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24 Cards in this Set
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The Blue Water Inn (area N2) offers food, wine, and shelter to visitors. A stranger with pointed ears is staying there. He came to Barovia from a distant land, riding into town on a carnival wagon. |
The Blue Water Inn is Vallaki’s main gathering place for locals, especially at night. The innkeeper, Urwin Martikov, considers the inn a sanctuary from the evils of this land. In the event of trouble, the windows and doors can all be barred shut from within. |
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The burgomaster, Baron Vargas Vallakovich, has decreed that the Festival of the Blazing Sun will be held in the town square (area N8) in three days. The previous festival, which he called the Wolf’s Head Jamboree, was less than a week ago. |
Most Vallakians have no idea whom the statue in the square represents. The burgomaster claims it is Boris Vallakovich, his ancestor and the town’s founder, but there’s no noticeable family resemblance. |
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Vallaki has endured at least one festival every week for the past several years. Some Vallakians believe that the festivals keep the devil Strahd at bay. Others think they provide no protection or benefit whatsoever. Most consider them dismal affairs. |
The Festival of the Blazing sun is next week. |
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Those who speak ill of the festivals are declared by the burgomaster to be in league with the devil Strahd and arrested. Some are thrown in the stocks (area N8), while others are taken to the burgomaster’s mansion so that the baron can purge them of their evil. |
The shops and homes that enclose the town square are decorated with limp, tattered garlands and painted wooden boxes filled with tiny, dead flowers. At the north end of the square stands a row of stocks, locked in which are several men, women, and children wearing crude, plaster donkey heads. |
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The burgomaster’s henchman, Izek Strazni, has a history of violence as well as a fiendish deformity: a monstrous arm with which he can conjure fire. Fear of Izek keeps the baron’s enemies at bay. |
If the characters linger in the square, they see the burgomaster’s henchman, Izek Strazni (see appendix D), arrive with two town guards. Izek orders one guard to tear down all of the old proclamations while the other posts the following new one for the Blazing Sun. |
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No one hates the burgomaster more than Lady Fiona Wachter, who is often quoted as saying, “I’d rather serve the devil than a madman.” She owns an old house in town (area N4) but rarely leaves her estate. Her two adult sons, Nikolai and Karl, are local troublemakers. Lady Wachter also has a mad daughter whom she keeps locked away. The burgomaster doesn’t confront Fiona or her offspring because he is afraid of Lady Wachter, whose family has old ties to Strahd. |
The Wachter family, once an influential noble line in Barovia, owns and occupies a mansion in Vallaki. The house’s reigning governess, Fiona Wachter, is a loyal servant of Strahd. She seeks to supplant Baron Vallakovich as the town burgomaster. |
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Purple flashes of light have been seen emanating from the attic of the burgomaster’s mansion. |
The Baronet. The baron’s miserable son, Victor Vallakovich (NE male human mage), has confined himself to the attic (area N3t), where he is content to avoid the unwanted attention of his mother and the disapproving glares of his father. Years ago, Victor found an old spellbook in the mansion’s library and used it to teach himself magic. He has been busy constructing a teleportation circle in the hope of escaping Barovia and leaving his parents to their doom. |
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Wolves and dire wolves prowl the woods and aren’t afraid to attack travelers on the Old Svalich Road. Well-armed groups of hunters and trappers have managed to kill several of the wolves, but more keep coming. |
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It’s too dangerous to go fishing on Lake Zarovich (chapter 2, area L) , but the threat of Strahd’s wolves hasn’t stopped Bluto Krogarov, the town drunk, from trying. He sets out each morning and returns every evening, but hasn’t caught any fish in a while. |
At the foot of a mountain, nestled in the misty forest, is a large lake. The water is perfectly still and dark, reflecting the black clouds overhead like a monstrous mirror. |
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There have been no recent sightings of the Mad Mage of Mount Baratok (chapter 2, area M). Folks used to see him skulking along the north shore of Lake Zarovich, shooting lightning bolts into the water to kill the fish. (If the characters seem interested in meeting this wizard, locals recommend that they use the fishing boats on the south shore to cross the lake, because it’s shorter and a lot less dangerous than walking around the lake.) |
North of the mountain lake, the trees begin their steady climb up the slopes of Mount Baratok, its monolithic presence oppressive at this distance. The ground here is rocky, uneven, and tiring to navigate. Even the wolves avoid this neck of the woods. Soon, you climb above the blanket of fog that engulfs the valley. Dark thunderclouds roll overhead.You see an elk standing on a rocky spur about sixty feet away. Suddenly, it assumes the form of a man in tattered black robes. His hair and beard are long, black, and streaked with gray, and his eyes crackle with eldritch power. |
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There’s a Vistani camp in the woods southwest of town (area N9). The Vistani there aren’t very friendly. Vistani aren’t welcome in Vallaki. |
The woods part to reveal an expansive clearing: a small, grass-covered hill with low houses built into its sides. Fog obscures the details, but you can see that these buildings feature elegantly carved woodwork and have decorative lanterns hanging from their sculpted eaves. Atop the hill, above the fog, is a ring of barrel-topped wagons that surround a large tent with a column of smoke pouring out through a hole in the top. The tent is brightly lit from within. Even at this distance, you can smell the odors of wine and horses that emanate from this central area. |
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West of town is a haunted mansion (see chapter 7, “Argynvostholt”). Legend has it that a dragon died there long, long ago. |
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South of town is a village that has been abandoned for decades. Its burgomaster committed some terrible offense and incurred the wrath of Strahd. |
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Character: Bluto Located North of Lake Zarovich |
Bluto Krogarov is a destitute drunkard. He’s desperate to catch some fish and trade them for wine at the Blue Water Inn. After he was unable to catch a single fish for a week, he kidnapped Arabelle, believing that Vistani are lucky. He intends to sacrifice her to the lake, hoping it will give up some of its fish in return.If the characters watch Bluto from the shore for several minutes, or if they row out into the lake to greet him, he tosses the burlap sack into the water, watches it sink, and waits with fishing pole in hand for his reward.Bluto is a hollow shell of a man, barely able to understand his own actions. He is unarmed and does nothing to aid or thwart the characters. |
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Character: Arabelle Location: Thrown by Bluto into the lake |
Characters who act quickly can save Arabelle before she drowns. A character on the shore must succeed on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to reach her in time. The DC is 10 for characters who took a rowboat out onto the lake.Arabelle has alabaster-white skin and raven-black hair. If rescued, she demands to be returned to her family’s camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area N9). She is certain that her father, Luvash, will give the characters a reward for doing so.A descendant of Madam Eva with the blood of Barovian royalty in her veins, Arabelle is unaware of her connection to Strahd. She acts more like an adult than a child. Despite her recent misadventure, she believes that a great destiny awaits her. |
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Character: Lady Fiona Wachter |
Lady of the House. Lady Fiona Wachter (LE female human priest with AC 10 and no armor) makes no secret of her family’s long-standing loyalty to the von Zarovich line. She believes that Strahd von Zarovich is no tyrant but, at worst, a negligent landlord. She would happily serve Strahd as burgomaster of Vallaki, but she knows that Baron Vargas Vallakovich won’t give up his birthright without a fight.Fiona conspired to wed her young daughter, Stella, to the baron’s son, Victor, as part of a plot to gain a foothold in the baron’s mansion, but Stella found Victor to be demented, and he showed no interest in Stella whatsoever. In fact, he spoke such unkind words to Stella that she went mad, and Fiona had to lock her daughter away (see area N4n).Lady Wachter’s latest scheme to gain control of Vallaki is far more diabolical. She has started a cult based on devil worship and has written a manifesto that she reads to her “book club,” which is made up of the most fanatical group members. Inspired by her words, these zealots have created smaller cults of their own. Once her cult has enough members, Fiona plans to take the town by force. To reward her most loyal followers, she has her pet imp stand invisibly in the center of a pentagram, then performs a false ritual that calls upon “princes of darkness” to lavish their appreciation upon the cultists. The imp then sprinkles onto the floor a few electrum coins, which Lady Wachter allows the cultists to keep.FIONA WACHTER AND MAJESTOAnother secret of Fiona’s is that she sleeps with the corpse of her dead husband, Nikolai, who died of sickness nearly three years ago and whom Fiona cherished. Lady Wachter casts gentle repose spells on the corpse to keep it from deteriorating.If the characters come to Wachterhaus looking for help to overthrow the burgomaster, Lady Wachter is all ears and suggests they start by killing the baron’s evil henchman, Izek Strazni. She’s happy to take care of the rest. If they come looking for a way to defeat Strahd, Lady Wachter turns them away, stating in no uncertain terms that she is not, nor ever will be, Strahd’s enemy.Lady Wachter has a different list of prepared spells from that of the priest in the Monster Manual: |
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Dusk Elves. The dusk elf race is all but forgotten, and the few survivors live in secret places such as this. They have dark skin and hair, but otherwise they are similar to wood elves (as described in the Player’s Handbook). One of Strahd’s old brides, Patrina Velikovna, used to live here. Her brother, Kasimir Velikov, still does.The dusk elves reside in small homes built into the hillside and are mostly self-sufficient. They are skilled trackers, and many of them are away from camp when the characters arrive, helping the Vistani search for Arabelle. Strahd has tasked the Vistani with keeping an eye on the dusk elves, and the dusk elves know they aren’t safe in Barovia without the Vistani’s “protection.” Strahd has also forbidden the Vistani from helping the dusk elves escape his domain.There are no women or children among the dusk elves. Strahd had all the female dusk elves put to death around four centuries ago as a punishment for Patrina’s murder. Thus, the remaining elves can’t procreate. A broken people, they are aware of the vampire’s absolute hold over the land of Barovia. They keep a low profile and have no desire to incur Strahd’s wrath again. |
Kasimir’s Hovel: Standing quietly in front of this house, bathed in the warm light of its lanterns, are three sullen, gray-cloaked figures, their angular features and black, flowing hair half-hidden under their cowls.The cloaked figures are three guards (N male dusk elves). If the characters seem friendly and are looking for someone to talk to, the guards direct them inside to Kasimir or point them toward the Vistani camp on the hilltop.Kasimir Velikov (see appendix D) is the leader of the dusk elves. His hovel has a decorated vestibule and a comfortable room beyond with a fireplace. Wooden statuettes of elven deities stand in cubbyholes along one wall. A tapestry of a forest hangs on the opposite wall.Kasimir confesses that he is burdened by dreams sent to him by his dead sister, Patrina Velikovna, whose spirit has languished in the catacombs below Castle Ravenloft for centuries. Kasimir believes that Patrina has repented for her many sins, and he yearns not only to free her but also to restore her to life.If the characters seem intent on destroying Strahd, Kasimir tells them about the Amber Temple. Without divulging too much of the dreams sent to him by Patrina, Kasimir informs the characters that the secret to breaking Strahd’s pact and freeing Barovia from its curse might be hidden there. Kasimir doesn’t know whether this claim is true or not, but he states it as a way of persuading the characters to accompany him to the temple; his main objective, he says, is to find something there that he can use to bring Patrina back from the dead. Kasimir’s Hovel: Standing quietly in front of this house, bathed in the warm light of its lanterns, are three sullen, gray-cloaked figures, their angular features and black, flowing hair half-hidden under their cowls.The cloaked figures are three guards (N male dusk elves). If the characters seem friendly and are looking for someone to talk to, the guards direct them inside to Kasimir or point them toward the Vistani camp on the hilltop.Kasimir Velikov (see appendix D) is the leader of the dusk elves. His hovel has a decorated vestibule and a comfortable room beyond with a fireplace. Wooden statuettes of elven deities stand in cubbyholes along one wall. A tapestry of a forest hangs on the opposite wall.Kasimir confesses that he is burdened by dreams sent to him by his dead sister, Patrina Velikovna, whose spirit has languished in the catacombs below Castle Ravenloft for centuries. Kasimir believes that Patrina has repented for her many sins, and he yearns not only to free her but also to restore her to life.If the characters seem intent on destroying Strahd, Kasimir tells them about the Amber Temple. Without divulging too much of the dreams sent to him by Patrina, Kasimir informs the characters that the secret to breaking Strahd’s pact and freeing Barovia from its curse might be hidden there. Kasimir doesn’t know whether this claim is true or not, but he states it as a way of persuading the characters to accompany him to the temple; his main objective, he says, is to find something there that he can use to bring Patrina back from the dead. |
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Enemy of Strahd |
Kasimir Velikov (see chapter 5, area N9a). The dusk elf accompanies the characters to Castle Ravenloft only after they lead him to the Amber Temple and help him find the means to resurrect his dead sister, Patrina Velikovna. |
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Amber Temple. A secret society of good-aligned wizards built the Amber Temple in the Balinok Mountains more than two thousand years ago. They needed a vault in which to contain the evil vestiges (remnants of dead, malevolent entities) they had captured and the hoard of forbidden knowledge they had amassed. They dedicated the temple to a god of secrets, whom they trusted to keep it hidden from the rest of the world until the end of time. Unfortunately for the wizards, even the will of a god couldn’t prevent other evil creatures from learning the temple’s location. The wizards were forced to guard the temple themselves, to keep its secrets from falling into villainous hands. The evil forces that were imprisoned within the temple eventually corrupted the wizards, turning them against one another.The wizards were dead and gone by the time an evil archmage named Exethanter arrived at the temple. He breached the temple’s wards, spoke to a vestige trapped in amber, and discovered the secret to becoming a lich. After his transformation, the lich Exethanter took over the temple and turned the skulls of it previous defenders into flameskulls under his command. Exethanter then took it upon himself to watch over the temple, not to hoard its evil secrets but to share them openly. Meanwhile, the evils within the temple fed on each other, growing in power. |
EXTREME COLDThe Amber Temple is a cold, dark place carved out of the snowy slope of Mount Ghakis. The temperature throughout the complex is −10 degrees Fahrenheit (−23 degrees Celsius). Characters who don’t have heat sources, cold weather gear, or magic to protect them are subject to the effects of extreme cold, as described in the “Weather” section in chapter 5, “Adventure Environments,” of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. If Kasimir Velikov (see chapter 5, area N9a) is with the party, his ring of warmth protects him from the effects of the extreme cold. |
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West of town is a haunted mansion (see chapter 7, “Argynvostholt”). Legend has it that a dragon died there long, long ago. |
West of town is a haunted mansion (see chapter 7, “Argynvostholt”). Legend has it that a dragon died there long, long ago. |
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South of town is a village that has been abandoned for decades. Its burgomaster committed some terrible offense and incurred the wrath of Strahd. |
South of town is a village that has been abandoned for decades. Its burgomaster committed some terrible offense and incurred the wrath of Strahd. |
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Bones of St. Andral |
Until recently, the church was protected from Strahd’s depredations by the bones of St. Andral, which were sealed in a crypt beneath the church’s main altar. But now the church is at risk because someone broke into the crypt a few nights ago and stole the bones. Until recently, Father Lucian was the only person in Vallaki who knew about the bones, but he recalls mentioning them to Yeska over a month ago to put the fearful boy at ease. After the bones were stolen, Father Lucian asked Yeska if he told anyone else about the bones. The boy nodded but wouldn’t divulge a name.The culprit is Milivoj, whom Father Lucian correctly suspects. But the priest has been reluctant to confront Milivoj because the lad is so temperamental. Father Lucian has not reported the theft for fear of the distress that the news might cause, and he doesn’t want to ruin the burgomaster’s festival. If the party includes a good-aligned cleric or paladin, Father Lucian mentions the theft in the hope that the characters can provide assistance. |
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Wine Quest |
The inn’s wine supply is almost depleted, and the latest delivery from the Wizard of Wines winery is overdue. If the characters claim to be adventurers, Urwin asks them if they would be so kind as to find out what’s holding up the latest shipment, promising them free room and board if they return with the wine. |
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Valaki Prices |
A bed for the night costs 1 ep. Characters looking for something to eat are fed hot beet soup and fresh bread at no additional charge. A cooked wolf steak costs 1 ep.The inn offers a pint of Purple Grapemash No. 3 wine for 3 cp, or a pint of the superior Red Dragon Crush wine for 1 sp. Urwin Martikov (innkeeper/wereraven) is hurt if the characters complain about the wines, for his family makes them. |
