Curse of Strahd

Khazan's Spell Drain

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

V1. Ezmerelda's Magic Wagon

Ezmerelda's wagon is parked in front of the tower. If the characters investigate the wagon, read:

The wagon radiates an aura of conjuration magic if it is scrutinized with a detect magic spell. A character who casts an identify spell on the wagon learns the command words needed to operate it.

Anyone who sits in the driver's seat and speaks its command word ("Drovash") summons a pair of quasi-real draft horses, which are magically tethered to the wagon and can't be separated from it. The horses and wagon have a speed of 30 feet, and the horses heed the driver's simple commands. The driver can dismiss the horses with a second command word ("Arvesh"). The horses can be dispelled (DC 15) but not harmed.

The wagon has a hidden trapdoor in its underbelly that can be detected by a character who scuttles under the wagon and succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check. The trapdoor opens into the wagon and is the only safe way inside.

V2. Tower Door

Show the players the door symbol to the right. The door is magically locked and trapped, and the symbol on the door is the key to disabling the trap. Magic that would normally unlock the door is neutralized by the tower's spell drain effect (see "x" earlier in the chapter).

A creature that touches the door without first disabling the trap causes lightning to envelop the tower. Any creature outside the tower and within 10 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, with disadvantage if it is wearing armor made of metal, taking 22 (4d10) lightning damage on a failed save, or half damage on a successful one. As long as the effect persists, any creature that enters the lightning for the first time on a turn or starts its turn there takes 22 (4d10) lightning damage. The lightning lasts for 10 minutes.

The third time this trap is triggered, the magic fails and causes the tower to collapse. Each creature inside the tower when it collapses takes 132 (24d10) bludgeoning damage, while those within 20 feet of the tower must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 44 (8d10) bludgeoning damage from falling debris. The collapse not only destroys the tower but also most of its contents, including the animated armor in x. The wooden chest in area V7 (as well as the severed head inside it) remains intact but requires 1d8 + 2 hours of digging through rubble to find. The clay golems in x are undamaged but buried under piles of debris. Every hour the characters spend searching through the rubble, they have a 10 chance of accidentally unearthing a berserk clay golem.

V3. Rickety Scaffolding

The scaffolding can't support more than 200 pounds of weight. If it collapses, anyone standing on it falls 20 feet to the ground, taking 1d6 bludgeoning damage per 10 feet fallen plus an additional 2d6 piercing damage from the debris. A creature underneath the scaffolding must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 14 (4d6) bludgeoning damage from falling debris.

V4. Tower, First Floor

The four statues are clay golems that defend themselves if attacked. Otherwise, their sole purpose is to operate the elevator, which they do by pulling on the chains. The chains attach to a 5-foot-square wooden platform that normally rests on the fourth floor.

If it appears that a creature wants to use the elevator, the golems lower the platform, then raise it to whichever level the creature specifies. They also heed commands issued from above. They obey only commands having to do with raising and lowering the elevator.

The elevator isn't a smooth ride. The platform rises or lowers 5 feet per round, and its movements are jerky. If even one clay golem is destroyed, the remaining golems can no longer operate the elevator and remain motionless until attacked.

The crates in this room are all empty.

V5. Tower, Second Floor

In the middle of the room is a 5-foot-square hole in the floor and ceiling, with a rusty chain near each corner. The chains are part of the tower's elevator mechanism (see area V4). The 5-foot-square sections of floor that surround the central shaft are weak. Each 5-foot section can support 150 pounds; any more weight causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on that section fall 20 feet to the ground floor.

V6. Tower, Third Floor

In the middle of the room is a 5-foot-square hole in the floor and ceiling, with a rusty chain near each corner. The chains are part of the tower's elevator mechanism (see x). The 5-foot-square sections of floor that surround the central shaft are weak. Each 5-foot section can support 50 pounds; any more weight causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on that section fall 40 feet to the ground floor, smashing through the second floor on the way down.

V7. Tower, Fourth Floor

Van Richten spent several months in this room, reviewing a lifetime's worth of research on Strahd von Zarovich—notes that, once he committed them to memory, he burned in the stove. He also burned his journals. Ezmerelda searched the room, hoping to find a clue to her mentor's plan or whereabouts. Among the things she found here was a rolled-up map of Barovia and a burned page from van Richten's journal, which she took and hid in her wagon (x).

The standing armor is a suit of animated armor. It is incapacitated until someone speaks the command word ("Khazan") within 10 feet of it, whereupon the armor follows the commands of the one who activated it. If 24 hours pass without its receiving a new instruction from its controller, the animated armor becomes incapacitated until someone reactivates it. If it is reduced to 0 hit points, the armor falls to pieces and is destroyed.

A lavender aroma emanates from the wooden chest, which is unlocked and safe to open. It contains the severed head of a human Vistana named Yan. Its flesh has a waxy complexion and has been embalmed with magic oils. If a speak with dead spell is cast on his head (which would need to be taken somewhere away from the tower's spell drain effect), Yan reveals that he was banished from his clan for stealing. A half-elf bard named Rictavio offered Yan a ride in his carnival wagon. The two traveled together for several days, but their time together was tense. When it was clear that Rictavio was looking for a road to Barovia, Yan tried to steal the wagon as well as Rictavio's pet monkey, but Rictavio got the better of him and drove a sword through his gullet.

The magic oils preserving Yan's head allow it to remember conversations it has while under the effect of speak with dead. Rictavio has cast speak with dead on the head twice to ask questions about the Vistani of Barovia. Yan believes that the half-elf plans to cause great harm to the Vistani and begs the characters to warn his people. He doesn't know where his body is.

Pack Attack

If the characters blew up Ezmerelda's wagon, activated the lightning sheath around the tower, or caused the tower to collapse, the sound of their handiwork echoes through the valley as far west as Krezk and as far east as Vallaki. The disturbance attracts the attention of a pack of werewolves, which arrives after 1 hour.

The werewolves haunt the Svalich Woods west of Van Richten's Tower. They come running in wolf form, hoping to trap prey on the island by cutting off access to the causeway.

Leading the hunt is Kiril Stoyanovich, a werewolf with 90 hit points. Accompanying him are six normal werewolves and nine wolves. While in wolf form, the werewolves are indistinguishable from ordinary wolves. They either remain in wolf form or assume hybrid form.

If the characters were drawn into Barovia by the "x" adventure hook, this encounter represents a climactic confrontation between the characters and the werewolf pack that has been terrorizing settlements in the Forgotten Realms. The werewolves know that the tower has magical defenses, so they are cautious. Kiril tries to lure the characters outside for a final showdown, but pulls his pack into the woods if the characters start lobbing spells or making ranged attacks from the tower.

Ezmerelda's Retreat

Ezmerelda d'Avenir (see appendix D) returns to Van Richten's Tower after confronting Strahd in Castle Ravenloft and barely escaping with her life. She arrives on the back of a riding horse stolen from the Vistani camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, x).

Ezmerelda hopes that the arsenal of weapons in her wagon will be enough to protect her from the vampire's wrath. If the characters blew up the wagon, she is understandably annoyed and retreats to the tower. (She knows the trick to bypassing the trap on the tower door.) If the tower has also been destroyed, she doesn't stick around unless the characters are clearly her best hope of survival.

Ezmerelda's altercation with Strahd has left her with only 30 hit points. She graciously accepts any healing the characters have to offer.