Curse of Strahd

The Vampire's History

In life, Strahd von Zarovich was a count, a prince, a soldier, and a conqueror. After the death of his father, King Barov, Strahd waged long, bloody wars against his family's enemies. He and his army cornered the last of these enemies in a remote mountain valley before slaying them all. Strahd named the valley Barovia, after his deceased father, and was so struck by its scenic beauty that he decided to settle there.

Queen Ravenovia lamented the death of Barov and was fearful of Strahd. War had made him cold and arrogant. She kept her younger son, Sergei, away from the battlefield. Strahd envied the love and attention his mother visited upon his brother, so in Barovia he remained. Peace made Strahd restless, and he began to feel like his best years were behind him. Unwilling to go the way of his father, Strahd studied magic and forged a pact with the Dark Powers of the Shadowfell in return for the promise of immortality.

Strahd scoured his conquered lands for wizards and artisans, brought them to the valley of Barovia, and commanded them to raise a castle to rival the magnificent fortresses of his ancestral homeland. Strahd named the castle Ravenloft, after his mother, to demonstrate his love for her. When it was complete, Strahd commanded his mother and brother to come to Barovia and stay with him. Sergei eventually took up residence at Ravenloft, but Ravenovia passed away while traveling to her namesake. In sorrowful disappointment, Strahd sealed his mother's body in a crypt beneath the castle.

Strahd's attention soon turned to Tatyana, a young Barovian woman of fine lineage and remarkable beauty. Strahd believed her to be a worthy bride, and he lavished Tatyana with gifts and attention. Despite Strahd's efforts, she instead fell in love with the younger, warmer Sergei. Strahd's pride prevented him from standing in the way of the young couple's love until the day of Sergei and Tatyana's wedding, when Strahd gazed into a mirror and realized he had been a fool. Strahd murdered Sergei and drank his blood, sealing the evil pact between Strahd and the Dark Powers. He then chased Sergei's bride-to-be through the gardens, determined to make her accept and love him. Tatyana hurled herself off a castle balcony to escape Strahd's pursuit, plunging to her death. Treacherous castle guards, seizing the opportunity to rid the world of Strahd forever, shot their master with arrows.

But Strahd did not die. The Dark Powers honored the pact they had made. The sky went black as Strahd turned on the guards, his eyes blazing red. He had become a vampire.

After slaughtering the guards, Strahd saw the faces of his father and mother in the thunderclouds, looking down upon him and judging him. He had destroyed the family bloodline and doomed all of Barovia. The castle and the valley were spirited away, locked in a demiplane surrounded on all sides by deadly fog. For Strahd and his people, there would be no escape.

Strahd has been the master of Ravenloft for centuries now. Since becoming a vampire, he has taken several consorts—none as beloved as Tatyana, but each a person of beauty. All of them he turned into vampire spawn. Although he feeds on the hapless souls of Barovia, they provide little nourishment and no comfort. From time to time, strangers from faraway lands are brought to his domain, to play the vampire's game of cat-and-mouse. Strahd savors these moments, for though these strangers offer him no lands to conquer, they aren't so easily destroyed and therefore provide a welcome diversion.

Strahd believes that the key to his escaping Barovia lies in finding someone worthy to rule in his stead, but his arrogance are so indomitable that no one is ever good enough in his eyes. He believes in his cold heart that only a von Zarovich as great as he or his father could sway the Dark Powers to release him.

I am the Ancient. I am the Land.

My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I am not dead. Nor am I alive. I am undead, forever.

Strahd's Goals

Strahd has the following goals in the adventure.

Roleplaying Strahd

Strahd believes his soul is lost to evil. He feels neither pity nor remorse, neither love nor hate. He doesn't suffer anguish or wallow in indignation. He believes, and has always believed, that he is the master of his own fate.

When he was alive, Strahd could admit to letting his emotions get the better of him from time to time. Now, as a vampire, he is more monster than man, with barely a hint of emotion left. He is above the concerns of the living. The only event that occasionally haunts him is the death of Tatyana, but his view of the past is bereft of romance or regret. In his mind, her death couldn't have been prevented, and what is done cannot be undone.

In life, Strahd lived to conquer. In undeath, he conquers still—not realms, but people, driving good souls to become corrupt and destroying those who won't yield. Characters who try to appeal to Strahd's humanity will be gravely disappointed, because there is little humanity left in him. If they ask Strahd why he's preying on Ireena Kolyana, he tells them that Ireena's body is the host for Tatyana's soul, and Tatyana's soul belongs to him.

Strahd can be seductive and subtle when he chooses to be, especially if a person is clever or attractive. Men and women of beauty and cunning amuse Strahd for a time—playthings to possess or discard as he desires.

If he senses a lack of cohesion in a party of adventurers, he preys on that weakness and tries to drive a wedge between the characters by promising to help one at the expense of another. If Strahd senses evil in a person, he cultivates that tendency by offering to turn that character into a full-fledged vampire after helping Strahd destroy the rest of the party. Ultimately, Strahd doesn't honor his promise, instead turning the character into a vampire spawn under his control.

When Strahd Attacks

Strahd isn't a villain who remains out of sight until the final scene. Far from it—he travels as he desires to any place in his realm or his castle, and (from his perspective) the more often he encounters the characters, the better. The characters can and should meet him multiple times before the final encounter, which most likely takes place in the location determined by the card reading. His combat details are available in x.

When Strahd wants to terrorize the characters, he pays them a visit, either under the cloak of night or beneath overcast skies during the day. If they're indoors, he tries to charm or goad a character into inviting him inside (along with his vampire spawn, if they are present). Strahd and his minions never attack Ireena.

These encounters are meant to test the characters, not kill them. After a few rounds of toying with them, Strahd and his creatures withdraw. If the characters retreat, Strahd is likely to allow them to flee, savoring their fear and believing he has broken them.

Card Reading

When you perform a card reading before running the adventure, write down the results for reference later. If the characters have their fortunes read in the adventures, do the card reading again, out loud for the players' benefit. Substitute the new results for the old ones.

When you're ready to begin the card reading, remove the fourteen cards with the crown icon (the high deck) and shuffle them. Then shuffle the remaining cards (the common deck), keeping the two decks separate. Draw the top three cards from the common deck and lay them face down in the 1, 2, and 3 positions. Then draw the top two cards from the high deck and lay them face down in the 4 and 5 positions, as shown below:

Once all five cards are drawn and placed face down, follow the instructions below for each card in order.

Treasure Locations

The cards of the common deck determine the locations of the Tome of Strahd (card 1), the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind (card 2), and the Sunsword (card 3).

Strahd's Enemy

Drawn from the high deck, the fourth card in the card reading determines the location of an NPC who can improve the characters' chances of defeating Strahd. (Some cards offer two possible results, A and B; in such a case, you can pick the one you prefer or that better suits the circumstances of the adventure.)

Strahd senses that this NPC is a danger to him and tries to eliminate the threat as quickly as possible. This NPC, whoever it ends up being, gains the following additional action:

Strahd's Location in the Castle

Drawn from the high deck, the fifth card in the card reading determines the location of the final showdown with Strahd—the place in Castle Ravenloft where the characters are sure to find him. The first time the characters arrive at the foretold location, Strahd is there, provided he hasn't been forced back into his coffin.

Strahd faces the characters in the chapel (x).

Strahd faces the characters in the audience hall (x).

Strahd faces the characters in Sergei's tomb (x).

Strahd faces the characters in his tomb (x).

Strahd faces the characters in the hall of bones (x).

Strahd faces the characters in the study (x).

Strahd faces the characters in the tomb of King Barov and Queen Ravenovia (x).

Strahd faces the characters at the overlook (x).

Strahd faces the characters in his tomb (x).

Strahd faces the characters in Sergei's tomb (x).

Strahd faces the characters in the north tower peak (x).

The card offers no clue about where the final showdown with Strahd will occur. It can happen anywhere you like in Castle Ravenloft. Alternatively, Madam Eva tells the characters to return to her after at least three days, and she will consult the cards again for them, but only to discern the location of their enemy.

Strahd faces the characters in the tomb of King Barov and Queen Ravenovia (x).

Strahd confronts the characters in the treasury (x). "A woman of great beauty" refers to the portrait of Tatyana hanging in the castle's study (x), which contains a secret door that leads to the treasury.

Plea for Help

The characters start their adventure in an old tavern, the details of which are for you to decide.

[image: Strahd's Crest]

The characters can interrupt the messenger at any time. His name is Arrigal (NE male human assassin), and he is a Vistani. The other tavern patrons regard his people as friendly folk who travel about in covered wagons and usually keep to themselves.

Arrigal describes Barovia as a valley of great beauty and his master as a remarkable man. If the characters question Arrigal about the identity of his master, he claims to serve Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich, but in truth he serves Strahd. After delivering the letter, Arrigal mounts his horse and rides off. He doesn't wait for the characters to follow him.

The crest depicted on the letter's seal belongs to Strahd, though the characters have never seen it before. Show the players Strahd's crest.

The letter, which seems to have been written by the burgomaster, was actually penned by Strahd. If the characters read the letter, show the players "x" in appendix F. The letter is bait to lure the adventurers to Barovia. If the characters take the bait, they arrive at x (see chapter 2, "The Lands of Barovia").

Mysterious Visitors

The details of this adventure hook assume that your D&D campaign is based in or near Daggerford, a town on the Sword Coast in the Forgotten Realms, but you can change the location to suit your campaign.

The characters are asked to deliver Duchess Morwen's message immediately after dinner.

The travelers are camped on the hill outside the gates of Daggerford, near the road. Guards atop the walls watch the camp closely at all hours.

When the characters approach the camp, read:

The men and women are Vistani. They have no interest in Daggerford. Their orders are to deliver the characters safely to Barovia.

The leader of this group is Stanimir (CN male human), an old man with the statistics of a mage who has the following spells prepared:

Werewolves in the Mist

This adventure hook assumes you're running a campaign in or near Daggerford (see "x" for more information). It also assumes you're using the five player factions featured in the Adventurers League.

The Misty Forest lies thirty miles east of Daggerford. Before the characters embark on their quest, those who have faction allegiances receive additional information described in the sections that follow. Take the players aside, and read them the boxed text for their faction.

Creeping Fog

This scenario assumes that the characters are camping in a forest when the fog engulfs them. They are quietly borne to the edge of Barovia.

No matter which direction they go, the characters come to a lonely dirt road that cuts through the woods, leading to area A (see chapter 2). As an alternative, you can have them enter Barovia near Krezk (see chapter 8).