Forest Fane
The Forest Fane is a stone circle that lies within the circle of standing stones on the edge of the Svalich Wood at the base of Old Bonegrinder’s hill. It is devoted to the Huntress, one of the Ladies Three, but has become corrupted by Strahd von Zarovich. Today, it forms one of the three anchors tying him to the land of Barovia and protecting him from harm.
Long ago, Strahd desecrated the Forest Fane, perverting its power for his own ends through the use of blood magic and fell rituals carried out beneath the light of the full moon. In doing so, he channeled its energy to enhance his evasiveness and toughness, a benefit that takes the form of a +3 bonus to his Armor Class. So long as he remains bound to the Forest Fane, Strahd cannot be truly slain; instead, he revives by the will of the Dark Powers in his coffin at Castle Ravenloft 24d6 days after his destruction.
To break this connection and deprive Strahd of the Fane’s boon, the PCs must carry out a ritual
once performed by initiates of the priesthood of the Huntress. They can learn of this ritual from
Elder Ormir, a Mountain Folk priest residing at Yaedrag in Tsolenka Pass.
To complete the ritual, the PCs must first obtain the spear-shaft of the Huntress from the night
hag Morgantha (who uses it as a walking stick and the blade of the Huntress from the
Huntress’s reliquary, which is buried at the center of the circle.
At the edge of the Svalich Wood stands a ring of eight squat megaliths—ancient, moss-covered stones that stand in silent contemplation. Each megalith bears a carving of a different animal, as well as a small cavity that appears to be filled with tiny, whitish-yellow rocks.
A large, flat, round stone lies between the megaliths, its face carved with the visage of a woman wielding a spear in battle against an enormous wolf. A small, two-foot hole at the center of the stone has been carved away, leaving a patch of bare earth. Several ravens circle overhead above the ring, and one pecks at a small object discarded atop the central stone.
Run Forest Fane (CoS Reloaded)
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