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b a r o v i a n
nights by Oliver Darkshire

Barovian Nights is a compilation of extended and auxiliary

mechanics for use with your Curse of Strahd campaign. You can
mix and match these features as best you like to fit in with your
particular Ravenloft game. This volume contains:

1. 101 random barovian encounters

arranged by environment and including creatures from
Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.

2. unfamiliar familiars
A list of flavourful ideas for familiars conjured inside Barovia, in-
cluding an all new familiar - the Wisp

3. dusk until dawn

Some divine Charms to better show the power and influence of
Barovia’s divine forces

4. vicious circles
Advice on using the option Honor ability score in Ravenloft and the
return of Dark Powers checks.

5. death wish
Guidance on returning to life by the will of the Dark Powers, and
the changes that wreaks on characters

6. jinxed
Handling Barovia’s inherent misfortune in play, and how to expand
that to include curses, hexes and other misfortunes

7. gifts ungiven
Expanded Dark Gifts for the Amber Temples

8. dealing with the devil

Advice for handling Strahd in combat

9. strahd magic tricks

Advice for handling Strahd’s spell lists and nasty tricks

10. dinner with a vampire

A higher challenge version of Strahd’s statblock

As of this version, the sections on Vistani and on Barovian Madness

have been removed, as I have come to feel that they are far from my
best work, and that the book is better off in their absence. I would
replace them with something else, but who has the time.
Besides, an unhappy customer is rather on brand for Barovia.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the
Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is
protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of

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the Coast. ©2018 Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Represented by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley
Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK.
 101 Random Barovian Encounters
d100
Barovia Encounters
Encounter Road Woods Lake/River Mountain Wetlands
1. The Banderhobb 1-2 1-2
2. The Woman In Black 3-4
3. Grim 5-6 3-4
4. Yegraw the Abominable 1-10
5. Trapper 4-7
6. Signpost 7-8
7. Deadly Nightshade 7-8
8. Red Riding Hood 9-10 9-10
9. Tendrils in the Mist 11-12 11 1-10 11-25 1-5
10. The Hanged Man 13-14
11. Friendly Stranger 15-16 12
12. Pumpkin Patch 13-14 5-6
13. The Old Magic 15-16
14. Shrine to Mother Night 17
15. Not Waving, But Drowning 10-15
16. Mongrel 17-18 18
17. The Bogwitch 7
18. Hands of the Master 8-15
19. The Fruits of Labour 19 15-25
20. The Ghost Hunter 19-20
21. Skittering Sticks 20
22. Lazy Eyed Susan 21-22

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 d100
Barovia Encounters
Encounter Road Woods Lake/River Mountain Wetlands
23. Priest of the Old Gods 21-22
24. The Weeping Wolf 23
25. THE DEVIL ON THE WATER 16
26. Bloodrose 24-25
27. Nosferatu 23-24 26-28 26
28. Drowned Murmurs 17-20
29. Surface Recollections 21-25
30. Night of the Living Dead 25-26 28-30 26-30 27 26
31. The Nameless Knight 27-28
32. Dream Pastry Addicts 29-30
33. Full Moon 31-32 31 31 28 27
34. The Temple’s Bounty 29-39
35. Truth and Madness 40-49
36. Sudden Storm 33-34 32-35 32-40 28-32
37. Cast offs and Castaways 35-36 36
38. Jealousy 37-38 37-38 33
39. The Demon in the Wood 39
40. His Master’s Voice 40
41. Something in the Water 41-44
42. Death from Above 39-40 45-50 50-55
43. The Pack 41-44
44. Brood of Sangzor 56-65
45. Abandoned Wagon 41-42
46. Babysitting 43-44
47. Book Club 66
48. Arrigal 45-46
49. Magic 51
50. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT 47-48 45
51. Scarecrows on Parade 49-50 34
52. The Skulk 51-52 52-54
53. The Magic Cow 46
54. Gaze of Tenebrous 67-75
55. Lost Soul 76-80
56. Quiet Watcher 47 81
57. Papa Feather 82
58. The Bogfather 35-45
59. Unbearable 48-52
60. Woodbreaker Dryad 53-54
61. Witch Hunter 55-56
62. Corpse Brides 57-59
63. Feed the Birds 60-61
64. Swamp Surprise 46-56
65. Deathpit 56-67
66. Hunter’s Trap 62-64
67. Mist Tendrils 52-53 65-66 55-65 83-84 68-75
68. Siren Fog 65-75
69. Storm 54-58 67-71 76-80 85 75-85
70. Frozen Hell 86-95

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 d100
Barovia Encounters
Encounter Road Woods Lake/River Mountain Wetlands
72. Bones 61-64 72-75
73. Warning 76
74. Screaming Lunatic 65-66
75. THE DEVIL DANCES WITH 67-68 77
WOLVES
76. Recognition 69-70
77. Gulthias Seedling 78
78. Wolf Spy 72-76 79-82 85-90
79. Danger Puddle 78 83 81-85 91
80. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 79-80 84 95
81. Lost Cat 81
82. For the Wisest 82 85
83. Phantom Disagreement 83-85
84. Sin Dolly 86-88
85. Dripping Trees 86
86. Demon Baby 89-90 87
87. Ancient Grave 88
88. Rain 91-94 89-90 86-95 92-93
89. ”S” 95
90. Pauper’s Grave 96 91 94
91. Songs of the Dead 96-99
92. Soul of the Forest 92
93. Shrine to Death 93-95
94. Batman 96
95. Hidden Cache 97-98 97
96. Mislaid Memories 99 96-99
97. Bonespeaker 95
98. Caterwauling 98
99. Honker 96-99
100. DEVIL’S ADVOCATE 100 99 100 100 100
101. None of our Business 100

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 1. The Banderhobb 5. Trapper

There is little warning to the party as they approach

Shadows coalesce in the near distance as some- the haunt of the trapper. Characters who are
thing corpulent lumbers past, the face of a huge traveling at a slow pace may make Investigation or
froglike ape bumbling parallel. “Ho ho ho” it croaks Nature checks as dictated in the trapper’s statblock
to itself “I am the Banderhobb, and I hobb banders. to detect its presence. Otherwise, it unfurls quietly
Ho ho ho.” It doesn’t seem interested in you. and attacks a rear member of the party, ideally a
halfling for a gnome for digestibility.
This banderhobb has been summoned by the witch 6. Signpost
Baba Lysaga (area U3), and is on a goat hunting
mission. When encountered, there is a 50% chance
that it is carrying (or has swallowed) 1d4 small There’s a signpost in the road, buried at what looks
goats which is is transporting back to the old wom- to be a disused intersection. It looks old, and rotting.
an. The Banderhobb is not a particularly intelligent
creature, but can talk (unlike most examples) in This signpost is a mimic, which delights in sending
stilted common. It becomes hostile only if someone travelers the wrong way, ideally into the woods or
attacks it or threatens harm on Baby Lysaga. towards known threats in the area. If discovered
(somehow) it lets off a big cackle and tries to hide
2. The Woman In Black
by transforming into something minuscule. If this
encounter occurs multiple times, the signs point to
The road ahead falls still, and the wind dies. A lone different places (but are never correct).
silhouette, all in black, stands alone on the path. She
7. Deadly Nightshade
raises her hand, and points at you. A moment later,
she is gone, and the wind blows leaves across the This surprise encounter occurs as the character
path once more. pass by innocent looking foliage. Lurking in the
bushes is an evil belladonna plants that lunges at
This spectral manifestation is a bad omen, and her the nearest potential victim (use the statistics for an
appearance heralds death. Choose a character at assassin vine). A werewolf hit by an attack from the
random - that character has disadvantage on death plant is cured of their lycanthropy.
saving throws until they die. 8. Red Riding Hood
3. Grim
On the road ahead, there’s a corpse covered in
Yellow eyes stare at you from the undergrowth. A blood, which has pooled around it and began to
huge black dog stares at you, unblinking. Those sink into the mud. A small childlike figure in a red
bright and terrible eyes see right through you, deep riding hood hunches over the body, clutching it
into your soul. tight.

This is a death dog. The first creature to see the The small figure in the red hood is actually a red-
death dog is cursed, and on the third sunset after cap, which is busy harvesting the dead man’s or-
seeing the dog, the cursed creature drops to 0 hit gans to drape over itself gaudily. It turns on anyone
points in a sudden heart attack. Even if the afflict- who disturbs it, girning gleefully at the prospect of
ed character recovers, they suffer a permanent level more murder.
of exhaustion from the ordeal. A remove curse spell
or similar magic can dispel the effects of the curse
before it strikes the unhappy victims down, and a
greater restoration spell can remove the level of ex-
haustion resulting from it.
4. Yegraw the Abominable

A rumbling roar echoes across the mountain. A

snow drift is rising to its feet and shaking off the
snow. Grizzled white fur and slabs of muscle indi-
cate you have trespassed onto the wrong turf,

This abominable yeti is in a bad temper, having

been interrupted from a long nap by the intrusion
of the characters. It roars and tries to frighten them
away - in the absence of this, it attacks with lethal
intent.

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9. Tendrils in the Mist 13. The Old Magic

Mist rolls across your path, familiar fog draping you The woods part, revealing a perfectly circular clear-
in obscurity. Strangely, ribbons of red flicker at the ing with a single tree at the center. Ravens crowd
edges of your vision...ribbons of blood? The vessels around the trees, but not a single one will enter the
in your arms begin to rupture, spilling out into the circle.
air. What fresh horror is this?
This circle retains a trace of the druidic power once
This vampiric mist, the remains of one of Strahd’s used to guard and tend to it. Beasts loyal to Strahd,
erstwhile consorts, prowls the roads and woods of such as wolves or bats, cannot enter the circle
Barovia looking for food. If Ireena Kolyana is with willingly. The tree is home to a sleeping wood woad,
the party, it prioritizes her as a target out of petty which remains dormant unless the tree is damaged,
jealousy and vengeance. whereupon it emerges with a vengeance.
10. The Hanged Man 14. Shrine to Mother Night

A crude wooden post has been hammered into Someone has painted a face onto a jagged rock in
the ground by the side of the road. A skeleton has blood. At the foot of the shrine, tiny skeletons of
been nailed to it by the hands, and hangs down, feet woodland creatures are piled up in an unpleasant
barely scraping the floor. Ravens pack at the bones, display.
perhaps hoping to uncover some remaining morsel
of flesh from the remains. This shrine is sacred to the night, and all those
writhing, unseen things that shun the light of day.
This poor soul was nailed to the post after being Characters who approach the shrine can seek the
falsely accused of witchcraft by neighbours. The night mother’s blessing, with a sacrifice. Charac-
specter still lingers around the body, but cannot be ters blessed in this fashion gain inspiration. Clerics
roused unless someone tries to disturb the remains, of good aligned gods that approach the shrine are
at which it reacts with unreasoning violence. attacked by a swarm of rot grubs that burrow up
from underneath the rock. Destroying the shrine
11. Friendly Stranger brings down the wrath of Mother Night onto the
perpetrator - all mindless creatures of darkness
A stranger is approaching down the road. They (beasts, undead and so on) attack that creature first
seem sallow and tall, carrying a small backpack above other concerns until the curse is lifted.
and dressed in big boots. They wave on seeing you, 15. Not Waving, But Drowning
gesturing for you to approach.
There’s someone struggling under the water...they
This dybbuk is looking for a new body to inhabit look like they might be drowning. It doesn’t look
and sees the party as a fresh pool to recruit from. It like they can keep treading water for much longer.
begins by asking for supplies, or perhaps to share a
fire together. It doesn’t hold up this facade for long
before using its Violate Corpse ability and launches This zombie accidentally wandered into the water
into a massacre. and occasionally floats to the top, where it floun-
12. Pumpkin Patch ders. If it is approached, it rather mindlessly at-
tacks the closest visible source of food and attempts
to drag them down to a watery grave. Depending
Someone has curated a small vegetable patch out on the distance from the characters to the zombie
here in middle of nowhere. Pumpkins are littered when they see it, it might be easier or harder to de-
everywhere - one has to wonder whether they ever duce the true nature of the corpse from a distance.
go out of season in this valley.

The pumpkin patch is a delicious source of food, in

theory, but is guarded by a fierce and evil pumpkin
called His Squashiness (use the statistics for a rop-
er). His squashiness, a gigantic pumpkin with many
vines and creepers, lashes out at anyone who dares
wander to close to the patch.

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 16. Mongrel 19. The Fruits of Labour

A small woman is wearily carrying a heavy looking A foul smell is the first sign of trouble. Then, it
basket, and she is struggling. She hears a heavy appears, floating towards you like a particularly pu-
brown monastic hood, and the basket is covered. A trescent balloon made of flowers and rot. Wolf legs
faint gurgling comes from inside. and fur stick out from the inside, and the plant’s
odour is stomach-turning.
This mongrelfolk is called Lissa, and she has fled
the Krezk monastery in the hopes of giving her litter
This corpse flower is a gruesome working by the
of children a better life. Lissa has eight spider eyes
druids of Yester Hill in decades past. The casters
(the darkvision Extraordinary Feature) which she
lost control of it, however, and the plant ate them
keeps concealed under her hood. She has three lev-
before wandering off into the woods. This corpse
els of exhaustion from hunger and thirst. Her litter
flower has a fly (hover) speed of 20 feet.
of five mongrelfolk show various similar mutations,
but she only reveals them if she feels she has no 20. The Ghost Hunter
choice - she is scared something might happen to
them. Bells tinkle on the breeze as a small cart rolls pon-
17. The Bogwitch derously into view. Astride it, a tiny old lady with a
blindfold over her eyes is sat on a large cushion, lav-
ishing encouragement on a donkey which seems
A hunched little man with a goatee is raking
disinclined to pick up speed regardless.
through the mud with his bare hands. At his feet,
a toad croaks grumpily. He doesn’t seem to notice
your approach. This rather noisy cart belongs to Agatha, a self-pro-
fessed ghost hunter and student of the occult. She
is blind, and actually incredibly ill informed about
This barovian witch was once the town healer for the workings of the spiritual world, with none of
Berez, but after its destruction made a pact with her charms, poultices and myriad bells having any
the Dark Powers for longevity and power. He’s here supernatural potency whatsoever. Agatha has the
looking for a material component root, but is not statistics of a commoner.
having any luck. Self centered to the core, he lies
through his teeth for no other reason than to cause 21. Skittering Sticks
inconvenience to strangers. His toad familiar resent-
fully grumbles at people. All around you, dead trees and withered vines bear
18. Hands of the Master testament to the hostility of these woods. Twisted
wooden claws seem to bend and creak on the wind,
snagging on your clothes as if you hold you back.
Crawling, creeping sounds rustle at your feet.
Something is under the dead leaves, and it’s head-
ing in your direction. The characters wander into a grove of hostile nee-
dle blights. which launch into a snapping, splin-
tering attack as soon as the moment presents itself.
2d6 crawling claws sometime dismembered from
They aim their needles for squishy spots in the
strahd zombies attack the party from beneath the
cracks of armor, but prefer to attack weaker foes,
foliage. The hands have a limited intelligence, and
or non combatants. Fire terrifies them, and causes
focus on choking victims to death. 1d4 rounds after
them to flee into the dark.
the claws arrive, 1d6 strahd zombies arrive, miss-
ing a number of hands (collectively) equal to the
number of crawling claws present.

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22. Lazy Eyed Susan 25. THE DEVIL ON THE WATER

There’s a discarded, life-size doll lying in the middle As the water laps against the shore, a shadow falls
of the road made of sackcloth and patchwork rags. over you from above, Descending from grey skies,
A smile is painted on its burlap face, and one button trailing mist like a shroud, the stern figure of Strahd
eye stares up at you blankly. von Zarovich glides down to hover above the water,
cloak billowing in the wind. The wind rises, and the
water churns.
This scarecrow is called Lazy Eyed Susan, and it
is looking for company. Discarded by Baba Lysaga
due to its strange lack of homicidal impulses, Su- Strahd is here to test the characters, as is his wont.
san is inhabited by the spirit of Queen Ravenovia, He has the following wizard spells prepared:
conjured inadvertently from the mists by the dark
arts of the witch. Susan can’t speak, only point, but 1st level (4 slots): feather fall, shield, magic missile
follows the party at a distance unless they deign to 2nd level (3 slots): gust of wind, mirror image, ward-
allow her to travel with them, but truly wishes to ing wind
return to Castle Ravenloft to see her son. Depend- 3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, fly, tidal wave
ing on how she is treated, she could be an asset or 4th level (3 slots): control water, watery sphere
a foil. 5th level (1 slot): control winds, mislead
23. Priest of the Old Gods
The vampire descends from the sky using his fly
spell, which he maintains without concentration.
A grizzled face emerges from the underbrush, As he does so, watching intently, the surface of the
expression riddled with hatred and burning with lake or river churns as 5d6 strahd zombies emerge
magic. Plants all around you are stiffening to atten- near the store, charging the adventurers. If Ireena
tion, advancing on you with evil intent. Kolyana is with the party, Strahd uses this as an
opportunity to acquire her, otherwise remaining
aloof and watching the conflict from above, using
This druid is a priest dedicated to the primordial his magic to prevent himself from being engaged.
forces of nature, and the darkness within Barovia If the zombies reduce a characters to 0 hit points,
has polluted their soul. They are accompanied by Strahd orders them to retreat into the lake, whilst
2d6 twig blights which groan and crack as they he himself transforms into a bat and returns to the
lurch to life. The druid sings dark psalms in druidic castle to ponder the party tactics and abilities.
to the earth and sky, and rain begins to fall from
above, obscuring visibility and turning the forest 26. Bloodrose
floor into thick mud.
24. The Weeping Wolf As you travel, you begin to see bright dots of colour
scattered in the foliage. Red rose blooms are an un-
A wolf is lying across your path. It whimpers, and usual sight, and a vivid contrast to the faded, bleak
holds up a paw, through which a large wooden woodlands you’ve been traveling through. The
spine is sticking. It opens large, puppy dog eyes in thorny stalks are streaked with red veins, which
your direction, as if to ask for aid. thrum to some unheard melody beyond your pow-
er to perceive.
All around this clearing, 2d6 wolves circle at a 30
ft distance. They are waiting on the signal from the This is a Bloodrose plant (use the statistics for an
werewolf, who is feigning injury. Should some fool- assassin vine) which uses a 1/day plant growth
ish soul attempt to help the wolf, it lunges for their ability to inhibit escape as it advances on its
throat as soon as they get close enough, triggering prey. After it has drained a single victim dry, the
an attack by the rest of the wolves. bloodrose retreats into the woods to digest.

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 27. Nosferatu out across all directions. Each round thereafter,
1d4 additional zombies appear from random direc-
The smell of blood hits you first, a metallic tang that tions. This continues infinitely, until the characters
alerts you to the presence of a predator. Crawling flee, are rescued, or perish.
towards you on all fours with stilted, unnerving 31. The Nameless Knight
jitters, it was perhaps a human once. Bleeding from
large fangs that curve over its lower lip, the wretch- The tread of mailed feet crunches towards you out
ed monster leaps to attack with a joyous screech. of the mist. An figure clad in ceremonial armour
tinged with a spectral hue, steps out of the fog. It
This vampire spawn is conventionally known as a salutes you.
Nosferatu, or ‘feral’ vampire occasionally but rarely
found in the reaches of Barovia, hunting near the This phantom warrior was defeated by trickery
borders for food. Turned aside by Strahd out of cru- and magic long ago, and the angry spirit remains
elty or some perceived slight, Nosferatu have long tied to the material plane as a result. Defeating the
lost sight of their sanity, governed entirely by their phantom warrior in single combat without the use
own hunger. of magic allows the spirit to pass on to whatever
28. Drowned Murmurs awaits it in the next life.
32. Dream Pastry Addicts
At the water’s edge, black ripples lap against the
shore. Pallid faces emerge from under the water, A roving band of villagers is headed in your direc-
vacant eyes and rotting flesh begging silently for tion with scowls and pitchforks. They seem angry,
release. They reach for you, fingers grasping and and desperate. Pale skin, wide eyes and shaking
clutching you, perhaps to steal some small spark of hands suggests they are unwell.
warmth and strength from your living form.

These 2d6 commoners are suffering from an ad-

These 3d6 strahd zombies have been placed near diction to Morgantha’s Dream Pastries, and have
the water’s edge as a sadistic trap for travelers fool- turned to banditry to fund their habits (something
ish enough to stray near. They stumble slowly out which delights the witch to no end). The villagers
of the water towards their targets, and drag anyone aren’t killers by nature, but are desperate enough
they can reach into the lake where they attempt to to incapacitate strangers who don’t hand over some
drown them. The zombies to not inflict hp damage, pennies when threatened. The commoners have dis-
instead preferring to grapple and drag foes into the advantage on all attack rolls and saving throws due
water. to their advanced state of withdrawal.
29. Surface Recollections 33. Full Moon

A young woman sits alone at the water’s edge. The moon rises high above, shedding light down
She’s singing to it, and touching the surface gently onto the valley. Pure white light shines down,
with one hand. She seems so engrossed in this that cleansing away hexes and washing away deception.
she may not notice you approach.
Characters that are afflicted by hexes, curses or
The young woman is a ghost trapped at the scene Dark Gifts are temporarily alleviated of those con-
of her death by her grief. Beneath the surface of the ditions until sunrise. The sole exception to this is
water, buried beneath the mud, are the bones of werewolves, who immediately transform and enter a
two humanoids, one full sized and the other child- murderous rampage attacking the nearest creature
like. Until the bones are recovered and reburied they can see until sunrise.
on sanctified ground, the ghost will never willingly
leave the area.
30. Night of the Living Dead

The groans and shuffling feet of the living dead

reach your ears on the wind. It seems to come
from all directions, the creaking steps and bustling
stench indicating the arrival of peril.

This encounter only occurs at night. Undead con-

verge on the party location in vast numbers, and
the wise would do well to flee quickly. The round
after the noises start, 2d6 zombies appear through
the darkness 100 feet away from the party, spread

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34. The Temple’s Bounty 37. Cast offs and Castaways

A dark shadow is trailing the mountainside, flesh A leering, contorted body shuffles across the
branded with symbols that twist and writhe in the ground nearby, snuffling and snorting. It looks
perpetual half light. Their eyes are writ large with semi-human, with long stitch marks down the
spiders, and their hands raise thirteen prayers to creases between limbs, head and torso, as if some
gods unknowable. They reek of secrets best left mad seamstress has patched it together from mis-
buried. cellaneous corpses. It has the head of a pig, which
stares blankly at you as it approaches.
This is a deathlock, enslaved by the vestiges of the
temple and cursed to eternally wander the moun- This monstrous, but otherwise benign monstrosity
tains, inflicting death or madness on anyone foolish is a flesh golem constructed by the Abbot as one of
enough to search for the temple’s secrets. A charac- his prototypes for Vasilka. It is friendly, and trau-
ter that slays a deathlock from the temple hears the matized from having been abandoned by its creator.
whispers of a vestige from far away, like an echo just If shown any kindness, it bonds to its new friend
out of earshot. and defends them to the death against anything it
35. Truth and Madness perceives to be a threat,
38. Jealousy
Shrieks and whispers form from nothing. Whirling
words and deadly sighs reach for you with mouths A pallid, gaunt figure drops down from above you
uncountable and teeth of vicious lies. What dark like a cat on all fours. They bare razor sharp pointed
truths lie in the mountains? What fool would be teeth, and their pupils are deep crimson. “You took
craven enough to seek them out? him from me!” the creature screeches. “He doesn’t
want me anymore, and it’s all your fault!” They
The allip here fled from the Amber Temple after dis- lunge.
covering the vestiges trapped there. The knowledge
tainted it, and drove it mad, whence it has haunted
This is a vampire spawn and late consort of
the mountain ever since. It approaches characters
Strahd, who discarded them in favour of some new
and tries to tell them awful truths, and becomes en-
prettier thing many years ago The spawn, driven by
raged when it is unable to communicate effectively.
a desire to be connected to their sire, became deliri-
There is a 10% chance that in the gibberings of the
ous and confused. Now, they hunt down any strang-
allip it reveals the location of an item or ally men-
ers that attract the attention of the Darklord, in a
tioned in the Fortunes of Ravenloft, if they have not
misguided attempt to win back his favour. If they
already been discovered.
succeed in defeating the characters, there is a 50%
36. Sudden Storm chance they leave them unconscious and return to
Strahd to crow over their victory.
Rain begins to pour down from the grey skies, blur-
ring your vision. Thunder booms overhead, and the
downpour threatens to soak you through. Then,
a translucent hand snaking through the water
towards you.

The water elemental has been hiding in the storms

and clouds for centuries, and craves the sweet taste
of life from living sources.

11
 39. The Demon in the Wood
41. Something in the Water
There is a whiff of brimstone in the air, and the
stench of sulfur soon afterwards. A black stone, A lilting refrain meets your ears, carried across the
riddled with green copper, lies in a scorched earth waves. Walking on the surface of the water, a dirty
clearing nearby. It is graven with a green devil face, figure in grey rags is singing at the sky. The words
mouth gaping wide open. Inside the mouth, there is are guttural and harsh.
only a void.

The druid is singing a song in abyssal. Those who

The stone in the wood is inhabited by a powerful
understand the language can decipher phrases of
extraplanar entity that touches on Barovia here
it, revealing it to be a distorted incantation of sum-
like an ink stain spilling over parchment. Placing
moning. If allowed to finish his working, whatever
a hand or arm inside the stone’s cavity results in
he is attempting to summon does not appear. Then,
the user being offered a Dark Gift (see Chapter 11,
he is dragged below the surface of the waves with a
the Amber Temple), the gift of Astaroth-Diabolus.
shriek by something unseen. He does not resurface.
The gift of Astaroth-Diabolus is the ability to con-
jure your inner fire. Upon receiving this dark gift, 42. Death from Above
the recipient gains the ability to cast the produce
flame cantrip, using Charisma as their spellcasting Circling overhead, swarms of bats are converging
ability modifier. The beneficiary of this dark gift has on your location. For a brief, beautiful moment, the
their arm warped to aesthetically resemble that of stars are blotted out by their number. Then, they
a demon, with twisted green flesh, long yellow nails descend.
and small barbs. The stone is guarded carefully by
a corrupted fire elemental that attacks any char-
acter who approaches bearing sunlight, or a holy The characters are attacked by 4d6 swarms of
symbol of good. Destroying the stone releases an bats that harry them from place to place. The bats
aspect of the demon (use the statistics of a balor) nip and chase adventurers rather than seeking to
which destroys anyone and anything it can see until outright destroy them, driving them in a direction of
Barovia is a smoldering cesspit of hubris, a lesson Strahd’s preference by blinding and disorientating
to anyone who thinks with their sword hand. them. There is a 10% chance that Strahd himself
is hiding in one the swarms as a bat, observing
40. His Master’s Voice
directly.
43. The Pack
The sound of screaming hits your ears before any-
thing else. Piercing cries and muffled sobs invade
your mind, pushing aside other thought. Leaping Growling lupine faces emerge into view, jaws dip-
for you from a shadowy location, a long nosed elf ping with saliva. They seem happy to meet you, but
with blade drawn. it might be safe to suggest the feeling is not mutual.

Strahd has sent Rahadin to test the prowess of the The characters are attacked by 3d6 wolves and 1
adventurers. If possible, he hides to surprise them, dire wolf. Strahd is hidden amongst them, mas-
but this is made difficult by his aura of screaming querading as a regular wolf. If the dire wolf is slain
telepathic psychopath voices. Rahadin targets a or Strahd is injured, the entire wolf pack retreats
character who is alone, or at the rear of the group, before the ruse is discovered. Strahd uses the infor-
incapacitating one person as quickly as possible mation he gathers during this fight to inform future
before retreating. Meanwhile, Strahd attempts to struggles.
watch through a scrying spell. If Rahadin is faced
with overwhelming odds or a concerted defense, he
falls back anyway and returns to the castle.

12
44. Brood of Sangzor 47. Book Club

A bleating to the side of you alerts you to danger. Humanoids in dark robes wander past in the near
Lined up in an intimidating array, a tribe of angry distance. They appear to be clutching themselves
looking mountain goats are preparing to charge tightly as if cold, and their faces suggest they are
you. They look unusually hirsute. thoroughly miserable.

This gaggle of 2d4 giant goats are some of the These cultists are on a book club field trip from
many descendants of Sangzor, the goat who rules Vallaki, in service to their ‘devil masters’ (who are
the Tsolenka pass like a tiny, horned god emperor. demonstrably absent. The members are thoroughly
The goats charge and shove anyone they can see off lost, and are cursing Fiona Wachter for ever getting
the mountain, or die heroically in the attempt. them into this in the first place. All the cultists have
45. Abandoned Wagon 1 level of exhaustion, and wish to return home.
48. Arrigal
A strange blotch of colour mars the landscape, in
the form of an abandoned Vistani wagon, left to rot An old man stumbles down the road towards
here in the wind and rain. One wheel is broken, and you. His kindly expression is a ray of sunlight in a
it rests wonkily against a tree. troubled world. Then, a blade protrudes through
his neck, and he falls to the earth, dead. A Vistani
dressed in black stands behind him, in a hero pose.
This wagon is in a severe state of disrepair, but a “Arrigal.” he says, definitively, with the air of a
character proficient in an appropriate tool might be flourish.
able to set it to rights with an hour’s work. The cart
(whilst not in the best condition) could easily pass
Arrigal is just here to be a massive pain in every-
itself off as current Vistani property to the casual
one’s backside. The old man was a humble tailor
observer. Needless to say, Vistani that discovered
from Vallaki who inexplicably survived to a ripe old
any such ruse would be unimpressed. The cart can
age only to serve as an easel for Arrigal’s artistic,
be pulled by loadbearing animals as per the usual
but homicidal impulses.
guidelines in the Player’s Handbook and Dungeon
Master’s Guide. 49. MAGIC
46. Babysitting
There is a rumble, and then an eruption. Through
the earth, a crazed old man in a battered wizard
A child approaches you from the undergrowth. hat bursts with giant mole hands. “MAGIC” he
They are naked, and holding a small doll. They cries, before turning into a centipede and scuttling
sniffle, and point to the doll. “Blinsky” they say, in a off northwards.
sulky manner,

The Mad Mage of Mount Baratok can turn into any

The child is a werewolf who has wandered away animal he desires, but prefers ones that cause an
from the werewolf camp to find some more toys. impact, so he can shout MAGIC and then leave to
Originally born in Vallaki, the toy was given to them cause trouble elsewhere.
by parents who were killed in a werewolf attack. The
toymaker was kind to the child, who wants (with a
child’s logic) to go back. The child tries to express
this as best they can, otherwise following behind
the party on their tiny legs until they can’t keep up,
at which point they morph into a wolf. The were-
wolf-child is not immediately homicidal, but may
become so if treated poorly (or refused something
it wants). The werewolf’s size is Small. The doll is
a sackcloth wolf that turns inside out to a human,
and bears a tag with the slogan “Is no fun, is no
Blinsky!”

13
 50. The Devil Rides Out 53. The Magic Cow

Fire blossoms through the night. Streaks of flame An ugly old woman is arguing loudly with her cow,
burst through the air, shattering the quiet with which is blocking the path ahead with a bovine
shuddering explosions. The smoke and flame expression. “Oh, move, you wretched creature,” she
cannot conceal a shadow looming up above, riding snaps at it. “I didn’t bring you out here to get eaten
shadow and flame. by wolves, did I? Not that it’d do them any good,
they’d just get indigestion from your stubborn-
ness!”
Strahd von Zarovich has mustered his forces, and
has arrived once more to test the resolve of the
The old woman, a hedge witch who calls herself
characters and learn their tactics. He is riding his
Mother Haggle, is passing through Barovia on other
nightmare about 100 feet above the ground.
business, but her cow (which she claims is mag-
He has the following wizard spells prepared: ic, for no discernible reason) has decided to take a
recalcitrant position in the road. Adventurers can
1st level (4 slots): feather fall, shield, absorb ele- easily pass around the cow, or attempt to aid old
ments woman if they are particularly generous, for which
2nd level (3 slots): scorching ray, levitate she will reward them with a bag of beans.
3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, fireball, lightning bolt
54. Gaze of Tenebrous
4th level (3 slots): wall of fire, blight
5th level (1 slot): animate objects
The mountains, ever cold and forbidding, gain a
Strahd bombards the characters from above, whilst new aspect of hostility in the forms of a corpse
the smoke from the burning wood lightly obscures dragging itself across the rocks and ice. It’s skin
him to onlookers below. He uses the nightmare’s is midnight, eyes stretched into bottomless pits,
innate traits to escape to the material plane if nec- mouth transfixed in an endless scream. As it
essary, and returns to Castle Ravenloft once he is approaches, the mountain resonates with an
satisfied with the information he has gathered on unspeakable name, a secret locked in a mountain’s
their response times and emergency tactics heart.

51. Scarecrows on Parade

This bodak was once an arcanist, who found the
amber temple and sought the vestiges inside. They
Jerking, shuffling figures of sackcloth and wire found the vestige of Tenebrous, but failed the trans-
are capering in a rude mass, straw falling out from formation into a lich, becoming instead a hideous
holes in their motley clothing. Razor sharp claws mockery of life and undeath. The bodak is a mad
hang at their sides, mottled with rust. force of destruction and kills anything it can reach,
but is slow moving and vulnerable to trickery.
These 2d4 scarecrows are on reconnaissance duty 55, Lost Soul
for Baba Lysaga, and are in the middle of moving to
a new location for spying. If they notice the adven- Noise travels differently up here in the mountains,
turers, they perform a comical double take, and echoing over itself and reverberating through the
then turn stock still, pretending to be inanimate heights. It is therefore, startling when all around
scarecrows (even if the ruse is obvious). From this you a plaintive voice begins to sound from some-
point onwards, they refuse to move for any aggrava- where nearby. “Lost,”it cries. over and over. “Lost.”
tion short of fire, which drives them into a violent
frenzy.
The party are being stalked by the lost, a traveler
52. The Skulk in the mountains who died of exposure and became
twisted into a monster. It appears in 1d4 hours,
The adventurers attract the attention of a wander-
following their tracks until it comes across them.
ing skulk, which begins to follow them out of curi-
Then, it chooses a party member, and attempts to
osity and malice. It does little, merely preferring to
lock them in an embrace before hurling them both
keep a safe distance and watch characters as they
off the mountain edge.
sleep. It even follows them into town, treading softly
so as to cause as little noise as possible. Children
under 10 can see skulks, and thus likely react to
it with terror, at which it cringes and flees only to
return a short while later.

14
56. Quiet Watcher 59. Unbearable

There’s someone watching you. Pale grey skin, Your journey is abruptly interrupted by the charac-
knifepoint elven ears. Clothing grey as the dol- teristic rumble of ursine displeasure. A monstrous
drums - they almost seem to fade into the back- black bear is standing in your way, tiny black eyes
ground. a reminder to all nature conservationists that the
feeling is probably not reciprocated.
This is Barathial, a gloom weaver emissary of the
Raven Queen, sent to the domain to record the This is a black bear, with a mean temper and a
tragedy of Strahd von Zarovich. As a historian, bone to pick with adventurers. The bear’s cubs (1d4
Barathial (they/them) is keen to explore the domain noncombatant tiny bears) are located in a cave 500
and learn as much as they can about Barovia. They meters away, and the bear is attempting to warn
have no interest in defending or aiding the charac- away the trespassers. A successful DC 13 Wisdom
ters, but if permitted travels with them for as long (Animal Handling) check can discern the likely rea-
as it seems convenient, all the while affecting them son for the bear’s aggressive behaviour.
with its Burden of Time ability.
60. Woodbreaker Dryad
57. Papa Feather
A tree just ahead of you suddenly cracks near the
A scabrous, birdlike monstrosity is perching on base, and tumbles forward with a sickening lurch,
the mountainside, smoking a pipe. It looks up with threatening to crush you flat.
piercing yellow eyes. “Hello,” it says, and the word is
laced with curiosity. “Care to join me?” Characters in the way of the tree (a 60 ft long, 5 feet
long line from the base of the tree) must succeed on
This nagpa (which calls itself “Papa Feather” is a Dexterity saving throw, taking 4d6 bludgeoning
searching for the Amber Temple, in an attempt to damage on a failed saving throw, or 2d6 damage on
slay the lich Exethanter and retrieve the library a successful save. This tree falling is caused by the
of dark magic held under its protection. It tries to evil tricks of a woodbreaker Dryad, once a help-
convince characters to help it find the temple, and ful forest spirit corrupted by the druids of Yester
to claim the contents for its own. Once there, it be- Hill into a murderer. The dryad follows the party
trays them at the worst possible moment and heads through the woods, breaking a tree in a similar
off to find the library. manner every hour.

58. The Bogfather 61. Witch hunter

Despite the mud, rain and grime, the sudden gout An arrow streaks by you close enough to whisper
of bogwater from behind you alerts you to the pres- in your ear. Hooded figures emerge around you,
ence of danger. A gigantic crocodile, eyes bleeding bows drawn.
ichor, crashes down onto wet earth, rotting flesh
falling away from green-stained bones. These 2d4 archers are witch hunters from Valla-
ki, bounty hunters who hope to claim a handsome
This giant crocodile lived in the swamp before the prize from Baron Vallakovich for bringing him the
adventurers put an end to it. Several decades in heads of those engaged in nefarious occult activi-
the mud passed, until Baba Lysaga brought back ties.
the gemstone to her crawling hut. The magic of the
stone has begun to imbue the swamp with corrupt-
ed vigor, and this crocodile is a symptom of that.
It has the undead creature type, and is no more
agreeable now than it was in life. If destroyed, it
reconstitutes itself with a blaze of green light in 2d4
hours, and begins to follow the party’s trail. If the
stone is retrieved from Baba Lysaga, the Bogfather
stops reanimating.

15
 62. Corpse Brides from the fall. The bottom of the pit is filled with
green slime, as per the Dungeon Hazards section of
A hand bursts up through the soil, remnants of a the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
white dress hanging loosely off it. A putrid head
emerges from the soil some feet distant, bearing a Countermeasures. A successful DC 10 Wisdom
veil. (Perception) check reveals the presence of the can-
vas and the 1-foot-wide ledge around the edges of
the pit where it is safe to travel.
These 3d6 zombies all bear a striking resemblance
to Ireena Kolyana (and thus, Tatyana), being the 66. Hunter’s Trap
bodily remains of those incarnations that failed to
survive a wedding with Strahd, usually by taking Simple trap (level 1–4, dangerous threat)
their own lives. Many wear their wedding regalia.
Rahadin took the corpses and buried them in a This trap resembles a set of iron jaws that springs
secret discreet location, which the adventurers have shut when stepped on, clamping down on a crea-
inadvertently trespassed on. ture’s leg. The trap is spiked in the ground, leaving
the victim immobilized. Worse, the points are cov-
63. Feed the Birds ered with poison.

Trigger. A creature that steps on the hunting trap

The woods open into a clearing, where an old wom- triggers it.
an sits on a log, surrounded by ravens. The trees
are weighed heavily down with hundreds of birds Effect. The trap makes an attack against the trig-
all around. “Feed the birds,” the crone croons to the gering creature. The attack has a +8 attack bonus
ravens, as she throws them colourful garments. and deals 5 (1d10) piercing damage on a hit. A
creature that takes any piercing damage from this
This druid is feeding the birds clothes - children’s’ attack must succeed on a Constitution saving throw
clothes, by the look of it. She buys them from the or take 3d6 poison damage on a failed saving throw.
hags at the Old Bonegrinder, and then brings them This attack can’t gain advantage or disadvantage. A
into the woods to feed the ravens, who take them creature hit by the trap has its speed reduced to 0.
away to flesh out their nests. It can’t move until it breaks free of the trap, which
requires a successful DC 15 Strength check by the
64. Swamp Surprise creature or another creature adjacent to the trap.

The adventurers wander too close to a bog pit, Countermeasures. A successful DC 10 Wisdom
which uses the same rules as Quicksand from the (Perception) check reveals the trap. A successful DC
Dungeon Master’s Guide. If the party is traveling at 10 Dexterity check using thieves’ tools disables it.
a slow pace, the navigator can make an Intelligence
(Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check DC15 to notice
the pit in time. Otherwise, the character at the front
of the marching order walks into the pit. In the pit,
2d6 malevolent boggles are surprised bur gratified
by the interruption and emerge with the sole pur-
pose of stealing items and pushing people into the
pit.

65. Deathpit

Simple trap (level 1–4, moderate threat)

Deathpits consist of a 10-foot-deep hole in the floor,

concealed by tattered canvas that’s covered with
leaves and dirt to look like solid ground. This type
is set by the mad druids of Yester Hill to inconven-
ience and discourage woods trespassers.

Trigger. Anyone who steps on the canvas might fall

into the pit.

Effect. The triggering creature must make a DC 10

Dexterity saving throw. On a successful save, the
creature catches itself on the pit’s edge or instinc-
tively steps back. On a failed save, the creature falls
into the pit and takes 3 (1d6) bludgeoning damage

16
67. Mist Tendrils 70. Frozen Hell

Mist drifts into your way, a familiar sight which The wind rises, bringing with it an impossible chill.
turns to a disturbing manifestation when tendrils Ice and snow crunch underfoot, and the blizzard
of it reach for your throat.. threatens to stop your heart entirely.

This patch of hungry mist is not a creature, just an

Creatures traveling in the mountains have disad-
avatar of some dark and terrible power from beyond
vantage on all saving throws against Extreme Cold.
the misty border. Use the statistics of a roper, with
In addition resistance to cold damage no longer im-
the following changes -
munizes creatures to Extreme Cold for the duration
of Frozen Hell. Frozen Hell lasts 2d6 hours.
• It is a gargantuan creature.
• It has the undead creature type
71. Barovian Lice
• It is resistant to all types of damage except fire
and radiant
• It deals necrotic damage instead of any other It starts with an itch, and then a scratch. Lice, in
type your boots, your food, your hair, your clothes. Lice
• Creatures can move through its space, and it everywhere. They make life a misery.
can move through other creatures

Mist Tendrils can also be banished by a gust of wind Barovian Lice are easy to contract by walking
spell or any other magic that affects gaseous haz- through the wrong area, but difficult to shake.
ards. Characters who are flying or wearing plate armour
when this encounter occurs do not gain lice. A cast-
68. Siren Fog ing of purify food and drink can rid one character’s
supplies of life, and an effect that removes disease
can kill all live present on a single character. The
A gloomy fog gloams in your direction, accompa- lice transfer back to a character (and their gear) on
nied by a coercive melody that worms and writhes touch, including the touch requirement of spells
around you looking for a way inside your head. or abilities. A character infested with lice suffers
“Come to me” it sings. “Sink below and dream for- disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks due to
bidden dreams in my embrace.” the constant distraction. A character that bears the
lice for 7 or more days is also Poisoned by the lice,
Characters which can see the water must suc- as they feed off the blood of the host.
ceed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become
Charmed by the water. For the purposes of spells 72. Bones
that defend against supernatural entities, this effect
is treated as if produced by an undead creature.
Stones have been shoved into the earth here,
Creatures Charmed in this way must use their full
haphazardly marking graves long untended. On
movement and action each turn to move closer to
the surface, bones are scattered, as if perhaps the
the water, submerging themselves beneath it until
patrons of this cemetery gave up on digging holes
the effect is lifted. Creatures receive another saving
entirely.
throw against the effect if another creature uses an
action to shake them awake, or if they are damaged,
but the act of drowning does not lift the Charm.
There are 3d6 graves in this long forgotten ceme-
tery, and at least one raven perching on the tomb-
69. Storm
stones. The area is desecrated ground (see the
Dungeon Master’s Guide) and each grave has a 10%
Rain lashes down from above in a sudden storm, chance of containing a wight
wight, which claws its way
whipping itself into a frenzy in a matter of minutes. free to engage intruders.
Trees bend and groan, thunder booms overhead,
and the clouds roil with lightning.

This torrent lasts for 12 hours, producing an im-

mense amount of rain, wind, and lightning. The
downpour has the following principal effects:

• The adventurers can’t finish a long rest unless

they are indoors.
• All overland travel takes twice as long.
• Vision is heavily obscured past 100 feet.
• The DC to avoid becoming lost increases to 15.

17
 73. Warning 76. Recognition

A wooden sign has been clumsily hammered into There is a pale, translucent hand on your shoulder.
the wet soil, reading “DO NOT APPROACH.” A rotting, flickering face is peering intently into
yours. “Don’t I know you?” it says, with a hopeful
tone.
The sign is a poor attempt at privacy engineered by
a barovian witch who likes to take naps in a near-
by ditch. The witch is fast asleep just over the rise, This ghost is lost, and hoping someone can tell it
with her hat tipped over her eyes. Her familiar, the who or what it is. The ghost is very gullible and
obese tabby cat “Claws” is dreaming happily by her believes whatever it is told. Each morning, it has to
side. be re-informed of its ‘identity’. Failing to give it an
identity causes it to become angry.
74. Screaming Lunatic
77. Gulthias Seedling
A ragged man walks down the road. He’s scream-
ing at the top of his voice over and over again. He’s You see ragged figures in the forest, carefully trans-
paying no mind whatsoever to where he’s going. porting a small sapling with withered dead branch-
es through the undergrowth. They seem furtive.
This commoner has had just about enough with
the vampires, and skeletons and mist and sadness These three druids are transporting a seedling of
and everything else that makes Barovia such a the Gulthias tree at Yester Hill. The druids are tak-
miserable place to live. He is one of the few Baro- ing the evil seedling to the villager of Barovia, where
vians with a soul, and that soul is damaged from they intend to find Father Donavich and plant it
hundreds of years of ignominious deaths to horrible in his corpse. If the druids are attacked, the forest
creatures. One morning, whilst out for a walk, he provides them aid in the form of 1d6 twig blights
snapped, and he’s been walking all day ever since, and 1 vine blight.
screaming. If he dies, he becomes a banshee, which
wails in the area of his death until he dies.
78. Wolf Spy
75. The Devil Dances With Wolves
Strahd has sent one of his lupine servants to spy on
the party and return news of there whereabouts. He
The howling startles you into action. Wolves,
also commands the wolf to ascertain their general
converging on you as if manifesting from the
state of readiness and health. The wolf sneaks up
darkness itself. The dark seems oppressive, mask-
on the party to check this information as quietly as
ing their numbers, but the shuffling of paws and
it can. Compare the wolf’s Dexterity (Stealth) check
hungry growling suggests you are in for a deadly
to the party’s highest passive perception score to
fight. From the inky darkness, a male voice laughs
determine if the wolf is caught. If the wolf success-
quietly.
fully returns to Strahd, which takes roughly 2d4
hours, Strahd uses this to inform a staged attack
Strahd von Zarovich has mustered his forces, and within the next 24 hours.
has arrived once more to test the resolve of the
characters and learn their tactics. He is at ground
level, and is accompanied by 4d6 wolves and 1d3 79. Danger Puddle
dire wolves.
He has the following wizard spells prepared: As you splash through the bleak landscape, your
foot lands in something you didn’t expect. Further-
1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, disguise self, expedi- more, your shoe is rapidly disintegrating. Bother.
tious retreat, silent image
2nd level (3 slots): darkness, dust devil, misty step The party member at the front of the marching or-
3rd level (3 slots): blink, fear, slow der steps in a grey ooze pretending to be a puddle.
4th level (3 slots): greater invisibility, confusion The ooze, understandably irked, proceeds to try and
5th level (1 slot): maddening darkness, wall of force eat them.

Strahd tests the characters’ resilience against

sustained assault, using his spells to confuse and
frustrate attempts to co-ordinate. If he gets the
chance, he uses darkness or wall of force to conceal
him whilst he takes a character to one side and gets
a taste of their blood, preferably a character he is
considering as a possible consort. When half of the
wolves are slain, he retreats to Castle Ravenloft.

18
80. The Devil Wears Prada 82. For The Wisest

The road ahead is suddenly filled with a prismatic There’s a small golden box lying in the mud. It
glare, which fades slightly to reveal a dark silhou- seems that someone has dropped it...or discarded
ette embedded in the center of the light like an it. Its small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
eclipse over the sun. The illumination continues
to fade, revealing the Byronic figure of Strahd von
Zarovich, wearing a rich velvet cloak and clad in a The box is made of wood with gilt leaf decoration. Is
three piece suit. He is accompanied by three gaunt, is locked, and on the top the words “For The Wis-
scantily clad butlers who seem overwhelmed by est” are engraved. The box has no key, is secured
his attention. Von Zarovich smiles, and the force of by an arcane lock, and requires a DC30 appropriate
his charm surges like a physical force. ability check to break or pick open. This is reduced
to DC20 if the arcane lock is dispelled. Inside the
box is nothing whatsoever, and opening it triggers a
Strahd von Zarovich has mustered his forces, and symbol (death) spell (DC15) which activates cen-
has arrived once more to test the resolve of the tered on the box as soon as it is opened.
characters and learn their tactics. He is at ground
83. Phantom Disagreement
level, and is accompanied by three commoners who
are completely subject to his Charm.
Two ghostly warriors are standing two feet apart,
He has the following wizard spells prepared:
bickering. Moldering skeletons lie at their feet. “You
go,” barks one. “No, YOU go,” responds the other
1st level (4 slots): disguise self, shield, color spray
wearily. It seems they may have been stuck in this
2nd level (3 slots): suggestion, alter self, mirror im-
rut for some time.
age, pyrotechnics
3rd level (3 slots): counterspell, hypnotic pattern,
fireball These two phantom warriors have been arguing
4th level (3 slots): greater invisibility, sickening radi- for centuries about who should be the first to leave
ance their bodies behind and pass onto the afterlife.
5th level (1 slot): dominate person, wall of light Eventually this argument became rote, then habit,
then the only thing they remembered. Neither can
Strahd tests the characters’ resilience against being recall the reason for their row, just that it’s the only
Charmed and bribed, offering them riches, com- thing they have left.
panionship, a place by his side - anything he thinks
84. Sin Dolly
might cause them to take a step towards him. He
doesn’t honor any such deal immediately, promis-
ing to return at a later date. During this encoun- A ragdoll has been discarded in the mud. It looks
ter, he uses the full force of his Charm on anyone like it’s been trodden into the dirt and forgotten.
that meets his gaze, and blocks attacks using the
commoners, who he leaves behind on his retreat to
Castle Ravenloft. This tiny servant (see the spell) was created by
Morgantha in a moment of idleness, and given to a
81. Lost Cat family who failed to pay their bills. The doll, a poorly
woven burlap poppet, was built to lure the children
of the family away from their parents towards the
A small kitten mewls helplessly in the road. It windmill. The doll, once it has been picked up, tugs
seems bedraggled and alone - there is no owner in and pulls (weakly) any humanoid it meets in the
sight. direction of the Old Bonegrinder.
85. Dripping Trees
This kitten has been left by Strahd to tempt the
characters into rescuing it. This provides two The rain begins to beat down from above, cas-
purposes - one reveals which party members are cading through the branches and drenching your
emotionally vulnerable, and the other is to provide clothes. Then, a burst of pain. Scalding pain from
an easy target for scrying spells that will reliably be above.
at the party’s location.

Grey oozes, which had been hunting birds up in the

pines, are dissolving in the rain and showering un-
fortunate creatures below. Creatures caught in the
deluge must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw
or take 3d6 acid damage from the falling slime. Any
metal equipment carried by the characters takes
a permanent -1 to its functionality (AC, attacks,
checks) until it can be mended.

19
 86. Demon Baby characters’ experiences in Barovia, what they think
of the place and what they might do to improve it.
Something is shuffling towards you on the trail. It’s If they have any opinions of Strahd von Zarovich,
small, no larger than a baby, with a bleached bone S notes those down too, before leaving to continue
skull sporting a large single large eye socket. It their journey. S would die before divulging any se-
reaches up hands plaintively, and rasps “Mama?” cret information, but can be persuaded into helping
decipher a tricky prophecy clue if lured into it with
the promise of a fun puzzle to solve
This Tiny skeleton is all that remains of a deformed
90. Pauper’s Grave
child left to the wolves by a heartless mother un-
willing to care for it. The skeleton has wandered the
outskirts of Barovia ever since, and wants only to The disturbed earth here suggests something
be cared for. large, or perhaps many small things, are buried
here. The place smells strongly of rot.
87. Ancient Grave

Water runs down the faces of angelic statues 6d10 bodies are buried here, of which roughly one
looming over this hidden graveyard. Swords and third are children. These bodies were buried after
heraldic emblems are emblazoned on these long a plague epidemic, and the village was destroyed
forgotten graves. shortly afterwards. That it should smell so strong-
ly after all this time is a testament to Barovia’s fell
influence. 2d6 skeletons are hidden in the earth,
These graves have forgotten the touch of their mak- ready to attack anyone foolish enough to dig them
ers, and the bodies within are held in stasis by the up. Searching all the bodies reveals 1d6 barovian
angelic influence that still lingers here. This area is silver coins, and 2 trinkets.
treated as if under the effects of a forbiddance spell
against undead, DC13. 91. Songs of the Dead

88. Rain
A pure song breaks through the air, a lure to break
the strongest of wills. It calls over the water, and in
The sky opens. Rain pelts down, drowing the valley the mist beautiful silhouettes leap from the water,
in a torrential storm that beats down on you like arcing through the air with heartstopping grace.
the eyes of the devil himself. Somewhere in the rain,
out there beyond the rumble of the thunder, some-
one is laughing softly. These 2d4 sirens have the undead creature type,
and are skeletons from the waist up. They prey on
fishermen and travelers, luring them into the water
This torrential rainstorm lasts for 24 hours. Whilst and holding them under until the bubbles stop.
it is in effect, the rules for heavy precipitation apply,
as detailed in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s
Guide. Substantial bodies of water in the area flood
after 2d10 hours of heavy rain, rising 10 feet above
its banks and inundating the surrounding area.
The flood advances at a rate of 100 feet per round,
moving away from the body of water where it began
until it reaches the edge of the area of effect; at
that point, the water flows downhill (and possibly
recedes back to its origin). Light structures col-
lapse and wash away. Any Large or smaller creature
caught in the flood’s path is swept away. The flood-
ing destroys crops and might trigger mudslides,
depending on the terrain.
89. “S”

A quiet voice interrupts you from behind. “May I

intrude?” a demur looking scholar in travelers garb
chances. How did they get so close? “I have a few
questions, if I may” they assert. It’s hard to see their
face under that hood.

The scholar “S” (LE noble) is currently working

on a new edition of the Ravenloft Gazetteer on the
orders of their ‘benefactor’. They interrupt only for
long enough to ask a few banal questions about the

20
92. Soul of the Forest 94. Batman

Plants begin to wither, and the air seems far too There is a flutter of a cloak, and something emerg-
still. There are no woodland creatures here, and es from the shadow of a tree. He is ragged and
the sun hides itself behind a cloud. Watching you wearing only a thick black cape. He is also hang-
from a rocky outcrop, a skeletal horse with a spiral ing upside down from a branch with a wild-eyed
horn protruding from its skull stamps one hood in expression.
a manner that suggests you are unwelcome.
This druid lives in the tree with a swarm of bats
This unicorn was slaughtered during Strahd’s inva- he likes to think of as family. Alas, he is quite mad,
sion of the valley. It uses the statblock of a standard and believes his true form to be that of a bat (he
unicorn with the following changes: just hasn’t quite figured out how to transform into
• It has the undead creature type one yet). He mostly asks for berries or other fruit
from passers-by.
• It loses the Healing Touch ability
95. Hidden Cache
• It loses all regional effects and lair actions
The undead unicorn holds a particular hatred for A barrel has been wedged in here behind a rock,
Strahd and what it has become. If it determines perhaps in the vain hope it would be hidden from
that the characters are enemies of the Vampire, it prying eyes.
attempts to accompany them and viciously attacks
the nightmare Beucephalus if it ever spots it.
93. Shrine to Death This is a barrel of Red Dragon Crush, a fine wine
made at the Wizard of Wines winery. The barrel is
guarded by a water weird that was imprisoned in-
Someone has propped up a ram’s skull here on
side it by a mage who was rather fond of his wine.
top of a pile of rotting bodies. It has been draped
around with beads, flowers and daubed in blood. 96. Mislaid Memories

This hideous shrine is covered in druidic mark- A toad ribbits up to you, eyeing you suspiciously.
ings reading “Death, o promised scion of the end, “Oy” it says, irritably. “I need a ride. Anyone going
bring us your many blessings. Take me. Take me, O up in the mountains?”
Death, and end this suffering.” The bodies have the
look of unfortunate trappers, perhaps from Vallaki,
killed not two days past. This is Thought, the familiar of Exethanter the lich,
who resides in the Amber Temple. Thought can
restore the lich’s memories, but has never been able
to get close enough to the temple after being sent
away in one of the lich’s characteristic fits of pique.
Thought considers it long past time to reconcile
and can direct characters to the Amber Temple in
exchange for their protection.

21
 97. Bonespeaker 100. Devil’s Advocate

A strange sight greets you as you crest a rise. “Would you like a glass of wine,” Strahd von Za-
A strange, demonic looking creature is leaning rovich asks. He’s luxuriating in a large gold arm-
nearby a skeleton, listening and nodding intently. chair he must have had carried out here, and
It seems enraptured by the conversation and is drinking a rather large glass of wine. “I feel we
smiling cheerfully. should talk.”

This is Tarquin the berbalang, who made his way Strahd von Zarovich has mustered his forces, and
into Barovia after being summoned by a careless has arrived once more to test the resolve of the
wizard, but is having the time of his life listening to characters and learn their tactics.
all the stories the graves of Barovia have to tell. It is He has the following wizard spells prepared:
very happy to tag along to wherever the characters
are going, on the presumption that bodies are likely 1st level (4 slots): fog cloud, disguise self, expedi-
to turn up sooner or later. tious retreat, silent image
98. Caterwauling 2nd level (3 slots): invisibility, misty step, detect
thoughts, magic aura
3rd level (3 slots): blink, major image
Your trek through the forest is proceeding quiet- 4th level (3 slots): greater invisibility, dimension door
ly when a wail echoes out through the trees. All
around you, purple fungi are opening their stalks 5th level (1 slot): mislead
and wailing in a trilling, constant alarm.
Strahd uses his best diplomatic wiles to present the
airs of a man interested in pursuing a truce. He lies
These 6d6 shriekers are grown by druids to alert and wheedles and manipulates everyone present
them to strangers in the woods. The druids never as far as they will allow him to. If this encounter
take this path for this reason, but keep an outpost occurs early in the campaign, Strahd tells believable
nearby. In 1d4 rounds, 1d8 twig blights and 1 vine lies about his political enemies and how misun-
blight arrive to destroy intruders. derstood he is, seeking to gain information about
99. Honker the characters and their mission. If this encounter
occurs late on, Strahd focuses on using what he
already knows to remind characters of the hard
A pootling-rumpety-harrumph sound parps out choices they may have had to make, and keeps driv-
over the swamp, just before vile smell washes over ing home the implied question - what makes Strahd
you in a wave. A long necked, bovine seeming crea- more monstrous than anything else in Barovia (or,
ture is rising from the marshland, and it has a tiny for that matter, the characters themselves)?
bell collar around its neck that tinkles gently when
If attacked, Strahd immediately flees using his de-
it moves.
fensive magic.
101. None of our Business
This catoblepas is owned by Baba Lysaga, who
comes out to visit it when she gets a chance, bring- Raised voices carry through the woods. Seven
ing it goat leftovers and generally doting on it like blue skinned figures are arguing over the corpse
she might a baby. The catoblepas attacks charac- of a young dwarf. She seems almost asleep. They
ters who approach it with clear hostility, and oth- appear to be bickering about fruit, and glare at your
erwise mooches about half-heartedly. If the cato- approach. “Get lost,” one growls. “Go on. Shoo. We
blepas is killed, Baba Lysaga learns of it from her don’t need any more gods cursed strangers around
spies and the characters earn her lasting, active here, thank you.” Up close, you can see they are all
enmity. rotting to various degrees.

The seven wights react badly to interfering strang-

ers. Baba Lysaga poisoned their friend with an
apple, and killed her. The wights aren’t so much
upset about this as they are about the impractical-
ity of lugging the body around. It doesn’t take long
for characters to determine the wights are complete-
ly mad, and looking for a replacement mortal to fill
out their cabal.

22
 Sabnock the Scorpion (Fiend). Enjoys hiding in
Barovian Familiars shoes and stinging people who put their feet in
without looking. Loathes spiders.
Magic works in strange, unsettling ways, and no-
where is this more true than within the confines of Balthamel the Boggle (Fey). Likes to chew on ar-
Barovia. When a character casts a find familiar spell cane foci, and enjoys making everything sticky.
within Barovia, consider having one of the following
critters show up to the call instead. Spirits trapped The Grey Fairy (Undead). An undead sprite that
in Barovia were likely called to the demiplane by enjoys playing with dead bodies and stealing bits of
previous (now deceased) masters, and may have sto- their skin for clothing.
ries of their own to tell, or strange quirks inspired
by the long years spent brooding over their failures. Mr. Niblets, the Cat (Fiend). Rumour has it that
Mr. Niblets is just the passing aspect of a more pow-
Lumara, the Wisp. A small, glowing ball of light, erful fiend, but no-one has ever been able to prove
Lumara is a friendly spirit of luminosity and play- anything. Loves belly rubs and salmon.
fulness. Summoners of Lumara often prefer to keep
her hidden under a hat or a cloak until they need
her light.
wisp
Tiny celestial, chaotic good
Sinbad, the Imp (Fiend). Nasty little imp who
turns into a parrot and makes mean quips at peo-
ple. Adores shiny things like gold and likes cracking Armor Class 19
nuts. Hit Points 2 (1d4)
Speed 0ft., fly 50 ft. (hover)
Crawley, the Claw (Undead). A crawling claw
which has likes to sit on its master’s head like a STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
skullcap.
1 (-5) 28 (+9) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 18 (+4)

Rattigan the Psionic rat (Aberration). A cranium

rat which steals cheese and can’t stop humming. Senses Passive Perception 12
It once heard a piper play a tune, and now it can’t Languages Understands common and celestial, but
forget it. doesn’t speak
Challenge 1/4
Nimue the Frog (Fey). Croaks a lot and tries to
kiss people who look rich and like princes, to little Variable Illumination. The Wisp sheds bright light in
avail. a 5- to 20-foot radius and dim light for an addition-
al number of feet equal to the chosen radius. The
Otto the Owl (Fey). Gives withering looks and likes Wisp can alter the radius as a bonus action.
to ambush small creatures (and other familiars) by
swooping down from above
Actions
Mara, the Raven (Fiend). Despises music and caws Shock. Melee Spell Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one
loudly to disrupt it. Likes to sit in the shoulder of creature. Hit: 2 (1d4) lightning damage.
her summoner.

23
 Charms and blessings
The gods of Barovia are distant, enigmatic entities shrouded in mystery. Their presence is capricious and
unpredictable, but their favour can be earned and lost. On occasions where characters act in ways that
please the mysterious Morninglord or the vicious Mother Night, you may choose to reward them with
Charms to represent the favour of their god. See Dungeon Master’s Guide - Charms.

Charms of Day Charms of Night

Charm of Final Rest Charm of the Moonless Sky
This charm has 1 charge. You can use an action to This charm has 1 charge. When used, the sun does
spend a charge and touch a corpse - that body can not rise the next morning, and Barovia spends the
never be raised as undead. entire 24 hours in a moonless night until the sun
rises again the next day.

Charm of Exorcism
This charm has 1 charge. You can use an action Charm of Black Hearts
to expend a charge and cast dispel good and evil The bearer of this charm cannot be frightened or
(DC15). charmed by undead. This charm vanishes after
three days.

Charm of Dawn’s Splendour

This charm has 1 charge. At dawn, you can expend Witchcraft
a charge to increase the potency of the daylight - for The bearer of this charm can cast the find familiar
the next minute, the sunlight affects vampires and spell as a ritual. Once this charm has been used
other creatures affected by sunlight as it normally three times, it vanishes.
would outside of Barovia.

Servants of Night
Charm of Day’s Corona This charm has three charges, you can expend a
The bearer of this charm can use an action to shed charge to summon on swarm of rats as an action.
bright light in a 10 foot radius and dim light for a This swarm sees you as an ally, but otherwise at-
further 10 feet, lasting 1 hour. This charm vanishes tacks the nearest creature it can see until slain.
after three days.

24
 See the Appendices for a list of Minor, Moderate and
Dark Powers Checks Major changes inflicted by Dark Powers checks.

Consider using Honor in your Curse of Strahd cam-

paign as a way of determining the sway the Dark Honor Title Effects
Powers have over any character as a result of their Score
actions. Honor is a barometer for how tightly the 14+ Pure The character is a bright flame
dark powers cling to any particular soul. If creating in the darkness. They have
new characters for a Ravenloft campaign, you may advantage on Dark Powers checks.
allow characters to roll an extra ability score/spend Undead creatures can sense their
location from up to 1 mile away.
some of their points on increasing their starting
Honor score. See the Dungeon Master’s Guide, 10-13 Clean No change,
Chapter 9: Dungeon Master’s Workshop for rules on
Honor. 6-9 Tainted The character has gained the
attention of the Dark Powers.
In Ravenloft, an Honor Saving throw is called a They gain one Minor change.
Dark Powers check. 4-6 Corrupted The character has slipped further
towards their own destruction.
Consider having a character make an Honor saving They scare animals and children.
throw when: They gain one Moderate change
and lose a Personality Trait from
1. They give in to a dark impulse or temptation their character sheet.
2. They commit a murder, theft or another act of
2-3 Cursed The character sours milk and
pre-meditated evil small plants wither at their
3. They intentionally contribute to the suffering of approach.
other
They gain one Moderate or Minor
change, and lose any Bond from
Set the DC in accordance with the severity (by your their character sheet.
estimation) of the moral transgression.
1 Monster The character is openly
and obviously imbued with
On a failure, reduce that character’s current Honor supernatural evil.
score by 1. If a character shows exceptional moral
fibre, mercy or compassion in the face of evil, con-
sider increasing that character[s Honor score by 1. They gain one Major change,
and lose any Ideals from their
A character’s current Honor score affects how they character sheet.
are affected by and influenced by Barovia’s fell mag- 0 Soulless The character becomes an NPC
ic. If a character falls below a certain Honor score, under the Dungeon Master’s
the Dark Powers begin to mold them externally to control. They are wholly a creature
enslaved to their own evil, and the
suit their inner darkness. These afflictions cannot
Dark Powers have claimed them
be removed by any means short of regaining Hon- for Ravenloft.
or. Rising to a higher Honor score can remove dark
traits gained in this way

25
 Returning to life
Characters trapped in Barovia have additional options for being brought back from the dead. When a
character under 5th level dies, the player can choose to have the Dark Powers of Ravenloft resurrect the
character for free. If the player chooses resurrection, the character returns to play at the start of the next
round with full hit points and spells. However, this dark resurrection leaves the character tainted by shad-
ow. A few examples of the form this taint might take were provided in the Adventurer’s League guidelines
for the Curse of Strahd storyline season. Below are alternative ideas of templates to infilct on characters
pulled back from the brink. A character can only benefit from being brought back from the dead in this
way once (barring the DM’s discretion) after which alternative means must be pursued to resurrect them.

All creatures raised from death by the Dark Powers forever more detect as an evil undead to effects that
discern creature type or alignment, This effect cannot be removed by any means. In addition, creatures
raised in this way cease to breathe, eat or sleep. They must still rest for 8 hours each day to gain the bene-
fits of a long rest.

ZOMBIE GHOST

You return to life with the following changes: You return to life with the following changes:

1 One Foot In The Grave. Your spirit exists in the

1 Undead Fortitude. If damage reduces you to 0 ethereal plane, and can see into the material
hit points, you must make a Constitution saving plane out to 60 feet. You cannot affect anything
throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless in the material plane, and neither can it affect
the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a you.
success, you drops to 1 hit point instead.
2 Possession (1/day). One humanoid that you
2 Your flesh appears sickly and is covered in can see you must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma
lesions. You always smell like rotting food, and saving throw or be possessed by you; you then
your movement speed is reduced by 10 ft. disappear, and the target is incapacitated and
loses control of its body. You now control the
body but the target remains aware and can talk
SKELETON telepathically to you. You can’t be targeted by
any attack, spell, or other effect, except ones
You return to life with the following changes: that turn undead, and you retain your alignment,
Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma scores and class
1 You gain resistance to piercing and slashing features. You otherwise uses the possessed
damage. target’s statistics, but don’t gain access to
the target’s knowledge, class features, or
2 Your flesh falls from your bones and you are proficiencies. The possession lasts until the body
obviously, horrifyingly, dead. People react to this drops to 0 hit points, you end it as a bonus action,
as you might expect. or you are turned or forced out by an effect
like the dispel evil and good spell. When the
possession ends, you reappears in the ethereal
plane within 5 feet of the body.

26
 Bad Luck Curses
Barovia is a superstitious place. People in Barovia It can be deflating when a well deserved curse falls
believe that acting in certain ways can cause the on a character who would love to play out that story
fates to turn on you, and curse your every endeav- arc, only for the Cleric to pipe up “I have Remove
our. This mechanic allows you to represent this Curse? Shouldn’t I just magic that away?” The
bad luck in a general sense, without having to keep remove curse spell, whilst a useful tool in any ad-
track of an ever increasing stack of specific curses. venturer’s arsenal, may cause a little trouble when
trying to engage with Barovia’s aesthetic of creeping
Bad luck is a stacking, incremental value, which dread. Before you consider altering or adding rules,
means you start at 0, and each time you gain Bad keep the following in mind:
Luck, that value increases by 1.
• Remove Curse is a 3rd level spell, and remains
In Ravenloft (see Curse of Strahd, Introduction: a significant investment until the last quarter of
Running the Adventure) rolling a natural 1 causes the module. You can de-centivize wasteful ex-
an unfortunate (but amusing) event to occur as part penditure of spell slots with a rigorous encoun-
of the action the character was attempting. Bad ter schedule. One remove curse is one fewer
Luck increases the range of this effect by a number fireball or revivify, after all.
equal 1 + your Bad Luck value. For instance, if your • Remove Curse does not remove the curse from
Bad Luck is 1, then you’ll be triggering unfortunate a cursed object. It merely breaks attunement to
incidents on a roll of 1 OR 2. If your back luck is 5, the object (where relevant) so that the item can
then you’ll be triggering unfortunate occurrences on be discarded.
natural 1s through to 6s.
If these limitations don’t satisfy your need for suf-
You can use this mechanic anywhere in Barovia, fering, you might consider making an adjustment to
whenever a character contravenes a custom. Ie, if the spell within the boundaries of Barovia.
a character killed a raven, you might increase their
Bad Luck by 1. If a character broke a mirror, you For example, you might rule that remove curse re-
might increase their bad luck by 1. If a black cat quires a specific material component (ie. the feather
crossed their path...well, you get the idea. in Ex- of an angel) that it is possible to acquire in Barovia,
treme cases, such as smashing a hall of mirrors to encourage characters to explore. You might even
with a black cat under a ladder shop, it might be decide that each curse has a different material com-
suitable to increase Bad Luck by more than one ponent based on the nature of the curse. Ie. A curse
point at once. of endless sleep laid by a night hag might require
the hag’s hair as a material component.
Removing Bad Luck
Bad Luck is highly intractable, but can be removed
(point by point) by making amends for mistakes,
either by replacing broken items, adopting an
orphaned raven, or any other act of genuine con-
trition. Alternatively, the casting of a remove curse
spell can alleviate some forms of supernaturally
inflicted Bad Luck, and a wish spell can remove all
instances, wiping the slate clean.

27
 If you’ve played through Curse of Strahd before, or The gift of Orthos, the Howling Dark, is the abili-
simply fancy more choice in which evil deals you ty to control the wind. Upon receiving this gift, the
offer to gullible characters, you may find these recipient gains the ability to cast the control winds
alternative Dark Gifts useful. Use them to replace spell as an action. The beneficiary of this dark gift
any of the Dark Gifts offered in the Amber Temple gains the following flaw “I am afraid of the dark.”
- these gifts follow the same guidelines detailed in
that chapter. The gift of Naberius, the Grinning Hound, is the
ability to dissemble. Upon receiving this gift, the re-
The Gift of Desharis, the Sprawling Soul is the cipient gains adds triple their proficiency bonus to
power to infiltrate the bodies and emotions of any Deception based ability check. The beneficiary
others. Upon receiving this dark gift, the recipient of this dark gift gains the following flaw “I believe I
gains the ability to cast the magic jar spell as an am cleverer than everyone around me.”
action. After it has been used three times, the gift
vanishes. The beneficiary of this dark gift gains the The gift of Ipos, Prince of Fools, is absolute-
following flaw: “People are toys to me, and I like to ly nothing. Upon receiving the gift, the recipient
play games.” becomes immune to all powers bestowed by a Dark
Gift (including Strahd’s vampiric gaze, but not his
The gift of Zceryll, The Star Spawn is the power to physical attacks), and cannot benefit from any Dark
walk through mirrors. Upon receiving this dark gift GIfts other than that bestowed by Ipos. The bene-
the recipient gains the ability to enter a mirror and ficiary of this dark gift gains the following flaw “My
move from inside it to inside another mirror within curiosity is overpowering.”
500 feet. Whilst inside any mirror, the user is vis-
ible as a reflection in that mirror. The beneficiary The gift of Haures, the Dreaming Duke, is the
must use 5 feet of movement to enter a mirror and inability to be affected by spells of 6th level of lower.
appears in a spot of their choice within 5 feet of the The beneficiary of this gift has their hands turn
destination mirror, using another 5 feet of move- backwards, so their palms are where the backs of
ment. If they have no movement left, they appear their hands should be.
within 5 feet of the mirror they entered. They must
end their turn outside a mirror. The beneficiary of
this dark gift gains reflective skin. The gift of Chupoclops, Harbinger of Forever, is
the ability to walk hidden paths. Upon receiving
The gift of Ronove, the Iron Maiden is the ability this dark gift, the recipient gains a climb speed
to seclude oneself from the world. Upon receiving equal to their walking speed. The beneficiary of this
this dark gift, the recipient gains the ability to cast gift sprouts seven hideous, purple furry spider legs
the demiplane spell as an action. Only the recipient from their spine.
of this dark gift can enter or leave this demiplane.
The beneficiary of this dark gift gains the following The gift of Khala, the Eternal Winter, is freedom
flaw. “The concerns of this world are nothing to me.” from pain. Upon receiving this dark gift, the recip-
ient’s body changes aesthetically to translucent ice
The gift of Otiaz, the Key to the Gate, is the abil- and they become immune to cold damage, as well
ity to open paths that would otherwise be closed. as piercing and slashing damage from nonmagical
Upon receiving this dark gift, the recipient gains the weapons. The beneficiary of this gift also gains the
ability to cast the knock spell as an action. The ben- following flaw “I feel no emotion for anyone. Emotion
eficiary of this gift is trapped in the ethereal plane only causes pain.”
from sunrise to sundown each day.

28
So, you’ve trekked the length and breadth of the their relatively small hit point pool with multiattacks.
Barovian valley, and you’re ready to face off against Don’t bother trying to Charm.
the party with your No.1 vampire pal. But how to
make it a challenge? Going toe to toe with 5 level DRUID: Moon Druids have high stamina, and goodberry
10 characters is a surefire way to get your vampire is dangerous. Use max hp drain to counter their efficient
healing, and move rooms to counter zoning spells until
turned to dust quicker than you can say Ireena Kol- they run out of magic.
yana. Below is some guidance to help you get the
most out of the Counts abilities and resources. FIGHTER: Use Charm liberally when alone. Do not allow
Modus Operandi to engage you in melee, and stay on the ceiling or phase
through walls. Otherwise ignore and evade.
1. Isolate characters from one another to make
them vulnerable MONK: Rarely a threat due to their inability to wield
sunsword, but watch out for stunning strike. Do not
2. Drag out the fight and send in minions to ex- try and charm. Likely faster than you - leave until after
haust resources you’ve dealt with bigger threats.
3. Strike only when characters are vulnerable,
alone or out of options. PALADIN: Do not engage in melee, or try to charm them.
Paladins are your Achilles heel, and smite will wreck your
Your Main Tools day. High priority isolation from the rest of the party, to
remove the protection of their auras. They are often slow
1. Strahd’s Lair Actions are amongst the most use- moving - try and trap them on another floor and swarm
them with smaller creatures.
ful abilities you have. You should almost always
be using the ability to phase through walls,
RANGER: A ranged threat that may obstruct your at-
never staying in the room for more time than it
tempts to stay out of range. Kidnap their pet (if they have
takes to pass through it, fire a spell and leave one) with minions to keep them busy. Otherwise send
via a side wall. minions in to grab their weapons or block their line of
sight.
2. Your Charm ability can easily neutralize threats
for as long as 24 hours, as long as you target it
ROGUE: Don’t be distracted - though difficult to pin
at characters with weak Wisdom saving throws.
down, they are weak to your abilities and are easy to pick
3. You have a wide variety of spells available to off later. Good target for Charm.
you, which we will discuss later.
SORCERER: High priority. Separate, engage in melee and
Class Warfare destroy. They have an extremely low hit point pool, and
can easily be duped into wasting their spell slots on min-
When preparing for the encounter, keep the party compo- ions if you force them into combat with wolves.
sition in mind, and prepare to react accordingly. By this
point, Strahd should be familiar with their abilities and
combat tactics, unless they have gone to great efforts to WARLOCK: It’s a waiting game. Force them to use their
conceal them from him. slots, then destroy in close combat. Eldritch blast is an
issue, but once their slots are used you can afford to
BARBARIANS; Exhaust with hit and run tactics. Use leave the Warlock alone unless you can find a good place
shadows to drain strength, and only engage when they to drag them screaming out of a window to their deaths.
are out of rages.
BARDS: Split from the party, target with undead immune WIZARD: High priority due to their ability to counter your
to bardic magics. Laugh cruelly. terrain shenanigans with their utility. Destroy as soon
CLERICS: High priority for isolation. Do not approach as possible. Target with vampire spawn and aggressively
unless you have Legendary Resistances to burn on Turn discriminate.
Undead. Tempt them into using their Channel Divinity
early against vampire spawn. Get them alone and target

29
 Dirty Magic Tricks 4. Charm creatures into accepting a feign death
Strahd has direct access to every level 1-5 wizard spell. To onlookers, it will look like the target
spell in the player’s handbook and (in theory) oth- died at your touch, and an hour will pass before
ers that aren’t. He can change his spell list each day they wake.
- abuse this. Assume he has the material compo-
nents for every spell he can cast. Some options are Psychological Terror
suggested below depending on your preference. 1. Prepare animate dead, using it on characters/
allies you kill to add the ranks of your servants.
(This has a 1 minute casting time, so make sure
Terrain Control their allies are busy elsewhere)
1. Prepare stone shape, and use it to trap charac- 2. Unleash swarms of Charmed commoners into
ters in the walls or floors the room, Kill or body block with them as you
2. Prepare wall of stone and use it to block cor- see fit.
ridors/bury characters alive. If you trap a low 3. Prepare seeming and use it to make every char-
strength character with no magic (eg. rogues) acter look like you.
in a dead end with this spell, they may starve
there. Tomfoolery
3. Prepare transmute rock to mud and use it to hurl 1. Use polymorph on any of your summoned
characters several floors down. Bonus points for wolves/bats to gain a T-Rex ally. Phase through
collapsing a ceiling onto them, with monsters a wall and wait out the carnage.
placed above to fall into the room.
2. Cast tiny servant on ordinary objects, and com-
Defensive Tactics mand them to attack the rear member of the
party as they pass. Worse, find a way to make
1. Cast fog cloud early on to block vision and ob- them drop holy relics and use the spell to have
scure your Misty Escape the item run away into danger.
2. Cast greater invisibility to prevent your spells 3. Cast Galder’s Tower. I have nothing further to
from being countered add to this.
3. Cast leomund’s tiny hut before the adventurers
arrive, and return to it through the floor when Guerilla Warfare
you need to regenerate 1. Cast scrying once the party are in the castle.
Use your lair action every 6 seconds to use the
Illusions and Tricks summon spectre ability. This only requires you
1. When the party get used to your wall-phasing be able to see the target(s), meaning you can
tricks, use silent image to make them waste attack every round from half the castle away
readied spells/amulet charges on a fake Strahd until the characters are dead/weakened or the
scrying spell ends.
2. Use minor illusion to project your voice across
the room or mimic a party member/ally in dis- 2. Cast flock of familiars and use the bats (nat-
tress urally) you summon to spy/cast touch spells
through walls.
3. Use major image on a vampire spawn, zombie or
animated corpse to make it look like you. Then
attack from the rear.

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Strahd von Zarovich He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and
Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all
Medium undead, lawful evil
nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes
from sunlight
Armor Class 19 (natural armor)
Hit Points 346
Legendary Resistance (5/Day). If Strahd fails a sav-
Speed 35 ft.
ing throw, he can choose to succeed instead.

STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA Misty Escape. When Strahd drops to 0 hit points
18 (+4) 21 (+6) 18 (+4) 20 (+5) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) outside his coffin, he transforms into a cloud of mist
(as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling un-
Saving Throws Dex +12, Wis +8, Cha +10
conscious, provided that he isn’t in running water or
Skills Arcana +17, Perception +14, Religion +11,
sunlight. If he can’t transform, he is destroyed
Stealth +18
Damage Resistances cold
While he has 0 hit points in mist form, he can’t re-
Damage Immunities necrotic, poison, bludgeoning,
vert to his vampire form, and he must reach his cof-
piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks
fin within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his coffin,
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, poi-
he reverts to his vampire form. He is then paralyzed
soned
until he regains at least 1 hit point. After 1 hour in
Senses truesight 120ft., Passive Perception 24
his coffin with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point.
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Elvish, Giant,
Infernal Regeneration. Strahd regains 20 hit points at the
Challenge 20 start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and
isn’t in running water or sunlight. If he takes radi-
ant damage or damage from holy water, this trait
Shapechanger. If Strahd isn’t in running water or
doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.
sunlight, he can use his action to polymorph into a
Tiny bat, a Medium wolf, or a Medium cloud of mist, Spellcasting. Strahd is a 9th-level spellcaster. His
or back into his true form. spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 20,
+11 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following
While in bat or wolf form, Strahd can’t speak. In bat
wizard spells prepared:
form, his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying
speed of 30 feet. In wolf form, his walking speed is Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of
40 feet. His statistics, other than his size and speed, frost
are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms 1st level (at will): fog cloud, sleep, shield, absorb
with him, but nothing he is carrying does. He reverts elements, silent image, snare
to his true form if he dies.
2nd level (at will): detect thoughts, gust of wind,
While in mist form, Strahd can’t take any actions, mirror image, invisibility, misty step
speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has
a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a 3rd level (4 slots): fireball, counterspell, haste, hyp-
hostile creature’s space and stop there. In addition, notic pattern, major image
if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so 4th level (4 slots): greater invisibility, polymorph
without squeezing, and he can’t pass through water. 5th level (3 slots): scrying, danse macabre

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 Spider Climb. Strahd can climb difficult surfaces, Children of the Night (1/day). Strahd magically calls
including upside down on ceilings, without having to 4d4 swarms of bats or swarms of rats, provided
make an ability check. that the sun isn’t up. While outdoors, Strahd can call
6d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in
1d4 rounds, acting as allies of Strahd and obeying
Vampire Weaknesses. Strahd has the following his spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour,
flaws: until Strahd dies, or until he dismisses them as a
Forbiddance. He can’t enter a residence without an bonus action.
invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. He takes 20 acid dam-
LEGENDARY Actions
age if he ends his turn in running water. Strahd can take 5 legendary actions, choosing from
the options below. Only one legendary action option
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of
can be used at a time and only at the end of anoth-
wood is driven into his heart while he is incapaci-
er creature’s turn. Strahd regains spent legendary
tated in his coffin, he is paralyzed until the stake is
actions at the start of his turn.
removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Strahd Move. Strahd moves up to his speed without provok-
takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, ing opportunity attacks.
and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability
checks. Cast a spell (2 actions). Strahd casts an at-will spell
from his Spellcasting feature.
Actions Unarmed Strike. Strahd makes one unarmed strike.
Multiattack (Vampire Form Only). Strahd makes
three attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack. Bite (Costs 2 Actions). Strahd makes one bite attack.

Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weap- Transform. Strahd changes into a bat, a wolf, or back
on Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 to his Vampire form.
(1d8 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 18 (6d6) necrotic
damage. If the target is a creature, Strahd can grap-
ple it (escape DC 19) instead of dealing the bludg-
LAIR ACTIONS
eoning damage. While Strahd is in Castle Ravenloft, he can take lair
actions as long as he isn’t incapacitated. On initiative
Bite (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon count 20 (losing initiative ties), Strahd can take one
Attack: +12 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target one willing of the following lair action options, or forgo using
creature, or a creature that is grappled by Strahd, any of them in that round:
incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 9 (1d6 + 6) piercing
damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. The target’s • Until initiative count 20 of the next round, Strahd
hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal can pass through solid walls, doors, ceilings, and
to the necrotic damage taken, and Strahd regains floors as if they weren’t there.
hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts • Strahd targets any number of doors and win-
until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies dows that he can see, causing each one to either
if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0. A human- open or close as he wishes. Closed doors can
oid slain in this way rises as a vampire spawn under be magically locked (needing a successful DC
Strahd’s control on initiative count 20 of the next 20 Strength check to force open) until Strahd
round. chooses to end the effect, or until Strahd uses
this lair action again.
Charm. Strahd targets any number of humanoids he • Strahd summons the angry spirit of one who
can see within 30 feet of him. If the targets can see has died in the castle. The apparition appears
Strahd, the targets must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom next to a hostile creature that Strahd can see,
saving throw against this magic or be charmed. The makes an attack against that creature, and then
charmed targets regard Strahd as a trusted friend disappears. The apparition has the statistics of a
to be heeded and protected. The targets aren’t ghost.
under Strahd’s control, but take Strahd’s requests • Strahd targets one Medium or smaller creature
and actions in the most favorable way and let Strahd that casts a shadow. The target’s shadow must
bite them. be visible to Strahd and within 30 feet of him. If
Each time Strahd or his companions do anything the target fails a DC 17 Charisma saving throw,
harmful to a creature under the influence of this its shadow detaches from it and becomes a
ability, that creature can repeat the saving throw, shadow demon that obeys Strahd’s commands,
ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, acting on initiative count 20. A greater resto-
the effect lasts 24 hours or until Strahd is destroyed, ration spell or a remove curse spell cast on the
is on a different plane of existence than the target, target restores its natural shadow, but only if its
or takes a bonus action to end the effect. demonic shadow has been destroyed.

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APPENDIX: Dark Changes MAJOR CHANGES
1d6 Major Changes
MINOR CHANGES
1 The character grows thick scales all over their
1d6 Minor Changes body, gaining a natural armor class of 18, but
granting them disadvantage on Dexterity
1 The character gains Darkvision out to 60ft., based ability checks, attack rolls and saving
and Sunlight Sensitivity throws.
2 The character’s skin becomes deathly pale,
2 The character gains +4 Strength, but gains and their unarmed strikes deal an additional
the flaw “what I can’t fix, I break” 2d8 necrotic damage on a hit. Direct sunlight
deals 10 radiant damage to them at the start
3 The character’s hearing becomes acute, of their turn.
giving them advantage on Wisdom
3 The character regenerates 10 hit points at the
(Perception) checks based on sound, but they
start of every round. The character cannot
become vulnerable to thunder damage
enter a residence unless invited by the
owner.
4 The character gains +4 Intelligence, but has
4 The character sprouts reptilian wings,
frequent headaches and gains vulnerability
granting them a fly speed of 40ft. The
to psychic damage
character gains the following flaw “I do not
5 The character’s skin toughens, giving understand metaphor, or jokes”
them a natural armor class of 13, but gains
5 The character grows a scorpion-esque tail.
disadvantage on Dexterity based ability
This tail can perform an unarmed strike as an
checks
action, dealing an additional 22 [4d10] poison
6 The character gains +2 to Strength, Dexterity damage on a hit.
and Constitution, but a -2 to Intelligence,
6 The character’s devolves into a savage beast.
Wisdom and Charisma
Their Strength, Dexterity and Constitution
scores increase by 6, and their Intelligence,
MODERATE CHANGES Wisdom and Charisma scores drop by 6 (to a
minimum of 2).
1d6 Moderate Changes

1 The character grows claws, increasing their

unarmed strike damage to 1d4. The character
gains disadvantage on ability checks
requiring fine manual dexterity.
2 The character grows a forked tongue, and
gains advantage on Charisma (Persuasion)
checks, but loses the ability to speak 2
languages that they know.

3 The character gains blindsight out to 60ft,

but their eyes become catlike and bright
yellow, even in total darkness.
4 The character can scale walls as if under
the effects of a spider climb spell, but grows
octopus suckers all over their skin.
5 The character’s saliva is highly acidic,
allowing them to cast the acid splash cantrip
requiring no components by spitting at
things. The character can no longer eat
without specialist equipment to funnel food
directly down their throat.
6 The character’s appearance turns grotesque
and deformed, granting them advantage
on Charisma (Intimidation) checks but
disadvantage on all other social interaction.

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