece, Arabelle, the players can get directions to Vallaki’s local toy shop, Blinsky Toys, by asking Urwin Martikov, Danika Dorakova, or most native Vallakians for directions. Blinsky Toys can now be found on the northern edge of Vallaki's town square, which is as described in N8. Town Square (p.119).

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (79)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (80)

Profile: Gadof Blinsky

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Blinsky should inspire amusement with his accent, attire, and morbid aesthetic, endearment for his loneliness and sincerity, and sympathy for his terror of Izek.

Emotions. Blinsky most often feels cheerful, frightened, anxious, lonely, joyful, or melancholy.

Motivations. Blinsky wants to use his macabre toys to bring joy to Barovia’s children and to succeed Fritz von Weerg as the greatest toymaker of history.

Inspirations. When playing Blinsky, channel Olaf (Frozen), Rubeus Hagrid (Harry Potter), and Gepetto (Pinocchio),

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Gadof Blinsky is a cheerful toymaker with a love for the macabre. To those he trusts, Blinsky is a lonely and anxious man, fearful that his work will never be good enough to win his customers’ love.

Morale. In a fight, Blinsky would plead for peace, stumbling over himself and babbling for mercy while looking for an opportunity to flee.

Relationships. Blinsky owns Piccolo, a pet monkey that was given to him by Rictavio, the traveling ringmaster. Blinsky also makes dolls resembling Ireena Kolyana for Izek Strazni, and receives a humble stipend to craft decorations for Baron Vallakovich’s weekly festivals.

Blinsky Toys is as described in N7. Blinsky Toys. As the characters explore the shop, Blinsky cheerfully tells them about his inspiration for making toys: the legendary toymaker Fritz von Weerg, and his greatest invention that was lost to the ages: a clockwork man said to lie somewhere in Castle Ravenloft.

If the players ask Blinsky about the doll resembling Ireena Kolyana (see Creepy Dolls, p. 118), he anxiously insists that it is not for sale and asks them to choose another toy. If the players demand an explanation for its eerie resemblance, they can coax a fearful Blinsky to share what he knows with a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion or Intimidation) check or by taking the doll for themselves. Blinsky is clearly terrified of Izek’s wrath, and will do anything to ensure that the doll is delivered on time.

If the players ask Blinsky about Piccolo, he can inform them that he received the monkey only a few days ago from Rictavio, a traveling ringmaster who recently arrived in Vallaki.

As the characters exit Blinsky Toys, they can see Izek Strazni and two guards arrive to post new proclamations, as described in N8. Town Square (p. 119).

F2. Vistani Camp

The path from Vallaki to the Vistani Camp is as described in N9. Vistani Camp (p. 119).

When the players arrive at the camp, they can choose to either ascend the hill to the ring of wagons at the top (see E2a. The Vistani Encampment) or speak with one the dusk elves guarding the hovels at the base of the hill (see E2b. Dusk Elf Hovels below).

F2a. The Vistani Encampment

Entering the Vistani Camp

The Vistani are largely as described in Roleplaying the Vistani and the Elves (p. 119), with the encampment largely as described in N9c. Vistani Tent, N9d. Horses, N9e. Luvash's Wagon, N9f. Wagon of Sleeping Vistani, N9g. Wagon of Gambling Vistani, N9h. Vistani Family Wagon, and N9i. Vistani Treasure Wagon (pp. 121-23).

When the players first enter the tent, modify the descriptive text as follows:

As you duck inside the tent, you hear the sound of splintering wood and shattering ceramic. Blinking through the haze of smoke that fills the interior, you see three sputtering campfires burning low with embers. A total of six Vistani sit around the hearths, watching the source of the commotion with solemn, sympathetic looks.

A shirtless young man kneels on the dead grass by the center of the tent, his eyes downcast and his face pale. Beside him, a broken wooden crate sits amidst a pile of broken pottery shards, several of which are still wobbling from the force of impact.

A dozen feet from the kneeling youth stands an older, larger man wearing studded leather armor and a thick, well-trimmed beard. His eyes are bloodshot, and his right hand is trembling. He appears to be leaning his weight against a makeshift wooden crutch for support; looking down, you see that his lower right leg is wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

"You were supposed to keep her safe!" the larger man bellows hoarsely. He whirls, his hand grabbing blindly as if for something else to throw. Sweat beads on his forehead, and he chokes back a sob of rage. "My little girl! And now—"

He wavers unsteadily—and stumbles. In a blink, a third man, also clad in studded leather and wearing a fine-trimmed goatee, steps out from his shadow and catches the larger man on his shoulder before he falls. "Easy, brother," the third man murmurs. "You've lost a lot of blood." He glances up and catches sight of you, his brow tightening imperceptibly. "And it would appear that we have company."

If the players do not respond first, Luvash hails them warily and—leaning back on his crutch to conceal any weakness—asks them their business. If the players share that they have come to deliver Madam Eva’s gift, Luvash tells them that Arabelle—his daughter—has recently gone missing.

Profile: Luvash

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Luvash should make the players feel sympathetic to his grief, endeared to his dedication to his daughter, irritated with his stubbornness, and mildly uncomfortable with his hot temper.

Emotions. Luvash most often feels angered, melancholy, anxious, guilty, desperate, frustrated, joyful, content, amused, or grateful.

Motivations. Luvash wants to ensure that his daughter, Arabelle, is safe and loved, and that the families of the Vistani encampment can thrive and prosper.

Inspirations. When playing Luvash, channel Boromir (The Lord of the Rings), Robert Baratheon (A Game of Thrones), Bob Parr (The Incredibles), and Wolverine (X-Men).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Luvash is a gruff, stubborn brawler with an impatient spirit and a heart of gold. To those he trusts, Luvash is a fiercely devoted father with a soft and gentle compassion—but near-overwhelmed by anxiety for the safety of his daughter.

Morale. In a fight, Luvash would draw his blade to protect his people without a moment’s hesitation, but would swiftly sheathe it if necessary to keep Arabelle safe.

Relationships. Luvash is the elder brother of Arrigal, one of Strahd’s spies. (Luvash doesn’t know that Arrigal is a spy for Strahd.) Luvash is also the father of Arabelle, whose mother was one of Madam Eva’s descendants, and—along with Arrigal—one of the two leaders of the Vistani camp outside of Vallaki.


Profile: Arrigal

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Arrigal should make the players feel insulted by his slight condescension, unnerved by his intense curiosity and veneer of cheerful courtesy, and—when they learn of it—both disgusted by and sympathetic to his decision to serve Strahd.

Emotions. Arrigal most often feels curious, suspicious, frustrated, resentful, relaxed, or amused.

Motivations. Arrigal wants to protect his family and ensure a bright future for Barovia’s Vistani, free of the resentments of the small-minded Barovians—a goal which he intends to accomplish by serving Strahd.

Inspirations. When playing Arrigal, channel Loki (Thor), Littlefinger (A Game of Thrones), and Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Arrigal is Luvash’s enforcer and adviser: a cautious, cheerful, and curious man who prefers to remain aloof from the troubles of others. To those he trusts, Arrigal is a dedicated uncle, a fierce advocate for the Vistani, and a duelist with a slew of deadly skills. Only Arrigal knows that he serves Strahd von Zarovich faithfully as one of his spies—and that he would go to great lengths to serve the vampire’s will in exchange for the prosperity of his family and people.

Morale. In a fight, Arrigal would act with ruthless cunning, retreating as necessary before striking from the shadows, using deceit, manipulation, or dirty tricks to ensure an advantage.

Relationships. Arrigal is Luvash’s younger brother and Arabelle’s uncle. He is also a spy for Strahd and makes regular reports to Anastrasya, one of Strahd’s vampiric brides.

Luvash can share the following information with the players:

  • Three days before the players’ arrival in Vallaki, Luvash’s nephew, Alexei, was tasked with watching Arabelle play in the nearby woods while Luvash mediated a dispute between two Vistani families.
  • Instead of watching Arabelle, Alexei got drunk on wine. When he woke up, Arabelle was gone.
  • Alexei claims that Yan, a long-time member of the encampment, gave him the wine and had vanished when Alexei awoke.
  • Luvash led the search for Arabelle, joining more than a dozen Vistani and nearly that many dusk elf scouts from the hovels below the hill. Luvash himself had to return to the encampment after his right leg was caught in a wolf trap, leaving him too wounded to walk.
  • The search parties haven’t yet found Arabelle. However, a dusk elf named Savid found Yan’s decapitated body lying in bloody grass near the Luna River, surrounded by signs of a fight.
  • Savid also found a strange signet ring lying in the grass, which seemed to have been dropped in the struggle. Luvash gave it to Kasimir, the dusk elves’ leader and foremost scholar, to identify, but hasn’t received any useful news or information.

Luvash believes that the sigil on the signet ring may lead him to Arabelle’s location. Though Kasimir has been unable to make sense of it, Baron Vargas Vallakovich of Vallaki is rumored to own an impressive library of books, which could hold the key to identifying the ring. However, the Vistani and dusk elves are forbidden from entering the town.

Luvash asks the players to recover the ring from Kasimir, then research its sigil in Baron Vallakovich’s library. Should the players return to him with actionable information about Arabelle’s whereabouts—or, better yet, Arabelle herself—Luvash promises to give them a valuable reward. (If pressed, Luvash can promise the players a sum of 500 gp—or an assortment of treasure worth as much or more.)

If the players accept Luvash’s mission, he directs them to E2b. Dusk Elf Hovels to meet with Kasimir.

Strahd’s Bounty

When Strahd received Madam Eva’s most recent fortelling, he learned that he could not control the raw power of the Fanes without a token of the Rozana’s divinity. Strahd also learned of two means by which he could obtain such a token: by sacrificing a memento of his past at the Whispering Wall by Yester Hill, or by securing a mortal descendant who bore a divine spark of the Ladies Three themselves. Strahd’s preference is, of course, the latter.

Strahd knows that a descendant of one of the Ladies lives somewhere in the valley, and knows which signs will lead him to them. To this end, he has dispatched his spies across Barovia in search of them. Though Strahd doesn’t know it, his cupbearer and most recent consort—the vampire spawn Escher—has taken it upon himself to pursue the descendant as well.

Though Escher joined Strahd’s court freely, he has recently grown anxious that Strahd might soon discard him—especially if Strahd’s vampiric brides, Ludmilla, Anastrasya, and Volenta, succeed in winning back his favor. As such, when a Vistana named Yan—one of Strahd's many spies—visited Castle Ravenloft for a report, Escher struck a deal with him. Yan agreed to assist in locating the Ladies' descendant; in exchange, once Escher became Strahd’s favored consort, he would provide Yan with riches and power.

Arabelle’s Disappearance

Yan returned to the Vistani encampment outside of Vallaki—and it wasn’t long before he struck gold. Upon recognizing that Luvash’s daughter, Arabelle, bore many of the signs that Escher had described, Yan summoned Escher to the camp and prepared to make his move.

Alexei, a Vistana youth and Arabelle’s older cousin, was ordinarily tasked with watching her while her father, Luvash, worked. While Arabelle played in the woods near the encampment, Yan approached Alexei and shared with him copious amounts of wine—more than enough to get him exceedingly drunk. Once Alexei was asleep, Yan grabbed Arabelle, gagged her, and stuffed her into a sack.

Yan moved quickly to bring Arabelle to Escher’s pre-arranged meeting point: an innocuous spot along the banks of the Luna River nearby. Yan found Escher there as expected—but as Escher retrieved Yan’s payment, disaster struck.

Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the vampire hunter who had fled Castle Ravenloft after Strahd’s awakening, had been staying nearby at the old tower on Lake Baratok. Today, Van Richten was searching the marshy riverside grasses for a particular medicinal herb he’d run out of—and it was there, crouching hidden in the underbrush, that he noticed Yan and Escher’s clandestine meeting.

Ordinarily, Van Richten would have been loath to reveal his location—even in the presence of one of Strahd’s foul spawn—and risk blowing his cover. However, when he noticed Yan’s sack moving and heard a child’s whimpering within, Van Richten’s mind flashed back to the kidnapping and death of his late son, Erasmus—and his body moved without thinking.

Within seconds, Yan was dead and a wounded Escher had fled for Castle Ravenloft. Van Richten swiftly rescued Arabelle from her restraints, and was astounded to see that she was a young Vistana herself. When Van Richten used his talisman of echoes to cast speak with dead on Yan’s severed head and learnt of Escher’s plan, he and Arabelle realized that the Vistani encampment was no longer safe from Strahd’s spies.

Taking Yan’s head with them to prevent investigation and wading upstream through the Luna River to mislead the dusk elves’ scouts, Van Richten and Arabelle returned to Chapter 11: Van Richten's Tower (p. 167) to hatch a plan. Remaining at the tower was infeasible—Strahd now knew Arabelle’s face and location, and would surely attempt to scry her. Though the tower’s antimagic field would hinder Strahd’s efforts, it would also be the first place he would look when his scrying spell inevitably failed.

Van Richten himself had an amulet of nondetection to avoid Strahd’s watchful eye—as well as a spare amulet that his student, Ezmerelda d’Avenir, had returned to him when the two parted ways. The two amulets would suffice to protect them from Strahd’s magic, but Arabelle still needed a place to live and sleep away from the eyes of Strahd’s spies—at least until Van Richten could find a better alternative.

Laying Low

The nearby town of Vallaki, with its large and bustling population, could provide a far better place for the two to lose themselves in the crowd. However, while Van Richten could disguise himself with his hat of disguise, he had no such disguises for Arabelle, and any effort to transport her into or around Vallaki would risk alerting Strahd’s spies.

Fortunately, Van Richten still had an old Vistani wagon hidden away in the woods from when he had first entered Barovia—one with ample space for Arabelle to reside. While Vistani weren’t welcome in Vallaki, Van Richten decided that a different disguise—one that would allow them to hide in plain sight—could serve just as well.

Disguising himself as Yan, Van Richten used Arabelle’s advice to sneak into the Vistani camp itself, stealing several of the colorful paints that the Vistani used to decorate their wagons. That night, Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders was born—and Van Richten himself became Rictavio, ringmaster of the “carnival.”

As Van Richten worked, Arabelle—who had stowed the card in her pocket following a vague premonition that morning—felt her inner Sight flare once more. Without understanding entirely why, she hid a copy of the Hooded One Tarokka card in her pillow alongside a silvered dagger that Van Richten had given her, leaving her beaded charm bracelet wrapped around them.

In the morning, Van Richten hid Arabelle in the back of the wagon, which he hitched to Drusilla, his horse, and rode it into Vallaki. There, he struck a deal with the Gunther and Yelena Arasek to store the wagon (still holding Arabelle) in Arasek Stockyard, and took up residence in the private guest room of the Blue Water Inn.

Aftermath of the Kidnapping

Arabelle’s absence, didn’t go unnoticed for long. By dusk on the night she’d been kidnapped, Luvash had discovered the hungover Alexei and learned of his daughter’s disappearance. The Vistani and dusk elves spread out among the nearby woods, searching in vain for any sign of the missing girl.

At nearly the same time that Van Richten and Arabelle were riding through Vallaki’s gates, a dusk elf named Savid found Yan’s decapitated body amidst the reeds of the Luna River amid signs of a struggle. Savid also found a strange trinket atop the bloodied grass: a platinum signet ring stamped with a strange sigil. He returned it to Luvash, who ordered Savid to deliver it to Kasimir Velikov—the dusk elves’ leader and scholar—for inspection upon Kasimir’s return. Luvash has continued the search for Arabelle, though his personal efforts came to a bloody and brutal halt when his right leg was caught in a well-hidden wolf trap.

Meanwhile, Van Richten delivers Arabelle food from the Blue Water Inn’s kitchens once each morning and night, claiming to nosy onlookers that he is merely delivering snacks to the “ferocious saber-toothed tiger” he has locked up in his wagon. Van Richten’s lie, however, is more true than he knows. The wagon is haunted by the kindly ghost of his son, Erasmus van Richten (see Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, p. 180)—and Erasmus, in his youthful exuberance, has already scared onlookers away more than once by shaking the wagon and scratching against its wooden interior.

Both Van Richten and Arabelle know that this is a temporary solution at best. Van Richten, who first heard of the mysterious Keepers of the Feather during Doru’s rebellion, is quietly investigating the members as described in N2c. Taproom (p. 100). He hopes to determine whether the secret society is friend or foe—and, if friend, whether its agents can be trusted.

F2b. Dusk Elf Hovels

The dusk elf hovels are as described in N9b. Dusk Elf Hovels (p. 121). The dusk elves themselves are as described in Roleplaying the Vistani and the Elves (p. 119). If the players approach one of the guards and inquire about the Vistani, the guard directs them to the ring of wagons at the top of the hill.

If the players inquire about Luvash’s mission, the guard directs them to Kasimir's hovel. The guard notes, however, that Kasimir has recently returned from a long and arduous journey and that the players must not disturb him beyond what is reasonably necessary.

F2c. Kasimir’s Hovel

Kasimir’s hovel is largely as described in N9a. Kasimir's Hovel (p. 121). If the players enter it, read:

You enter into a small, cozy vestibule several degrees warmer than the chill mists outside. The walls of this small chamber are decorated with hanging sketches and portraits of proud and wise-looking elves with dark skin, tree-borne spires carved of dark wood, and artistic depictions of constellations and celestial bodies. Two curtains of dark brown fabric obscure the entrance to another chamber beyond.

Beyond the curtains lie a larger chamber, lit and heated by a fireplace at the north end. An old green rug sits facing the fire, just beside an old wooden table flanked by several chairs. The left-side wall of this comfortable room bears a dozen cubbyholes bearing leather-bound books and small wooden statuettes of elven figures, while the wall to the right bears a faded tapestry of a lush and beautiful forest beneath a noonday sun.

The players can find Kasimir sitting on the green rug facing the fire, meditating. He is as described in Kasimir Velikov (p. 232), but has recently sustained a black eye and several cuts across his cheek.

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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (82)

Profile: Kasimir Velikov

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Kasimir should make the players feel grateful for his competence and genuine interest in assisting them, mildly insulted by his slight condescension, mildly suspicious of his caginess, and sympathetic to his sorrow for the plight of his people.

Emotions. Kasimir most often feels curious, frustrated, suspicious, excited, melancholy, nostalgic, somber, or regretful.

Motivations. Kasimir wants to ensure the safety of the dusk elves and resurrect his sister, Patrina, once he’s freed her of Strahd’s dark influence and seen Strahd destroyed.

Inspirations. When playing Kasimir, channel Stephen Strange (Doctor Strange), Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock), Spock (Star Trek), and the Twelfth Doctor (Doctor Who).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Kasimir is a quiet and withdrawn scholar, with a powerful curiosity and a fierce dedication to his people. To those he trusts, Kasimir is a lost and broken man, guilt-ridden for his role in Patrina’s death and resigned to somber despair for the dusk elves’ future. Only Kasimir knows the lengths to which he is willing to go to resurrect his sister—and the price he is willing to pay.

Morale. In a fight, Kasimir would attempt to negotiate a peace, but would not hesitate to unleash his most powerful spells—or use his magic to escape—if a diplomatic solution proved untenable.

Relationships. Kasimir is the leader of the dusk elf encampment and the younger brother of the late Patrina Velikovna, a banshee who resides in the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft. Kasimir is also the cousin of Rahadin, Strahd’s chamberlain, and the nephew of the late dusk elf prince, Erevan Löwenhart. (Kasimir is not a direct blood relation of Erevan, who married Kasimir’s aunt, Lorelei.)

His right hand and forearm are a pale bluish-white, with much of the skin puffy and blistered. (A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Medicine) check identifies the symptoms of frostbite.)

Kasimir welcomes the players warmly, though obviously with some discomfort. If the players ask for the signet ring, he produces it from his cloak and wishes them luck, noting that he could not identify it himself—odd, he thinks, given his knowledge of pre-Barovian heraldry and his long history in the valley. (He isn’t sure whether the Baron’s library might hold more information, but believes it a lead worth pursuing.)

The symbol on the signet ring resembles the connected series of lines depicted on V2. Tower Door (p. 169), but rotated counterclockwise such that the shape is vertically symmetrical. A tiny arcane rune has been carved into the metal above each of the two unconnected ends of the series of lines.

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Kasimir notes that the runes are the symbols of the evocation (left) and necromancy (right) schools of magic, respectively, but confesses that the ring has shown no reaction to any kind of magic.

If the players ask Kasimir about his injuries, he claims that he had been hiking across Mount Ghakis, but fell when the frozen bluff he’d been walking on crumbled beneath his weight. If the players ask him why he was visiting Mount Ghakis, he discloses only that he was searching for something of personal significance. (If the players push harder, Kasimir politely asks them to avoid intruding too deeply into his private matters.)

If the players ask Kasimir about the history of the dusk elves, Kasimir shares the following tale:

Even now, nearly five centuries past, the memories are sharp and clear in my mind, like shards of broken glass. I was a mere century old when my people lost their freedom—when the tyranny of the Von Zarovich clan rose like a shadow across the land.

It was not Strahd that shattered the peace, but his father, King Barov von Zarovich II. In those days, our people dwelled in Othrondil, the Forest of Twilight. A council of princes ruled us, led by Erevan Löwenhart, my uncle and a master in the art of bladesong. When King Barov's eyes fell upon our lands, he demanded our fealty—our tribute to the borders of old Zarovia, the kingdom his ancestors once ruled. Erevan, who practiced the style of the lion and bore the lion's sigil, was never one to bow, however, and refused. His act of defiance ignited the fires of war.

Barov's conquest was swift and brutal. His forces, joined by Rahadin, my cousin, and a traitor to our people, laid waste to our kingdom. I was a mage and scribe in Erevan's court—I saw Rahadin shatter Erevan’s blade and execute his family, marking the end of the royal line. My people were subjugated; those that resisted were hunted like rabbits.

Barov ruled over us with an iron fist—and when he died and his son, Strahd, came to power, we rose in rebellion, leading the charge for freedom. But Strahd was even more cunning and cruel than his sire. He quashed our revolt in a matter of days, and slaughtered our people in a genocide that left less than a hundred alive. He left us, the survivors, to the mercies of the Vistani, who took us into their caravans and led us to sanctuary in this valley.

Strahd's hunger for conquest, however, was endless. Within a year, the last of his enemies had fallen, and he had claimed the valley for his own, naming it "Barovia." We found ourselves trapped, imprisoned in the heart of our conqueror's new empire. By then, however, we had built a home here, and chose to remain—hoping, in our heart of hearts, that the Vistani's kindness would keep us safe. And so here we have remained ever since.

F3. Burgomaster’s Mansion

The burgomaster's mansion is largely as described in N3. Burgomaster's Mansion (p. 103). However, the magic mirror in N3p. Bridal Gown and Spirit Mirror (p. 108) has been modified and moved to N3s. Attic Storage (p. 109). See Speaking with Victor below, or Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information about the mirror.

If the players visit the burgomaster’s mansion openly, they are greeted by Clavdia, the Baron’s maid, and led to the den as described in N3. Burgomaster's Mansion (p. 103) and N3e. Den (p. 106). The Baron arrives to speak with them a few minutes later, joined by his twin mastiffs named Fang and Claw, as described in **N3l. Library (p. 107).

F3a. Entering the Mansion

If Ireena Kolyana has already visited the mansion alone and obtained an audience with the Baron regarding the Barovian refugees, the Baron is glad to grant her and her companions access to his library. Otherwise, the players can attempt to persuade the Baron to grant them entry, or try to gain access by subterfuge if all else fails.

If the players visit the library, proceed to Searching the Library below.

1. Persuading the Baron

If the players ask Baron Vallakovich for access without Ireena’s aid, he demands to know their background, their purpose in Vallaki, and their intentions for using his library.

While he is not generally inclined to grant their request, if the players indicate that they are adventurers, mages, clerics, scholars, or otherwise up to the task, Vargas is willing to allow them entry into the library if they agree to resolve a problem his household has been facing. He can share with them the following information:

  • For the past two months, a spirit has haunted the Vallakovich mansion.
  • Servants have seen its reflection in mirrors or darkened windows, and have reported cold drafts, strange sounds, and objects that move of their own volition.
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Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (85)

  • The mansion’s butler and the baroness's lady-in-waiting have already left the Baron's employment, too fearful of the ghost to continue working in the house.
  • The Baron’s wife, Baroness Lydia Petrovna, hosts daily lunches for a group of Vallakian women, who Vargas uses to prepare costumes and decorations for his weekly festivals. Vargas is desperate to ensure that the women remain ignorant of the spirit’s existence.
  • The Baron's cook, a doughty woman named Tereska, has seen the spirit most recently, and nearly quit her job before the Baron convinced her to stay by (reluctantly) increasing her pay.

The Baron doesn’t mind allowing the players to use the library before they’ve solved the case, but will only grant them access if they agree to take it on.

The Baron cannot be convinced with appeals to Arabelle’s safety, insisting that he cares little for the plight of a “Vistani whelp.”

If the players wish to visit the library, the baron summons Clavdia, the maid, to escort them to the library before departing. (Proceed to Searching the Library below.) If the players wish to interview Tereska, the baron asks Clavdia to escort them to the kitchen instead. In both cases, as the Baron departs, he asks them to avoid discussing the spirit with anyone who lives outside the household.

The kitchen is largely as described in N3g. Kitchen (p. 106). The cook, Tereska, is a broad-shouldered, rough-hewn woman with a tough, no-nonsense attitude who wears her heart on her sleeve. She is reluctant to discuss the spirit, but can share the following information if asked:

  • The spirit has mostly been seen on the second floor, though strange sounds have been heard coming from the attic at night.
  • Tereska experienced one particularly bad haunting while retrieving an old pot from the attic last week—an eerie presence, coupled with a cold draft and the unmistakable sound of breathing—which nearly pushed her to quit her job.
  • The Baroness’s lady-in-waiting, a quiet woman named Valentina, reported seeing the spirit in the Baroness’s mirror on multiple occasions. The Baroness hid the mirror away in the attic shortly thereafter.
  • Valentina described the spirit’s appearance as the distorted silhouette of a young woman. All of the servants agree that its hauntings universally carry a sense of sorrow, loneliness, and longing.
  • Few members of the household enter the attic anymore, though the Baron’s son, Victor Vallakovich, has been known to disappear into it for hours or even days at a time. When he does, Tereska usually leaves his meals on a table by the entrance to the attic and knocks on the trapdoor to alert him.
  • If the players ask about Victor, Tereska notes that he eats too little and seems strangely isolated and terse for a young man his age, especially since the strange illness that struck “that Wachter girl” nearly three months ago. (Tereska doesn’t remember her name, but knows that the girl was Lady Fiona Wachter’s daughter, and that she and Victor got along well.) Tereska declines to elaborate, insisting that the Baron’s family matters are none of her business.

If the players express an interest in investigating the attic, Tereska provides them with directions to the entrance in N3o. Master Bedroom (p. 108). She also prepares a small plate of bread and cheese, which she asks them to bring to Victor. Proceed to Speaking with Victor below.

2. Infiltrating the Mansion

The players may choose to infiltrate the mansion rather than obtain Baron Vallakovich’s permission. If they are found, however, one or more NPCs can raise the alarm by shouting for aid. If the alarm is raised, twelve guards arrive at the mansion two minutes later, followed by Izek Strazni one minute afterward.

The NPCs in the mansion behave as follows:

  • Baron Vallakovich can generally be found in N3l. Library (p. 107) during the day, and in N3o. Master Bedroom (p. 108) at night. He is accompanied by his two mastiffs, Fang and Claw, at all times. If he finds the players trespassing, he sets Fang and Claw to attack them, but raises the alarm if the dogs are defeated.
  • Baroness Lydia Petrovna can generally be found in N3c. Dining Room (p. 106) during the day and in N3o. Master Bedroom (p. 108) at night. If she finds the players trespassing during the day, she assumes that they are guests of her husband, Vargas, and greets them accordingly; otherwise, she screams, then faints.
  • Victor Vallakovich can generally be found in N3t. Victor's Workroom (p. 109) both day and night. If he finds the players trespassing, he greets them warily and demands to know their names and business. (He won’t raise the alarm if his curiosity is satisfied.)
  • Tereska, the cook, can generally be found in N3g. Kitchen (p. 106) during the day, and in **N3f. Servants' Quarters (p. 106) at night. If she finds the players trespassing, she gives them an opportunity to leave, but raises the alarm if they refuse.
  • Clavdia, the maid, can generally be found on the second floor during the morning, on the first floor during the afternoon, and in N3f. Servants’ Quarters (p. 106) at night. If she finds the players trespassing, she immediately raises the alarm.

F3b. Searching the Library

If the players gain access to N3l. Library (p. 107), they can attempt to search the shelves for information regarding the platinum signet ring. With a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check or a full hour spent searching, the players can confirm that no books contain any information about the ring.

In the course of the players’ search, one of the players identifies a familiar name in a genealogical tome archiving births and deaths to Vallakian families: Ireena Strazni, the younger sister of Izek Strazni and the daughter of Grygori and Fatima Strazni. According to the records, however, Ireena Strazni died more than eighteen years ago at the age of four, with Grygori and Fatima dying shortly thereafter. Grygori and Fatima’s deaths are marked as Suicide by hanging, while Ireena’s cause of death is marked as Unknown (presumed devoured by wolves).

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Shortly after the players discover these records, however, they are interrupted by the arrival of Victor Vallakovich, who has come to the library in search of a particular book: Ethereal Entities: Denizens of the Unseen Realm, written by the archmage Mordenkainen.

Victor, who is largely as described in N3t. Victor's Workroom (p. 109), is carrying his spellbook with him. The players can easily see that the cover of the book displays the same symbol as the platinum signet ring.

If the players ask about Victor’s spellbook, he demands to know their names and purpose. The players can persuade him to aid them by sharing the story of Arabelle’s disappearance or by making a successfuly DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

If Victor agrees to aid the players by sharing information about his book, he first obtains Ethereal Entities from one of the shelves, then invites the players upstairs to N3t. Victor’s Workroom to speak further. He won’t share any information outside of his workroom.

F3c. Speaking with Victor

Victor’s workroom is largely as described in N3t. Victor’s Workroom (p. 109), except that the glyph of warding on the door, rather than dealing lightning damage, casts fear in a 30-foot cone away from the door when activated. Additionally, Victor’s spellbook contains the sending spell, rather than remove curse.

Profile: Victor Vallakovich

Roleplaying Information

Resonance. Victor should make the players feel annoyed at his suspicion and condescension, sympathetic to his anxiety, frustration, and desperation, and endeared to his stubborn determination to see Stella healed.

Emotions. Victor most often feels curious, frustrated, suspicious, excited, bored, anxious, desperate, or determined.

Motivations. Victor wants to restore Stella’s soul to her body and escape Barovia.

Inspirations. When playing Victor, channel Jonathan Byers (Stranger Things), Prince Zuko (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Raven (Teen Titans), and Perrin Aybara (Wheel of Time).

Character Information

Persona. To the world, Victor is a quiet, moody, and isolated young man with an awkward manner and a total lack of social graces. To those he trusts, Victor is a devoted and compassionate friend, with a spark of brilliance and the stubbornness of a mule. Only Victor knows that he secretly fears losing Stella’s friendship—both due to the harm caused by his teleportation circle and due to the time she’s spent with Erasmus van Richten in the Ethereal Plane.

Morale. In a fight, Victor would attempt to flee, but would resort to his most dangerous spells with wanton and amateurish abandon if cornered or if defending his friends or family.

Relationships. Victor is the only child of Baron Vargas Vallakovich and Baroness Lydia Petrovna. He is a close friend to Stella Wachter, and a friendly (though wary) acquaintance to the ghost of Erasmus van Richten. Victor despises and fears Izek Strazni, who killed Victor’s childhood cat, Miska, by kicking it across a room when it wandered into his path two years ago. (Victor has since reanimated Miska’s skeleton through the use of his animate dead spell.)

Additionally, Victor has only one skeleton cat, which is the animated remains of his childhood cat, Miska. Victor’s teleportation circle is perfectly constructed, and Victor has leaned the full-length mirror from N3p. Bridal Gown and Spirit Mirror (p. 108) against the wall beside the rug.

The mirror is a spirit mirror, a magical item that reflects both the Material Plane and creatures in the Border Ethereal. Upon entering the room, a player who looks into the mirror sees a flash of a young woman’s silhouette that swiftly vanishes—the spirit of Stella Wachter.

If the players have not already met Victor, he casts greater invisibility as described in N3t. Victor’s Workroom (p. 109) if alerted to their arrival, but clumsily knocks over a pile of parchment as the players enter the room in his haste to hide. A player who inspects the parchment sees that they are covered with elaborate diagrams of teleportation circles.

Ethereal Entities

Ethereal Entities: Denizens of the Unseen Realm by Mordenkainen is a slim hardback book with a leather cover dyed a deep, midnight blue. Its title and author's name are embossed in silver script along the spine and front cover, and the corners of the book are adorned with small, silver filigree resembling ethereal wisps. Its pages are filled with neatly-written text and beautifully detailed illustrations.

The book is a treatise on the Ethereal Plane and the creatures that dwell within or visit it. It contains all of the information provided in Ethereal Plane (Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 48), as well as a bestiary divided into the following three sections:

  • Etherborn: Natives of the Deep Ethereal, containing information about creatures that are said to dwell solely in the Deep Ethereal, such as the mythological mistfiends, ethershades, and shimmerlings.
  • Phantomfolk: Travelers from the Border Ethereal, containing information about incorporeal creatures that dwell in the Border Ethereal and often cross into the Material Plane, such as ghosts and phantom warriors.
  • Veil-Walkers: Visitors to the Ethereal, containing information about physical creatures that can cross into the Ethereal Plane, such as night hags, nightmares, and phase spiders. (See Matrons of Malevolence in Arc I: The Lost Soul for an excerpt of the chapter regarding night hags.)

The subsection discussing night hags includes a brief sidenote discussing a ritual that uses a night hag’s heartstone and the energies of a leyline to replicate the effects of the Etherealness spell for up to ten individuals for one hour on the night of the full moon.

If the Tome of Strahd is located within Victor’s workroom, it can be found atop Victor’s desk among his other papers. If the players attempt to pick up the Tome of Strahd, Victor immediately casts mage hand to retrieve it, revealing his position.

Otherwise, shortly after the players enter the room, they can hear the sound of a sneeze from the corner where Victor is hiding. Victor then reveals himself—including his spellbook and the recognizable sigil upon it—and proceeds to speak with the players as described in Searching the Library above.

If persuaded to aid the players in finding Arabelle, Victor can share the following information:

  • Three years ago, he found an old spellbook in his father’s library. He’s used it to study magic ever since.
  • The original owner of the spellbook was a mage named Khazan. The symbol on the cover of the spellbook was his personal sigil.
  • Long ago, Khazan built a wizard’s tower, which he imbued with powerful enchantments, including a protective field that prevented any other spellcasters from using magic within its reach.

If the players agree to investigate Khazan’s tower and give Victor any artifacts they find, he tells them where the tower can be found: a gravel causeway on Lake Baratok, to the west.

Victor isn’t sure how to get to Lake Baratok from Vallaki. However, he does know someone who will: Szoldar Szoldarovich, one of the town’s most skilled hunters. (Last year, in an effort to encourage Victor to develop more masculine hobbies and traits, Vargas forced him to accompany Szoldar on a hunting trip in the woods by Vallaki’s walls. Victor detested the experience, but came away with a healthy respect for Szoldar’s knowledge of Barovia’s wilderness.)

If the players are interested in speaking with Szoldar, Victor directs them to a ramshackle hut at the mouth of the Luna River to the west, which Szoldar and his partner, Yevgeni Krushkin, have turned into a dressing shack for skinning, gutting, and butchering their kills. To get there, the players should travel north, past Vallaki’s Zarovich Gate, and then travel west along the shores of Lake Zarovich.

Victor can tell the players that, while Szoldar and Yevgeni spend most mornings checking their traps for captured game, they usually return to the dressing shack by early afternoon to clean their weapons, reset their traps, and whittle and fletch fresh arrows.

If the players ask Victor about the haunting of the burgomaster’s mansion, or inquire too deeply about the silhouette in the spirit mirror, the players begin Arc I. The Lost Spirit. Otherwise, Victor tries to avoid discussing Stella or the haunting, preferring to keep his involvement as quiet as possible.

Khazan’s Staff

While reading Khazan’s spellbook, Victor learned that Khazan was the owner of a powerful wizard’s staff, which Victor believes may still be somewhere in his tower.

According to the spellbook, a magical binding allowed Khazan to summon it by merely speaking his own name. With the aid of Khazan’s staff, Victor believes he may be able to rescue Stella’s soul from the Ethereal Plane and restore it to her body.

Victor is, however, mistaken. Unlike the archmage’s spellbook, Strahd recovered Khazan’s staff from the remnants of his body. It is now concealed in Crypt 15 (p. 88) in Castle Ravenloft. See Arc T: Ravenloft Heist for more information about Khazan's staff.

F4. Lake Zarovich

Lake Zarovich is largely as described in L. Lake Zarovich (p. 38). However, Bluto is not present.

As the players journey west toward Szoldar’s shack, read:

The path ahead is uneven, littered with pebbles and overgrown in parts by moss and wild grass. To the left, the trees of the Svalich Wood stand tall and foreboding; to the right, a chill breeze sweeps in from the lake, tinged with a faint, brackish scent and the damp earthiness of old silt. Other than the mournful croak of a distant raven, the only sound that breaks the eerie silence is the squelching of mud beneath your feet and the quiet lapping of the waves against the shore.

It's not long, however, before the air is tinged with the faint scents of fur and a familiar, metallic tang. Ahead, you can hear the sound of rushing water, and see a place where the dark waters of the lake flow swiftly into a river that disappears southward into the dark woods. A small, crudely built shack stands tucked away near the water's edge, its timbers worn and weathered with age.

If the players arrive between the hours of noon and dusk, Szoldar and Yevgeni can be found inside. Szoldar is cleaning the blood from an old rusted hunting trap, while Yevgeni is halfway finished with skinning a large dead wolf.

When Szoldar and Yevgeni are away, the door to the shack is locked with a padlock. (Both wolf hunters carry a key.) If either wolf hunter is inside, the door is unlocked and hangs ajar.

If the players enter the shack, read:

The walls of this cramped shack are stained dark with age and use. Knives, cleavers, traps, and chains hang from the walls, each one well-cleaned and oiled. Animal pelts hang from the rafters, their empty eyes seeming to watch you as you pass.

Whether or not the players have already spoken with him, Szoldar instantly recognizes them as the newcomers residing at the Blue Water Inn. As described in N2c. Taproom, Szoldar and Yevgeni are glad to serve as guides if paid, or to provide directions to Lake Baratok in exchange for a promise of free drinks when the players return.

If the players choose to set off on their own, Szoldar gives the following directions:

  • Exit Vallaki from the western Sunset Gate, then cross the bridge that fords the Luna River.
  • Take the northern branch of the Luna River crossroads, which is marked “Lake Baratok” on a nearby signpost.
  • Continue down the path as it bends through the woods, before ultimately arriving at the lake.

Szoldar also warns the players to be cautious of werewolves on the Svalich Road and northern path. The woods to the west of Vallaki—and especially the woods around Lake Baratok—are the preferred hunting grounds of a local werewolf pack.

The werewolves's recent flurry of activity has made Szoldar suspect that the pack has come under the leadership of a new, more reckless alpha. He doesn’t know where the werewolves’ den is, but he cautions the players to keep an eye out for anything strange or unusual.

F5. The Svalich Road

As the players exit Szoldar’s shack, any characters with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 19 or higher notice a silhouette watching them from the southern treeline. If the players approach, look toward, or otherwise attempt to interact with the silhouette, it vanishes.

The silhouette is Arrigal, who has decided to spy on the players on Strahd’s behalf and to ensure that Arabelle is safely returned should the players find her. Though he remains out of sight for the remainder of the journey, Arrigal continues to track the players from afar.

F5a. Luna River Bridge

As the players cross the bridge over the Luna River, read the following:

The path narrows, flanked by dense, towering trees. Up ahead, you can see an old wooden bridge come into view, its age-worn planks spanning the rushing river below. As you approach, you can see the dark river tumbling over the smooth stones of the riverbed, bordered on either side by gnarled bushes and trees.

As you step onto the bridge, your boots echo against the old, damp wood. To the north, you can see the river meander upstream around the tree line before vanishing around a curve. To the south, the river winds like a ribbon between its banks, then gradually vanishes into mist.

Halfway across the bridge, you notice something odd: a small scrap of white material fluttering on the surface of the far side of the river, caught on a tree root a dozen yards downstream.

If the players retrieve the scrap of material, they find it to be a small, soaked white handkerchief, monogrammed with the embroidered red initials “R.V.R.”

F5b. Luna River Crossroads

The Luna River Crossroads are largely as described in P. Luna River Crossroads (p. 40).

If this is the first time that the players have visited the Luna River Crossroads, four twig blights and two scarecrows are lying in wait here. Modify the area description as follows:

The road comes to an X intersection, with branches to the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast.

Scattered across the intersection are four, small dead saplings, their branches and trunks blackened and gnarled. Some lean at slight angles, while others stand stubbornly upright, their twig-like structures idle and quiet in the windless air.

Nearby, a pair of scarecrows appear to have been mounted along two separate trees, bodies hewn of rough straw and weathered cloth clinging to twisted, low-hanging branches. Their painted sackcloth eyes seem almost mocking, and black raven's feathers poke from their stuffed guts.

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.

If Szoldar is accompanying the players, he warns them that the saplings and scarecrows are new additions to the crossroads, and that recent rumors have reported sightings of scarecrows moving of their own volition through the woods.

If the players approach the snapped signpost or move to leave the intersection, the blights and scarecrows attack.

F6. Lake Baratok

Lake Baratok is as described in Approaching the Tower (p. 167). The tower itself is largely as described in Chapter 11: Van Richten's Tower (p. 167).

F6a. Ezmerelda’s Wagon

Ezmerelda’s wagon is largely as described in V1. Ezmerelda's Magic Wagon (p. 168). However, rather than a single wooden sign, a trio of wooden signs has been arranged vertically in a haphazard diagonal across the back door.

The signs read, in order: “Keep out!”, “Home & Property of Ezmerelda d’Avenir,” and “Trespassers will be immediately incinerated.”

Beneath the warning on the third sign, someone has drawn a small frowning face with crossed-out eyes, surrounded by a stylized flame.

A player who approaches the wagon detects a faint scent of sulfur, and notices that the grass around it appears to have been tramped down by many feet. A player who makes a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check learns that the tracks were left by a pack of wolves the previous night, which evidently inspected the wagon before leaving it alone. (If he is with the players, Szoldar points this out after a brief investigation, and advises them against interfering with the wagon.) The player also learns that the wagon has been parked here for no more than forty-eight hours.

A Chance to React

As noted in The Order of Combat (Player's Handbook, p. 189), combat is a "clash between two sides." A participant in combat need not seek to harm one another—merely obstruct another participant from taking some sort of action or achieving some sort of goal.

As such, when one player states their intent to take an action that another player might seek to oppose—such as opening the door to Ezmerelda’s wagon—ask other nearby players if they’d like to intervene to prevent that action. (For example, a player might wish to shove the first player away from the wagon, or grapple them and pull them forcefully away.)

If so, have all involved players roll initiative. (The first player is, of course, free to change their mind and cease their original action at any time.)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (87)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (88)

A player that inspects Ezmerelda’s wagon also learns that it was not the only one that has parked here recently. A second set of wagon tracks lies nearby, leading from the eastern woods to a spot nearby Ezmerelda’s wagon, then south along the path away from the lake. A player who follows the tracks south finds that they reach the Old Svalich Road then turn east, toward Vallaki. A player who makes a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check can ascertain that the second set of tracks was made approximately three days before the players first arrived in Vallaki.

A player who makes a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check can follow the second set of tracks into the woods, where they end in a dark, sheltered hollow. Much of the forest floor around the hollow is stained with bright yellow and white paint. A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check reveals that the paint was left fairly recently—approximately three days before the players first arrived in Vallaki.

If the player has previously seen Rictavio’s wagon in Arasek Stockyard, they recognize the paint as the same shade as yellow as the sign on the wagon.

If the players successfully enter Ezmerelda’s wagon, it does not contain the burned page of Van Richten’s journal.

F6b. The Tower

1. The Tower Door

The tower door is largely as described in V2. Tower Door (p. 169). However, modify the descriptive text as follows:

The tower door is made of iron, with no visible handles or hinges. In the middle of the door is a large, embossed, blank red seal. Carved into the lintel above the door is a word: Khazan.

The seal appears to be blank. However, if a character approaches within 5 feet of the door, eight fist-sized buttons grow from its waxlike surface in the same positions as the stick figures depicted in V2. Tower Door (p. 169). If the character then moves away from the door, the buttons vanish once more. The buttons emerge in different places each time, but the order of the buttons as they move around the seal always stays the same.

Each of the eight buttons depicts a different arcane rune. A player with proficiency in Arcana, or who makes a successful DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana) check, identifies the runes as the symbols of the eight schools of magic. The order of the symbols, moving clockwise around the seal, is always: illusion, abjuration, necromancy, conjuration, divination, enchantment, transmutation, evocation.

A player who compares the platinum signet ring to the symbols notices that the evocation and necromancy runes exactly match the appearance of their corresponding symbols on the door. To unlock the door, the players must press the buttons in the order given by the pattern of crossed lines on the signet ring, beginning with either the evocation or necromancy symbol and moving along the lines in the proper sequence.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (89)

The two possible proper sequences are:

  • evocation, divination, illusion, transmutation, conjuration, abjuration, enchantment, necromancy
  • necromancy, enchantment, abjuration, conjuration, transmutation, illusion, divination, evocation

Each time a button is pressed, its symbol glows with the color of its corresponding school of magic: evocation (red), divination (silver), illusion (purple), transmutation (green), conjuration (brown), abjuration (yellow), enchantment (pink), and necromancy (blue).

A creature that touches any part of the door other than buttons without first unlocking it receives a mild, but painful electric shock. A creature that attempts to break down the door must succeed on a DC 25 Strength check; on a failure, a stroke of lightning blasts out from the door in a straight line 100 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 8d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. (Triggering the lightning multiple times doesn't cause the door to collapse.)

If eight different symbols are pressed in an incorrect sequence, their lights briefly flicker, then go out again. The first time this happens, the griffon statues atop the tower roof—four disguised gargoyles—come to life and attack. The gargoyles fight to the death.

2. The Scaffolding

The scaffolding is as described in V3. Rickety Scaffolding. If a creature climbs the scaffolding to the second floor, the four gargoyles on the roof come to life and attack. (Remember that the scaffolding leads to a hole in the wall on the third floor, and therefore has no entry point into the second floor.)

3. Inside the Tower

The interior of the tower is largely as described in V4. Tower, First Floor, V5. Tower, Second Floor, V6. Tower, Third Floor, and V7. Tower, Fourth Floor (pp. 170-71). However, the wooden box containing Yan's severed head has been removed from the tower.

A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check or a ten-minute search of the room reveals two clues:

  • A colorful beaded bracelet with several wooden charms sized for a child, wrapped around a silvered dagger and a Tarokka card (the Hooded One).
  • Two burned pieces of parchment amidst a pile of charred ashes in the stove, including a burned page from Van Richten's journal and a singed sketch of a sign proclaiming Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders. (The sketch appears to have been made far more recently than the journal entry.)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (90)

A player who makes a successful DC 13 Intelligence (History or Arcana) check recalls that the Hooded One represents mysteries, newcomers, and hidden identities.

As the players search the room, any character who looks out one of the windows toward Lake Zarovich notices something odd: a patch of lily pads approximately fifteen feet from the shore stained a bright, flamboyant yellow, at clear odds with the muted greens of the lily pads nearby.

The Lily Pads

A player who investigates the stained patch of lily pads can find a trio of ceramic pots sunk ten feet below the surface of the water. The pots are each half-filled with rocks; two bear traces of dried yellow paint along their rims and interior, while the third bears traces of dried white paint along its rim and interior.

If the player has previously seen Rictavio’s wagon in Arasek Stockyard, they recognize the paint as the same shade as yellow as the sign on the wagon.

If read, the burned journal page now reads as follows:

For nearly two decades now, I have undertaken to investigate and expose creatures of darkness to the purifying light of truth and knowledge. "Hero" I am named in some circles; "sage" and "master hunter" I am called in others. That I have survived countless supernatural assaults is seen as a marvel among my peers; my name is spoken with fear and loathing among my foes.

In truth, this "virtuous" calling began as an obsessive effort to destroy a vampire that murdered my child, and it has become for me a tedious and bleak career. Even as my life of hunting monsters began, I felt the weight of time on my weary shoulders. I expect that those who think me a hero will change their minds when they know the whole truth about my life as a hunter of the unnatural. Nevertheless, I must reveal, here and now, the truth of my fate—and the fates of those I have loved.

I have related the tragic story of how my only child Erasmus was taken by Vistani and sold to a vampire. I explained how Erasmus was made a minion of the night stalker, and how it was my miserable part to free him from that fate at the point of a stake. What I have neglected to illuminate before, however, is how I returned to track Erasmus's kidnappers once more across the land—and the terrible choice that I made when I found them.

In fact, the Vistani took Erasmus with my own, unwitting permission. They had brought an ill member of their tribe to me one evening and insisted that I treat him—but I was unable to save the young man's life. In fear of their retribution, I begged the Vistani to take anything of mine if only they would withhold their terrifying powers, of which I knew nothing. To my lasting astonishment, they chose to surreptitiously take my son in exchange for their loss! By the time I realized what had occurred, they were already an hour gone.

Incensed beyond reason, I strapped the body of the dead young man to my horse and doggedly followed the Vistani caravan through the woods, naively allowing the sun to set before me without seeking shelter from the night. But when I found them and demanded my son, they replied that he had been sold to the vampire, Baron Metus.

A short time later, I found my dear Erasmus made into a vampire. He begged me to end his curse, which I did with a heavy heart. The darkness had torn him from my loving arms forever, and I foolishly believed that the curse had exacted its deadly toll. I wept until an insatiate desire for vengeance filled the bottomless rift in my heart. I set off into the twilight, in search of the Vistani caravan once more.

When I found that they had gone, I found the grave of the man who had died and carried his corpse with me, in search of his family or one who could tear the secrets from his dead lips. I searched for many months, alone and driven by the fury of the damned.

As I traveled, I was beset by undead that would have slain me, had not their master—a lich—intervened and spared my life, for reasons that I do not completely understand. He somehow detected me and, with his powerful magic, took control of a pack of zombies that wandered in the forest. He spoke to me through the mouths of the dead things and placed a magic ward against undead on me, then animated the dead Vistana and bade it tell me where I could find its people.

Unfortunately (I say in hindsight), the plan worked. I found the child-stealers, and my unwelcome entourage included a growing horde of voracious undead that could not touch me, thanks to the lich's ward. When I finally found the caravan, something inside me snapped. I released the zombies, and the entire tribe was eaten alive.

Yet the story had not yet ended. Before she died, the leader cursed me, saying, "Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws!" Even now, so many years later, I can hear her words with painful clarity, haunting me still.

After nearly two decades of bloodshed and agony and loss, it slowly dawned on me that the Vistana’s curse had never slaked its thirst for revenge—and that all the true and stalwart friends I had come to know and lost were victims, not of ourtageous fortune, but of my own actions. True to the words of the dying Vistana, my life had been shielded from fate again and again, while those I esteemed above any treasure had taken my place!

When the horrifying enormity of my revelation swept over me, I railed bitterly at the cruel irony of my life. I contemplated deliberately ending my wretched existence in the most violent of ways—but, thankfully, patience and wisdom stayed my hand. Drained of all spirit, I cast myself into bed and wept, as I had not done since my former, blissful life was forever ripped from me.

But fate had not finished with me yet. When the dawn next came, it brought with it a man whose name invoked terror in me above all else: Arturi Radanavich, a sole survivor of the massacre I had perpetrated. Yet he came not to destroy me, but to heal me—and himself.

I learned that, in commanding the death of his family, I had cast a deadly curse of my own: “Undead take you, as you have taken my son!” As my hands had been stained with the blood of my friends, so, too, had Arturi been pursued those many years by the walking dead, leaving him an exile in the eyes of his people.

For one year, I traveled with him—learning the ways of the Vistani that I had come to hate, so that I could learn their ways and comprehend life through their eyes. When the year had ended, joy and despair filled my breath—joy at the realization that those I had dreaded as my longtime enemies had never truly been enemies at all, and despair for all the wasted years of bitter anger and resentment.

I offered my life to Arturi as forfeit for my crimes against his family, insisting that he must consider my curse on his tribe null and void, for there was little left to forgive. He drew a knife from his boot—but instead of delivering judgment, pulled his blade across our palms, opening them, then clasped our hands together until our blood mingled as brothers.

There was but one task left to complete. Together, we journeyed to the wreckage of the Radanavich caravan, where we both had left it so many years ago. We burned it, defending its blazing husk as undead fell upon us—and when dawn shone over the ashes, there was nothing left there, for them or for us.

F7. The Road Back

The players’ activities at Lake Baratok attract the attention of a pair of werewolves, who lurk in the woods east of the lake, silently waiting for the players to return to the road.

When the players begin the trek back to Vallaki—either by the northern path or the Old Svalich Road to the south—the werewolves follow. Fifteen minutes after the players depart the lake, they encounter the two werewolves in human form. The scene unfolds largely as described in Werewolves (p. 32), but revise the descriptive text as follows:

A deep voice calls out, "Who goes there?" Through the chill mist you see a large man in drab clothing wearing a tattered gray cloak. He has shaggy, black hair and thick mutton chops. He leans heavily on a spear and has a small bundle of animal pelts slung over his shoulder.

Just behind him, barely visible in the gloom, stands a grim-faced woman, her long, dark hair loosely braided. She holds a spear of her own, the tip glinting in the scarce light, and wears a cloak wrapped tightly around her chest.

The two werewolves introduce themselves as Zsolt and Mathilda, trappers from Krezk. (If Szoldar is with the players, he whispers warily that he recognizes neither "trapper's" name.) Zsolt is warm and friendly, while Mathilda is sullen and quiet.

Zsolt warns the players that the road has become dangerous for travelers, and suggests traveling together. Whether the players accept or reject his offer, Zsolt then shares the following story:

A light glints in Zsolt’s amber eyes. "There's been a tale echoing through these woods of late. A tale of a Vistana woman, a kind of phantom, who stalks the paths under the moon's gaze. They say she's not of this world, but from the realms of death itself.”

He licks his lips. "She's said to be a frightful sight, with eyes that burn like embers in the darkness. They say she's clad in a patchwork of cloaks, like a wandering vagabond, but don't let that fool you. For in her hand, she carries a wicked blade—a weapon that thirsts for the blood of innocents.”

He chuckles lightly. "And oh, does her blade drink well! She's been butchering good folk in the woods, they say. Men, women—it matters not. Whip! goes her blade, and off come their heads, trophies for her dark desires.”

He pauses, and his lips spread into a wolfish grin, "But I'm sure we'll have naught to worry about with fine, strong folks like you on the roads. And besides—how deadly can a tale truly be?"

When his story is complete, Zsolt playfully asks the players whether they have good steel to defend themselves, should the murderess find them upon the road.

If at least two characters show that they’re carrying silvered weapons or ammunition, the playful light fades from Zsolt’s eyes, and the playful light fades from Zsolt's eyes, replaced by a momentary glint of wariness. His grip tightens around his spear, and his gaze meets Mathilda's for a brief, near-imperceptible moment. He congratulates the players on entering the woods well-prepared, but the joviality in his voice has become hollow. Unless stopped or provided with a suitable excuse, Zsolt and Mathilda accompany the players in silence as far as the Luna River Crossroads, then depart south toward Berez.

Otherwise, if no characters show that they’re carrying silvered weapons or ammunition, a mocking smirk creeps onto Zsolt's face, and he says, "You seem to be mighty warriors indeed! But it seems you've forgotten something important." If the players ask what they've forgotten, Zsolt's eyes flash with hunger, and he hisses, "Silver." He and Mathilda then assume their hybrid forms and attack.

In battle, the werewolves prioritize players wielding silvered weapons, if any. If one werewolf is killed or both are bloodied, they flee into the Svalich Woods.

The players experience no other encounters on their journey to Vallaki.

F6c. Return to Vallaki

When the players return, they can pursue their leads either by seeking out Rictavio at the Blue Water Inn, or by directly investigating Rictavio’s wagon in Arasek Stockyard.

As the players return to Vallaki’s Sunset gate, a player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 19 or higher notices the same silhouette as before watching them—this time, from the northwestern woods. The silhouette vanishes into the trees if looked at, spoken to, approached, or otherwise interacted with. (This is, again, Arrigal, who has tracked the players back to Vallaki. If the players enter Vallaki, Arrigal uses his two daggers as makeshift pitons to climb over Vallaki’s palisade walls and sneak past the patrolling guards. He then continues stalking the players through the streets in the hopes that they’ll lead him to Arabelle.)

1. Confronting Rictavio

If the players visit the Blue Water Inn first, they can learn from Danika Dorakova that Rictavio recently departed the inn and that he mentioned “inspecting his wagon for some necessary repairs.” If the players ask where Rictavio has kept his wagon, Danika recalls hearing him mention keeping it in Arasek Stockyard.

If the players indicate an interest in following Rictavio to the stockyard, Danika jokingly warns them to be on the lookout for dangerous beasts—local rumors suggest that the ringmaster is keeping something big and deadly in his wagon.

If the players wait for Rictavio to return before confronting him, Rictavio greets them warmly and feigns ignorance of their allegations and claims. However, he invites them to his guest suite to discuss the matter in private if the players insist that they wish to help Arabelle, show him the burned journal page, or otherwise threaten to blow his cover.

Once he and the players are alone in his guest suite, Rictavio draws his sword-cane and demands proof that the players are not servants of Strahd von Zarovich. If the players muster sufficient evidence or succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, Rictavio reluctantly stows his blade, checks the window and corridor for Strahd’s spies, and shuts the window shutters tight. He then removes his hat of disguise, and confesses his identity as Dr. Rudolph van Richten.

Van Richten can share the following information:

  • Until recently, he had been laying low in the tower at Lake Baratok. However, that changed when he saw a Vistana man bringing a wriggling sack to a golden-haired vampire spawn on the banks of the Luna River. (Van Richten recognized the vampire as a man named Escher, a bard from Barovia who had joined the Barovians’ revolt.)
  • Van Richten attacked the pair, killing the Vistana and scarring the vampire, who fled. Upon opening the sack, he found a young Vistana girl within.
  • The girl, who introduced herself as Arabelle, was uncertain of why she had been kidnapped. Van Richten used his talisman of echoes to interrogate the dead Vistana’s severed head, and learned that Strahd had issued a bounty on young girls matching Arabelle’s precise and unique description: dark-haired and olive-skinned, with lavender irises. Van Richten and Arabelle agreed that returning her to the Vistani camp would leave her exposed to Strahd, and was therefore too dangerous.
  • The two returned to the tower at Lake Baratok, where Van Richten had previously hidden his horse, Drusilla, and a covered Vistani wagon that he had first used to enter Barovia. Using his hat of disguise, Van Richten adopted the dead Vistana’s guise and snuck into the Vistani camp by Vallaki to steal three pots of paint, which he used to disguise his wagon as “Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders.”
  • Van Richten and Arabelle then traveled to Vallaki, with Van Richten adopting the identity of Rictavio to hide in plain sight. Arabelle has remained concealed in his wagon ever since.
  • While the tower at Lake Baratok contains a permanent antimagic field that would block Strahd’s scrying, Van Richten believed that Strahd would be well-aware of this fact, and that the tower would therefore be among the first places he looked. As such, Van Richten, who already wore one such amulet, gave Arabelle a spare amulet of proof against detection and location that he had once given to—and then received from—one of his students. (If pressed, Van Richten admits that the amulet once belonged to Ezmerelda d’Avenir, but does not discuss the matter in further detail.)

If the players ask Van Richten about his arrival in Barovia or the revolt against Strahd, he can also share the following information:

  • When Van Richten first arrived in Barovia, he hoped to face Strahd alone, taking advantage of the vampire’s hibernation to destroy him in his coffin.
  • His plans were foiled when an undead direwolf attacked a trio of Barovia children, and the resulting battle revealed his identity to the onlooking Doru.
  • Doru blackmailed Van Richten into leading a full-scale revolt on the castle, threatening to bring an untrained mob to Ravenloft’s doors if Van Richten didn’t lead them there. Van Richten, fearful that such a mob could awaken Strahd and destroy his own plans, reluctantly agreed.
  • Shortly after entering the castle, however, they were betrayed. Escher, Doru’s “lieutenant,” vanished from the group as they explored the catacombs. Not long thereafter, the mob found Strahd’s coffin empty—and Strahd himself attacked shortly thereafter. Van Richten fled, knowing from his long studies of Strahd that victory was impossible.
  • Upon escaping Castle Ravenloft and recovering his horse, Van Richten began the journey to warn the Barovians of the vampire’s awakening. However, he was stopped by the Vistani seer Madam Eva, who warned him: “The message you bring shall be born by another. Should you return to the village while light lingers in the valley, you shall surely meet your grave.”
  • Knowing full well of Eva’s reputation, Van Richten reluctantly set forth for Lake Baratok instead, weeping bitter tears for the sons and daughters of Barovia.

If the players demand it, Van Richten agrees to bring them to his wagon at Arasek Stockyard to see Arabelle for themselves. Proceed to F7c. Van Richten's Wagon below.

2. Following Rictavio

If the players follow Rictavio to Arasek Stockyard instead of waiting for him at the Blue Water Inn, they can find him kneeling by the wagon, where he appears to be adjusting the spokes of the wagon’s rear left wooden wheel. A player with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher notices that Rictavio is repeatedly adjusting and re-adjusting the same spoke, and that Rictavio’s lips are moving, as if he is speaking with someone. If the players watch him, he continues his task for a full five minutes—far longer than such a task should ordinarily take—before standing and moving to depart.

If the players confront him, Rictavio greets them warmly, but feigns ignorance of their allegations and claims. If the players insist that they wish to help Arabelle, show him the burned journal page, or otherwise threaten to blow his cover, Rictavio’s gaze hardens, his fist tightens around his cane, and his voice lowers to a near-whisper. He demands to know if they are spies of Strahd, and calmly threatens to “dispatch” them if they serve the Devil’s will.

If the players muster sufficient evidence of their good faith or succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, Rictavio sighs and commands the players to form a protective wall around the rear of the wagon. If the players antagonize Rictavio instead, or otherwise fail to convince him, a young girl’s voice quietly rings out from the wagon: “They mean me no harm. Please, open the door.”

F7c. Rictavio’s Wagon

Once the players or Arabelle have convinced him to do so, Rictavio produces a key from his sleeve and opens the door. When he does, the players can see that the wagon contains a soft bed of straw, a comfortable woolen blanket, a few books, and a young Vistana girl—Arabelle—who is clutching a plush saber-toothed tiger to her chest and wearing a beaded necklace with a carved copper amulet.

Unless diverted by the players, the conversation unfolds as follows:

  • Arabelle greets the players warmly, thanks them for their efforts to find her, and shares her regret for the wounds they have sustained along the way.
  • Van Richten is surprised to learn that Arabelle was expecting them, and Arabelle admits that she had a premonition that someone would follow in their tracks and that she left multiple clues—the Tarokka card, the bracelet, the handkerchief, and the ring—to guide the players in their path.
  • Arabelle thanks Van Richten for his efforts to keep him safe, but gently reminds him that they both knew that their plan could not last forever—and that, with the players present, a long-term solution is more likely within reach.

During this conversation, Van Richten can also reveal the following information if he hasn't already:

  • Until recently, Van Richten had been laying low in the tower at Lake Baratok. However, that changed when he saw a Vistana man bringing a wriggling sack to a golden-haired vampire spawn on the banks of the Luna River. (Van Richten recognized the vampire as a man named Escher, a bard from Barovia who had joined the Barovians’ revolt.)
  • Van Richten attacked the pair, killing the Vistana and scarring the vampire, who fled. Upon opening the sack, he found a young Vistana girl within.
  • The girl, who introduced herself as Arabelle, was uncertain of why she had been kidnapped. Van Richten used his talisman of echoes to interrogate the dead Vistana’s severed head, and learned that Strahd had issued a bounty on young girls matching Arabelle’s precise and unique description: dark-haired and olive-skinned, with lavender irises. Van Richten and Arabelle agreed that returning her to the Vistani camp would leave her exposed to Strahd, and was therefore too dangerous.
  • The two returned to the tower at Lake Baratok, where Van Richten had previously hidden his horse, Drusilla, and a covered Vistani wagon that he had first used to enter Barovia. Using his hat of disguise, Van Richten adopted the dead Vistana’s guise and snuck into the Vistani camp by Vallaki to steal three pots of paint, which he used to disguise his wagon as “Rictavio’s Carnival of Wonders.”
  • Van Richten and Arabelle then traveled to Vallaki, with Van Richten adopting the identity of Rictavio to hide in plain sight. Arabelle has remained concealed in his wagon ever since.
  • While the tower at Lake Baratok contains a permanent antimagic field that would block Strahd’s scrying, Van Richten believed that Strahd would be well-aware of this fact, and that the tower would therefore be among the first places he looked.
  • As such, Van Richten, who already wore one such amulet, gave Arabelle a spare amulet of proof against detection and location that he had once given to—and then received from—one of his students. (If pressed, Van Richten admits that the amulet once belonged to Ezmerelda d’Avenir, but does not discuss the matter in further detail.)

As the conversation draws to a close, Arrigal emerges from the shadows of a nearby alley. If the players do not divert the conversation, it proceeds as follows:

  • Arrigal thanks Van Richten for the “fascinating story,” thanks the players for their “aid and guidance,” and commands Arabelle to exit the wagon and return with him.
  • Van Richten immediately accuses Arrigal of being a spy for Strahd, noting that, while stealing the pots of paint, he saw Arrigal whispering to a bat in the woods nearby. He demands that Arabelle remain in the wagon, and asks the players to defend her from Arrigal.
  • Arrigal’s hands go to the shortsword and daggers on his belt, while Van Richten prepares to draw his sword-cane for battle. Arabelle quietly asks the players to help them see reason.

Arrigal is ignorant of Strahd’s bounty on Arabelle and truthfully shares this if asked, finding the notion preposterous. If asked whether he would give Arabelle up to Strahd if commanded, he fiercely and truthfully rejects that he would ever do such a thing.

If the players ask Van Richten for proof that Strahd sought to kidnap Arabelle, Van Richten retrieves the wooden box containing Yan’s severed head from the hidden compartment of his wagon, as described in V7. Tower, Fourth Floor* (p. 171), and casts speak with dead upon it using his talisman of echoes. (Because Van Richten was disguised at the time of Yan’s death, the head doesn’t recognize Van Richten as his killer.)

Van Richten asks the following five questions and receives the following five answers:

  • What is your name? Yan.
  • What lord did you serve in life? The vampire, Strahd von Zarovich.
  • Did that lord command you to kidnap the girl Arabelle? He did, through his servant, the vampire Escher.
  • What did he ask you to do with her? He bade me to take her to the Luna River, where she would be brought to Castle Ravenloft.
  • How did you die? A man’s sword cut my head from my shoulders.

Arrigal is shaken by Yan’s apparent testimony, but not entirely convinced—until Arabelle speaks up to confirm Van Richten’s story, calmly reporting that Yan kidnapped her, that Van Richten rescued her, and that she overheard Yan asking another man whether “Castle Ravenloft” would pay its debts in exchange for the “whelp’s delivery” before hearing the exchanging of coins shortly thereafter.

Van Richten is unwilling to allow Arrigal to take Arabelle back to the Vistani encampment. However, Arrigal is unwilling to allow Van Richten to keep Arabelle hidden in Vallaki, away from her family. It is up to the players to broker an agreement between them.

As they do, keep the following interests in mind:

  • Van Richten wants to prevent Strahd’s spies from finding Arabelle.
  • Arrigal wants to keep Arabelle with her family—and especially her father, Luvash.
  • Both Van Richten and Arrigal want to keep Arabelle comforted and safe.

Because neither Van Richten nor Arrigal will concede any of these priorities; the players will need to find a solution that satisfies all of then simultaneously. Van Richten and Arrigal will reluctantly accept any reasonable proposal that does so. (For example, the players might propose that “Rictavio” relocate his wagon to the woods near the Vistani camp, where Luvash can visit her daily, while Arrigal feeds Strahd false information about Arabelle’s whereabouts.)

When a final agreement is reached, Arabelle places a small hand on one of the players’ arms and softly thanks them for their efforts. If the players do not intervene, she then steps forward and takes Van Richten’s hand in hers. The following sequence then unfolds:

  • Arabelle thanks Dr. Van Richten for helping him, and informs him that he’s a good man—a sentiment that his son agrees with.
  • The blood drains from Van Richten’s face, and he sways on his feet, as though he’s about to faint. “My son?” he croaks.
  • Arabelle pats the back of Van Richten’s hand, and tells him that his son has been keeping her safe in the wagon. She promises him that his son loves him very much, and shares her belief that he has been keeping Van Richten safe as well. (Van Richten quietly thanks her, now resembling a weary old man far more than a veteran monster hunter.)

A few moments later, Arabelle staggers, her eyes rolling back into her head, and the whites of her eyes becoming the color of storm clouds. When she speaks, her voice seems to echo with the sound of a second, far older woman’s voice as she delivers the following prophecy:

In darkest night, the light shall flee,
No dawn to break, with no reprieve.
From the grave, the dead shall climb,
Their restless march a baleful sign.
At castle’s peak, a heart beats red,
Its hunger deep and ever-fed.
Should silence fall, the skies shall crack,
A thousand souls in torment black.

Arabelle then falls over unconscious. Any character that makes a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check can easily discern that she is unharmed—merely asleep. Upon waking, Arabelle retains no memory of the prophecy she spoke.

Neither Arabelle, Van Richten, nor Arrigal know it, but Arabelle's prophecy refers to Strahd's ultimate plot to use the Heart of Sorrow to plunge the valley into eternal night, summoning a horde of undead across the land and using the souls of the Barovians to escape the Mists.

Van Richten is troubled by Arabelle’s prophecy, and the resemblance it bears to Madam Eva’s warning on the Svalich Road. Nonetheless, in gratitude for the players’ aid, he bequeaths to them his talisman of echoes.

Arrigal is similarly grateful for the players’ assistance in recovering his niece. He is glad to promise that, notwithstanding his oath of loyalty to Strahd, he will refrain from reporting Arabelle or Van Richten’s true locations to Castle Ravenloft, and will avoid reporting the players’ movements for as long as he can.

In addition, though he won’t take up arms against Strahd or cease his work as a spy, Arrigal offers to deliver false information to Castle Ravenloft once when the players request it—but no more than that. He won’t deliver any information that is obviously false, however, and he provides no guarantees as to how long or whether Strahd will believe his information.

Milestone. Finding Arabelle completes a story milestone. When Arabelle delivers her prophecy, award each player 1,250 XP.

Talisman of Echoes

Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement)

This talisman has 4 charges. While holding it, you can use an action to spend 1 of its charges to cast the gentle repose spell, or 2 of its charges to cast the speak with dead spell.

The talisman regains 1d4 expended charges daily at dawn. If you expend the talisman's last charge, roll a d20. On a 1, the talisman crumbles into ashes and is destroyed.

The Werewolf’s Curse

If one of the players was infected by a werewolf’s bite on the Old Svalich Road, Van Richten shares that he is capable of brewing an elixir capable of suppressing the curse of lycanthropy for a single night, rendering the player a docile wolf during a full moon, rather than a raging werewolf.

To do so, however, he requires a supply of wolfsbane, a flowering plant said to grow along the shores of a blessed pool in Krezk. (See Arc J: The Walls of Krezk for more information about the players’ efforts to gain entry to Krezk.) Van Richten is glad to brew one portion of the elixir for each wolfsbane flower that the players fetch for him, a process which requires six hours and a number of additional ingredients.

Design Notes: The Missing Vistana

The original module's quest to rescue Arabelle provides the players with no clear motive for her kidnapping, no real reason to find her, and no clear clues to follow in order to do so. The original module also provides Dr. Rudolph van Richten with no clear purpose while in Vallaki, introducing him as little more than a murderous pseudo-antagonist who wishes to commit mass homicide against the Vistani of the nearby encampment with a vague (though undeveloped) interest in investigating the Keepers of the Feather.

This arc aims to remedy both issues simultaneously, providing Van Richten with a reason to remain hidden in or around Vallaki for the duration of the campaign (i.e., to keep Arabelle safe) while providing the players with a more comprehensive and engaging storyline for Arabelle's kidnapping. It also brings closure to Van Richten's troubled relationship with the Vistani, providing him with a symbolic opportunity to protect a child of the people that effectively killed his own.

In the process, the arc provides the players with an opportunity to venture west beyond Vallaki's walls, alleviating the sense of suffocating claustrophobia that many parties describe following several consecutive sessions in the town.

Blinsky Toys. The toy shop has been introduced as a first stop in this arc in order to discourage the players from fully completing it on their first day in Vallaki (in favor of encouraging them to complete Arc E: St. Andral's Feast instead), and to further develop Izek Strazni's relationship with Ireena Kolyana, explored further in Arc H: The Strazni Siblings.

Vistani Encampment. Luvash, Arrigal, and the entire Vistani tribe have been made more sympathetic in order to encourage the players to build a long-term relationship with them, to further develop the adventure's themes of unity and redemption over selfishness and mistrust, and to further motivate the players to locate Arabelle and find a solution that reunites her with her family.

The plotline involving the signet ring has been added to provide Luvash with a real reason to recruit unqualified strangers in the search for his daughter (because they are uniquely capable of entering Vallaki) and to provide the players with a clear sense of direction as they work to uncover the mystery of Arabelle's disappearance.

Strahd's Bounty. Strahd's interest in Arabelle has been added to provide an altruistic motivation for Van Richten to "kidnap her first." Yan has been changed from an ordinary Vistana thief to Escher's agent in order to paint Van Richten's actions in a better light (he was triggered by his traumatic memories of Erasmus and was working to protect an innocent), to explain why Arabelle was not immediately taken to Castle Ravenloft (Yan had to first deliver to Escher at an isolated, pre-determined spot), and to explain why Arrigal was ignorant of Strahd's plot (thereby providing the players with a proper diplomatic moral dilemma at the climax of the arc).

Dusk Elf Hovels. In order to discourage the players from exploring the Amber Temple too early (and because the players are strangers that he has only just met, with no evident qualifications that will help him achieve his goals), Kasimir Velikov no longer shares Patrina's dreams or his interest in the Amber Temple upon their first meeting.

Kasimir will later lead the players to the Amber Temple in Arc U: The Amber Temple after the players learn of his interest in the temple at the conclusion of Arc R: The Beacon of Argynvostholt. For now, however, Kasimir's injuries from his most recent venture up Mount Ghakis have been shown to foreshadow his involvement in that future arc.

The symbols on the signet ring have been added to provide the players with the solution to the puzzle door at the entrance to Van Richten's Tower.

Rahadin's relationship to Prince Erevan (relayed in Kasimir's story) has been added to accentuate his decision to choose King Barov as his family over his own people, and to create a more personal antagonistic relationship between Rahadin and the bearer of the broken blade in the Barovian Relics adventure hook.

Burgomaster's Mansion. The "haunted mansion" plotline has been added to provide the players with a hook to Arc I: The Lost Soul, and as a backup diplomatic option if the players chose to leave Ireena in the safety of St. Andral's Church.

The geneology of the Strazni family has been added to explicitly reveal Ireena's connection to Izek, clarifying and accentuating the stakes of Arc H: The Strazni Siblings.

Ethereal Entities has been added to provide additional information to aid the players in restoring Stella's soul, and to provide Victor Vallakovich with an excuse to visit his father's library while the players are present. (See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information about Stella's fate.)

Victor has been given Khazan's lost spellbook to provide him with a reason to know of (and a reason to take an interest in) the tower at Lake Baratok, as well as to explain Victor's precocious skill as a mage. Victor's interest in Khazan's staff has been added to foreshadow the means by which the players can obtain the staff in the Ravenloft catacombs in Arc T: Ravenloft Heist.

Lake Zarovich. This brief detour to Szoldar and Yevgeni's dressing shack has been added to make sure that the Barovian wilderness remains strange and foreboding (because only experienced hunters know how to navigate it), to explicitly introduce the players to a pair of individuals able to point out important paths and landmarks, and to inform the players of the werewolves' heavy presence along the western half of the valley.

The Svalich Road. Van Richten's handkerchief has been left in the Luna River to foreshadow his involvement in Arabelle's disappearance. The twig blights and scarecrows have been placed here to foreshadow the druids of Yester Hill and their alliance with the witch of Berez, Baba Lysaga.

Lake Baratok. The additional clues around Ezmerelda's wagon (the signs, scent of sulfur, and wolf tracks) have been added to discourage players from attempting to open it and thereby activate the alchemist's fire trap. The additional set of wagon tracks and the paint in the woods have been added to provide additional clues connecting Rictavio to the tower.

The puzzle on the tower door has been changed to befit a more dignified archmage like Khazan, and has been integrated with the signet ring to provide the players with an easy "Eureka!" moment that nonetheless provides a sense of satisfaction for deciphering the puzzle.

The gargoyles on the rooftop have been turned into gargoyles to replace the young blue dragon as a more fitting enemy for the genre. The gargoyles attack players who climb the scaffolding in order to ensure that there is no "challenge-free" entrance into the tower.

The lightning sheath from the original module has been intentionally removed and replaced with a fairer lightning trap that foreseeably punishes players who attempt to evade the puzzle.

The paint-stained lily pads have been added to provide additional clues regarding Rictavio's connection to the tower, as has the burned sign for Rictavio's Carnival of Wonders. The beaded bracelet and Tarokka card have been added to confirm Arabelle's presence in the tower, and to suggest that Rictavio is not all that he seems.

Van Richten's journal page has been slightly modified and extended to include his history with Arturi Radanavich, which explains why he no longer views the Vistani as his enemies and explains why he is willing to serve as Arabelle's protector (because his curse has been lifted). The journal also introduces the character of Erasmus van Richten, who will serve a more significant role in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

The Road Back. The encounter with Zsolt and Mathilda introduces the werewolf pack more formally, foreshadowing Arc O: The Den of Wolves and ensuring that the players have an appreciation for the value of obtaining silvered weapons before their encounter with the coven of Old Bonegrinder in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Return to Vallaki. Van Richten's saber-toothed tiger has been removed from his wagon because it no longer serves a purpose in the absence of his homicidal plan to kill the Vistani, because he would have had no place to store it during his time as "Alanik" in the village of Barovia before Strahd awoke, and because it is far more overt and uncontrollable a weapon than his cautious and prudent characterization would reasonably allow.

Van Richten's confrontation with Arrigal has been added to provide a suitable climax for the arc—a social encounter, rather than a combat one. Van Richten's talisman of echoes has been added to provide the players with a means of proving their case to Arrigal (and thereby winning his loyalties) and to provide the players with a material reward for completing the quest.

Arabelle's prophecy has been provided to accentuate the importance of deciphering the Tome of Strahd (and, therefore, of locating the Amber Temple) and to foreshadow Strahd's final plan, building dramatic tension.

Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish

In this arc, if the players defied the Baron’s will on their first morning after entering Vallaki, if they or Ireena were observed visiting with the Barovian refugees outside of the eastern gate, or if they shared their dislike of Baron Vallakovich with Nikolai or Karl Wachter at the Blue Water Inn, the players receive a letter delivered by Ernst Larnak, Lady Fiona Wachter’s courier and spy, which invites them to dine at Wachterhaus that evening.

When the players arrive at Wachterhaus that night, Lady Wachter welcomes them to Vallaki and proceeds to offer them wine, food, and conversation. Throughout the evening, she subtly interrogates the players as to their capabilities and goals, all while working to convince them that Baron Vargas Vallakovich is a menace who must be deposed.

Iif Lady Wachter determines that the players are suitable allies, she asks them to kill the Baron’s right-hand man, Izek Strazni, and to bring her his head. Lady Wachter promises the safety of the Barovian refugees, as well additional payment, should the players succeed.

If the players accept Lady Wachter’s assignment, Ernst provides them with a bottle of poisoned wine for use in intoxicating Izek, as well as information that the players can use to track Izek in order to assassinate him. The players can find Izek in Vallaki’s town square, and eventually track him to the shore of Lake Zarovich, where—if the players successfully planted it—he drinks the poisoned wine.

If the players deliver Izek’s severed head to Lady Wachter, she visits Baron Vallakovich under cover of darkness the following night, accompanied by a trio of cult fanatics. Upon viewing Izek’s head, the Baron surrenders peacefully to Lady Wachter’s rule. The following morning, the Baron publicly abdicates to Lady Wachter in Vallaki’s town square.

G1. The Blue Water Inn

If the players defied Baron Vallakovich or otherwise intervened in Willemina’s favor on their first morning in Vallaki, if they or Ireena visited the camp of the Barovian refugees at any point while in Vallaki, or if the players shared their dislike of Baron Vallakovich with Nikolai or Karl Wachter at the Blue Water Inn, Urwin Martikov delivers them an envelope upon their return to the Blue Water Inn that same night.

The envelope is addressed to whichever player first introduced themselves to Nikolai and Karl Wachter on the night of their first arrival or, if the players did not interact with Nikolai and Karl in the taproom, whichever player first identified themselves to the guards at Vallaki’s gates that same day.

Urwin doesn’t know who the letter is from, but can tell the players that it was delivered by a scruffy-looking man wearing a muddy, but well-made brown cloak who was very insistent that the players receive it. (The man was Ernst Larnak, Lady Wachter’s spy.)

The envelope contains the following letter, with the blank filled with the name of whichever player the envelope was addressed to:

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (91)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (92)

Dear _____ and esteemed companions,

I hope this missive finds you in good health and high spirits. Vallaki appears to have been blessed by your presence and the promise of goodwill you bear with you.

It has come to my attention that our paths, though they wind through such trying times, bear a striking convergence. Accordingly, I write to you today with a humble invitation to dine at my home, Wachterhaus, at sundown tomorrow evening. You may find it on Vallaki’s northern road, a short distance from the Zarovich Gate.

I trust that this setting shall provide a quiet and welcoming environment to discuss matters of mutual interest and concern. My doors, as they have always been, stand open to those who wish for the best for the good people of Barovia.

Should you choose to accept, simply present this invitation at the door to my estate. I gladly await your presence tomorrow evening. Until then, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Lady Fiona Wachter

If the players ask Urwin about Lady Wachter, he can share all of the information about her described in Vallaki Lore (p. 96). He can also share that, according to town legend, Lady Wachter’s parents and elder brother were killed in a mysterious accident when she was a teenager. (Urwin, who only relocated to Vallaki ten years ago, can’t confirm or deny the story.)

G2. Wachterhaus

Wachterhaus is largely as described in N4. Wachterhaus (p. 110), but with the following changes:

Stella's Bedroom. Stella Wachter doesn't scratch at her door or call out to the players in N4l. Upstairs Hall (p. 113). If found, she is dull-eyed and non-responsive, incapable of speaking to the players or even moving of her own volition. (This is because she has lost her soul, which is currently trapped in the Ethereal Plane. See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information.)

Additionally, Stella's room is neither musty nor dark, and her bed is not fitted with leather straps. Instead, her room is well-appointed, including a woven lavender rug, a comfortable armchair with floral patterns, and a small bookcase with a collection of carved wooden cats atop it. (The cats were whittled by her older brother, Karl, as get-well gifts following Stella’s illness.)

Storage Room. The manuscript and treatise contained in the iron chest in N4q. Storage Room (p. 114) are now titled Voices of the Mist (a religious text written by Lady Fiona Wachter attesting that the worship of Ezra, goddess of the Mists, can bring peace, understanding, and solemnity), and The Grimoire of Night's Whispers, a ritual book and religious text to Mother Night written by the witch Baba Lysaga.

Master Bedroom. Lady Wachter’s late husband, Nikolai, was buried in the cemetery after his death several years ago and is no longer in Lady Wachter’s bed in N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113).

Additionally, the high shelf in N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113) also holds a thirteen-inch scale model of Wachterhaus, crafted of twigs, clay, and painted thatch.

Lady Wachter. Lady Wachter still has the statistics of a priest. However, she has a different list of prepared spells:

Cantrips (at will): light, toll the dead, thaumaturgy

1st level (4 slots): command, sanctuary, bane

2nd level (3 slots): blindness/deafness, zone of truth, hold person

3rd level (2 slots): animate dead, spirit guardians

G2a. Welcome to Wachterhaus

When the players knock upon arrival, Lady Wachter's valet, Haliq, opens the door and welcomes the players warmly, using the same form of address used in Lady Wachter's letter. Haliq, a prim and proper butler, first offers to take the players' coats and other belongings, which he stores in the eastern closet of N4a. Front Door and Vestibule (p. 110).

Haliq then leads the players into N4b. Staircase (p. 110), from which they can smell an assortment of delicious scents, both sweet and savory, wafting from N4c. Kitchen (p. 112). (A player who peeks through the open door into the kitchen can see the cook, Dhavit, hard at work preparing a roast leg of lamb and assorted stewed vegetables.)

Haliq then guides the players through N4j. Dining Room (p. 112) and invites them to take seats in N4i. Parlor (p. 112). After determining which players would like glasses of wine, Haliq assures the players that Lady Wachter will be with them shortly and excuses himself.

The players have a few moments to take stock of and discuss their surroundings. Should they investigate the doors to N4k. Den (p. 112) or N4h. Servants' Quarters (p. 112), they find both doors to be locked. Throughout the evening, Ernst Larnak, Lady Wachter’s spy, silently eavesdrops on the players’ conversations from the den as described in N4i. Parlor (p. 112).

G2b. Meet the Wachters

Shortly after the players arrive in the parlor, they notice that a young woman wearing slippers and a white nightgown, approximately sixteen years of age, is standing in the open doorway leading back to the staircase and front entrance. The woman appears to be staring vacantly into space toward them, but neither moves nor makes eye contact—even if approached.

A few moments after the players notice the young woman, Nikolai Wachter stumbles into view from the staircase behind her. Assuming the players do not otherwise divert the conversation, the scene unfolds as follows:

  • Nikolai greets the young woman as “Stella” and worriedly wonders aloud how she got here.
  • Nikolai notices the players and apologizes profusely to them, assuring them that he’ll get his little sister out of their hair.
  • If he previously encountered the players in the Blue Water Inn, Nikolai might then recognize them and greet them more personally—either warmly or coldly, depending on their prior interaction. He will then ask the players why they have come to Wachterhaus.
  • Lady Wachter arrives from the kitchen and lightly scolds Nikolai for allowing Stella to wander off.
  • Nikolai tells her that he intends to take Stella for a brief walk around the gardens, and Lady Wachter’s face softens.
  • Lady Wachter reminds Nikolai that it’s a brisk evening, and to ensure that Stella is warmly dressed and that she neither trips nor injures herself.
  • Nikolai agrees and departs, leading a vacant-eyed Stella out the front door.

Lady Wachter then enters the parlor and apologizes to the players for the disturbance. She then introduces herself as Lady Fiona Wachter and formally welcomes the players to Wachterhaus, thanking them for accepting her invitation. She invites the players to seat themselves upon the couches, if they haven’t already, and to make themselves comfortable.

Haliq arrives shortly thereafter bearing a tray of wine glasses for those that requested them. He also offers a glass to Lady Wachter, who declines and instead requests a glass of brandy. At Lady Wachter’s request, Haliq informs the group that dinner will be served in a quarter-hour. Lady Wachter thanks him, and he bows and departs.

G2c. Drinks in the Parlor

During the following conversation, Lady Wachter can share the following information:

  • The young woman was Stella Wachter, her daughter and youngest child. Stella suffers from a mysterious illness—one that has left her mind in a vegetative state for nearly the past three months. Lady Wachter has tried every means available to her to cure Stella’s sickness, but none has succeeded.
  • The man with Stella was Nikolai Wachter II, Lady Wachter’s eldest son. Nikolai is named for his father, Nikolai Wachter, who died of a wasting sickness three years ago.
  • Nikolai and his younger brother, Karl, can be mischievious and troublesome louts at times, but Lady Wachter believes that they both have good hearts—if highly disorganized ones. (She is fond of her sons, but regrets that both grew wild and thrill-seeking following their father’s death.)

Lady Wachter also attempts to engage the players in small talk, asking questions about their histories, their homes, their interests, and the means by which they came to Vallaki and the valley of Barovia. Throughout the conversation, she offers compliments on any visible armor, weaponry, or arcane or holy foci, and lightly questions the players as to their training in the martial, arcane, or holy arts.

Lady Wachter may also respond to player questions as follows:

If asked why she chose to invite the players for dinner, Lady Wachter notes only that outsiders are a rare sight in Vallaki, and that she was taken by reports of their apparent competence. She notes that, “in such troubled times, it is always wise to find friends”—and that, to the canny eye, friends may be found in even the most unexpected places.

If asked whether she serves Strahd, Lady Wachter pauses, considers her words carefully, and calmly replies that she is, and has always been a realist. As preferable as some may find it to live in a realm not ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, Vallakians do live in such a realm, and they must learn to come to terms with it. Unlike Vargas, Strahd is, at the very least, capable of reason.

If asked how she came to her position, Lady Wachter notes that she was not always the heir of House Wachter. Her elder brother, Frederich Wachter, had always been expected to inherit their mother’s household and title. As a teenager, Fiona often fought with her mother and brother—and, on one such occasion, ran away from home in a pique of stubborn fury. She fled into the Svalich Woods, where she would have surely died had she not been found by an old woman named Lysa. Fiona stayed in Lysa’s cottage for six months, until she learned that her parents and brother had perished in a tragic accident. Fiona returned to Vallaki against Lysa’s advice and reclaimed her family’s position.

Dinner is Served

As the cocktail conversation draws to a close, Haliq re-enters the room to announce that dinner is served. As the players take their seats, Dhavit and Lady Wachter's two maids, Madalena and Amalthia, set the table with an assortment of rich and mouth-watering foods: a roast leg of lamb, stewed vegetables, boiled and seasoned potatoes, and fresh-baked bread with butter and cheeses.

Who is Lysa?

“Lysa’s” true identity is Baba Lysaga, the swamp-witch of Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez (p. 161). Fiona’s story is true—as a young woman, she ran from home and found refuge with Baba Lysaga. For six months, she joined the ranks of Lysaga’s witches-in-training, many of whom now serve at Strahd’s pleasure in K56. Cauldron (p. 72) in Castle Ravenloft. During this time, Fiona struggled beneath Lysaga’s tutelage to “hear the voice” of Mother Night, a task that she ultimately never achieves.

Upon learning of her family’s death, Fiona chose to return to Vallaki to claim her birthright. Baba Lysaga did not take the news well, and warned Fiona that her departure would be treated as a personal betrayal—and that she would be banished from Berez forevermore for her choice. Fiona returned to Vallaki nonetheless, taking the small grimoire that Baba Lysaga had given her as a memento of her studies.

On her first night in the empty, silent Wachterhaus, Fiona knelt in her parents’ bedroom—now hers, as the mistress of the house—and prayed, sobbing, to Mother Night for guidance. When a voice spoke to her, Fiona asked in disbelief whether she had heard Mother Night’s voice at last.

The voice—a woman’s, light yet melancholy—instead identified itself as Ezra, goddess of the Mists, and offered Fiona quiet solace in her time of sorrow. Fiona has been a quiet, but dedicated worshipper of Ezra ever since, and doesn’t suspect that Ezra is merely a guise used by the Dark Powers.

G2d. The Vallakovich Problem

As the players eat dinner, Lady Wachter poses the following questions:

  • What do they think of Vallaki, given the time that they have spent in it so far?
  • What do they think of the town’s policies and culture, and how does it compare with the players’ homelands?

As the conversation continues, Lady Wachter notes that she has heard of the players’ actions in the town streets the previous morning, and that she was taken with their willingness to defy the Baron’s will. (If the players mention additional adventures within Vallaki’s walls, such as a confrontation with Volenta at the Coffin-Maker’s Shop, Lady Wachter is suitably impressed.)

Should the players indicate an opposition to the Baron, Lady Wachter confesses that she has recently found herself with grave doubts regarding his fitness to rule. She can share the following information about Baron Vargas Vallakovich:

  • The Vallakovich family has ruled Vallaki ever since its first patriarch, Boris Vallakovich, founded the town nearly five-hundred years ago. The Vallakoviches claim to have royal blood in their veins, and have always believed themselves superior to all others in the valley—and the current Baron is no different.
  • Baron Vargas Vallakovich first came to power as burgomaster eleven years ago, when his father, Baron Valentin Vallakovich, passed away in his sleep. (At the time, Valentin was barely fifty years old and in near-perfect health. Fiona has always harbored her suspicions, but no foul play ever came to light.)
  • Vargas is a firm believer in the superstition that the Devil Strahd first arrived as a punishment for the sins of the Barovians’ ancestors. He has therefore always had a strange fixation on the idea that “happiness” may one day allow the Vallakian people to return sunlight to the valley, hosting monthly “festivals” that most have always considered to be dull affairs.
  • Ever since Strahd’s awakening three months ago, Vargas’s once-harmless beliefs have become an obsessive fixation. He has instituted weekly festivals and made attendance mandatory.
  • Vargas has also criminalized “malicious unhappiness,” as described in Donkey-Headed Criminals (p. 119). While most “lawbreakers” wind up in the stocks, a select few have been taken to his mansion for personal “rehabilitation”—including Udo Lukovich, a local shoemaker, who was arrested last week as described in N3m. Locked Closet (p. 107). Udo hasn’t been seen since.
  • Vargas’s fear and paranoia have even driven him to bar the refugees from the village of Barovia from entering Vallaki—an enormous abuse of power that has caused significant and undeserved suffering.
  • Vargas’s will is enforced by his right-hand man, Izek Strazni, who serves both as Vallaki’s Captain of the Guard and as Vargas’s personal enforcer.

Lady Wachter can also share the following information about Izek:

  • Izek was orphaned at the age of ten, losing his younger sister and arm in a wolf attack, and both of his parents to grief not long thereafter. His sister’s body was never found.
  • Izek was often mocked for his disability, but after several of his tormentors went missing, the laughter abruptly stopped. No bodies were ever found, but rumors persist that Izek—a large and frequently violent child—murdered them himself.
  • Approximately a year after losing his parents, Izek was arrested by the town guard and brought to the Vallakovich mansion. No one knows what crime he committed or why he was released soon thereafter, but Valentin Vallakovich’s twenty-five-year-old son, then-Baronet Vargas Vallakovich, all but adopted Izek and took him into their home.
  • Izek served the Vallakovich family faithfully for the next five years. When Izek was sixteen, he somehow obtained a new arm to replace the one he had lost—though his new limb more resembled a devil’s than any human form. (Curiously, the day that Izek regrew his arm came the same day that Baron Valentin Vallakovich was announced to have passed in his sleep. Lady Wachter is confident that the two events are connected.)
  • Izek’s fiendish arm allowed him to wield a proper weapon—but, more significantly, magically gave him the power to conjure fire. Vargas soon put both of Izek’s skills to work, designating Izek his personal enforcer and a ranking member of Vallaki’s town guard. As time passed, Izek became a terror throughout Vallaki, committing wanton acts of battery, arson, and extortion both at the Baron’s command and to serve his own diabolic whims.
  • Many of the townsfolk hate and fear Izek—a sentiment that has slowly spread to Vargas as well in the wake of Strahd’s revival. However, Izek’s strength protects them both, swiftly dispatching any person who dares defy them, and intimidating those that don’t.

Where appropriate, Lady Wachter can also share the following story about her daughter, Stella:

  • Six months ago, against her advice, Lady Wachter’s daughter, Stella, began visiting Victor Vallakovich, the Baron’s son. Lady Wachter warned her against entanglement with the Vallakovich family, but Stella ignored her pleas.
  • Three months ago, Izek Strazni returned Stella to Wachterhaus in her current state: mindless and speechless, unable to walk, eat, or even dress herself without another’s assistance.
  • Baron Vallakovich has refused to discuss the matter in depth, suggesting only that the girl’s fragile constitution and her family’s exposure to the Devil were to blame. Victor Vallakovich himself has refused to speak to her at all.
  • Fiona is convinced that Izek or the Vallakoviches did something terrible to Stella—and that, even if they did not, their cold refusal to assist or even commiserate with her illness proves their unfitness to rule.
Stella’s Illness

If the players reveal the true nature of Stella’s illness, Lady Wachter’s eyes tighten, and she asks them for a full explanation of how Stella came to inhabit her current state.

When the players have finished their story, Lady Wachter states that she believes them to be playing a cruel joke upon her and her family, and asks whether they have any means of proving their claims. (She refuses to journey to the Vallakovich manor if the players suggest using the spirit mirror to allow her to view Stella directly, dismissing it as a “foolish” suggestion.)

See Arc I: The Lost Soul for more information on how the players can persuade Lady Wachter of Stella’s fate.

G2e. The Wachter Conspiracy

If the players appear receptive to her concerns, Lady Wachter proceeds to ask for their discretion, as well as their promise that not a whisper of their conversation shall escape this room. If the players agree, Lady Wachter makes the following proposal, speaking carefully and making sure to choose her words delicately:

  • There are many in Vallaki who are uncomfortable with the Vallakoviches’ rule, and who would prefer to see fresh leadership overseeing the town.
  • However, so long as Izek Strazni serves the Baron’s household, any attempt to shift the town’s political leadership would be met with violent brutality.
  • Izek is utterly faithful to the Baron. His life is the sole obstacle to the change that Vallaki needs.
  • The players appear to be capable, intelligent, and good-hearted individuals—both well-armed and well-trained. If any group of individuals could aid Vallaki in its hour of need, they could.

If the players are interested in Lady Wachter’s proposal, she asks them to perform the following tasks:

  • Follow Izek and find a time when he is vulnerable—unaccompanied by the guards that most often seem to follow him. (Any guards will fight to the death to defend him and raise the alarm if allowed, which will both make the players’ fight more difficult and complicate Lady Wachter’s efforts to ensure a smooth transfer of power.)
  • Once Izek is dispatched, dispose of the body, but bring his head to Lady Wachter. (Lady Wachter notes that proof of Izek’s removal should greatly aid any efforts to encourage Vargas to step down peacefully.)
  • When the players have completed their task, Lady Wachter and her associates will quietly and peacefully oversee the shift in power.

Lady Wachter also shares that Izek is known to be a heavy drinker. While he is a formidable foe, she has secured a bottle of poisoned wine that should dull his senses—imposing the poisoned condition for 1 hour—shortly after finishing it. Should the players accept her assignment, she promises to have one of her associates deliver it to them.

Compensation. If the players demand compensation for their services, Lady Wachter promises them their selection of silvered weapons and ammunition from the town guard’s stores, paid once she assumes the Baron’s place. The players are also welcome to, of course, Izek’s silvered battleaxe and any valuables they may recover from his person.

If the players demand additional compensation and succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, Fiona reluctantly agrees to pay an additional 100 gp upon completion of their task.

Should the players mention the Barovian refugees, Lady Wachter swiftly, and without reservation, promises to ensure that the refugees will be permitted to safely enter the town as soon as Baron Vallakovich has been removed from power.

Fiona’s Loyalty. If the players indicate that they have concerns about Lady Wachter’s loyalty to Strahd, she shares the following story:

“Barovia, Vallaki, and Krezk—this land’s three lights of civilization. Did you know, however, that there was once a fourth?

“It was a fishing village named Berez, built on the banks of the Luna River, not far south of here. In its prime, it was a bustling and thriving place, full of life, hope, and laughter.

“And then, one day, more than three hundred years ago, the village’s burgomaster defied the will of Strahd von Zarovich.

“The details are lost to time. But the histories make clear that Berez thought itself able to challenge the Devil’s rule. Whether it was pride, desperation, or mere foolishness, I cannot say. But it was, nonetheless, a grave mistake.

“Zarovich did not argue. He did not negotiate. He simply commanded the river Luna to rise, and it obeyed. The waters swallowed Berez whole. No building was left standing, and few lives were spared. The survivors found themselves lost, adrift, and broken. Most found their way north, to Vallaki, where they struggled to forge new lives amongst the ruins of the old.

“What did defiance earn Berez? A marsh and some broken stone. A stark, cold warning to anyone who would follow their path.

“As a child, I once heard a tale of a sword that shone with the fury of the sun—a mighty weapon indeed, and one that would dawn a new age for Barovia in the dreams of a little girl. But a lady cannot waste time on fairy tales or fools’ errands. She must take the world as it is, not the way that she wishes it to be.

“We live under Zarovich’s rule, and survival requires pragmatism. A lord at peace can be reasoned with—even ignored, with sufficient assurances paid. But a vengeful lord cannot be put aside so easily.

“Defiance leads to nothing but destruction. Berez learned this the hard way. It is our duty—our obligation, to both our ancestors and to our children—to take that lesson to heart.”

If the players reject Lady Wachter’s argument, she replies curtly with the following points:

  • It is a popular thing amongst the Barovian people to worship the Morninglord—especially now, with Strahd recently returned. Fervent worshippers proclaim the day when the Morninglord’s light shall return to the valley, a new dawn rising with the sun.
  • Lady Wachter rejects such illusions. Instead, she heeds the word of Ezra, goddess of the Mists, who teaches her followers to look past one’s hopes, to recognize them as the fog that clouds the mind, and to see the world as it truly is and shall forever be. It is Ezra who teaches her followers to endure what must be endured. After all, the oak fights the wind and is broken, but the willow bends when it must and survives.
  • Strahd von Zarovich is not so immutable or unreasonable as he may appear. Centuries ago, Lady Wachter’s ancestor, Lady Lovina Wachter, served Strahd faithfully as his vassal. When a traitor and assassin named Leo Dilisnya murdered Lovina’s husband and attempted to kill Lovina as well, Strahd defended her, then hunted Dilisnya down to punish him for his treachery. House Wachter has remained loyal to Strahd ever since.
  • Lady Wachter does not begrudge others their hope that the valley may one day escape Strahd’s control. She does not seek to destroy that hope, nor bring pain where unnecessary. But, in the meantime, she believes that her people must bend like the willow in order to survive. If the players seek to oppose Strahd, she will lift no finger to stop them. She merely asks that they bring no harm to Vallaki as they do.

If the players insist that Madam Eva foresaw the existence of the Sunsword, she pauses, then notes that, as much as the “Vistana seer” might believe what she saw, “the future is notoriously difficult to interpret.” She is willing to concede—albeit with some amusement—that, despite her doubts, she may be more willing to believe the players’ arguments should the sword itself be found.

Accepting the Mission. If the players accept Lady Wachter’s assignment, she promises that she will send one of her associates to brief them on Izek Strazni’s schedule—and provide the bottle of poisoned wine—the following morning.

G3. Return to the Blue Water Inn

The following morning, as the players enter the taproom of the Blue Water Inn, Danika informs them that a man has requested their presence at his table by the southern window. She quietly adds that Urwin has identified the man as the same cloaked individual who delivered the players’ invitation the previous day.

The man, Ernst Larnak (described in N4. Wachterhaus, p. 110), is currently enjoying a breakfast of bread, egg, and cured sausage. In lieu of greeting the players, he reflects (with his mouth full) on the quality of Urwin Martikov’s cooking, but mourns that the inn doesn’t carry coffee, a wonderful foreign drink he once purchased from a Vistana caravan.

Once he has finished his breakfast, Ernst can inform the players that Izek Strazni generally receives a delivery of a midday meal and a case carrying two bottles of wine shortly after noon in the Vallaki town square, delivered by the Baron’s cook, Tereska. Izek’s afternoon schedule is highly variable, but he reliably finishes the first bottle of wine by dusk and drains the second bottle shortly after settling down in one of several favored haunts.

Ernst can also provide the players with a burlap sack of sufficient size to contain Izek’s head, which also contains the bottle of poisoned wine. (“To carry the goods,” he says, grinning, as he holds out the sack. As he opens it to reveal the bottle, he adds, “And a parting gift for their owner.”) The wine is labeled Red Dragon Crush.

When the handoff is complete, Ernst advises the players to follow Izek as he leaves the town square to ensure that they don’t lose sight of him by evening. He then snidely wishes the players luck before departing.

Ernst’s Preparations

Ernst was able to learn of Izek’s daytime schedule by stalking Izek himself. However, he was unable to learn of the inner goings-on within the burgomaster’s mansion until recently, when the Baron’s butler and the Baroness’s lady-in-waiting departed the manor out of fear of its recent haunting. Ernst took advantage of the situation and bribed the two former servants to share those details with him.

The poison that Ernst added to the wine was purchased from Arrigal, one of the two leaders of the Vallakian Vistani encampment.

G4. Izek’s Assassination

On the particular day that the players choose to carry out their plan, Izek follows the following schedule unless interrupted:

  • 11:00 A.M. Izek wakes from his drunken slumber and takes his morning meal in the kitchen of the burgomaster’s mansion, where he is met by two guards who deliver a morning report.
  • 11:30 A.M. Izek, accompanied by the two guards, travels to the western Sunset Gate, the northern Zarovich Gate, and the eastern Morning Gate to receive the guards’ reports and inspect the town’s defenses.
  • 1:00 P.M. The Baron’s cook delivers Izek a midday meal and a case of two bottles of wine in the Vallaki town square. Izek eats his lunch and begins drinking the first bottle of wine while the two guards patrol the surrounding area.
  • 2:00 P.M. Izek and the two guards visit three or four of Izek’s “spies” scattered across the town to receive reports of recent malicious unhappiness. (Ernst notes with distaste that Izek’s “spies” are mere town gossips who Izek has intimidated into snitching on their neighbors.)
  • 4:00 P.M. Izek and the two guards travel to the Sunset, Zarovich Gate, and Morning Gate (beginning with whichever gate is closest) to receive the guards’ reports and inspect the town’s defenses.
  • 5:30 P.M. Izek dismisses the two guards and travels alone to one of a dozen different haunts scattered throughout the town. He spends the remainder of the evening consuming the second bottle of wine, staring into space, and occasionally shouting expletives or threats at bystanders who dare cross his path.
  • 10:00 P.M. Izek returns to the burgomaster’s mansion and takes his evening meal, as well as a third bottle of wine, in his bedroom.

Once Izek drinks the entire bottle of Lady Wachter’s poisoned wine, he suffers the poisoned condition for 1 hour afterward.

G4a. Planting the Poisoned Wine

The players can attempt to plant the poisoned bottle of wine in Izek’s case of wine in multiple ways, including (but not limited to) the following:

  • The players can sneak into the kitchen of the burgomaster’s manor and distract the cook, Tereska, in order to replace the second bottle with the poisoned bottle.
  • The players can follow Tereska to the Vallaki town square and distract Izek while he’s eating his lunch in order to replace the second bottle with the poisoned bottle.

Sneaking Into the Kitchen. If the players choose to swap the bottles in the burgomaster’s mansion, Tereska’s schedule unfolds as follows:

  • 12:00 P.M. Tereska retrieves two bottles of Purple Grapemash No. 3 wine from the pantry and places them on the counter in the kitchen beside an empty leather wine case.
  • 12:15 P.M. Tereska places the two bottles of wine into the wine case, beginning with the bottle closest to the case. (If the players have replaced one of the bottles with the poisoned bottle, which is labeled Red Dragon Crush, Tereska regards it with surprise and makes a cursory Wisdom (Perception) check to discern whether anyone else is in or around the kitchen. If she sees no one, she chides herself for forgetfulness and assumes that the bottle was labeled Red Dragon Crush all along.)
  • 12:45 P.M. After preparing and packing Izek’s midday meal, Tereska takes the leather wine case and walks it to the Vallaki town square, where she delivers it to Izek.

Tereska cannot be bribed, cajoled, or intimidated into switching the bottles. (She is too suspicious of strangers and too fearful of Izek to risk disappointing him.)

However, if the players fake a convincing cover story, they can convince her to replace one of the Purple Grapemash No. 3 bottles with the poisoned Red Dragon Crush bottle with a successful DC 13 Charisma (Deception) check.

Distracting Izek. If the players choose to swap the bottles while Izek is eating lunch, they can distract Izek by, among other possibilities, causing any apparent breach of the peace, such as an evident jailbreak by one or more of the prisoners in the town stocks.

Players should be careful, however, to avoid being caught in the act. Izek is liable to declare—and join—a manhunt for any player seen breaking the law. Any manhunt, which will require Izek to rouse the town’s twelve off-duty guards, will last until nightfall. Izek then resumes his normal schedule the following day.

G4b. Trailing Izek

As the players trail Izek, any or all of the following encounters may take place. Should the players fail to escape initial notice in any of these encounters, they can still avoid detection by making a successful DC 13 group Dexterity (Stealth) check, which may be accompanied by one or more additional skill checks at your discretion. (See Group Checks on p. 175 of the Player's Handbook.) For example, a player who seeks to escape notice by clambering onto the roof of a nearby house might attempt a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check, gaining advantage on their Dexterity (Stealth) check if they succeed.

1. The Town Square

As the players watch Izek eating his lunch in the town square, Bluto, the town fisherman, drunkenly approaches them carrying a large, shallow wicker basket lined with river reeds and filled with stinking fish. (“Fresh-caught from Lake Zarovich!”)

Bluto loudly and belligerently demands to know whether the players will buy one of his fish for 4 cp, or a half-dozen of his fish for 20 cp. He takes any refusals as a personal offense and begins yelling at the players for being “outsiders” and “looking down at him,” which draws the attention of Izek and his guards.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (93)

Izek Strazni, 1st Form

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

  • Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  • Hit Points 110 (13d8 + 42)
  • Speed 30 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
20 (+5)15 (+2)18 (+4)10 (+0)9 (-1)15 (+2)
  • Saving Throws Str +8, Con +7
  • Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +5, Perception +2
  • Damage Resistances fire
  • Senses passive Perception 12
  • Languages Common
  • Challenge 6 or 5 if poisoned

Legendary Resistance (1/day). If Izek fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Second Phase. When Izek is reduced to 0 hit points, his arms and axe are engulfed in flames, the barbs on his fiendish arm grow longer and sharper, and his skin grows red and begins to smoke. His statistics are then instantly replaced by the statistics of his second form. His initiative count doesn’t change.

Actions

Multiattack. Izek makes two attacks.

Silvered Battleaxe. Melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (1d10 + 5) slashing damage and Izek can push the target up to 5 ft. away.

Flame Hurl. Ranged spell attack: +5 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit: 3d6 fire damage.

Bonus Actions

Slicing Whirl. Izek whirls his battleaxe around him. Each creature within a 5-foot radius must succeed on a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or take 5 (2d4) slashing damage and fall prone. A creature that succeeds on the saving throw takes half damage and doesn’t fall prone.

Flame Volley. Izek conjures a volley of fiery orbs that rain down on a point within 60 ft. that he can see. Each creature within 10 ft. of that point must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 7 (2d6) fire damage.

Reactions

Izek can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn.

Forceful Retreat. In response to taking damage from a melee attack, Izek makes a shove attack against the attacker. He can then immediately move up to 15 ft. away from the attacker without provoking opportunity attacks.

Vengeful Strike. In response to taking damage from an attack or spell, Izek can move up to 15 ft. toward the attacker without provoking opportunity attacks. He can then immediately make an attack with his battleaxe.

The players can calm Bluto with a successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check or by purchasing one or more of his fish.

2. Izek’s Spies

As Izek visits one of his spies, the players can overhear a conversation in which the spy informs Izek that several of their neighbors have recently visited the Morning Gate to purchase "pastries that allow you to dream while wide-awake" from a peddler named Morgantha.

As the conversation continues, the players are noticed by a small, mangy mastiff standing guard in the alleyway near the spy’s house. Upon spotting the players, the dog begins to growl at them, threatening to draw the attention of Izek, his guards, or his spy. The players can calm the dog with a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check or by providing it with food.

3. Gate Inspections

As Izek visits the eastern Morning Gate, three Barovian refugees rattle the iron bars of the gate and plead for entry, claiming that the camp’s food stores are running low and wolves have been spotted prowling around the edges of the forest on multiple recent nights—made worse by the fact that nearly a full third of the camp has grown addicted to the so-called "dream pastries" sold by the peddler Morgantha.

Izek conjures a flame in his hand and threatens to burn the refugees unless they disperse, which they do. Izek then snarls to the guards that if wolves are getting brave enough to approach the walls, werewolves can’t be far behind.

Izek then commands one of the guards to fetch a dozen fresh silvered crossbow bolts from a weapons cache stored in crates near the players’ hiding position. The players can avoid the guard’s attention with a successful DC 13 group Dexterity (Stealth) check or by other suitable means.

As Izek is leaving the Morning Gate, he idly commands one of the guards standing watch to purchase and deliver a dream pastry for him when the peddler returns the following day.

4. End of the Day

When Izek has finished the evening inspection for all of the gates, he dismisses his two guards as usual. However, instead of proceeding to one of his usual drinking spots, he travels to N7. Blinsky Toys (p. 118), where he attempts to pick up the doll that looks like Ireena Kolyana.

G4c. Ambushing Izek

Upon retrieving the doll, Izek proceeds north through the Zarovich Gate until arriving at Lake Zarovich. As he sits upon the shore, he drains the second bottle of wine in his case—gaining the poisoned condition for the duration of the following hour—and regards the doll with obsessive fixation.

Izek Strazni, 2nd Form

Medium humanoid, neutral evil

  • Armor Class 14 (studded leather)
  • Hit Points 110 (13d8 + 42)
  • Speed 30 ft.
STRDEXCONINTWISCHA
20 (+5)15 (+2)18 (+4)10 (+0)9 (-1)15 (+2)
  • Saving Throws Str +8, Con +7
  • Skills Athletics +8, Intimidation +5, Perception +2
  • Damage Immunities fire
  • Senses passive Perception 12
  • Languages Common
  • Challenge 6 or 5 if poisoned

Legendary Resistance (1/day). If Izek fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

Actions

Multiattack. Izek makes two melee attacks.

Silvered Battleaxe. Melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8 + 5) slashing damage plus 2 (1d4) fire damage.

Burning Punch. Melee weapon attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d4 + 5) bludgeoning damage plus 2 (1d4) fire damage, and Izek can push the target up to 5 ft. away. On a critical hit, the target must also succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or be dazed until the start of Izek’s next turn. (That creature can move or take one action on its turn, not both. It also can’t take a bonus action or a reaction.)

Flaming Wave. A wave of flames sweeps out from Izek in a line that is 60 feet long and 5 feet wide. Each creature in the line must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 11 (2d10) fire damage. The fire ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

Bonus Actions

Flame Burst. Izek slams his battleaxe into the ground, causing a torrent of flames to swirl around him. Each creature within 10 feet must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 11 (2d10) fire damage.

Explosive Blast. A bright streak flashes from Izek’s clawed hand to a point he chooses within 90 feet and then blossoms with a low roar into an explosion of flame. Each creature in a 10-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw. A target takes 9 (2d8) fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A target that fails the save is also knocked prone. The fire spreads around corners. It ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried.

Reactions

Izek can take up to three reactions per round, but only one per turn.

Hot Pursuit. In response to taking damage from an attack or spell, Izek propels himself forward with a jet of crackling flames, moving up to 30 feet without provoking opportunity attacks. He can then immediately make a burning punch attack against a creature within range.

Cinder Sparks. In response to taking damage from a melee attack, Izek causes the air around him to burst with swirling cinders. The attacker must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 2 (1d4) fire damage and be blinded until the start of Izek's next turn.

Retaliatory Burn (1/round). In response to taking damage from a melee attack made with a metal weapon, Izek causes the object to glow red-hot until the start of his next turn. Any creature in physical contact with the weapon immediately takes 9 (2d8) fire damage and must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or drop the weapon if it can. If it doesn’t drop the object, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks until the start of Izek’s next turn.

While he is poisoned in this way, treat Izek’s passive Wisdom (Perception) score as 8.

If Izek is undisturbed, he leaves Lake Zarovich and returns to the burgomaster’s mansion approximately four hours later. If Izek is attacked, he defends himself, vowing to destroy the players for their insolence. Izek always begins combat using the statistics of his first form. Upon realizing his poisoned state at the end of his first turn in combat, Izek roars in rage and demands to know what the players have done to him.

If the players ask the truth behind the Ireena-shaped doll, Izek snarls that the doll is none of their business.

If the players loot Izek’s body following his death, they can recover his silvered battleaxe, a pouch containing 35 gp, and an amber shard of Seriach, the Hell Hound Whisperer. (See the Amber Shard appendix for more information about amber shards.)

The Missing Doll

If the doll is not available for Izek to take, he beats Blinsky using unarmed strikes until the toymaker is at 1 hit point, and then uses his hurl flame ability to burn each of the other toys on display to cinders. Izek then threatens to kill Blinsky and burn his shop down unless a replacement doll is completed by dusk on the following day.

In his fury, Izek forgets the case containing the poisoned wine on Blinsky’s counter. The players can persuade Blinsky to help them poison Izek when he returns by showing Blinsky kindness and treating his wounds or with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

G4d. Aftermath of the Mission

If the players successfully deliver Izek’s severed head to Lady Wachter, she thanks them and assures them that she and her associates will “take it from here.” If the players are concerned about the possibility of further bloodshed, Lady Wachter assures them that, once shown Izek’s head, Baron Vallakovich will step down peacefully. She promises to provide them with any promised compensation the following evening at Wachterhaus, and invites them to attend a public transition ceremony in the town square the following morning.

The Transfer of Power

That night, Lady Wachter, accompanied by her three cult fanatics, travels to the Baron’s mansion, requests an audience with the Baron, and presents him with Izek’s severed head. The Baron, assuming that he is about to be assassinated, attempts to flee. However, he is forcefully stopped by the command spell of one of Lady Wachter’s cultists.

Trapped in Lady Wachter’s clutches, the Baron spitefully agrees to relinquish his claim to the position of burgomaster. (Lady Wachter graciously permits him to retain his noble title, ensuring that he retains his family’s estate, incomes, and other trappings of status.)

The following morning, Vallaki’s guards gather the townsfolk for an announcement in the town square. While standing atop the wooden scaffold erected for the Festival of the Blazing Sun, the Baron solemnly abdicates his position as burgomaster and appoints Lady Wachter to replace him.

If the players attend the announcement, Lady Wachter does not publicly acknowledge them, but offers them a knowing look and a small nod of recognition.

Lady Wachter first commands the town guard to release the prisoners in the stocks, and then proclaims that the town shall have no further festivals, except those on holy days. She then delivers the following speech:

“Thank you, Baron Vallakovich, both for your foresight in these times of trouble, and for your family's long history of service to the good people of Vallaki. You honor me with this position, and I vow to do my utmost to carry out the responsibilities of burgomaster with wisdom and care.

“My fellow Vallakians, we find ourselves in a period of change. Change is difficult—it can lead us into danger, or into a period of new and brighter prosperity. To navigate such murky waters, a steady hand is needed—a hand that acknowledges the world as it is, not the world as we may wish it to be.

"It is neither defiance nor abdication that will lead us to prosperity and peace, but respect, homage, and a sense of proper duty.

"It is through these three principles that we may secure the safety of our children, our neighbors, and ourselves—and it is through these three principles that I will work to ensure a better future for our beloved town.

“May Vallaki find sanctuary in the mercy of the mists, and may we come together stronger, more united, and more prosperous than ever before. Thank you.”

The townsfolk answer her speech with muted applause and slowly disperse from the square.

If still alive, Father Lucian Petrovich emerges from the crowd and greets the players. He notes, with dry amusement, that he has not previously heard the phrase “find sanctuary in the mercy of the mists” before, but that it is reminiscent of a passage he once read in a prayer book dedicated to Ezra, goddess of the Mists. He wonders aloud whether Vallaki shall soon see a religious revival of a different kind, then chuckles wryly and moves to return to St. Andral’s Church.

If asked his opinion on Lady Wachter, Father Petrovich states, carefully, that he believes that her heart is in the right place, and that he believes that the light of the Morninglord can guide any soul—even those that believe themselves lost to the Mists.

Father Petrovich also briefly expresses his regret for his younger sister, Baroness Lydia Petrovna, who has faced many challenges over the past several months and years, and shares his hopes that the Vallakovich family will find a sense of peace amidst their new circumstances.

If the players return to Wachterhaus to obtain their promised compensation (if any), Lady Wachter provides it to them with gratitude. The players are free to take up to thirty silvered crossbow bolts and four silvered spears, as well as up to two pairs of any piece of armor worth 100 gp or less, and up to one of any piece of armor worth 400 gp or less. (All of the weapons, ammunition, and armor were taken from an old armory whose location was lost for several years due to Izek’s chronic mismanagement.)

Milestone. Assassinating Izek completes a story milestone. When Lady Wachter takes power, award each player 1,250 XP.

Lady Wachter’s Promises

When Lady Wachter’s speech is complete, she returns to Wachterhaus and there establishes her seat of government. She summons each of Vallaki’s town guards and meets with them personally, reassuring them that their employment will be protected and their salaries maintained. She further recruits one dozen members of her cult to serve as “deputy guards” to assist in patrolling the walls and keeping the peace throughout the town.

Lady Wachter then commands the guards to open the gates to the Barovian refugees, resettling them in the town square until such a time as housing can be found. (Any Barovian refugees addicted to dream pastries continue to visit the eastern Morning Gate daily to purchase fresh pastries from Morgantha, and are joined by a number of Vallakians interested in her wares.)

Baron Vargas Vallakovich and his family are placed under unofficial house arrest, with the mansion guarded by two of Lady Wachter’s cultists at all times—one guarding the front door and one guarding the back. The cultists assure Baron Vallakovich that they are present for his protection, both from ungrateful townsfolk and servants of Strahd, but are under strict orders to bar him and his family from exiting the manor. Victor Vallakovich, the Baron’s son, is mildly perturbed by this development, but takes no action against it.

Udo Lukovich, the shoemaker, is released from his prison in the Baron’s home and returned to his mother, Willemina.

Gratitude of the Townsfolk

Yelena Arasek—one of the two co-owners of the general store at Arasek Stockyard, and Gunther Arasek’s wife—is the sister of Udo Lukovich, the man that Baron Vallakovich imprisoned in his mansion. Should the players ensure the Baron’s downfall and see that Udo is freed, they receive a permanent fifty-percent discount at Arasek Stockyard each time they return, as well as the Arasek’s gratitude.

Design Notes: Lady Wachter's Wish

The Blue Water Inn. The hook to this quest—Lady Wachter's decision to send the players an invitation to dine at Wachterhaus—has been tweaked to provide more support for Lady Wachter's decision to entrust the players with her conspiracy.

Wachterhaus. The corpse of Nikolai Wachter has been removed from Wachterhaus to ensure that he does not serve as a black mark against Lady Wachter—a complicated figure who the players should have more cause to trust, not less. (See Arc I: The Lost Soul and Arc S: The Moonlit Murders for more information about the players' relationship with Lady Fiona Wachter.)

Lady Wachter's spell list has been updated to include zone of truth in order to provide her with a powerful tool to encourage the players to trust her. (See Arc D: The Tome of Strahd for more information about Lady Wachter's use of zone of truth).

Toll the Dead, Bane, Blindness/Deafness, and Lesser Restoration have also been added to Lady Wachter's spell list to provide her with additional options in the fight against the specters of the Ethereal Plane and Leo Dilisnya's spirit in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Stella's introduction has been added as a prelude to the dinner to humanize Lady Wachter and to encourage the players to view her with sympathy, and to foreshadow Stella's fate in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Lady Wachter's connection to Baba Lysaga and the tragic death of her family have been added to provide her with a tie to the spirit of Leo Dilisnya, and a means to entrap the hags of Old Bonegrinder in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Lady Wachter's interest in using Stella to secure power in Vallaki through marriage with Victor Vallakovich has been removed to make Lady Wachter a more sympathetic character, to deepen her internal conflict and guilt in Arc I: The Lost Soul (because her coldness toward Victor discouraged him and Stella from seeking her aid sooner), and to make Victor's friendship with Stella more meaningful to the two of them.

Lady Wachter's scheme with the poisoned wine has been added to provide the players with a fuller gameplay experience in the lead-up to Izek's assassination (thereby building the dramatic tension and enhancing the impact of Izek's ultimate death), and to provide the players with a reason to seek out and benefit from Lady Wachter's aid.

In addition to supporting her argument, Lady Wachter's tale of Berez has been added to introduce the fate of the ruined village (which the players can visit in Arc J: The Walls of Krezk) and to subtly foreshadow her connection to Baba Lysaga.

Lady Wachter's anecdotes regarding Ezra and Leo Dilisnya have been added to foreshadow Ezra's connection to the Dark Powers (which the players will discover in Arc X: Tatyana's Legacy) and to introduce Leo Dilisnya's hostile relationship with the Wachter family. (The players will have an opportunity to fight Leo Dilisnya and learn more about that relationship in Arc I: The Lost Soul.)

Return to the Blue Water Inn. The players' encounter with Ernst Larnak has been added to introduce his character prior to his antagonistic role in Arc S: The Moonlit Murders.

Izek's Assassination. Izek's wine case has been added to provide the players with an additional opportunity to explore the Baron's mansion, and to provide preliminary stealth gameplay to raise the dramatic tension before the assassination takes place. The players' encounters with Bluto in the town square, with the dog in the Vallaki alleyway, and with the town guard by the eastern Morning gate provide similar roles.

Izek's spy, as well as the refugees' complaints regarding Morgantha's dream pastries, has been added to foreshadow Morgantha's nature as a night hag, which the players will explore further in Arc I: The Lost Soul.

Ambushing Izek. Izek's statblock has been redesigned to provide a challenging, yet winnable solo combat encounter for a balanced party of 4th-level players. Note, however, that this statblock will likely prove an exceptionally difficult (if not impossible) fight for such a party if faced in a fair fight—the players will need to leverage one or more advantages (such as Lady Wachter's poisoned wine) in order to win.

Aftermath of the Mission. There are intentionally no direct consequences for Lady Wachter's takeover of Vallaki. Her role in this guide is as a sympathetic antihero—and, eventually, as a full-blown heroic ally to the players. The sole consequences of Lady Wachter's rise to power can be found in Arc S: The Moonlit Murders, in which Anastrasya Karelova and Ernst Larnak take advantage of Lady Wachter's fealty to Strahd to misguide and misdirect her following a slew of unnatural murders in the streets of Vallaki.

Arc H: The Strazni Siblings

In this arc, shortly after seeing Ireena Kolyana, Izek Strazni realizes that she is—quite literally—the woman of his dreams.

After learning from his spies that Ireena has most recently resided at the Blue Water Inn, Izek visits the Inn himself in an attempt to uncover her location. If his effort is unsuccessful, he directs the town guard to publish WANTED posters around Vallaki offering a reward for information regarding Ireena’s location.

If the players neither stop Izek nor take extraordinary measures to keep Ireena concealed, Izek finds and kidnaps Ireena two days later, imprisoning her in his room at the Baron’s mansion. Can the players free Ireena from Izek’s clutches—or will they perish in the attempt?

H1. The Blue Water Inn

H1a. Izek’s Visit

Just over a day after catching a glimpse of Ireena Kolyana for the first time—either in the street outside of the Blue Water Inn, in Vallaki’s town square, or in some other location—Izek Strazni recognizes her as the woman that he has seen repeatedly in his dreams and becomes determined to find her.

Izek soon comes to believe that Ireena is a guest at the Blue Water Inn—either because he observed her in the vicinity of the Blue Water Inn on the players’ first morning in Vallaki, or, if the players failed to disguise her upon their entry into Vallaki, because he learned of her recent arrival from the guards at the gates. (If Izek did not see Izek outside of the Blue Water Inn and the players kept Ireena disguised upon entering Vallaki, Izek learns of Ireena’s location from one of his spies an additional day later, unless the players have taken extraordinary measures to keep her hidden.)

While the players are away—and preferably during the players’ dinner with Lady Fiona Wachter in Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish—Izek visits the Blue Water Inn and demands to know of Ireena’s location, describing her by appearance. Urwin and Danika deny knowledge of her current location and insist that she is not a current guest. Izek demands entry into each room of the inn to search for her, which Urwin and Danika reluctantly allow.

If Ireena is currently staying at the inn, Urwin quietly directs Brom and Bray to retrieve and conceal her in N2i. Secret Stairs and Hall (p. 101) while he and Danika keep Izek distracted in N2f. Stable (p. 101). To keep Izek busy, Danika allows him to search N2h. Ravens' Loft (p. 101), allowing him to find the locked chest buried in the hay. Urwin reluctantly complies with Izek's demands to open the chest, and Izek confiscates the 140 ep and 70 pp as "unpaid taxes."

After rummaging through each room of the inn—including Rictavio’s suite—Izek breaks a table, two chairs, and a window in a fit of rage and storms out of the inn.

H1b. The Players Return

The next time that the players return to the Blue Water Inn, they find that the inn is closed to non-guests for the evening, with all of its shutters and doors closed to the public.

The debris from the broken table and chairs have been placed outside by the shed just outside of the inn’s front door, and the glass from the broken window has been swept into a neat pile, though a cold draft is seeping in through the shutters.

Urwin, who is holding a broom and dustpan as he gathers splinters and shards from the taproom floor, greets the players wearily upon their return. He can provide the players with the following information:

  • Izek Strazni, the baron’s enforcer and captain of the guard, visited the Blue Water Inn earlier that day and demanded the location of a woman matching the description of the players’ companion.
  • Izek tore apart the inn in an effort to find her, but was ultimately unsuccessful. In the process, he damaged some of the inn’s property and ransacked the inn’s guest rooms.
  • If Izek took the coins from the Martikovs’ locked chest, Urwin notes that he also took some items with him, but that thankfully no one was harmed. If asked, Urwin dismisses the confiscated coins as “some savings of ours,” but reiterates his relief that Ireena and the players are safe.

Urwin sincerely apologizes to the players for the damage to their rooms, and promises that he and Danika are working hard to ensure that they will be cleaned up and ready for the players to sleep in that night.

If the players indicate an interest in attacking Izek for his transgressions or to stop him from finding Ireena, Urwin warns them that Izek is a powerful and dangerous foe, protected by the town guard at nearly all hours of the day. Should the players challenge him outright, it shall surely be suicide.

If the players appear dead-set on challenging Izek, Urwin reluctantly advises them to seek the counsel of Lady Fiona Wachter, who is known to be a steadfast enemy of the Baron. He also offers to uncover details regarding Izek’s schedule and activities in order to assist the players’ efforts.

Urwin declines to reveal his sources, but notes only that some “friends” of his are adept at finding information without being detected.

H1c. Ireena’s Aftermath

If Ireena was at the inn when Izek arrived, Urwin further informs the players that Danika is comforting her in N2e. Kitchen (p. 101) while brewing a batch of hot mulled wine to steady her nerves. (Brom and Bray have been sent to their room for the night—not as a punishment, but to keep them safe should Izek return. Urwin has promised both new toys as a reward for their selflessness and bravery.)

Ireena is shaken, confused, and disturbed by Izek’s visit, but deeply grateful to the Martikovs for their efforts to keep her from harm. (If asked, she can inform the players of the existence of the inn’s secret corridor and staircase, but asks them to promise to keep the Martikovs’ secrets safe.)

Ireena's Choice. Whether Ireena was at the inn or church during Izek's attack, she is filled with guilt, rage, and frustration upon learning of it. With a tremble in her voice, she demands that the players allow her to accompany them should they decide to put a stop to Izek's rampage. Ireena doesn't care about Izek's motivation; she simply wants others to stop suffering for their decisions to protect her.

Urwin’s Aid

If the players request Urwin’s aid in tracking Izek, Urwin meets them in the taproom the following morning to share the following information, though he politely declines to reveal his sources:

  • Izek is accompanied for most of the day by two Vallakian guards. The guards keep a close eye on his surroundings, making it difficult to ambush him. However, Izek usually dismisses the guards and retires to one of several preferred haunts to drink around dusk.
  • Izek’s day-to-day schedule varies, but he reliably takes his midday meal in Vallaki’s town square, delivered by the Baron’s cook. He returns every night to Baron Vallakovich’s mansion to sleep.
  • Strange figures have been seen going in and out of Wachterhaus, the home of Lady Fiona Wachter, one of the Baron’s fiercest political enemies. Rumor has it that one of her servants has been shadowing Izek around town for the past two weeks. She might have aid to offer.

If the players journey to Lady Wachter’s estate to seek her assistance, they begin Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish.

H2. The Streets of Vallaki

One day after his visit to the Blue Water Inn, Izek directs the town guards to begin publishing posters requesting information regarding the location of a woman matching Ireena’s description. Each poster includes a sketch that roughly matches Ireena’s appearance and offers a reward of five gold pieces for information delivered to Izek Strazni at the Baron’s mansion.

H3. The Kidnapping

One day after Izek’s posters are published around Vallaki, unless the players have taken sufficient precautions to ensure that Ireena remains completely concealed from the public, a Vallakian delivers a tip to the Burgomaster’s mansion regarding her current location.

That night, just before midnight, Izek, joined by four guards, breaks into Ireena’s current location and attempts to kidnap her. Ireena bites off Izek's left ear in the process, permanently giving him disadvantage on all Wisdom (Perception) checks involving hearing.

  • Blue Water Inn. If Ireena is still at the Blue Water Inn, Urwin and Danika, alerted by a wereraven about Izek’s approach, swiftly move once to hide her in the hidden staircase. However, Izek notices a strand of Ireena’s hair caught in the secret door and forces the door open, finding her. As he hauls Ireena away, he commands the guards to place Urwin in the town stocks. He uses his hurl flame ability to set fire to the Blue Water Inn, causing severe property damage before Danika and six wereraven members of the Keepers of the Feather are able to extinguish it using water from the inn’s well.
  • St. Andral’s Church. If Ireena has been moved to St. Andral’s Church, Izek interrupts Father Petrovich in the middle of a sermon and demands to know Ireena’s location. Despite Father Petrovich’s protests, Izek finds Ireena in the priest’s office (which Father Petrovich and Yeska have converted into a makeshift third bedroom) and seizes her. Izek coldly vows that he will return to punish the church for hiding Ireena from him, but departs without causing further harm.

If Izek is successful, he then takes Ireena by force to his room in the Baron’s mansion (described in N3j. Izek's Bedroom, p. 107), where he binds her with rope, gags her, and places her on his bed. He then takes a chair and several bottles of wine from the first floor, places the chair in his room beside the bed, and proceeds to silently stare at her without moving for the next seventy-two hours.

H4. The Rescue

The players can rescue Ireena from Izek’s clutches by first gaining access to his bedroom in the Baron’s mansion. They can do so by infiltrating the mansion or openly storming it.

In either case, if the players are found in a place where they’re not supposed to be, an occupant of the mansion can raise the alarm by shouting for aid. If the alarm is raised, twelve guards arrive at the mansion two minutes later.

The NPCs in the mansion ordinarily behave as follows:

  • Baron Vallakovich can generally be found in N3l. Library (p. 107) during the day, and in N3o. Master Bedroom (p. 108) at night. He is accompanied by his two mastiffs, Fang and Claw, at all times. If he finds the players trespassing, he sets Fang and Claw to attack them, but raises the alarm if the dogs are defeated.
  • Baroness Lydia Petrovna can generally be found in N3c. Dining Room (p. 106) during the day and in N3o. Master Bedroom (p. 108) at night. If she finds the players trespassing during the day, she assumes that they are guests of her husband, Vargas, and greets them accordingly; otherwise, she screams, then faints.
  • Victor Vallakovich can generally be found in N3t. Victor's Workroom (p. 109) both day and night. If he finds the players trespassing, he greets them warily and demands to know their names and business. (He won’t raise the alarm if his curiosity is satisfied.)
  • Tereska, the cook, can generally be found in N3g. Kitchen (p. 106) during the day, and in N3f. Servants' Quarters (p. 106) at night. If she finds the players trespassing, she raises the alarm unless they agree to leave.
  • Clavdia, the maid, can generally be found on the second floor during the morning, on the first floor during the afternoon, and in N3f. Servants’ Quarters (p. 106) at night. If she finds the players trespassing, she immediately raises the alarm.

Izek remains in his bedroom with Ireena at all times and refuses to allow anyone else to enter, including the Baron and the household staff. If the players loot Izek’s body following his death, they can recover his silvered battleaxe, a pouch containing 35 gp, and an amber shard of Seriach, the Hell Hound Whisperer. (See the Amber Shard appendix for more information about amber shards.)

Don’t Wake Izek

When the players first arrive at Izek’s bedroom, roll 1d20 to determine if he is asleep, with advantage if it is nighttime. Izek is asleep in his chair on a roll of 15 or higher.

If a player attempts to sneak into the room while Izek is asleep, they find it impossible to reach the bed without passing near Izek’s chair. As they do so, he clumsily wraps a hand around their wrist while snoring, forcing the player to make a successful DC 12 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check to extricate themselves without awakening him.

If the players free Ireena and move to exit from the room with her, one of the floorboards creaks loudly, briefly stirring Izek from his deep slumber. With his eyes still closed, he drowsily reaches as if to grab for an object in front of him, murmuring, “Ireena.” If handed one of his dolls, he clutches it to his chest and falls back asleep. Otherwise, he awakens on the following round.

Fire in the Mansion!

Izek’s fire-based abilities are likely to set the wooden floors and paneling of the mansion aflame. If they do, apply the following rules:

Each contiguous collection of ignited squares counts as a single fire. On initiative count 20 of each round, for each fire, roll a number of d4s equal to the number of squares in that fire. For each 4 rolled, an additional square adjacent to the fire also ignites (your choice), becoming a part of the fire. Ignited squares can include either floors or walls. (An ignited wall is engulfed with flames on both sides.)When the fire spreads, each creature within its area must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, that creature can immediately move to an adjacent, unoccupied square within 5 feet.A creature that enters the fire or begins its turn there for the first time on a turn takes 1d8 fire damage.All squares within 10 feet of a fire are heavily obscured by smoke. A creature other than Izek that starts its turn in the smoke must make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned until the start of its next turn. Undead and constructs succeed on the saving throw automatically.

One minute after the first fires ignite, Victor Vallakovich descends to the battlefield if able and commands all combatants to move behind him. He then casts cone of cold to extinguish all burning squares.

H4a. Infiltrating the Manor

If the players infiltrate the manor and successfully make their way to Izek’s bedroom, the door is locked as described in N3j. Izek's Bedroom (p. 107). If the players attempt to pick the lock and Izek is awake (see Don’t Wake Izek below), they must also succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity (Stealth) check to do so without alerting him.

The players will find it difficult to lure Izek from his bedroom while Ireena is present, but can do so with sufficiently creative and provocative efforts—assuming, of course, they roll sufficiently high. Otherwise, Izek draws his silvered battleaxe and fights at the slightest provocation.

During the battle, Izek can break through one of the interior walls of the Baron’s manor by expending 15 feet of his movement. If he does, he takes 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.

H4b. Storming the Manor

If the players cause a ruckus at the front door or on the first floor of the manor, Izek overhears them and exits his bedroom, bringing his silvered battleaxe in case of battle. He fights at the slightest provocation.

H4c. Ireena's Gratitude

Ireena is deeply disturbed by Izek's obsession with her. If the players inform her that she is Izek's sister, she mourns the child she once must have known, but not the man that he became. She reaffirms that, no matter who believes otherwise, she is and chooses to be Ireena Kolyana—not Ireena Strazni, or anyone else.

Milestone. Rescuing Ireena from Izek's clutches completes a story milestone. When Ireena is escorted to safety, award each player 500 XP, or 1,250 XP instead if Izek was defeated.

Design Notes: The Strazni Siblings

This arc has been expanded to provide a more explicit "ticking clock" that drives the players into conflict with Izek Strazni, and as an inciting incident that pushes Ireena to journey with the players and take agency in her fight against Strahd.

The Blue Water Inn. Izek's attack on the Blue Water Inn has been added to provide the players with an additional motivation to seek his death—especially if they are mistrustful of Lady Wachter's motives or doubtful of the benefits of removing her obstacles to power.

Izek's attack also serves to motivate Ireena to join the players in defeating him, developing her character arc as she moves from passivity to agency and laying the foundations for her ultimate decision to journey with the players at the beginning of Act III: The Devil's Hand.

Urwin's aid has been added to discourage the players from fighting Izek directly (i.e., in a fair fight), to direct them toward Lady Wachter (and therefore serve as a backup hook to Arc G: Lady Wachter's Wish), and to foreshadow his involvement with the Keepers of the Feather, who the players will learn more about in Arc K: The Missing Gem.

The Kidnapping. Izek's kidnapping of Ireena has been implemented as a failsafe penalty if the players decline to take any action to defeat him before this date (which will most likely be on or about the players' fourth full day in Vallaki).

The Rescue. Izek's ability to break through the interior walls of the mansion has been added to create a more dynamic environment in what would otherwise be a cramped, closed-quarters space.

Arc I: The Lost Soul

In this arc, following either a ghostly visitation at the Blue Water Inn or a wary bargain at the Baron’s mansion, Victor Vallakovich asks the players to help him restore the soul of Stella Wachter to her body by finding a means of accessing the Ethereal Plane, where her spirit is trapped. To do so, the players must help Victor obtain the heartstone of a night hag by the night of the full moon, which will take place on the fifth day after the players first arrive in Vallaki.

Should the players accept Victor’s request, he tells them that Stella, from her place in the Ethereal Plane, has seen a night hag preying upon the dreams of several members of the Barovian refugee camp. He advises them to visit the camp to investigate the hag’s location while he prepares the rituals necessary to transport the players to the Ethereal Plane and return Stella’s soul to her body.

In the refugee camp, the players can learn about the peddler Morgantha, who has regularly sold dream pastries to the refugees and several Vallakians since the refugees’ arrival nearly three months ago. While there, the players can also meet Franz, a widower refugee who has suffered from a wasting disease for the past two nights. Franz confesses to the players that he sold his children, Myrtle and Feodor, to Morgantha two days ago to pay for his dreams, and that he is now suffering the penance of his sins. The players can learn from the refugees that Morgantha hasn’t visited the town since Franz sold her his children.

Shortly after speaking with Franz, the players receive a sending spell from Victor inviting them to return to the attic of the Baron’s mansion. There, Victor provides them with two paths they can take in order to obtain the night hag’s heartstone: they can bargain with her to obtain it, or they can attempt to seal her in a binding circle and then kill her. If the players select the latter, Victor tells them that he will need an additional day to research the binding circle before they can set off for Morgantha’s lair.

When the players return the following day, Victor anxiously informs them that he has been unable to find a means of performing the binding ritual. However, Stella can inform the group that a similar circle of enormous size surrounds the entirety of Wachterhaus, which Stella saw while exploring through the Ethereal Plane.

If the players request Lady Wachter’s help, she assists them only if they have already won her favor by killing Izek Strazni, or if they can persuade her to lower the binding circle around Wachterhaus to allow Stella to communicate her presence. Otherwise, Lady Wachter assumes that they and Victor are playing a cruel joke upon her and dismisses them with disgust.

If the players successfully obtain Lady Wachter’s aid, she and four of her cult fanatics join the players for a journey to Morgantha’s lair at Old Bonegrinder. Lady Wachter warns the players that they will need to obtain the names of all hags within the windmill in order to bind them, lest any members of the coven escape to attack her or her cultists. Once the players have obtained the names of Morgantha’s daughters (and, hopefully, rescued the children imprisoned inside the windmill), Bella Sunbane and Offalia Wormwiggle, Lady Wachter leads her cultists in creating an enormous binding circle that binds the night hags to the Material Plane, allowing the players and Victor to destroy them.

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (94)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (95)

The Fate of Stella Wachter

Three years ago, Victor found a spellbook in his father’s library, as described in N3t. Victor’s Workroom (p. 109). It was not, however, just any spellbook—it was the lost spellbook of the lich Khazan himself, long thought destroyed in the accident that had led to Khazan’s death. Victor studied its secrets intensely, using Khazan’s precise notes and his own powerful intellect to master many of the spells within.

Six months ago, Victor met Stella Wachter, the youngest child of Lady Fiona Wachter, while skipping stones by Lake Zarovich. Stella and Victor were surprised to find that they shared a mutual interest in magic, myths, and philosophy. Despite their parents’ clear disapproval, the two became fast friends.

After swearing Stella to secrecy, Victor shyly showed her his spellbook and some of the magic he could perform. Stella was fascinated, and immediately volunteered to serve as his research assistant, an offer that left Victor stunned and flattered.

When Strahd awoke from his hibernation, Victor and Stella agreed that escaping his tyranny was imperative. (Victor also hoped for an opportunity to escape his parents’ grasp, while Stella hoped to bring her family with her from Barovia.) The two dove together into a new research project: the construction of a teleportation circle capable of escaping Barovia.

Ten weeks ago, their prototype teleportation circle was complete. After the two performed some minor experiments using Victor’s undead cats, Stella excitedly insisted on a live, human trial and volunteered to go first. Victor reluctantly did so—and tragedy struck.

Neither Stella nor Victor could have known it, but the Mists of Barovia formed a unique metaphysical barrier against Victor’s teleportation circle. The spell failed—and the psychic backlash briefly exposed Stella’s soul to the raw energies of the Ethereal Plane.

There, the vengeful spirit of Leo Dilisnya, a gallows speaker lured by the magical beacon of Victor’s spell, sensed the presence of its ancient enemy and struck, severing Stella’s soul from her body.

Before Leo could kill her, however, the ghost of Erasmus van Richten swiftly swept her away, concealing her from sight.

Back on the Material Plane, when the smoke and light cleared, Victor saw Stella standing limply at the center of the circle, her eyes dull and unresponsive.

Terrified that his father might learn of Victor’s magical abilities—or, worse, blame Victor for Stella’s fate— Victor told him that she had abruptly become catatonic for no apparent reason. Vargas, displeased with Stella's presence from the beginning, was all too glad to have an excuse to be rid of “the Wachter girl,” and directed Izek to return her to Wachterhaus immediately. Fiona was horrified by Stella’s fate and began plotting the downfall of the Vallakovich family in quiet fury.

Victor spent two weeks wracked with guilt and sorrow before, strangely, one of the servants mentioned seeing a spirit resembling Stella in the mirror in his mother’s parlor. It was through the spirit mirror that Victor learned that Stella’s soul still lived in the Ethereal Plane—and it was through that mirror, communicating with handsigns and lip-reading, that the two—now aided by the ghost of Erasmus van Richten—began to work to restore Stella’s soul to her body.

Since then, Victor has been rapidly attempting to enhance his magical abilities, either to somehow repurpose the faulty teleportation circle to restore Stella’s soul or to become powerful enough to cast the high-level etherealness spell in Khazan’s spellbook.

However, both Victor, Stella, and Erasmus have recently realized that they are running out of time. The Border Ethereal is full of other wandering spirits, many of whom are far less friendly than Stella herself, and Erasmus can’t keep her safe forever. Worse still, Stella’s spirit appears to slowly be fading, drawn further and further away by the pull of the Ethereal Plane with each passing day. If her soul isn’t returned to her body soon, Stella may lose herself—forever.

If the players fail to obtain Lady Wachter’s aid and instead elect to bargain with Morgantha for a loan of her heartstone, Morgantha agrees to lend it to the players on the condition that the players promise to later deliver a soul leech to the desk of Strahd’s chamberlain, Rahadin, whose twisted soul Morgantha craves. As collateral, Morgantha takes the players’ dreams, preventing the players from gaining the benefits of a long rest if they fail to fulfill Morgantha’s request within the next thirteen days.

Should the players successfully obtain a heartstone through assault or negotiation, Victor sends the group—and Lady Wachter, if she is present—into the Ethereal Plane to perform the ritual and defend Stella’s spirits from a tide of ravenous spirits intent on taking her soulless body for their own. The horde, however, is not alone, and their leader—a sadistic gallows speaker dominated by the spirit of Leo Dilisnya—bears an ancient enmity for the house of Wachter...

I1. Burgomaster’s Mansion

The players can learn of Stella’s tragic fate by speaking to Victor Vallakovich in N3t. Victor's Workroom (p. 109) in the Burgomaster’s mansion in Vallaki. This can occur in one of the following ways:

Quest for the Tome. If you have placed the Tome of Strahd in the attic of the Burgomaster’s mansion and the players, upon seeing it on Victor’s desk, express an interest in obtaining it, Victor agrees to allow them to take it only if they first assist him with a particular task.

Ghost Busters. If the players speak with Victor about the ghost haunting the mansion after receiving Baron Vallakovich’s mission to exorcise it, Victor glances at the spirit mirror in his workroom and protests, “Them? Really? But they’re strangers!” (He is responding to the soul of Stella Wachter, who is silently communicating with him from the mirror.)

Erasmsus’s Plea

If the players haven’t received this quest by the end of their third day in Vallaki, but they have completed Arc F: The Missing Vistana, the party is awoken in the night by the sound of a window slamming open and the feel of a cold draft filling the room. Closer inspection reveals that one of the windows has flown open, seemingly of its own accord. (The window was opened by the poltergeist of Erasmus van Richten.)

The players can notice that the panes of the windows looking into the room have frosted over, and that their breath now mists in the chill air. Shortly afterward, several items in the room begin levitating into the air, and the shutters to the room’s windows begin rattling. As they do, an invisible finger begins inscribing a message in the frost on one of the windows: Help Victor. After a moment, it then adds—almost hesitantly—Please.

If the players ask for the spirit’s name, it writes its name in the frost: Erasmus. If the players agree to carry out his request, the items then fall to the ground and the shutters stop rattling, the frost slowly evaporating. Erasmus’s spirit then departs.

While Erasmus’s spirit is present, a player who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight or Perception) check senses a ghostly presence within the room—a presence that shines with innocence and a sense of fierce determination.

The players can learn from Urwin Martikov, Danika Dorakova, Father Lucian Petrovich, or Lady Fiona Wachter that “Victor” is the name of Baron Vallakovich’s teenage son.

Victor then sighs, runs a hand through his greasy hair, and reluctantly informs the players that his “friends” thinks that they’re trustworthy, and that they’ll help solve the ghost problem if the players assist them with a particular task.

Erasmus’s Plea. If the players received Erasmus’s Plea (see above) and ask to speak with Victor, Baron Vallakovich allows them to do so with a successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion or Deception) check, or automatically if they sufficiently flatter him or if Lady Wachter has already seized power. If the players describe Erasmus's visitation to Victor, he glances at the spirit mirror in his workroom and says, sounding hurt, “I thought I told you I had this under control!”

A moment later, Victor's face softens, and he reluctantly tells the players that “Stella” and "Erasmus" have decided that he needs help, and that they might not be entirely wrong. He then asks the players if they would be willing to assist him “Stella,” and "Erasmus"—the spirit that they encountered—with a particular task.

What Victor Knows

No matter the case, if the players express an interest in assisting him, Victor first introduces them to Stella’s spirit through her reflection in the spirit mirror. Stella greets them with a shy wave, but cannot be heard. (Victor explains that her soul is trapped in the Ethereal Plane, and though the mirror reflects shapes from the other plane, it does not transmit sound.)

Victor then shares the following information:

  • Three months ago, Victor and his friend, Stella Wachter, heard that the Devil Strahd had returned to the land and agreed that escape was imperative. Using knowledge that Victor had gleaned from a old spellbook, they began construction of a teleportation circle that would allow them to free themselves from the valley.
  • Ten weeks ago, they’d finally finished a prototype circle. After two experiments involving undead rabbits that Victor animated using bones purchased from Szoldar and Yevgeni, Stella insisted on volunteering as a live, human trial. However, the test went horribly wrong—the circle failed to teleport Stella’s body anywhere, and the backlash exposed her soul to the Ethereal Plane.
  • During the brief moments that her spirit was within the Ethereal Plane, Stella was attacked by a dark shadow, whose claws severed her soul from her body. She would have died had Erasmus not spirited her away to safety.
  • After two weeks of worrying that he had accidentally somehow destroyed his friend’s mind, Victor learned that one of his parents’ servants had seen the ghost of a young woman reflected in a mirror in his mother’s parlor. Victor learned that the mirror was a spirit mirror that reflected both the Material and Ethereal Planes. Using it, he was able to see and communicate with Stella’s wandering spirit—first through gestures and crude lip-reading, and eventually through handsigns learned from a book in his father’s library.
  • Since then, Victor and Stella have been working hard to restore her soul to her body, but nothing has worked. In the meantime, Stella has had to conceal herself from the many wandering spirits that roam the Border Ethereal, many of which would harm her if they could.
  • Stella feels like she’s slowly losing memories of her life, even as her form in the Ethereal Plane is slowly growing more insubstantial. Sometimes, she can’t tell whether she’s herself or someone else; when that happens, she feels as though a part of her is curled up in a warm and wet place, with a comforting heartbeat echoing through the darkness.
  • To make matters worse, the tether between Stella’s shoulder blades that once connected her soul to her body is slowly growing shorter, leaving Victor fearing that she has little more than a week left before she disappears forever. (The shorter it gets, the more frequent Stella’s visions become, and the foggier her memory grows.)
  • Neither Victor, Stella, nor Erasmus know the identity of the spirit that severed Stella’s soul from her body. However, Erasmus has seen it haunting the Ethereal Plane around Vallaki numerous times since its arrival—seemingly searching for Stella—and has identified it as a gallows speaker*. (Erasmus, who learned of the creatures while reading his father’s notes, can share all of the information about gallows speakers provided on p. 234 of Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft.)
  • If asked why they haven’t sought others’ help, Victor stubbornly insists that he doesn’t trust Lady Fiona Wachter; that his own father, the Baron, would be worse than useless; and that he and Stella are perfectly capable of solving her problem on their own.

If confronted with the fact that he and Stella haven’t been capable of solving her problem on their own, Victor’s face crumples, and he briefly looks to be on the verge of tears as he struggles to find a retort.

Victor is surprised to hear of the “hauntings” that his family has experienced in the mansion floors below. However, Stella’s spirit—looking bashful—uses handsigns to communicate that she never intended to scare anyone, but that after accidentally learning that she retained some small ability to interact with the Material Plane, she couldn’t resist playing an occasional practical joke on an unsuspecting victim. (If the players ask why she hasn’t used this ability to communicate with her mother, Lady Wachter, Stella confesses that some strange force prevents her from entering the grounds of the estate.)

If the players agree to help him and Stella, Victor shares with them the following plan:

  • To guide Stella’s soul back into her body, he needs to find a way to enter the Ethereal Plane in his own, mortal body and perform an altered version of the teleportation ritual from the other side of the veil.
  • There is a spell—etherealness—that would allow him to enter the Ethereal Plane using his own power, but despite his best efforts, he has been unable to master it thus far, and is unlikely to be able to cast it before Stella’s soul disappears into the Deep Ethereal.
  • In the book Ethereal Entities: Denizens of the Unseen Realm, written by the archmage Mordenkainen, Victor learned of a ritual that can replicate the effects of the etherealness spell for up to nine creatures. The ritual must be performed on the night of the full moon, and requires the heartstone of a night hag as a material component.
When’s the Full Moon?

The players’ first full moon in Barovia always takes place on the night of their sixth full day in Vallaki. (For example, if the players arrive in Vallaki on Sunday night, the full moon will take place on Saturday night.) Victor is aware of this date.

Victor informs the players that Stella, while exploring the Ethereal Plane, has regularly seen a gaunt, female figure with sallow, gray-blue skin, deep-set eyes, matted hair, small ram's horns, and a wide mouth of sharp, yellowed teeth haunting the area of the Border Ethereal that overlaps with the Barovian refugee camp. While neither Victor nor Stella are sure what the night hag wants with the refugees, Victor is confident that Stella’s description perfectly matches the appearance of a night hag as described in Mordenkainen’s book.

Victor asks the players to visit the refugee camp and investigate the night hag’s presence. While Stella has only seen the hag in the Ethereal Plane thus far, Victor strongly suspects that her interest in it extends into the Material Plane as well. While the players investigate, Victor will continue his research into the etherealness ritual and the ritual to return Stella’s soul to her body.

Ethereal Entities

Ethereal Entities: Denizens of the Unseen Realm by Mordenkainen is a slim hardback book with a leather cover dyed a deep, midnight blue. Its title and author's name are embossed in silver script along the spine and front cover, and the corners of the book are adorned with small, silver filigree resembling ethereal wisps. Its pages are filled with neatly-written text and beautifully detailed illustrations.

The book is a treatise on the Ethereal Plane and the creatures that dwell within or visit it. It contains all of the information provided in Ethereal Plane (Dungeon Master's Guide, p. 48), as well as a bestiary divided into the following three sections:

  • Etherborn: Natives of the Deep Ethereal, containing information about creatures that are said to dwell solely in the Deep Ethereal, such as the mythological mistfiends, ethershades, and shimmerlings.
  • Phantomfolk: Travelers from the Border Ethereal, containing information about incorporeal creatures that dwell in the Border Ethereal and often cross into the Material Plane, such as ghosts (Monster Manual, p. 147) and phantom warriors (Curse of Strahd, p. 235).
  • Veil-Walkers: Visitors to the Ethereal, containing information about physical creatures that can cross into the Ethereal Plane, such as night hags (Monster Manual, p. 178), nightmares (Monster Manual, p. 235), and phase spiders (Monster Manual, p. 334). (See Matrons of Malevolence below for the chapter on night hags.)

The subsection discussing night hags includes a brief sidenote discussing a ritual that uses a night hag’s heartstone and the energies of a leyline to replicate the effects of the Etherealness spell for up to ten individuals for one hour on the night of the full moon.

If the players express an interest in it, Victor is glad to lend them his copy of Ethereal Entities to read.

I2. The Refugee Camp

When the players first enter the refugee camp, read:

Past Vallaki's gates lies a cluster of ramshackle tents huddled against the wall, as though seeking shelter beneath the looming silhouette of the town's palisade walls. The tents themselves are laid out in a simple two-sided thoroughfare, with crude wooden barricades and muddy ditches beyond the far side facing out against the dark forest beyond.

Through gaps in the threadbare canvas, you can see crude wooden pallets, makeshift bedrolls, and the occasional battered cooking pot. Small, low-burning cookfires dot the grimy narrow avenue, and piles of sticks and half-rotted logs rest haphazardly beside them.

Matrons of Malevolence

The chapter regarding night hags in Ethereal Entities: Denizens of the Unseen Plane by Mordenkainen is titled "Night Hags: Matrons of Malevolence." It reads as follows:

Sly and subversive, night hags are the epitome of wickedness. They represent all that is evil and cruel in the world and want nothing more than to see the virtuous turn to villainy: love turned into obsession, kindness turned to hate, devotion to disregard, and generosity to selfishness.

Once, night hags were creatures of the Feywild, a realm of enchantment and beauty. However, their foulness saw them exiled to the bleak realm of Hades long ago, where they degenerated into fiends. The foul taint of Hades twisted their once-fey nature, and the night hags have long since spread their malevolence across the Lower Planes.

Though night hags resemble withered crones, there is nothing mortal about them. Their withered faces are framed by long, frayed hair and curled ram's horns; horrid moles and warts dot their blotchy pale-blue skin; and their long, skinny fingers are tipped by claws that can slice open flesh with a touch.

All hags possess magical powers, including the ability to alter their forms or curse their foes. A hag also bears some resistance to magic and mortal weapons alike, though the touch of silver wounds her like any other.

Arrogant to a fault, hags believe themselves to be the most cunning of creatures—and very often are. They are open to dealing with mortals, and will always keep their word—but a bargain with a hag is always dangerous. Hags enjoy watching mortals bring about their own downfall through these bargains, which often involve compromising their principles or giving up something dear.

A night hag's ultimate prize, however, is the soul of a corrupted mortal. While her victim sleeps, the night hag passes into the Ethereal Plane through the aid of her twisted onyx heartstone—an artifact that allows her to become Ethereal at the speed of thought. There, she invades her victim's very dreams, filling their head with doubts and fears in the hope of tricking it into performing evil acts in the waking world.

Night after night, she continues her visitations until the victim finally expires in its sleep—at which point she traps its corrupted soul in her soul bag as a dark trophy of her success. The blacker the stains upon the soul, the greater the night hag's bounty.

Like all hags, night hags propagate by snatching and devouring human infants. A week later, the hag gives birth to a daughter who appears human until her thirteenth birthday—at which point the child transforms into the spitting image of her hag mother.

Some hags raise the daughters they spawn, creating covens that magnify their power. The members of a coven gain a slew of unnatural abilities, including the power to control the elements and—once each day—to dispel foreign magic in the vicinity of their lairs. As is true for all hag magic, however, such power comes at a price—for a wound suffered by a single hag in a coven is suffered by all.

To combat their inherently selfish natures, the hags in a coven must enter into a written contract with the others, signed by each hag's true name. The hags of a coven guard their contract jealously, ever-careful to keep their names from falling into enemy hands.

Dozens of people, their bodies gaunt and their faces drawn, move slowly about the camp. Their eyes are sunken and hollow, their clothes hanging loose on their thin frames. A few of them huddle about the campfires, bodies hunched against the chill air and hands outstretched for the meager warmth.

I2a. Inside the Camp

If the players enter the camp, they are soon warily greeted by Emeric, a melancholy older man with graying hair, and Magda, a grief-stricken young woman with deep circles under their eyes. (While the camp doesn’t have any official leadership, Emeric and Magda were part of the initial wave of refugees from Barovia, and have pioneered the effort to welcome and organize the newcomers following Strahd’s siege.)

Emeric and Magda are cautious of outsiders, but curious to know why the players have come to their camp. (Magda is briefly hopeful that the players are servants of Baron Vallakovich and that they have come to invite the refugees into Vallaki—a hope that Emeric, pointing to the players’ strange appearances, soon disabuses her of.)

Emeric and Magda can share the following general information about the camp:

  • The Barovian refugees arrived at Vallaki's gates a few days ago, but were barred from entering. When they attempted to breach the gates by force, the guards summoned a man they called Izek, who bore a twisted devil's arm and conjured fire to drive the refugees back.
  • Since then, the refugees have set up camp outside the town's walls, clustering together for protection and warmth. They've managed to secure some minor necessities, such as the tents, by bribing the guards at the gates, but have been unable to persuade the guards to allow them entry or to even invite the town's Baron to discuss their plight.
  • Swarms of bats and packs of wolves have plagued the camp each night since they've arrived. Thankfully, no one has died yet, but several refugees have been wounded.
  • Due to losses they suffered on the road and the threat of the Devil in Castle Ravenloft, the refugees are unwilling to risk the journey back home, instead hoping to wait until the Baron sees reason and allows them to enter the walls.
  • Roughly one-quarter of the refugees have become addicted to "dream pastries," a foodstuff sold by the peddler Morgantha. These refugees seek an escape from the misery and despair of their situation. Those who eat a dream pastry fall into a trance as described in Dream Pastries (p. 125).

If the players mention Ismark or Ireena, Emeric and Magda can tell them that many are cold toward Ireena, and all are unwilling to accept her offers of help. Some blame her, as well as Ismark "the Lesser" and the late Burgomaster of Barovia, for their failure to prorect them from Strahd's awakening and invasion. Others recall a superstition that red-haired Barovian woman bring misfortune, and suggest that Ireena herself has brought a curse upon their people. None have any wish to deal with her further.

If the players ask about the night hag, Emeric and Magda exchange glances and inform them that their description matches that of a recurring nightmare that Franz, another refugee, has been suffering for the past two nights.

Emeric and Magda are glad to take the players to see him, but warn them that Franz, a widower, has recently lost his children as well and is likely still grieving or disturbed. Magda further adds that Franz has suffered from a strange wasting disease ever since the nightmares first began, and offers her hope that the players may be able to treat him.

I2b. Franz’s Tent

Emeric and Magda lead the players to a small, lonely tent set up at the end of the camp’s muddy avenue. When the players enter, read:

Within this sagging, cramped tent lie three stained pallets, two of which are child-sized. An old and patched stuffed rabbit lies across the closest pallet, its black button eyes staring sightlessly into the air.

A young woman kneels in the mud beside the full-size pallet, clutching a bundle of wilted herbs in one fist and holding a damp rag over the forehead of a frail, gaunt-looking man lying across the pallet. The man's skin is pale and drenched in sweat, his clothes torn and ragged. Wispy, scraggled hair rises from his wrinkled scalp, while his face, illuminated beneath the dying light of a single, sputtering candle, is etched with exhaustion. A full moment passes before you realize that this ghost of a man is likely scarcely older than thirty.

The man is Franz. The woman, an anxious healer named Nyanka, has been tending to Franz since morning, but has been unable to identify or treat his condition.

Upon seeing the players, Franz wheezes with laughter and asks whether they are demons sent by Mother Night, come to drag his soul into the Mists. Nyanka apologizes for his behavior and mentions that he’s been delirious ever since the nightmares and sickness began.

If the players ask Franz about the night hag, he first demands that Nyanka, Emeric, and Magda depart and leave him alone with the players. (None of the three other refugees mind this request.) Franz can then share the following information with the players:

  • Three months ago, he joined the first two-dozen refugees who left the village of Barovia for the fortified town of Vallaki to the west. Franz brought their two children—seven-year-old Fyodor and five-year-old Myrtle—with him to Vallaki, hoping to keep them safe from Strahd’s servants.
  • A few weeks after arriving in the camp, Franz began to purchase dream pastries from the peddler Morgantha. The visions brought by these pastries allowed him to dream of his wife, Alana, who had passed away the previous year.
  • Franz purchased Morgantha’s dream pastries regularly, spending hours, then days lost in peaceful dreams. Eventually, however, his savings ran out, and Morgantha refused to sell him additional pastries—unless he paid a terrible price.* Three nights ago, Franz led Fyodor and Myrtle down past the tree line at the edge of the woods. There, Morgantha placed the children into magical sleep and stuffed them into a sack that she carried over her shoulder. In return, she promised Franz as many dream pastries as he could eat, each time she returned, for the rest of his life.
  • The following night, Franz suffered terrible nightmares in which he was strapped to a millstone, its four arms raised above him. On his chest sat a gaunt, female figure with sallow, gray-blue skin, deep-set eyes, matted hair, small ram's horns, and a wide mouth of sharp, yellowed teeth, holding a twisted onyx-black stone against his forehead and whispering of damnation. In the background, he could hear Fyodor and Myrtle sobbing beyond his view, a pair of high-pitched cackles, and the sound of a windmill’s blades grinding in the wind.
  • For the duration of the nightmare, Franz was paralyzed and unable to look away or even twitch a single muscle. When he awoke, his body had already begun to waste away before him. Morgantha hasn’t returned since.

With a croaking voice, Franz begs the players to save Fyodor and Myrtle from Morgantha’s clutches. While he believes that his current condition is a curse sent by the gods as punishment for his sins and welcomes the penance of death, he believes that his children don’t deserve the suffering that Morgantha is likely inflicting upon them. He can offer the players no gold and no treasure for their efforts—only his gratitude.

Before the players leave Franz’s tent, he grabs for the closest one and rasps, "I could feel it—the heart of the windmill, beating in the millstone beneath me. The gnarled arm holds the key." He then collapses, falling into a deep, fitful sleep.

Franz’s Fate

The players can identify the nature of Franz’s current condition by consulting Ethereal Entities or by asking Dr. Rudolph van Richten for a diagnosis of his symptoms.

If consulted, Van Richten informs the players that the only true way to end a night hag's nightmare haunting is to kill the hag herself or to strike a bargain with her. In the meantime, however, he offers to keep Franz safe from Morgantha's hauntings through the use of his talisman of protection from evil and good if Franz can be surreptitiously moved to Van Richten’s current location for supervision.

I3. Victor’s Plan

As the players depart the refugee camp, one among them receives the following sending spell from Victor: “Did you find her? Come back to the attic. I have a plan.”

When the players return to Victor’s workroom at the Burgomaster’s mansion, he provides them with the following information:

  • There are two possible ways to obtain a heartstone from a night hag: willingly, or by force.
  • To obtain the heartstone willingly, the players must likely bargain something of great value in exchange for a loan of the heartstone. Hags are legendary dealmakers, and can be trusted to hew to the letter of their word—but only the letter.
  • To obtain the heartstone by force, the players will need to incapacitate or kill the hag. However, this is far more difficult for multiple reasons. First, hags tend to gather in covens of three, a practice that makes each hag stronger and provides easy access to allies. (Victor asks the players nervously whether the hag is known to have any “sisters” or “daughters.”) Second, night hags in particular can use their heartstones to flee into the Ethereal Plane as soon as they feel threatened—an escape mechanism that can’t be counteracted.
  • To prevent the hag from escaping into the Ethereal Plane mid-combat, the players will need to seal her in a binding circle before initiating hostilities. Victor isn’t sure how to make such a binding circle, but asks the players to give him an additional day to research it before setting off for the hag’s lair. Victor also advises the players to obtain silvered weapons, which will be needed to bypass the hags’ strong demonic defenses.

If the players tell Victor about Franz's words, he responds as follows:

  • Victor recognizes the "twisted, onyx-black stone" as resembling the description of a night hag's heartstone provided in Ethereal Entities.
  • Victor isn't sure what Franz meant about "the heart of the windmill." However, he agrees to attempt to research the windmill in his father's library to investigate further.
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I4. Stella’s Discovery

When the players return to Victor’s workroom the following day, he is able to provide a blueprint of the windmill found in a book of records in his father's library, located alongside the original assignment of land from Baron Boris Vallakovich to Gustav and Elisabeth Durst. He points out excitedly that the design for the millstone contains a compartment built into its side—likely as a place for storage. If the hags are hiding something other than a heartstone in the windmill, it's likely located in that compartment.

He anxiously informs them that he has been unable to find a means of performing the binding ritual. Turning to the relevant page in his spellbook, he shows them an illustration that depicts a binding circle, but complains that the book itself provides no information about how to actually create one.

Soon thereafter, Stella’s spirit can be seen excitedly gesturing from the spirit mirror. As he interprets her handsigns, Victor’s eyes widen and his face pales. “You can’t be serious,” he stammers. “Absolutely not!”

If confronted by the players, Victor reluctantly reveals that Stella claims to have seen a similar binding circle while exploring the Ethereal Plane, but on a much larger scale: an enormous circle that surrounds the entirety of Wachterhaus and prevents her from entering the grounds. (Stella has been attempting to enter the estate in order to communicate with her mother, but has failed due to the circle’s presence.) Stella suspects that her mother, Lady Wachter, might know how to create one to bind the hags as well.

Stella, through Victor, suggests that the players visit Wachterhaus to request Lady Wachter’s help in binding the night hags. Stella warns them that her mother is a cautious and skeptical woman, especially where the Vallakoviches are concerned; if Lady Wachter doesn’t believe the players’ story, they will likely need to ask her to disable Wachterhaus’s protective circle in order to allow Stella to show her presence.

I5. Wachterhaus

Wachterhaus is as described in Arc G: Lady Wachter’s Wish and Arc D: The Tome of Strahd. Visitors to the estate are received as described N4a. Front Door and Vestibule (p. 110).

Players that have previously dined with Lady Wachter are welcomed and swiftly admitted, while players that have not previously done so are asked to make an appointment for the following day. Players who insist that they are here to assist Stella, Lady Wachter’s daughter and make a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check can bypass the need to make an appointment and are admitted immediately.

Upon entering the manor, the players are ushered into N4i. Parlor (p. 112), where Lady Wachter greets them shortly thereafter. Haliq, Lady Wachter’s valet, serves tea to her and the guests a few moments later.

Lady Wachter then asks the players what brings them to her manor. If Victor Vallakovich is accompanying the players, her eyes visibly narrow, and her voice is polite, but cold. If Victor is not with the players, her demeanor is far warmer and more comfortable.

Wachterhaus’s Protective Circle

The Betrayal of Leo Dilisnya. Strahd von Zarovich made many enemies over the course of his many conquests. One of them was a man named Leo Dilisnya, who hated Strahd for the death of his brother, Reinhold Dilisnya, the captain of a platoon that Strahd had knowingly sent to die in order to win a battle against the Order of the Silver Dragon.

When Strahd settled in Castle Ravenloft, Leo—a member of the Ba’al Verzi, a mysterious guild of assassins—began to plot his revenge. Hoping to gain closer access to Strahd, Leo became a castle guard, wearing the Von Zarovich livery while preparing the right moment to strike.

That moment finally came on the morning of Sergei’s wedding. With all attention focused on the blushing bride-to-be, Leo disguised himself in assassin’s clothes and climbed the stonework to reach Strahd’s private chambers. Even taken by surprise, however, Strahd was more than a match for Leo, disarming him of his cursed Ba’al Verzi blade and sending him fleeing through the window.

A New Opportunity. Bitter and enraged, Leo hid himself away in his quarters to lick his wounds—until he learned that Sergei had been found murdered in his quarters, and that Strahd had chased Tatyana into the gardens while vowing to take her hand in marriage. Seeing an immediate opportunity, Leo gathered a contingent of the castle guards and directed them to attack Strahd in vengeance for the death of the beloved prince, Sergei.

However, Leo’s plot did not go unopposed. Leo’s elder sister, Lovina Wachter née Dilisnya—now the wife of Vladislav Wachter—led her family’s personal guards in Strahd’s defense. Leo’s traitorous guards drove the Wachters into K62. Servants' Hall, killing Lovina’s husband and butchering many of his relatives. There, Lovina and her family took shelter alongside Katarina, a castle servant and (unknown to Strahd) Strahd’s secret half-sister, in K65. Kitchen (p. 78).

When Strahd arose as a vampire, Leo fled into K23. Servants' Entrance (p. 59), down through K62. Servants’ Hall, and through K67. Hall of Bones (p. 78) into K68. Guards' Run (p. 79). As Strahd pursued, he slaughtered the guards terrorizing the Wachters, and—in a moment of rare lucidity—thanked the Wachters for their loyalty and allowed Lovina and Katarina to depart in peace. As Strahd bathed the stone of Castle Ravenloft in the blood of the castle guards—both innocent and traitorous alike—their spirits combined in death to form a dreadful gallows speaker (Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft, p. 234) that would haunt Castle Ravenloft for years to come.

Leo's Punishment. Leo successfully escaped Castle Ravenloft along with a half-dozen of the traitorous guards. Years later, however, with Lovina’s aid, Strahd tracked Leo to the darkened corridors of the now-abandoned Abbey of Saint Markovia.

Strahd transformed Leo into a vampire spawn and, with Lovina’s approval, entombed him in a mausoleum beneath the Wachters’ manor where he would suffer for his crimes for all eternity. As a safeguard in the chance that Leo somehow escaped, Strahd crafted for Lovina a magical ruby amulet that, when broken, would kill Leo instantly.

Enter Fiona Wachter. Centuries passed, and Fiona Wachter was born, the daughter of Balthazar and Lavinia Wachter and the younger sister of Frederich Wachter. Although Fiona’s parents never told her the true nature of the vampire sealed below their estate, they often told her of the “monster in the basement” that fed on disobedient children and forbade her from ever entering the cellar.

When she was sixteen years old, the teenage Fiona had an explosive argument with her parents and brother. In her anger, Fiona toppled a shelf of fine porcelain and jewelry—including, among them, the magical amulet that Strahd had once forged for Lovina Wachter. Though Fiona had no knowledge of Leo’s existence or the amulet’s true nature, Leo died the moment that it shattered, his soul finally freed from the prison of his body.

The Haunted Estate. Soon after Fiona fled from Wachterhaus, Leo’s spirit—now a part of the gallows speaker that had arisen from his compatriots’ gruesome deaths centuries before—returned to haunt and terrorize the estate. Objects were found in strange places, and food mysteriously spoiled. Portraits were found damaged or defaced, and the family was often awoken by chilling howls or loud knocks on their doors and windows.

Fiona’s father, Balthazar Wachter, sought the advice of an amateur occultist that dwelled in Vallaki. The family stripped the flesh from Leo’s bones and sealed them in a chest under lock and key. That, however, only enraged Leo further. That same night, the gallows speaker began appearing to the Wachters as an apparition in reflections in mirrors and windows. Within days, it had escalated its activities to physical violence, throwing items across rooms, shattering glass windows, and even starting spontaneous fires.

Desperate for a solution, Frederich Wachter, Fiona’s elder brother, learned that a powerful witch named Baba Lysaga dwelled in the swamps of Berez nearby. Alone, and without his parents’ knowledge, Frederich traveled to Berez in search of answers. When a will-’o-wisp lured Frederich into a hidden bog, however, he was rescued by Fiona herself, who had since become a student and disciple of Baba Lysaga.

Frederich begged her to return to Wachterhaus to help them, but Fiona—wary of her brothers’ intentions and still harboring resentment from her fight with their parents—lied and told him harshly that Baba Lysaga had no magic with which to help him. (In truth, Baba Lysaga taught all of her students the means to create a protective circle soon after they arrived in Berez, as a means of defense against the phase spiders that haunted the swamps.)

Leo's Revenge. Despondent, Frederich returned to Vallaki empty-handed. Bereft of a better solution, Balthazar Wachter obtained candles, incense, and holy invocations from the occultist and led the family in a seance to exorcise the spirit from Wachterhaus.

The seance, however, proved unsuccessful. Rather than banishing Leo’s spirit, it provided him an opening into the Material Plane that allowed him to fulfill his murderous vengeance. Two weeks later, the Baron’s guards found the three Wachters dead—though by all signs untouched—on the floor of Wachterhaus’s master bedroom. Leo had killed them before returning to haunt Castle Ravenloft, satisfied with his revenge at last.

Fiona's Return. Two weeks later, one of Baba Lysaga’s other disciples, following a routine trip to Vallaki to obtain supplies, told Fiona that her family had been found dead in their house in the midst of a seance. Realizing the depths of her mistake and overcome with guilt, Fiona confronted Baba Lysaga and told her that she intended to return to her family home. Baba Lysaga banished Fiona for her decision, and Fiona departed Berez for good.

Soon after her return to Wachterhaus, Fiona—now bearing the title of “Lady Wachter” following her parents’ death—determined that a spirit had been responsible for the death of her family. Although the spirit appeared to have departed, she feared that it might choose to one day return. With the magic that Baba Lysaga had taught her, she established a protective circle around the entirety of the Wachterhaus estate, barring any ethereal creature that may wish to cross its boundaries. The gallows speaker hasn’t returned in all the years since then, but Lady Wachter renews the protective circle once each year, both out of habit and from a wariness that her parents’ killer might one day return.

If the players reveal Stella’s fate, Lady Wachter’s eyes tighten, and she asks them for a full explanation of how Stella came to inhabit her current state.

When the players have finished their story, Lady Wachter states that she believes them to be playing a cruel joke upon her and her family, and asks whether they have any means of proving their claims. (She refuses to journey to the Vallakovich manor if the players suggest using the spirit mirror to allow her to view Stella directly, dismissing it as a “foolish” suggestion.)

The players can persuade Lady Wachter to deactivate the protective circle around Wachterhaus and allow Stella to manifest there (and so prove the players’ story) with a successful DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The players succeed on the check automatically if they have previously won Lady Wachter’s favor (such as by killing Izek).

Lady Wachter is shocked by and wary of the players’ knowledge of the protective circle and demands to know how the players learned of it. If asked, she is willing to share the following information about it:

  • When Lady Wachter was a young woman, her parents and brother were killed in a mysterious incident that left their bodies apparently unharmed. Lady Wachter was the sole survivor, having been away from Wachterhaus at the time of the killing.
  • When she returned to Wachterhaus, she determined that a malevolent spirit had been responsible for her family’s death. Though the spirit appeared to have departed by the time Lady Wachter returned, she was wary of the prospect that it might one day return.
  • Using magic that she had learned from her mentor, Lysa, Lady Wachter erected a protective barrier around Wachterhaus that would prevent any creature within the Ethereal Plane from crossing over the boundary of the property.

Upon agreeing to deactivate the protective circle, Lady Wachter retreats to N4o. Master Bedroom (p. 113) and retrieves the scale model of Wachterhaus from the high shelf beside the iron chest. She then returns to the parlor and sets the model upon the central table.

With her eyes closed, Lady Wachter murmurs an incantation, causing a circle of ethereal grey light to briefly manifest around the scale model before vanishing again. She then informs the players that the circle has been lowered and sits back expectantly on the sofa while sipping her tea.

Assuming the players do not otherwise intervene, the scene then unfolds as follows:

  • A few moments later, Stella—unseen, but present in the Ethereal Plane—levitates a peony from a flower vase on a nearby side table and deposits it in Lady Wachter’s lap.
  • In disbelief, Lady Wachter drops her teacup on the parlor floor, where it shatters. She picks up the peony, her hands trembling with emotion. She notes, with a quavering voice, that peonies have always been Stella’s favorite flower. “If this is some kind of trick—” she warns.
  • Before Lady Wachter can finish her warning, Stella moves the teacup shards across the floor, forming the shape of a crescent. Lady Wachter’s eyes fill with tears, and she calls out Stella’s name, looking around the room almost as if she expects to see her daughter there. (The crescent resembles the crescent-shaped birthmark on the fur of a cat that Stella kept as a child, which was named Luna.)
  • Haliq, Lady Wachter’s valet, opens the door to the room and asks if Lady Wachter was calling for someone. Lady Wachter wipes her eyes, shakes her head, and dismisses him.

After a moment, she wipes her eyes and says, “Let us assume that I believe you. What need have you of me?”

If the players successfully persuade Lady Wachter to assist them and ask her for aid in creating a binding circle to entrap the hags within the Material Plane, she reluctantly and cautiously reveals the following information:

  • She is indeed capable of crafting such things, though she is long out of practice. To create a circle large enough to entrap an entire windmill from a distance would require the aid of several of Lady Wachter’s “associates,” whose aid it may take some time to secure. (Lady Wachter can direct Ernst and Haliq to recruit her associates—four cult fanatics—and gather them within as little as four hours if necessary.)
  • There are two ways for such a circle to work: it can keep things out, or it can keep things in. To keep the hags from escaping the circle, the players will first need to secure the true names of any hags within the windmill, including those that are not the players’ primary target. Should even a single hag remain free to escape, it could attack Lady Wachter and her associates and bring the entire circle crashing down.

If Victor is present, or if he is informed of the need to obtain the hags' true names, he recalls the relevant section from Ethereal Entities (see Matrons of Malevolence above) and shares it with the players, pointing out the section that discusses coven contracts and wondering aloud where Morgantha's coven might have hidden their contract.

If Lady Wachter is informed of the possible presence of children within the windmill, she insists that the players rescue them before making any assault. (Fortunately, she notes, the players’ efforts to obtain the hags’ names may prove a useful distraction that allows others within their group to raid the other rooms of the windmill in the meantime.)

If the players and Lady Wachter come to an agreement, she promises to meet them—along with her associates—at Vallaki’s eastern Morning Gate at the allotted time, once she’s prepared herself for the journey.

I6. The Old Svalich Road

I6a. The Morning Gate

If the players recruit Lady Wachter to their cause, she and her four cult fanatic associates meet them promptly at the Morning Gate at the chosen time. Lady Wachter has exchanged her dress for a practical pair of pants, flat-soled leather boots, and a chain shirt tucked under a forest-green tunic, with a round-headed mace hanging from her belt and a black hooded riding cloak covering the ensemble. Majesto, her imp familiar, accompanies her in crow form.

The fanatics are as described in N4t. Cult Headquarters (p. 114) and are named Andrej, Boris, Miruna, and Ruxandra, respectively. None of the fanatics are particularly talkative.

I6b. The Druid

The journey from the Town of Vallaki to Old Bonegrinder is five-and-three-quarter miles long and takes two hours.

Midway through the trip, the players are disturbed by a rustling in the trees above. Read:

A gaunt figure with wild hair and bare feet crouches on a thick, gnarled branch above your heads, wearing a tattered gown of stitched animal skins. It stops, sniffs the air, and laughs like a lunatic. “Little songbirds wandering the dark woods?” it asks, leering down at you.

The figure is a druid of Yester Hill, and a spy for Strahd. They intend no harm toward the players, but are eager to provoke them in interesting ways.

If Lady Wachter is with the players, the conversation proceeds as follows unless the players intervene:

  • Lady Wachter steps forward and says, “I am no songbird, child of Yester Hill. You know me, and my sign. Do the Forest Folk demand tolls to travel the Svalich Wood?”
  • The druid’s eyes linger on Majesto, and they reply, “No tolls, dear ones. Mere . . . curiosity. You keep strange company, daughter of Mother Night.”
  • Lady Wachter replies curtly, “My company is no concern of yours. Trouble us no more, and tell your master that the House of Wachter remembers its debts.”
  • “Debts indeed!” the druid rasps. “But to whom, this one wonders?” With a mud-stained grin and a cackle, they vanish into the trees and disappear from sight.

If the players ask about her conversation with the druid, Lady Wachter is willing to provide the following information:

  • The individual was a druid of the Forest Folk, a loose society of hermits that dwell amidst the Svalich Woods and generally shun the civilized settlements. The druids treat Yester Hill, a hill at the southwest edge of the Barovian valley, as a sacred place, and worship Strahd as a deity for his control over the land and weather.
  • Lady Wachter first encountered and learned of the druids while a student of her mentor, Lysa. Lysa, a woodswitch who dwelled in the swamps of Berez, was a worshipper of Mother Night, a deity of darkness, trickery, and the occult. Lady Wachter was never able to hear the “voice” of Mother Night (as Lysa called it), however, and adopted the faith of Ezra soon after returning to Vallaki.
  • Lysa did not take Lady Wachter’s departure lightly. A prideful woman, she considered her students her children, and took Lady Wachter’s decision to return to Vallaki as a personal betrayal. Lady Wachter has been banished from Berez ever since.
  • Lady Wachter’s “debt” to Strahd arises from his effort to save Lady Wachter’s ancestor, Lady Lovina Wachter, from death at the hands of the traitor Leo Dilisnya centuries ago. When a traitor and assassin named Leo Dilisnya murdered Lovina’s husband and attempted to kill Lovina as well, Strahd defended her, then hunted Dilisnya down to punish him for his treachery. House Wachter has remained loyal to Strahd ever since.

I7. Old Bonegrinder

Old Bonegrinder is largely as described in Chapter 6: Old Bonegrinder (p. 125). However, Freek is named Fyodor instead, and both he and Myrtle are the children of the Barovian refugee Franz. Additionally, the millstone in O2. Bone Mill (p. 127) bears a stone keyhole on one side, and contains a compartment that holds the hags' contract.

If Lady Wachter is present as the players approach the windmill, she first gathers the players, Victor, and the four cult fanatics in a darkened copse of trees beside the Old Svalich Road to assemble a plan of attack.

Lady Wachter then attempts to confirm the following details:

  • how many hags reside in the windmill, and how the players intend to obtain their names
  • whether there are children within the windmill, and how the players intend to rescue them
  • how the players intend to combat the hags once the binding circle is raised
Bargaining with the Hags

If the players visit Old Bonegrinder without first obtaining Lady Wachter’s help, they can attempt to bargain with the hags in order to obtain a heartstone. The players do not need to first disguise themselves as dream pastry addicts to do so—Morgantha is always happy to do business with willing customers.

To borrow Morgantha's heartstone for a period of three days, the players must promise to undertake a particular task for her. As a form of insurance to ensure their compliance, Morgantha takes their dreams as collateral once the players accept her offer, bottling them up in a glass vial that she wears on a cord around her neck.

Morgantha warns the players that, if they fail to complete her task within fourteen days—or if they betray her—she will immediately devour their dreams, preventing them from gaining the benefits of a long rest forever. (Morgantha can devour the players’ dreams as an action while the vial is in her possession.)

If the players complete Morgantha's task within the allotted time, however, she will release their dreams and allow them to return to their owners. In either case, the players can take long rests normally until the fourteen days have elapsed.

Morgantha’s task is simple. The players must deliver a soul leech—a Tiny fiend resembling a leech with ghost-white, translucent flesh and purple-blue veins, and which Morgantha has imprisoned in a corked glass vial—to the office of Strahd’s chamberlain, Rahadin. Upon arriving in Rahadin’s office, the players must uncork the vial and allow the leech to attach itself to the underside of his desk, where it will render itself invisible and virtually undetectable.

The players can convince Morgantha to reveal her plans for the leech with a DC 10 Charisma (Persuasion) check: When Rahadin returns, the leech will secretly attach itself to his flesh, ensuring that—when Rahadin eventually dies—his evil soul will be ensnared and entrapped in Morgantha’s soul bag, where it will be transformed into a soul larva that Morgantha can use for nefarious purposes.

Morgantha can tell the players that Rahadin’s office is located in the cellar of Castle Ravenloft, not far from the kitchens. However, Morgantha won’t share where she obtained her information. (Her source is, of course, the mongrelfolk Cyrus Belview, the unwitting bearer of the coven’s hag eye.)

Curse of Strahd: Reloaded (Public) by DragnaCarta (97)
The Megaliths

The megaliths beyond Old Bonegrinder demarcate the boundaries of the Mountain Fane: the shrine to the Seeker of the Ladies Three. Once atop the windmill's hill, the players can see the megaliths in the valley below. Read:

A circle of tall, slender megaliths stands shrouded amidst thick clouds of fog at the forest's edge below, with only the stones’ jagged tops visible as they poke through the mist.

The area within the cloud of fog is heavily obscured. If the players investigate, they find that a five-foot-diameter stone of smooth, black onyx is half-buried at the center of the circle. The stone has no visible marks or symbols upon its surface, and is impervious to all damage and attempts to move it.

The stone is the door to a secret demiplane that contains the Elder Wisp, one of the three profane leeches that Strahd set to consume the energies of the Fanes. To open it, the players will need to cut its surface with the cursed dagger of Leo Dilisnya, which they can obtain from the sarcophagus of the Vampyr in the Amber Temple. See Arc U: The Amber Temple and Arc Y: The Ladies of the Fanes for more information about Leo Dilisnya’s dagger and the Mountain Fane.

One minute after the players enter the cloud of fog, their presence draws the attention of four vampiric mists (Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse, p. 250). The mists swirl about the players lazily for three rounds, after which one mist attempts to use a single life drain attack on the nearest player, like a shark inquisitively nipping its prey. If the players remain within the fog, all of the vampiric mists attack the following round.

Lady Wachter is glad to offer the players the service of her imp familiar Majesto as a scout. (Majesto can use his crow, spider, and rat forms to surveil the exterior and interior of the windmill while remaining invisibile using his invisibility ability.) Meanwhile, Victor offers to aid the players in retrieving Franz’s children from the windmill, using his misty step, fly, and greater invisibility spells as-needed to assist with the rescue mission.

However, Victor warns the players that, according to Ethereal Entities, hag covens often possess the ability to dispel enchantments while within close proximity to their lair. Once Lady Wachter's binding circle is erected, he'll need to stay close to the windmill to protect it with his counterspell.

As such, he'll need to conserve his strength—and, specifically, his 5th- and 4th-level spell slots—until then. (Under no circumstances does Victor spend his 5th-level spell slot before the end of the battle with the hags.)

I7a. Raiding the Windmill

The players can obtain the hags' true names by retrieving the contract from the locked stone compartment in the millstone in O2. Bone Mill (p. 127).

One of the arms of the millstone in the bone mill is more gnarled than the rest, and is visibly segmented at the end. Twisting the end of the gnarled arm detaches it, revealing an iron key hidden inside. The players can unlock the millstone compartment by using the iron key, or by succeeding on a DC 15 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check. The compartment contains the hags' contract, as well as the treasure described in O3. Bedroom (p. 127).

The hags' contract is written in Abyssal on a piece of leather made of human skin, and is signed with their true names at the bottom: Morgantha Stormreaver, Bella Sunbane, and Offalia Wormwiggle. (If none of the players can read Abyssal, Lady Wachter is able to read the hags' names instead, having learned the language's alphabet as a student of Baba Lysaga.)

The stone compartment also contains a charm of mass heroism, resembling a golden medallion adorned with