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The Countryside

Vistani

Village of Barovia

Argynvostholt - Order of the Silver Dragon

Town of Vallaki

Orders and Groups

Welcome to Death House

By chance or perhaps fate Vix Bogs, Virgil Bauchamp and Radmil Silvervein were pulled from the stable you all desperately sought shelter within, led by Vix’s scarf through impenetrable mists into the manor of Elizabeth and Gustav Durst. Upon entering this seemingly abandoned place, blood flowed and foretold of your death at the hands of a terrible beast. The way out had been bricked over as soon as you entered and the windows impassable, thanks to grotesque thick fleshy tendrils.

After exploring the main level you ventured up to the second floor balcony where you dispatched an animated suite of black armor. From the main level below you heard the front door slam shut once again and headed back downstairs to investigate. Bogokom and Dorian had been pulled into the house by Dorian’s Raven feather. Dorian found an invitation to a dinner party hundreds of years in the past. Introductions were made between and the party became one over a dinner which appeared to have been spread out for them in the abandoned kitchen. Was this to be their last meal? Upon finishing you began a more concentrated search of the property and as you climbed the floors it became evident that you were sharing this space with a presence beyond your comprehension. Stuffed wolves which seemed to follow you. Books that foretold your death as your read your life’s story. A ghostly dance revealing a furious past. All pointing to an affair and an infant. Confirmed by the ghost of the nursemaid Klara trapped in a mirror and bearing the gruesome wounds of her torture at the hands of Elizabeth Durst. Despair filling within her chocking cries as you held up her finger with tiny teeth marks, found beneath a crib and unknown runes. Eager to help, Klara revealed a hidden door behind the mirror leading you up to the attic. You made the acquaintance of Rose and Thorn, Elizabeth and Gustav’s legitimate children whom had been locked in their room and forgotten by their mother, eventually starving to death. They agreed to help if you could take their bones from this horrible place and give them a proper burial. Rose then possessed Vix because he wore her father’s neck tie and Thorn possessed Bogokom who was the biggest.
Rose then led you to the secret stairwell down to the crypts where all were empty save for the pulsating fleshly tendrils within Walters. After defeating a grick and nearly losing Dorian, Vix realized there was more to Rose than previously thought and the party returned to her room to vetch the spells contained within her diary. Realizing they had passed a secret door with a locked shaped exactly like an amber shard seen hanging from Elizabeth’s ghostly neck, you headed to the master bedroom where Rose had seen her mother talking to it.
Before entering, a ghostly shadow appeared behind the glass door filling Vix with the most intense dread he had ever felt and the deafening sounds of Rose screaming in his head. But as quickly as it appeared so to did it disappear. Upon entering you immediately noticed on the bed that a knife had been plunged into a pillow, the sheets stained by a pool of blood. The Amber Shard was found with Elizabeth’s jewelry box alongside a letter and filled with grain. The letter revealed that to quell the beast, hold the shard aloft and speak the Beast’s name. You then headed down to the study and unlocked the secret door using the amber shard. Behind it lie a boobytrapped chest filled with valuables which someone else paid their life to never grasp and a letter signed “Your dread lord and master, Strahd von Zarovich” The deed to the Durst Manor and a Windmill. As the clock continued to chime closer and closer to midnight and your demise you headed back to the crypts. Passing the larder led to an encounter with 3 ghoul cultists whom you dispatched but not without taking your own licks and leaving Vix with an insatiable urge to drink blood. A short rest was needed to gather your nerves within this dreadful place. With minutes left until midnight you explored deeper into the crypts only to be attacked by the boneless flayed skin of Gustav Durst. And at its defeat, the midnight chime came. So to did a huge and grotesque mass of flesh. The beast awoken at last and death crazed to destroy you. As the battle ensued, it appeared that you were victorious when striking it down but the beast rose up once more. Desperation grew as the beast unleashed renewed fury. Virgil, face to face with it took a direct shot of its acid gore. In his stunned state while the rest of you fought on all his senses focused on the baby and its deafening cry lying at the centre of the mound of flesh. He cried out through his pain “Target the baby”. As Vix kept yelling “Walter” hoping to quell the beast, Radmil, Dorian and Bogokom kept up their attack until finally Bogokom dealt the final blow with a perfect shot through the mass and mercifully killing the baby. Having hardly caught your breath the ghost of Elizabeth Durst finally revealed herself screaming that you would never escape and she began to bring the house down on top of you. Dodging falling walls and debris as you climbed back up a secret trapdoor you narrowly escaped out the now open front door at the last moment. Behind you, a hole down to black abyss where the house once stood. Before you, a forest shrouded in mist.

Rose and Thorn agree to stand watch while you collapse into sleep and in the morning at Dorian’s suggestion, you bury the bones of Rose, Thorn and Walter Durst beneath a towering tree with a rope swing. Finally laid to rest, the ghosts wish you good luck and say goodbye. As they fade away you hear children laughing and a baby cooing. You pass through huge gates with decapitated stone statues guarding the way and as you pass, the gates close and lock shut. Welcome to Barovia. As you travel down the road, silhouettes in the mists appear and disappear. A hunched figure, an enormous avian shadow, a reptile soaring with batlike wings, dozens of tiny birdlike shadows following, a tall slender figure with feathered wings, a broad figure with the shadow of an axe held by a clawed swollen hand and finally a tall cloaked figure sitting atop a horse whose shadowed mane seems to ripple like flames. All disappearing into the mist leaving you in an eerie silence once more. You find another path off the beaten path, perhaps too trodden and realize that the body you find is a man by the name of Dalvan who was desperately trying to escape but kept walking in circles until finally dying of exhaustion. Beneath a dagger stabbed into the tree above the corpse carved letters read “The horseman rides. The seer spoke true.” As you continue, the woods fall away revealing a gloomy valley. A village with a dark twisting castle looming over head lies before you. As you near the village A wide, dirt trench surrounds the settlement, five feet across and just as deep, with hundreds of of sharpened wooden stakes thrusting up like jagged teeth from the earth within. You are greeted by a Raven once you enter the village and it leads you to The Blood on the Vine Tavern. As you walk through the desolate streets you notice remnants of wooden barricades stand haphazardly along the streets and the structures around them bear scorch marks and gashes, and several buildings show partially collapsed roofs or walls. Outside the tavern stands a statue of a warrior holding a sword aloft. The plaque reads “Ismark Antonovich The Great.” Inside Ismark “The Lesser” introduces himself as the Burgomaster of the village of Barovia. As you await drinks a crazed and desperate woman enters and pleads with Ismark that Gertruda has left for the castle. Ismark agrees to organize a search party as soon as the next one returns. Over drinks Ismark shares with you: You’ve 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. 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. 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. There is nowhere to rent rooms within the village but Ismark offers rooms at his manor. Exhausted, you agree and finish your drinks.

Welcome to Barovia

Upon leaving the The Blood on the Vine Tavern, Radmill notices his offering to the raven is still there but so too is a Raven feather which he collects. On your way through the quiet and eery village Ismark requests that you help him bury his late father and accompany his sister Ireena to Vallaki where he believes she will be safe. Despite Ismark not having anything to give in return, you agree.
Upon reaching the Burgomaster’s mansion, you notice the signs of battle everywhere. An iron gate hanging off its hinges, trampled and burnt earth, claw marks and blood on the door and boarded up windows. Upon entering you are greeted by a woman with auburn hair and fierce eyes. Assuming you are Travellers brought in by Ismark she invites you into the home but pleasantries give way to anger when she learns that you are to escort her to Vallaki.
Bogokom is able to eavesdrop on the conversation behind closed doors. Despair in Ireena’s voice of having to leave her brother and fellow villagers. Resignation as she realizes that it may be the only way to keep her safe from the devil. The two siblings return with red and puffy eyes and help you settle in to your rooms.
Ismark leaves to organize a search party while Ireena expertly bandages Dorian’s wounds and tends to dinner. During this time Ireena and Ismark learn from you that perhaps life beyond the mists isn’t much better, each of you having divulged some small part of your painful past.
Bogokom finds a copy of Van Richten’s Guide to Monsters in the mansion and learns about the nature of Vampires… As you all sleep, a fortune teller, Madam Eva appears in your dreams, telling you: “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?” “I am not far. Travel west. The path to my tent begins at a place of death.” “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.” “He has sensed me. He cannot know of our meeting. Fly, travelers! I shall await you at Tser Pool!” You wake violently. Through the boarded up window you see the March of the Dead, a nightly occurrence since Strahd has woken. Ismark tells you they are the ghosts of heroes and travellers of the past who have all failed in their quests to save this land and they march from their graves to the gates of Castle Ravenloft each night. Will this be your fate as well? In the morning you help Ismark carry his father’s coffin to the Barovian Church which is in a state of ruin, bearing the same claw marks and damage as the rest of the buildings. No one answers when Ismark knocks save for Parriwimple, a towering man with perhaps too much immaturity. He does not enter the church but invites you to Bildrath’s Mercantile. The shell of a man, Father Donavich explains he cannot perform the ritual for he has lost all hope. The morninglord no longer answers his prayers and he no longer carries his holy symbol. He gave it to his son Doru hoping it would protect him during his revolt against the devil but instead, his son was sent back to him as a Vampire still wearing the holy symbol. A cruel joke from the Devil Strahd. Father Donavich locked his son away in the undercroft below and begs you to kill him and return his holy symbol.
You descend into the dark undercroft but there is no sign of anyone, until you hear a voice from the ceiling. Doru emerges from the shadows and makes you a deal. Let him prove that he can keep the monster within at bay for one minute while one of you draws blood. If he cannot, you may strike him down and he will not resist. But if he succeeds, he asks that you return the holy symbol and tell his father that his son yet lives. Weary from your battles so far with wounds still fresh, only Bogokom and Virgil were willing to give Doru this chance. Bogokom drew blood from his hand and you all watched, ready to attack, as Doru successfully managed to hold back the monster within.
You learn that Van Richten was part of the attack on Castle Ravenloft and that he left a cache of weapons To reach it, you must cross the River Ivlis Bridge and travel down the Old Svalich Road three hundred paces south into the woods, until you arrive at an ancient oak tree. You’ll find the cache nestled in a hollow beneath the tree’s roots. Doru asks you to look out for his betrothed Gertruda and bring her home if they find her. He then slips back into the shadows as you return to Father Donavich. Overwhelmed by emotion Father Donavich accepts the holy symbol back and perhaps a little hope thanks to you.
The funeral takes place without incident save for a horde of bats flying off into the mists towards Castle Ravenloft above. He takes this as a bad omen and warns you of a Barovian superstition that young women with red hair often find that ill luck travels beside them…
He asks if Ireena plans to remain in Barovia now that the Devil has awoken and suggests you take her to the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk, once a bastion for good.

Madam Eva’s Prophecy Madam Eva 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 Left-most Card

Deep Piercing Blue Candle Light

“The Nine of Glyphs—the Traitor.”

“This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will help you better understand your enemy.”

“I see the ancient foe of an old and noble house. The wandering soul will lead you to him.”

The Top of the Cross

Fierce and cheery yellow candle light

“The Five of Swords—the Myrmidon.”

“This card tells of a powerful force for good and protection, a holy symbol of great hope.”

“Look for a den of wolves in the hills overlooking a mountain lake. The treasure belongs to Mother Night.”

Right Arm of Cross Candlelight vanishes for a heartbeat and returns burning pure white so much it burns to see “The Eight of Glyphs—the Bishop.” “Thi