Chapter 1: Into The Mists

Erie mists surround Barovia abd bind its inhabitants there. This chapter gives you the information you need to prepare for the adventurers' journey into those mists. The chapter first outlines the history and goals of Count Strahd von Zarovich so that you are prepared for what awaits the characters. In the "Fortunes of Raven Joft" section, the chapter walks you through the tarokka card reading that helps set the stage for the adventure's action, and the chapter closes with adventure hooks that you can use to draw the characters into the horrorof Barovia.

In life, Strahd von Zarovich was a count, a prince, a soldier, and a conqueror. After the death of bis 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 valleyBarovia, 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 com manded 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 Raveoloft, 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 Jove 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 be come 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 andhis 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.

Strahd's Goals

Turn Ireena Kolyana

Strahd's unrequited love for Tatyana drove him to slay his brother, Sergei. Some time ago, Strahd glimpsed the young woman Ireena Kolyana in the village of Barovia and felt extreme deja vu. Ireena looked exactly like Tatyana! Strahd now believes that Ireena is the latest reincarnation of Tatyana, and thus he seeks to claim her. Strahd's evil courtship has led him to visit Ireena twice. On both occasions, he charmed his way into her home-the house of her adopted father, the burgomas ter of the village of Barovia-and drank her blood. He intends to kill Ireena during their next meeting and turn her into his vampire spawn consort. Chapter 3 gives details about Ireena and where to find her in the village of Barovia.

Find Rudolph Van Richten

Although he is usually focused on making Ireena Kolyana his bride, Strahd has been distracted by reports that a legendary vampire hunter named Rudolph van Richten has come to Barovia. It takes more than one old man with a death wish to frighten Strahd; neverthe less, the vampire has his spies searching Barovia for van Richten. Strahd would like very much to meet the old vampire hunter, lock him in the dungeons of Castle Ravenloft, and slowly break his spirit. Chapter 5 describes the town ofVallaki, where van Richten currently resides incognito.

Search For Successor or Consort

Strahd can sense the arrical of new blood in his domaon. When newcomers enter Barovia, he shifts he attention from Ireena Kolyana and Van Richten to his new guests so that he can determine whether any of them is worthy to be his successor or consort. (Eventually, he decides that none of them can replace his as the master of Barovia, but he doesn't arrive at this conclusion immdeiately.) Strahd pays close attention to adventures who are charismatic and arrogant, like himself. He focuses his attacks on them, to see how much thgey can withstand. If they crumble easily, he loses intrest in them. If they exhibit great fortiude and defiance, his interest is piqued - even more so if the character display uncommon knowledge or beauty. Such a person might not be worthy to succeed him, but the man or woman might provide amusement to Strahd as a new possession.

Alterations To Magic

Alarm:Instead of hearing a inerital ping when the alarm is triggered, the caster hears a scream.
Bigby's hand: The ·conjured hand is skeletal.
Find familiar: The familiar is undead-not a celestial, fey, or fiend-and is immune to features that turn undead.
Find steed: The summoned steed is undead-not a ce lestial, fey, or fiend-and is immune to features that turn undead.
Find the path: A child's spirit appears and guides the caster to the desired location. The spirit can't be harmed and doesn't speak. Fog cloud: Misty, harmless claws form in the fog.
Gust of wind: A ghastly moan accompanies the summoned wind.
Mage hand: The summoned hand is skeletal.
Maze: The surfaces of the demiplane's maze are made of mortared skulls and bones.
Phantom steed:The steed resembles a skeletal horse.
Rary's telepathic bond: Characters linked together by the spell can't shake the feeling that something vile is telepathically eavesdropping on them.
Revivify: A creature restored to life by a revivify spell screams upon regaining consciousness, as though waking from some horrible nightmare.
Spirit guardians: The spirits.appear as ghostly, skeletal warriors.
Wall of stone: A wall created by the spell has ghastly faces sculpted into it, as though tortured spirits were somehow trapped within the stone.