Contents
- 1Foreword: Ravenloft Revisited
- 2Introduction
- 3Chapter 1: Into the Mists
- 4Chapter 2: The Lands of Barovia
- 5Chapter 3: The Village of Barovia
- 6Chapter 4: Castle Ravenloft
- 7Chapter 5: The Town of Vallaki
- 8Chapter 6: Old Bonegrinder
- 9Chapter 7: Argynvostholt
- 10Chapter 8: The Village of Krezk
- 11Chapter 9: Tsolenka Pass
- 12Chapter 10: The Ruins of Berez
- 13Chapter 11: Van Richten's Tower
- 14Chapter 12: The Wizard of Wines
- 15Chapter 13: The Amber Temple
- 16Chapter 14: Yester Hill
- 17Chapter 15: Werewolf Den
- 18Epilogue
- 19Appendix A: Character Options
- 20Appendix B: Death House
- 21Appendix C: Treasures
- 22Appendix D: Monsters and NPCs
- 23Appendix E: The Tarokka Deck
- 24Appendix F: Handouts
- 25Credits
- 26Poster Map
Chapter 14: Yester Hill
The druids who worship Strahd as lord of the land and master of the weather convene here, atop Yester Hill, on the very edge of Strahd's domain. This hill is also where the evil blights that walk the Svalich Woods are born, and where Strahd comes on occasion to glimpse his ancestral home.
By day or night, stretching up to the limits of vision, the edges of my realm are marked by a great wall of mist. I was there at its birth.
Areas of the Hill
The following locations correspond to labels on the map of Yester Hill below.
Y1. Trail
The trail splits as it climbs the hillside, forming two concentric rings (x). The trail also leads to the hilltop (x and x). The wall of fog (x) marks the edge of Strahd's domain.
Y2. Berserker Cairns
These burial mounds predate the arrival of Strahd and the druids. They have remained undisturbed for centuries. Buried under the rocks are the moldy bones of an ancient tribe of berserkers that once lived in the mountains. (See "x" in the "Special Events" section below.)
Y3. Druids' Circle
The ring of boulders that surrounds the field is 250 feet in diameter and ranges from 5 to 10 feet high. Any creature that climbs over the black boulders has a 10 chance of being struck by lightning, taking 44 (8d10) lightning damage. Characters can avoid the damage by sticking to the two trails that pass through the ring.
Wooden Statue
The giant statue bears an eerie resemblance to Strahd von Zarovich. Close inspection reveals roots sprouting from the ground around its base. These roots are part of the Gulthias tree in x. They wrap around the statue, providing added support and durability. The roots not only prevent the statue from being toppled but also allow the effigy to serve as a component in a ritual to create a tree blight (see "x" in the "Special Events" section below). Planted in the "heart" of this wooden effigy is a magic gem stolen from the Wizard of Wines vineyard (chapter 12).
The statue has AC 10, 50 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. If the statue takes fire damage after being splashed with oil, it catches fire, taking 2d6 fire damage each round. If the statue is reduced to 0 hit points, it collapses, and the magic gem tumbles onto the field, glowing with a bright green light.
Hidden Graves
Hidden throughout the field inside the boulders are six druids (CE male and female humans) and six berserkers (CE male and female humans), all descendants of the ancient mountain tribe whose members are buried on this hill and all covered head to toe in bluish-gray mud. They have long, tangled hair and wild-looking eyes. To honor their dark "god," they sleep in earthen graves hidden under covers made of sod and dead grass. Characters entering the circle who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher notice the dozen covered graves scattered throughout the field. The druids and the berserkers rise from their graves and attack if anyone approaches or damages the statue, or if they are discovered and attacked.
The druids are waiting to begin a ritual to summon forth an enormous tree blight. Only one druid is needed to complete the ritual, but the druids won't begin without Strahd's blessing. Thus, they are waiting for him to appear. The ritual can't be completed if the statue is destroyed or the magic gem is removed.
If the characters discern or divine the gem's location with the aid of magic, they can try to dig the gem out of the statue's chest. Climbing up the statue is a simple matter, requiring no ability check, and a character within reach of the chest cavity can use an action to dig into it. Have that character's player roll a d20: on a result of 13 or higher, the character unearths the gem and can take it as part of his or her action.
Development
If the druids and the berserkers are killed, their numbers are replenished as others return from forays into the Svalich Woods. At the end of each day, at dusk, 1d4−1 druids and 1d4−1 berserkers arrive until there are six of each.
Y4. Gulthias Tree
The tree is a Gulthias tree (see the blights entry in the Monster Manual), the roots of which extend deep beneath the hill. Lurking among the dead trees and shrubs are three vine blights, six needle blights, and twelve twig blights. The needle blights are plainly visible, but the False Appearance feature of the vine blights and the twig blights allows them to hide in plain sight. The blights attack anyone who harms the Gulthias tree, which has no actions or effective attacks of its own.
The Gulthias tree has AC 15, 250 hit points, and immunity to bludgeoning, piercing, and psychic damage. If it is reduced to 0 hit points, it seems to be destroyed but isn't truly dead; it regains 1 hit point every month until it is fully healed. With a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature) check, a character can determine that the entire stump must be uprooted for the tree to truly die. The Gulthias tree withers and dies in 3d10 days if a hallow spell is cast in its area.
The Gulthias tree creates blights from ordinary plants and is the only tree of its kind in Barovia. If the Gulthias tree is killed, no new blights can be created within Strahd's domain. Award the party 1,500 XP for destroying the Gulthias tree.
The skeleton lying at the base of the Gulthias tree is all that remains of a human adventurer who was killed by blights while trying to cut down the tree.
Treasure
The dead adventurer's tattered leather armor isn't salvageable, but the axe embedded in the tree is a magic battleaxe. Its handle is carved with leaves and vines, and the weapon weighs half as much as a normal battleaxe. When the axe hits a plant, whether an ordinary plant or a plant creature, the target takes an extra 1d8 slashing damage. When a creature of non-good alignment wields the axe, it sprouts thorns whenever its wielder makes an attack with it. These thorns prick the wielder for 1 piercing damage after the attack is made, and this damage is considered magical.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it's buried amid the roots of the Gulthias tree, beneath the skeleton of the dead adventurer. Characters who dig in the ground under the skeleton automatically find it.
Y5. Wall of Fog
Yester Hill gets its name from a strange phenomenon that can be observed by anyone who looks into the mists from the hilltop or the western hillside:
The Dark Powers have created a false image of Strahd's ancestral home within the fog, just beyond reach. Strahd comes to the hill on occasion to gaze upon the city, even though he knows it can't be real. The image tantalizes him.
Any creature that enters the deadly fog is subject to its effects (see the "x" section in chapter 2).
If the characters ask an NPC spellcaster about this part of the wall of fog, that person might relate an ancient legend about it. According to the mountain folk of Barovia, there was always a wall of mist near Yester Hill, even before the deadly mists entrapped all of Barovia. The ancient folk called the mist the Whispering Wall, for within it they could hear the whisper of voices from the past and the future. They believed that an ancient god gave up his divinity to preserve the world from destruction and that his last exhalation as a god produced this mist. Within it were all his memories of the world and all his visions of its possible futures, and with proper preparation, a seeker could go on a vision quest within it. Some students of the arcane contend that the Dark Powers took a bit of that fog and twisted it to create the mists of Barovia, and that perhaps Strahd's domain is just a dark memory in the Whispering Wall.
Special Events
You can use one or both of the following special events while the characters explore Yester Hill.
Druids' Ritual
You can allow this event to unfold regardless of whether the characters have visited Yester Hill. Even if the characters don't experience this event as it happens, they can still deal with the aftermath (see "x" in the "Special Events" section in chapter 12).
Strahd travels to Yester Hill, arriving astride his nightmare, Beucephalus (assuming the characters didn't kill it in the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft), or in bat form.
Strahd's arrival prompts the druids in x to rise from their "graves" and begin their ritual. When the ritual begins, the druids use their actions to chant and dance about. To complete the ritual, the druids must chant for 10 consecutive rounds, with at least one of them chanting each round. If a round goes by and none of the druids are able to chant on their turn, the ritual is ruined and must be started anew. If the Gulthias tree (x) has been reduced to 0 hit points, the ritual won't work. Druids who realize that the tree has been destroyed know enough not to attempt the ritual.
Strahd observes the proceedings, defending the druids if they are attacked and retreating if outmatched.
Development
If the characters are present when the druids complete the ritual, read:
The creature that erupts from the wooden statue is a tree blight (see x) that the druids call Wintersplinter. The green light comes from the magic gem embedded in its "heart." The gem can be removed only when Wintersplinter is dead.
The druids command Wintersplinter to travel north and lay waste to the Wizard of Wines vineyard (x). Although the characters might not understand what the druids are up to, they will no doubt wonder where the druids are sending the tree blight. As Wintersplinter travels north, its destination should become clear to characters who have previously visited the winery and the vineyard. Whether they try to halt its advance is up to them.
Once the tree blight departs, Strahd commands the druids and berserkers to leave the hill so that he can be alone. As they flee into the woods, he gazes longingly at the image of his ancestral homeland to the west (see x).
Blood Spear of Kavan
The spirit of Kavan, a long-dead barbarian chieftain, reaches out to one of the characters, preferably a barbarian, a druid, or a ranger. Read the following text to that character's player:
The character feels drawn to one of the cairns on the hillside (see x). When the character approaches within 30 feet of it, the presence of Kavan's magic spear (see "Treasure" below) under the rocks is felt.
Treasure
The rocks of the cairn are heavy but can be rolled aside, revealing a blood spear (see appendix C) lying amid Kavan's moldy bones. Any creature can wield the spear, but only the character chosen by Kavan to wield it gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.