CoS Chapter 4: The Town of Vallaki
Sources
CoS: https://5e.tools/adventure.html#cos,6
CoS Reloaded: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12EbCatMMviZfxQy1Ldh9Rk3Rez_J70yI0UJG8gSrnbw/edit?usp=drivesdk
Letov - St. Andral's Church, Rudolph van Richten (mentor?)
Beelze - Viktor (Tome of Strahd),
Prisca - Prisca's Old Party (vampire spawn)
Clever Scarf - Rictavio's Circus
Hyr - Blacksmith
Arculeus - ?
Phant - Vistani Camp
Music & Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sZcB_OuBPg&ab_channel=DanielSchmitz
Father Lucian: https://www.worldanvil.com/uploads/images/9e7b9824f368664c68344c1dd321646e.png
The bones are still here.
St. Andral's Orphanage: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y7GtBsQIVNsHHZ1gKJfZhXCck-lOSVvpe6F2YMh3MZ8/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.p1tzsux212hb
Vilna is in the Orphanage.
Music & Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQuFoVOAwOQ&ab_channel=DanielSchmitz
Plot hook for Wizard of Wines
See taproom for potential patrons
They got a wodka recipe (Mother's Secret)
Urwin's wife has died by the hands of Anastrasya.
Music & Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=aQzSd_ml-ls&ab_channel=ConorO%27Malley
Viktor Art: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/3e/ee/74/3eee74643e0280bb75e457bf1b3daa61.jpg
Viktor has the Tome of Strahd (TODO: Make Tome of Strahd's first pages)
Future: Accidental sighting of Viktor and his magic.
May get invited if the players give the pies to locals.
Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vsh5crJPKuk&ab_channel=DanielSchmitz
Art: https://i.redd.it/edoo7l8w65e61.jpg
Lady Wachter will contact the players if they seem to dislike the baron.
Quest: kill Izek Strazni
Stella can lead to Viktor
Ernst Larnak can stalk the players and lead them to Fiona
Watcher Dinner: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/mq29kq/a_social_encounter_statblock_for_running_the/#lightbox
Prices are doubled instead of x5
Rictavio's Wagon is here, but he also sets up his circus here.
Henrik is also a Blacksmith. His store is opened.
Something to do with Anastrasya: Vampire spawn are here but the bones not yet.
The chains are ready to pick up
The Vampires (including Prisca's old party)
Doru: First that comes out.
Oryk Gotrikson: Dwarf, loyalty and strength. Has ale on him.
Renna: Human Druid with green tattoos.
Markus: Warlock of the Deep. Has a tentacle as arm. Buffs: His arm has 10 ft. range, automatically grapples and deals an additional 2d6 cold damage.
Amara: Human Cleric of the Raven Queen. Buffs: +2d6 necrotic damage on claw attack. Creatures hit by this attack cannot heal until the start of Amara's next turn.
ALIVE Kaelen: Scarred Half-Elf sorcerer. Had lightning magic. Buffs: Can cast lightning bolt once per day.
ALIVE Sir Coldsteel: Dragonborn Watchers Paladin. Buffs: AC 18 (half-broken plate armor).
Watch out if Ireena is with the party!
Town Square: https://i.redd.it/425097il2dcc1.jpeg
Wolf Head Poster: https://preview.redd.it/did72c3qyhd51.png?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=f77b4ea108b51c6266ee426fa22d5b0a134a5ff1
Festival of the Blazing Sun Poster: https://preview.redd.it/vmwjy45nxnb51.jpg?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=7fa7bacf662eb4a01de351235bd4342639c02a99
Izek Art: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/7f/9f/43/7f9f43d9ca4b5af4724d7884cfcda3ff.jpg
In the heart of Vallaki’s town square, a towering figure directs a group of nervous guards. The guards begin to replace tattered posters. Clad in dark armor that seems molded to his powerful frame, he commands attention with an air of cold authority. One of his arms is colored a crimson red, grotesquely oversized, and twisted like burnt flesh. His face is half-hidden beneath a dark cloth mask, leaving only sharp, predatory eyes visible. Those eyes scan the square, lingering a moment too long on anyone who meets his gaze. When his glance shifts to you, there’s a flicker of something unreadable in his expression.
The guards move around him with caution, treating him less like a leader and more like a barely contained threat. His presence alone is enough to cast a shadow over the square.
Mist Travel Potions: 1000 gp, max 2
Arabelle Quest (Arabelle lives!).
Kasimir & Phant
Arabelle's eyes glow with an eerie light as she murmurs, "Beneath the false sun, blood soaks the earth, and shadows dance in joyless flame. Masks shall fall as the cracks of discord deepen, and revelry turns to ruin."
Reward Options
Paper Bird (5 sheets)
Bag of Holding <- Chosen!
Cloak of Dusk-Elvenkind
A ruby worth 300 gp
Hýr has asked to do more quests for an item.
Van Richten killed most adults in Ezmerelda's vistani camp.
Bluto n such
Vasili has a shop of antiques (and taxadermy)
Magic items: Wolf head orb that glows faintly during a full moon, Candlestick of Shadows (casts shadows of those that are not in the room).
Beelze will return to get taxadermy supplies. They will cost 25 gp. However, Vasili is not at home, and will be there in the evening only.
Izek is dead
Head of the Guards: Adrian Hinter (A stoic, disciplined guard torn between his duty to Vallaki’s oppressive laws and his desire to protect his family.)
Total: 12 junior guards, 11 guards, 3 elite guards
Junior Guard: Emrik Kovak (A young, inexperienced guard with a kind heart who struggles to overcome his fear and desire to prove himself.)
Rictavio will hold a circus act tomorrow, in the evening.
Rictavio, instead of a saber tooth tiger, has a Brown Bear (stats: polar bear). This animal will go wild during the show due to the trickeries of the Watcher brothers.
Act 1: Rictavio performs whimsical sleight-of-hand tricks and illusions to charm the audience. Conjuring flames that change colors, making objects disappear, and pulling improbable items from his hat (A live duck wearing a tiny bowtie, A string of sausages, seemingly endless, to the audience's growing confusion, A painting of himself pulling something out of a hat).
Act 2: He invites a brave volunteer for harmless, humorous challenges that seem more dangerous than they are. (the floating volunteer, fighting against an illusion, the disappearing man (teleported into his cart)).
Act 3: Rictavio’s bear Billy (star performer) performs a trained act but goes wild due to sabotage (Wachter brothers), forcing him to control the chaos with his hidden crossbow.
During the Full Moon, any Lycanthropes score a critical hit on a 19-20, have a speed increase of 10 ft, and if a lycanthrope hits both attacks, it may make a third one as a bonus action.
There are many more Ravens and Wolves than usual. If they get into trouble, Muriel may help them.
Many howls.
The Party
Creeping dread: animals fall silent.
A single zombie.
Banshee + will o wisps battle turns into werewolf kidnapping. The werewolves have a Druid with them from the Wizard of Wines.
Blood Calls to Blood: The Werewolves come for Hýr
Kiril: Black Wolf, Hýr: White Wolf
Travel to Krezk
Krezk -> Vallaki
Return to Ireena: Feast of St. Andral hook
A Silver Greatsword, Whip (reflavored flail), Longsword and Dagger are provided by Lady Wachter. She would like to see the players before the festival starts.
Blazing Sun Market & small games (see chatgpt)
Baron, Lydia & Victor's introduction
Vallaki's Got Talent (Including Rictavio)
Bluto will be stoned to death.
Sun doesn't burn, rain.
Lady Watcher will try a coup without having killed Izek, summoning a barbed devil if they have to (including her cultists).
Volenta and Anastrasya are here (St. Andral's Feast).
Among the chaos, van Richten gives his hat to Clever Scarf if he has sympathy for him (You seem a fellow cursed man... take this).
Think of the guards!
Strahd Enters
Strahd will make a PC choose between the orphanage or church, and note how boring they are.
Strahd will make it full moon.
Strahd will order Valenta to kill the burgomaster and his family.
A spy from Azurea will be here, who is killed in St. Andral's Feast.
Players & Ireena
Father Lucien, Ms. Balesco & Orphans (many moneys)
Rictavio (Hat of Holding, Hat of Disguise!)
Vasili
Lady Watcher
Burgomaster & Family (Victor, rest is dead)
Adrian & Emric & Hitta (blonde, beard, one eye blind)
Strahd & Brides (Anastrasya, Volenta)
Hendrik Van Der Voort & Milivoj
Martikovs & Muriel Vinshaw
Izek Strazni (he's going to love the pie addiction)
Current Situation:
Bones of St. Andral are gone, they were at Vasili's and later in the castle. Vasili may ask about the bones with the vistani (maybe trick them).
4 prisoners escaped, lady watcher arrested, ernst larnak ran away
Urwin as burgomaster, Victor as baron
Van Richten is back at his tower
After Volenta's tale, Strahd is interested in Clever Scarf. He lost interest in the rest of the party.
A spy from Azurea is found dead in the slaughter. Curiously, he has a pelt with golden threads, something used in Yaroska to keep off corruption...
Entering Vallaki
Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxy7Csc2p2g&t=15s&ab_channel=MABMusicTTRPG Art & Happy Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPiYulitE4c&ab_channel=DanielSchmitz The Old Svalich Road meanders into a valley watched over by dark, brooding mountains to the north and south. The woods recede, revealing a sullen mountain burg surrounded by a wooden palisade. Thick fog presses up against this wall, as though looking for a way inside, hoping to catch the town aslumber. The dirt road ends at a set of sturdy iron gates with a pair of shadowy figures standing behind them. Planted in the ground and flanking the road outside the gates are a half-dozen pikes with wolves' heads impaled on them. The guards have silvered weapons, and want the players to give up their silver coins in order to make more silver weapons to combat the recent werewolf risings.Vallakian Law
- Thou shalt be guilty until proven innocent.
- 1. None shall speak Strahd’s name aloud or carry written documents bearing his name. Vallakovich believes that to speak his name is to summon his attention or presence. When they must, Vallakians refer to Strahd simply as “the Devil.”
- 2. None may speak ill of the Baron or his festivals, nor hold any documents that present either in an ill light. The Baron believes that happiness is the key to the town’s safety, and severely punishes any resident that threatens to harm “morale.”
- 3b. All visitors and residents shall assist with the festivals. This includes both preparations and clean-up. These duties rotate through the general public on a random basis, in a manner similar to jury duty.
- 3c. All visitors and residents shall attend the festival. Guards routinely go door-to-door in the time before and during a festival, and patrol the streets to ensure that no attendee has been left out.
- 4. Theft and assault, as well as repeat “unhappiness” charges, are grounds for imprisonment in the Reformation Center. Murder of a civilian is punished with lifetime incarceration in the Center, as are any crimes against the Baron’s family or guards. As mentioned above, murder of a guard is grounds for public execution.
Comments