1525652-FOCoS Ch1 PreppingtheAdventure

Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd:
Prepping the Adventure
Chapter 1

F 
leshing Out Curse of Strahd is a series of
expansions and elaborations to the main Curse
of Strahd campaign. The full series is a DM tool
that attempts to add depth to various NPCs,

 3
streamline confusing plot lines, fill in plot holes,

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and alleviate some of the stress associated with The Cosmology of Curse of Strahd ...............
TPK inducing encounters throughout the 4
The History of Barovia ...............................................
campaign.
As such, information presented and included throughout  6
the series is designed to overwrite some of the information in

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the original text. For instance, if Fleshing Out refers to Ireena Overall Changes to the Campaign ..................
Kolyana as the natural born daughter of the Village of 7

Adventure Flowchart ..................................................
Barovia’s burgomaster, this is taken as fact, even if the printed
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Campaign Roadmap .........................................................
text states otherwise.
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However, Fleshing Out is in no way meant to completely Overall Recommendations ...................................
replace the original Curse of Strahd campaign. It instead is a
companion guide, used properly by reading and referencing  13
the original text to incorporate the overwrites detailed in this
series.  14
For a more in-depth and casual look at the thinking behind

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the changes in Fleshing Out, please refer to the original The Player Primer ..........................................................
posting of the series on Reddit. Find the series under '

Tatyana s Reincarnation .........................................
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'
username u/MandyMod on the r/CurseofStrahd subreddit.
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Izek s Sibling ......................................................................
 Tracking Van Richten ................................................
Freeing a Patron ............................................................

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Written & Edited by: u/MandyMod

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Honoring a Holy Calling .....................................
GM Binder CoS Theme Creator: u/AeronDrake
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Cover Art: DM's Guild Creator Resources A Strang Elf ........................................................................
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Ladies Three Art: Jessica Trevino, @StirvinoLady,
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u/breosaighead. Free Supplement used with artist's
permission. 18
A Closed Plane .................................................................
"Ring of Stone" Song and Graphic: Jessica Trevino,
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Sunlight ................................................................................
@StirvinoLady, u/breosaighead. Free Supplement used with
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artist's permission. The World Map ................................................................
Food Art: Mrs. Beeton's Household Management; Public 21

Barovian Populace .......................................................
Domain Art
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Food and Wildlife ........................................................
Forest Art: Public Domain Stockart
Custom Barovia Map: u/lefthandofjhereg Free
Supplement used with artist's permission.

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All Other Various Art: DM's Guild Creator Resources 25

Worshiping the Fanes ...............................................
Barovia Map: DM's Guild Creator Resources 25
Influencing Barovia ...................................................
I would personally like to thank the entirety of my followers
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The Ladies .............................................................................
on the subreddit for your ongoing support and feedback. I
Lady of the Wood Statblock ..................................................27
love you guys from the bottom of my heart.
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Discovering the Fanes ..............................................
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms,
"Ring of Stone" Song ............................................................. 28
Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon ampersand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of
the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of 30
Restoring the Fanes ...................................................
Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries.
Corrupted Wereraven Precursor Statblock .......................31
This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or
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other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Rewards from the Ladies ........................................
Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.
All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by MandyMod and
published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters

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Guild. 35
Types of Lycanthropy ................................................
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Running a PC Infected by Lycanthropy ....
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Curing Lycanthropy ...................................................
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Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd

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
W
elcome to Curse of Strahd, one of the most
popular modules available for Dungeons &
Dragons 5e! In this campaign, players are Dark Powers vs. Vestiges
transported to the horrifying demiplane of In Forgotten Realms mythos, the Dark Powers that
Barovia, a dismal and sunless land ruled by have cursed Strahd and the evil vestiges in the
the immortal vampire, Count Strahd von Amber Temple that have blessed him with
Zarovich. The campaign fully represents the vampirism are unrelated. However, to simplify this
gothic horror genre, from werewolves and vampires to insane
relationship, the Fleshing Out series has combined
asylums and haunted houses.
the two entities. Throughout this series, the
vestiges are trapped Dark Powers and Vampyr is
This chapter of Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd will cover
not only responsible for Strahd's undeath, but also
everything a Dungeon Master would need to start prepping
for his curse.
this campaign, including the background of the setting and an
adventure overview. This chapter also establishes all the
groundwork for the additional changes found in future
chapters of the Fleshing Out series. Let's get started! 


The Dark Powers are a collection of malevolent entities that
control the Domains of Dread. In the Forgotten Realms

mythos, these entities are kept deliberately vague to give
them an unfathomable and unconquerable air, essential to
the horror genre. Their numbers are unknown and their

While the campaign module gives us a fair amount of
forms undefined, but they have powers and strength reflective
background information to work with regarding Strahd, it
of evil gods.
surprisingly never covers the planar nature of Barovia. After
The Dark Powers tend to make connections with powerful
being trapped within this mist-bound demiplane session after
and evil individuals within the Domains of Dread. Once such
session, players are bound to question the nature of their
a connection is formed, the Dark Powers usually gift an
imprisonment. Where is Barovia, exactly? How do the mists
individual with great abilities, making them a Darklord of a
work and why is Strahd so strong? Unfortunately, the module
single Domain of Dread. However, this promotion and
doesn't include answers to these questions, for players or for
accompanying power are not without cost. The appointed
Dungeon Masters.
Darklord of a realm is also cursed by the Dark Powers in
This section aims to fill in this missing information.
some way, both trapping the Darklord in their own demiplane
 and also tormenting them throughout their rule. The Dark
Powers delight in the torture of the Darklords.
The cosmology of the Forgotten Realms contains a vast In Curse of Strahd, Barovia is considered a single Domain
multiverse and within that multiverse lie the planes of of Dread and Strahd is its Darklord.
existence. The Material Plane is the foundation and
centerpiece of all planar knowledge. It contains multiple 

worlds, like Eberron, Greyhawk, and Toril, and is the starting
When Strahd murdered his brother and drove Tatyana to her
plane for most any adventure. In general, the Material Plane
death, he also completed a deal with Vampyr, one of the Dark
makes up the mundane world around all characters, and the
Powers. He turned into a high vampire, obtained immortality,
many different worlds within it act almost as alternate
and cemented his permanent rule over Barovia as Darklord
dimensions.
of the domain.
The Shadowfell is a reflection of the Material Plane and
However, Vampyr also cursed Strahd in the same day.
exists alongside it, like the opposite face of a coin. A forest
Strahd, despite all his power, is cursed to never have Tatyana,
that exists in the Material Plane also exists in the Shadowfell,
the woman he covets most. Vampyr frequently reincarnates
similar to an alternate reality. However, the Shadowfell is
Tatyana's spirit to dangle in front of Strahd. When Strahd gets
marked by its lack of color, lethargy, and apathy. The reflected
close to claiming her love or turning her into a vampire, some
forest would be grim and rotted, haunted by foul creatures.
ill twist of fate murders her again. This makes Tatyana's soul
Long ago, pieces of the Shadowfell bled into the Material
just as cursed as Strahd himself, as she is continuously killed
Plane, causing a strange convergence. The effected
and reborn for Strahd's own torment.
dimensional space ended up adopting aspects of both the
Strahd lives in a perpetual limbo where the object of his
parent planes, appearing mostly material but with a generally
desire is always just beyond his grasp. That limbo is quite
grey or dark thematic overture. This warped land broke away
literally the curse of Strahd.
from both the Material Plane and the Shadowfell and became
a series of closed demiplanes.
The newly created demiplanes eventually became known
as the Domains of Dread.

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Centuries before Strahd's arrival and before the Shadowfell
corrupted the land, the Barovian valley was an idyllic and
undiscovered piece of the Material Plane.

Long before Strahd's reign and the founding of any official
settlement, the Barovian valley was once home to a collection
of nomadic, druidic tribes. The people of these tribes lived
entirely off the land and were completely unsettled. They are
also the ancient ancestors of the druids and berserkers
outlined in the module.
These wild peoples have survived the test of time, enduring
throughout planar shifts and Strahd's conquest. The modern
people of Barovia refer to these tribes simply as the forest
folk or the mountain folk.
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The forest folk of old used to worship a trio of archfey known
as the Ladies Three, or otherwise referred to as the Fanes of
Barovia. The Ladies were extremely powerful nature
goddesses who watched over the valley.
They were:
The Seeker of the Forest Fane
The Weaver of the Swamp Fane
The Huntress of the Mountain Fane
The Fanes are technically official Ravenloft lore found in
previous editions of Dunegons & Dragons but not mentioned
at all in the Curse of Strahd module. They are, however, now
essential to the lore and flow of the Fleshing Out series. More
information will be provided on the Fanes later in this
chapter.

As time went by, various tribes of forest folk established small
villages in the valley. These settlements were tiny, each home
to no more than a handful of families living in makeshift huts.
In time, four major settlements arose. Though they were
known by other names, now forgotten, these settlements
were the precursors to the towns in the module. They are:
The Village of Barovia, Vallaki, Kresk, and Berez.
Most of these people, settled or not, still actively worshiped
the Ladies Three.

A little over a thousand years before the start of the
campaign, a great circle of mages wondered into the valley.
These mages had dedicated their lives to studying,
understanding, and defeating great evils of a magical nature.
In their studies, they learned of the Dark Powers and the
distant Domains of Dread and hoped to somehow subdue the
evil gods.
The mages were looking for a place to found a base for
their research. Not only was the valley beautiful and rich in
magic, but it was also remote, flanked by impassable
mountains. These mages went on to build the Amber Temple
on Mount Ghakis, and successfully managed to trap and
contain over a dozen Dark Powers.

4
However, after living with such horrible evil in close
proximity, many of the mages were corrupted and they all
subsequently died at the hands of their own good intentions.
The coming of the mages also lead to a sort of industrial
boom for the settlements of the valley. The villages grew in
population and became much more civilized.

Before arriving in the Barovian valley, Strahd was fighting
wars in distant lands in honor of his father, King Barov.
During these crusades, Strahd followed some of his enemies
to the Barovian valley and fell in love with the beautiful land.
He then decided to settle in the valley when the fighting was
done and name the country after his father.
A Question of Time
The original module implies that Strahd arrived in

the Barovian valley approximately 400 years before
the start of the campaign. However, to further
concrete his role as an immovable fixture in
Barovia, you may safely push this time frame back
several centuries. The Fleshing Out series assumes
that Strahd's original conquest occurred about 700
years ago.
Strahd claimed the valley as his own, naming it Barovia. He
brought another wave of civilization growth to the already
established towns and build Castle Ravenloft in honor of his
mother.
Though Strahd himself was never a terribly religious man,
his people and soldiers also brought the religion of the
Morninglord to the valley, which spread quickly through the
local populace.
Strahd also discovered the remnants of the Amber Temple
in these early days and began conversing with the Dark
Power, Vampyr, who was still sealed within an amber
sarcophagus as the time.

The rest of the fall of Strahd and Barovia occurs much as the
original module states. Strahd fell in love with his younger
brother's bride to be, Tatyana. But when Tatyana did not
return Strahd's affections, he turned to the Dark Powers for
help. He selfishly murdered his brother and drove Tatyana to
suicide. This premeditated act of evil allowed Strahd to strike
a deal with Vampyr, giving Strahd his immortality and
vampiric powers and freeing Vampyr from his amber prison.
The Dark Powers descended on Barovia, fulling
transforming the valley into a Domain of Dread and cutting it
off from other planes. Strahd took his place as the cursed
Darklord of the land.

In the very early years of his vampiric reign, Strahd sought to
make himself even more powerful, so that no one could
challenge his post.
Strahd committed three terrible acts of desecration at the
main shrines to the Ladies Three and stole their power over
the valley. The Ladies, while still alive at the time of the
campaign, are almost completely powerless now.

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
T
he original Curse of Strahd module presents
the campaign overview very much as a


sandbox adventure. While this method of Strahd's as-written statblock, while a bit underwhelming to
running the campaign can work, it is often not high level parties, is still respectable for a high vampire. Most
the most conductive way to promote the Dungeon Masters alter Strahd's stats to strengthen him for
narrative of the module and can leave the final confrontation.
Dungeon Masters feeling lost. The book However, for the sake of guiding the story, Strahd's final
presents a great deal of information, including wonderful stateblock is unimportant. Strahd's stats for the majority of
location descriptions and interesting non-player characters the campaign are instead simply obscenely powerful. Even a
(NPCs), but doesn't provide a way to connect all that party of level 20 adventurers would have trouble combating
information. him.
As written, there's not much reason for the party to pursue Why is Strahd so powerful for the majority of the game?
many of the available side quests or to explore those Shortly after becoming a vampire and a Darklord, Strahd
wonderful locations outside of the experience they would stole power from the Ladies Three, otherwise known as the
gain to level up. With a few basic changes, the Fleshing Out Fanes of Barovia, by desecrating their shrines. This power
series has hopefully fixed many of these issues. gives Strahd a variety of enhanced abilities, invulnerabilities,
a deeper well of hit points, and literal control over nature in
 the Barovian valley. With this stolen power, Strahd is literally
"The Land."
 Should players find a way to halt or negate Strahd's
immortality from his connection to Vampyr, they still would

This next section of the Fleshing Out guide aims to set the
not be able to defeat him mechanically in battle because of
narrative groundwork of the campaign.
this power. However, players will learn that restoring the
Ladies Three will also reclaim that power from Strahd.

 Restoring the Fanes of Barovia will therefore become a late-
game quest required to confront and defeat Strahd. Find out

This is the very first and most important change to the
more about the Fanes of Barovia on page 25 of this guide.
campaign. Strahd is quite literally immortal and does not
perish if he's reduced to 0 hit points while in sunlight, while
in running water, or because he cannot return to his coffin in

Buffing Strahd
time.
Strahd is not immortal because he is a vampire. He's While a statblock is hardly required for Strahd
immortal because of his connection to the Dark Power,
when he possesses the power of the Fanes, since
Vampyr. Strahd's status as a Darklord makes his rule eternal.
parties are unlikely to fight him before the final
confrontation, some Dungeon Masters might find
Replace Strahd's Misty Escape feature with the following:
one useful for their own peace of mind.
Though this guide does not provide such a
Strahd's connection with Vampyr makes him truly immortal. statblock, here are some changes you might
When Strahd drops to 0 hit points outside his coffin, he consider when developing your own.
transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait)
Give Strahd at least 500 hit points in addition
instead of falling unconscious or dying. While he has 0 hit to those he has from the Heart of Sorrow. You
points in mist form, he is immune to all effects and attacks might also enhance his regeneration ability to
and must immediately travel to his coffin, where he reverts to 50 hit points per turn.
his vampire form, unconscious and paralyzed. Strahd wakes
Give Strahd immunity to bludgeoning, piercing,
and slashing damage from non-magical
with full hit points the following dusk. weapons, as well as immunity to fire, cold, and
lightning damage.
Strahd should have some sort of trait that
As the campaign progresses and the players become allows him to control nature in Barovia. At will,
acclimated to Barovia, they'll begin to question why no one he can change the weather, stop rivers, wither
has tried to dethrone Strahd before. At that point, many forests, and perhaps even change the phases of
NPCs can and will inform the party that others have not only the moon.
tried, but have succeeded in killing Strahd in the past. Strahd should have at least 5 charges of his
However, Strahd always resurrects within a day and kills his
legendary resistance per day.
quarry soon after. Strahd seems utterly unconquerable,
Remember that buffing Strahd's attack power
making him, "The Ancient."
shouldn't be relevant. The point of his connection
The new information of Strahd's immortality should push to the Fanes is enhancing his survivability and not
players towards investigating the source of that immortality. his ability to murder his enemies. Most of his
With this change, players are now required to explore existing attack power should be deadly enough,
Barovia in pursuit of a way to kill Strahd and discover the especially to mid-level parties.
source of his power.

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
Arriving in Baroiva
For 1st to 4th-level characters
Parties are transported to the foreign land of Barovia. There, they investigate the
Death House and the dour Village of Barovia. Later, they meet the mystical Vistani
seer, Madam Eva and have an encounter with a coven of hags in a decrepit windmill.
Dealings in Vallaki
For 4th to 5th-level characters
The players arrive in Vallaki, the largest town in the Barovia. There, they discover
all is not well as the political powers within vie for control over the town. The
players race to stop Vallaki from self-destructing.
Birds of a Feather
After settling in to this sunless domain, the party rescues a beloved winery and
stops an evil, druidic ritual. In doing so, they make valuable allies in the form of an
organization of wereravens.
Corruption and Curses
On the hunt for a way to defeat Strahd, the party travels to the western town of
Krezk. There, they discover a corrupted abbey and must help the town deal with a
threatening pack of werewolves in the nearby woods.
Revelations in the Ruins
The party must find the location of the mythical Amber Temple. But that vital
information is guarded in the fallen fortress of Argynvostholt and in the ruins of old
Berez. Players must fight undead revenants and evil witches alike.
Into the Mountains
The players brave the bitter cold of the Baritok mountains and find the ancient
Amber Temple. The temple is a den of evil and darkness, but it also holds the secret
of Strahd's defeat.
Storming Ravenloft
As the adventure races to a dramatic finish, players restore the Fanes of Barovia
and confront Strahd in his dreaded castle. Defeating the ancient vampire frees
Barovia from the mists and lets the sun shine on the land once again.

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 
By making Strahd both immortal and insanely powerful, After leaving the Village of Barovia, the party eventually
players are now required to explore Barovia and complete its comes across the Vistani encampment at Tser Pool. There,
many quests to defeat him. Players will have to make allies they have their fortunes told by the mystical seer, Madam Eva.
with powerful and/or intelligent NPCs to gain information These fortunes hint that destiny has brought the party to
and guidance. They'll also have to travel to the Amber Temple Barovia to defeat Strahd once and for all. After leaving the
to learn a method for untethering Strahd as Darklord of camp, the party reaches Level 4.
Barovia. And finally, they must travel to and deal with the Continuing their trek towards Vallaki, the party comes
events at Yester Hill, Berez, and other locations in order to across an old windmill on a hill. Should they investigate, the
restore the Fanes. party finds out the windmill is inhabited by a coven of hags
With these simple changes, parties can no longer that cook children into their pies. The party can choose to
theoretically grind levels against wolves in the woods to fight or flee from this terrifying encounter.
defeat Strahd. Traversing Barovia is now a much needed
narrative requirement to completing the campaign. 

 The party arrives in Vallaki, the largest town in Barovia. It
doesn't take them long to discover that the Burgomaster of
Vallaki is a fanatical dictator who "protects" the people with

The following section not only summarizes the campaign, but
absurd, weekly festivals to upkeep morale. Despite the
also provides a roadmap and leveling guide for DMs. Note
Burgomaster's greatest objections, all is not well in Vallaki
that the many changes and additions the Fleshing Out series
and an underground cell of equally fanatical resistance
provides to the game also increases the level cap of the
members seeks to overthrow him.
campaign to about Level 12.

The party begins at Level 1 in Faer ûn, traveling on the Trade
Way south of the Misty Forest. The Dungeon Master may
choose to use a number of adventure hooks to unite the party,
such as the hunt for a werewolf menace or simply traveling to
the town of Daggerford. One way or another, a mist descends
upon the travelers, transporting them to a foreign forest. After
aimlessly wandering this fog ridden wood, the party stumbles
upon a lone, vacant road.
With little else to do, the party follows the road and
eventually finds a tiny cluster of old buildings, including the
Death House from Appendix B. There, they engage the crying
children and eventually become trapped in the Death House.
They navigate the hauntings and eventually make their way
into the basement, where they gain Level 2. They then deal
with the monster in the basement, for better or worse.
Completing the Death House earns them Level 3.
Players continue to follow the Svalich road into the Village
of Barovia. There, they meet the distressed Ismark
Kolyanovich and help him bury his father. The party meets a
kind old woman who sells them dream pies as well as the
mad Father Donovich. The party also learns they are in
Barovia and trapped under Strahd's tyrannical rule.
Either through an escort mission involving Ismark's sister,
Ireena, or because the party needs to find safe haven
themselves, they are told to seek sancuary from Strahd in the
town of Vallaki.

8
Unfortunately, the resistance is far from the worst of the

Burgomaster's troubles. Unknown to him, the local church
was unconsecrated after the theft of a holy artifact. There's a In the aftermath of Vallaki's disaster, one of the easiest ways
terrible plot in place to release half a dozen starving vampire the players can get the town back on its feet is by
spawn upon the town at the upcoming Festival of the Blazing investigating the town's missing wine shipments. These
Sun to terrorize Vallaki's citizens and murder the local priest. shipments from the Wizards of Wine Winery stopped
mysteriously a couple weeks prior.

While in Vallaki, the players will likely gain over a dozen
quest hooks as well as find a few of their own personal stakes Back on the road, the players make their way to the winery
in Barovia. They'll follow one lead after another as they watch only to discover that it has been overrun by evil druids. After
Vallaki unravel and race to save as many innocent people as purging this threat, they learn that the vineyards will soon die
they can from the coming chaos. unless a magical gemstone is recovered from Yester Hill,
where other druids have converged. At the urgency of the

Following the Festival of the Blazing Sun and the attack of
Winery owners, the players go to retrieve the stolen gem.
the vampire spawn, the party receives Level 5 and they have
a direct influence over who rules Vallaki in the fallout. With Upon reaching Yester Hill, the players discover that tribes
the town in shambles, the party helps the people pick up the of evil forest folk are planning to bring a giant treant to life for
pieces and start anew. some nefarious purpose. The players go through a tough fight
to stop this ritual and recover the gemstone from the heart of
Vallaki is one of the largest chapters in the Curse of Strahd
the treant, more than earning them Level 6.
module and it is expected that players spend a number of
sessions in the town. Later, Vallaki can easily become a hub With the vineyard restored and the winery secure, the
or basecamp for their travels and operations against Strahd. players are tasked with delivering several shipments of wine
across Barovia. Shipments are due to the Vistani south of
Vallaki, to Vallaki itself, and to the town of Krezk.

9
 The players may also head towards Argynvostholt, a ruined
fortress southwest of Vallaki. The party's contacts inform
At this point in the campaign, players should have a relatively them that the knightly order that once lived in the fortress
good foundation for allies in Barovia. Most importantly, by may have known the location of the Amber Temple. Players
rescuing the Winery, they've made friends of the Martikov arrive at Argynvolstholt to find that it is populated by undead
family, who are not only well connected in Barovia, but are revenants who have been corrupted by their own hatred of
also the leaders of a secret cell of wereravens working Strahd. The ghost of Argynvost, a good-aligned silver dragon,
against Strahd. appears to the party and asks them to purify the knights of
The Martikovs and the party's other allies should begin to Argynvostholt. By helping the revenants and the dragon's
drop hints to the party about the desecrated Fanes of Barovia ghost, the party earns Level 9.
and Strahd's mysterious immortality. These allies provide
hooks to outlying locations where the players might find 

information and artifacts to defeat Strahd.
Players must now travel into the southern mountains in
At this point, the campaign becomes far more open and the
search of the long forgotten Amber Temple. Though they have
direction the party will go will vary from table to table.
vague knowledge of their destination, the path forward is

wrought with danger as the players must confront mountain
folk, local predators, and unforgiving cold. The journey is long
Despite the many plot hooks the party has at this point, their and harsh, but eventually, the players reach their destination.
most likely next destination will be the town of Krezk, to Once inside the Amber Temple, players find the remnants
deliver the missing wine. Not only is Krezk a new location of the mage order that once tried to combat the Dark Powers.
and therefore a curiosity to players, it also is home to a Unfortunately, all that remains are monsters, traps, and dark
couple possible informants to help in defeating Strahd: the magic. Players will have push through this horrible dungeon
Burgomaster and the Abbott. Because Krezk is also level to find the Temple's great library, which contains the answers
appropriate for the party, it is recommended that Dungeon they seek.
Masters use the Martikovs as mouth pieces to encourage that The players will gain quite a bit of lore from the Amber
the Krezk shipment of wine be the delivered first. Temple. They'll gain access to a ritual that can summon the
Once in Krezk, the players will learn that missing wine is Dark Power, Vampyr, to Barovia and seal him away again.
not the town's only problem. Krezk has been suffering a They'll also learn exactly how to reconsecrate the Fanes of
massive food shortage as of late and with the coming winter, Barovia, restoring their power and weakening Strahd.
the Burgomaster is very worried. The players will soon With these significant strides forward in the adventure, the
discover that Ilya, the Burgomaster's recently resurrected players descend from the mountains and head back towards
child, is responsible for the missing food. Ilya's resurrection the Barovian townships. They also earn Level 10.
was not wholly successful and the boy has been transformed
into a ravenous monster that must be killed. 

With Ilya dead and the people of Krezk devastated and
Now, players begin the arduous task of restoring the Fanes of
facing a hungry winter, the players can pursue two different
Baroiva.
plot hooks: one to the Abbey of St. Markovia to discover the
To restore the Mountain Fane, they must travel into the
source of Ilya's corrupted resurrection and one to the Fidatov
caverns beneath the Gulthias Tree at Yester Hill. They'll find
Manor, a wealthy estate outside Krezk that may have food
that the caverns are a strange limbo realm that unite life and
stores to spare. After discovering and purging the evils from
death. After confronting their personal demons and making it
both locations, the players earn Level 7.
to the bottom of the dungeon, the Huntress of Mountain Fane
 will regain her power.
To restore the Swamp Fane, the party must travel to Berez,
Through the party's many informants, they learn of the a ruined town half eaten by a cold swamp and ruled by evil
existence of the Amber Temple and of the desecrated Fanes witches. Players will have to fight and kill the leader of the
of Barovia. However, these informants don't know the witch cover, Baba Lysaga, and take her corrupted heart to
location of the temple or how exactly to help the Fanes. The restore the Weaver of the Swamp Fane.
party must look elsewhere for information on both. Lastly, to restore the Forest Fane, the players will have to
The players learn that the feral werewolf packs in the confront an ancient and corrupted wereraven at the shrine by
forests north of Krezk may have had a connection to the Old Bonegrinder. After conquering this evil, they successfully
Fanes long ago and may know a method of restoring them. If reconsecrate the shrine of the Seeker, the Forest Fane.
and when the party pursues this knowledge, they eventually After restoring the Fanes, the Ladies Three appear to the
find the Werewolf Den and must help the pack solve a local party in all their glory. They thank the players and gift each
power struggle. By doing so, the players learn the locations of character with some item or boon, many of which will be
the Fanes' three shines across the valley, though all three are exceptionally usefully in the final fight against Strahd. The
now inert. Completing the Werewolf Den and gaining this players also earn Level 11 for completing this daunting task.
information earns the party Level 8.

10

With the Fanes restored, the party is finally ready to fight
Strahd. Not only do that have a way to disconnect him from
Vampyr and therefore thwart his immortality, but they have
also weakened him considerably by restoring the Fanes.
At this point, Strahd is at full war with the players, angered
beyond reason over his weakened power. He will begin taking
out his wrath on the party in any way he can. While he may
not confront them in open combat, he'll start to murder their
allies and destroy their strongholds in retaliation. It's a race
to the finish as the party rushes to Castle Ravenloft in an
effort to stop Strahd before he can destroy everything they
have come to hold dear.
Upon their arrival, Strahd resolves to murder the party
once and for all. Out of propriety, he may allow them one last
dinner in his home before their fight commences, but
otherwise the party's stay at Castle Ravenloft is not pleasant.
The party fights Strahd and defeats him, earning Level 12..
They then use the ritual they learned at the Amber Temple to
summon Vampyr and fight him as well. After successfully
sealing away the Dark Power, Strahd loses his immortality
and dies. The campaign ends as the clouds above Baroiva
part and sun shines on the valley for the first time in
centuries.
’
 That being said, this is game. Yes, it’s a horror game, but even
 if a situation is truly dreadful, you and your players are
allowed to joke and laugh. Though the player characters are
There are several overall recommendations and mechanical suffering, your players most certainly should not be.
notes you should consider when running Curse of Strahd.

 Do NOT show your players the majority of the illustrations of
It is recommended you run this particular campaign for a various NPCs shown throughout the book!
smaller party, ideally 3-5 players. If you ever want to inspire friendship or trust between your
Human beings generally find safety in numbers and as a players and a NPC, showing them a terrifying character
gothic horror themed campaign, safety isn't something that portrait is not going to help. While the art throughout Curse
Curse of Strahd should promote. For example, you aren't of Strahd is beautiful and thematic, it's not terribly functional
going to feel as anxious marching into a haunted house in a for running the game. Instead, keep those NPC portraits to
party of 7 as you would with a single friend. Not only will a yourself, or at least keep them private until you're sure your
smaller party be easier to manage as the Dungeon Master, players are never going to meet that NPC again.
but it will also improve the overall tone of the game. The illustrations of Rose and Thorn, Morgontha, and Lady
Wachter are examples of images you should not show your

 players.
Additionally, it also recommended that you not show your

Remember that one of the main goals of Curse of Strahd is to
players the world map of Barovia. Barovia is a foreign land
corrupt the player characters. No matter how happy and pure
and the party should feel out of their element.
they may be entering Barovia, the horrors that characters
face and the double-edged choices they’ll be forced to make
are meant to change them for the worse.


Don't be afraid to hurt your player characters or present The Curse of Strahd module contains a number of excellent
them with lose-lose situations. There are some NPCs that maps for its many locations. However, much of the time using
simply can't be saved and some encounters that can't be won. the maps can actually hinder a session or distract players
Such loses and hardships should slowly break the player instead of help them. For example, while the map for the Blue
characters. Some will come out stronger from these Water Inn is beautiful, it's not really required unless a fight
hardships. Others will become as monstrous as the creatures breaks out at that location.
they fight. The majority of locations are better presented through
theater of the mind, summarizing travel through or past
unimportant rooms.
Of course, the maps for more dungeon-like locations, such
as the maps for the Amber Temple, should be presented
normally.

11
 
The spell remove curse is both too powerful and too Unless you have experience with evil player characters and
prevalent in Curse of Strahd. are completely comfortable running them at your table, it is
While curses can be interesting in any game, they're recommended that they be off-limits to players for this
arguably much more important in this specific campaign. campaign. While you might expect that a horror themed
Curses are supposed to be major plot points of this module game might better support evil alignments than other games,
and have significant effects on character growth, should they the exact opposite is actually the case. Evil player characters
come into play. tend to be highly problematic in Curse of Strahd and newer
However, almost all the negative ailments we see in the Dungeon Masters can get blindsided by their ineffectiveness
campaign can be cured by remove curse, a relatively easy to towards the plot of the game.
learn spell for player charactesr and something known by Evil player characters tend to work in direct opposition to
NPCs all over Barovia. As written, curses are inconsequential the plot of Curse of Strahd. In this campaign, the majority of
as a result. the hooks and transitions rely on the player characters' good
It is recommended that you either completely remove the nature to progress. Evil party members generally will not
spell remove curse from the available spell lists for this want to help those in need without reward and may ignore
campaign or that you increase the severity of all curses in the calls to adventure if it does not benefit them. In fact, they may
game so that they can only be cured with the greater be more inclined to cause turmoil to forward their own
restoration spell or an equivalent. desires. This can make it exceptionally hard to move the
story from one location to the next, let alone actually get
through the full narrative.
While the natural progression of the campaign may corrupt
player characters towards evil, at the very least they should
start out resistant to that change, allowing the party to settle
into Barovia before their alignments dissolve.

12

O
utside reading the setting background and
understanding the flow of the adventure,


where should you begin prepping this By far, the Tarokka reading at the Tser Pool Encampment is
campaign? one of the most iconic and influential elements of Curse of
Strahd. However, almost every guide or set of advice available
for this module tells Dungeon Masters to rig the initial
reading. The Fleshing Out series is no different.
 Pre-select the locations of the prophesied items, the party’s
potential ally, and the location of the final encounter with
First, decide how you wish to portray Strahd. Should he be Strahd. During the card reading, let your players draw
an enigmatic figure in a distant castle, or would you prefer a randomly from the deck but then read the results you already
more involved villain? have prepared. For more advice on this card reading and the
Remember that Strahd is a tyrant and a conqueror who best potential results, refer to the Vistani chapter of the
has confused love for ownership. He prioritizes wooing Fleshing Out series.
Tatyana’s reincarnation in an attempt to finally turn her into a By rigging the Tarokka reading, you can more adequately
vampire spawn. However, he knows that his many previous hook parties into various locations around Barovia and
attempts to do so have failed because of these reincarnations’ prevent all the vastly inferior results that may appear, such as
untimely deaths and proceeds with extreme caution. the Sunsword’s appearance in Madam Eva’s tent and the card
Otherwise, he takes an interest in the party to alleviate his that denotes no ally at all.
own boredom.
Push the idea that Strahd is an oppressive and abusive 

individual to all those he claims to love, including the land
Make sure to set up a Session 0 with your players to establish
itself. Also remember that he is arrogant, but frightfully
the expectations of the game. Curse of Strahd, as a horror-
intelligent, meaning he won’t fall for player characters’
themed module, contains many uncomfortable topics that
goading or paltry tricks.
may be sources of anxiety to potential players. For example,
Once you've decided how you wish to present Strahd in the
Curse of Strahd contains instances of substance abuse,
campaign, you'll be one significant step closer to Session 1.
cannibalism, child abuse, and suggestions of non-consensual
relationships, to name but a few of these traumatic subjects.
Make sure you define your players' personal limits long
before you start running this module.

Though it is recommended that you read the entirety of the
module before running the adventure, you only need to
prepare your adventure hook, Death House (should you
choose to run it), and the Village of Barovia for your opening
sessions.

Lastly, as your players develop characters for the campaign,
look for ways to incorporate their backstories into the
module. The following section details options to go about this
incorporation.

13


W
hile Curse of Strahd is one of the most
popular 5e modules to date, the isolated
nature of Barovia often prevents player Fated Adventurers
characters from having preexisting By connecting many or all of your player characters'
connections to the setting or story. While most backstories to Barovia, the players may end up
players can and will establish new connections feeling like these connections are a bit contrived.
to the campaign and come to care for certain After all, what's the likelihood that every character
NPCs, the early development of player characters with
in the party has a surprising connection to this
thriving backstories will end up stunted by simple necessity.
distant land?
However, the surmounting coincidences that
This lack of backstory involvement may end up
brought the player characters together in Barovia
disappointing players. A criminal organization that wronged a
can easily be attributed canonically to fate. Fate and
player character in their backstory will likely never be
foretelling are active motifs that appear repeatedly
confronted in this adventure. A player character with noble
throughout the Curse of Strahd campaign. Starting
ties and an established family will never have the chance to with the card reading in Madam Eva's tent, have
use those connections or have those familial interactions. this seer imply that the party's arrival in Barvoia
Such a disconnect may leave players feeling as though was hardly chance. You can then reinforce this
developing a backstory was a waste of time. sense of fate through Arabelle and other Vistani
In an effort to further engage players in the Curse of Strahd south of Vallaki, the fanatical Lady Fiona Wachter,
campaign, the following section details ways to connect the wise mages at the Amber Temple, and
player character backstories to this particular module.
countless other NPCs.
If you continuously reinforce the idea of fate to
the party, they will slowly but surely stop seeing
 their connections to Barovia as a narrative tool but
instead as a unifying destiny for their characters.
To hopefully guide players towards developing characters
with connections to Barovia, Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd
has an accompanying Player Primer available on the DM's
Guild. In particular, the Primer includes a document entitled,
"Mysterious Secrets" that can aid in connecting the players to
this campaign.

If possible, replace Ireena's character with that of a player
character. Instead of Ireena, a player character takes up the
role of Tatyana's reincarnation. Ireena's character is either
removed from the campaign or is given a more unimportant
role in the story.
The Reincarnation s Appearance'

While this character is traditionally female, Strahd is
canonically bisexual and a male version of Tatyana's
reincarnation can work if appropriate at your table.
Otherwise, make sure to change Tatyana's appearance in
the book to match the new description provided by the player.
In other words, if the potential new Tatyana reincarnation
described by the player has blonde hair instead of red, change
all descriptions of Tatyana and her past lives to having blonde
hair to match.

14
Though he doesn't elaborate on this point, the Dark
Running the Reincarnation s Story ' Powers sent him visions of Tatyana's arrival and stay at the
If you have a player character that might fit the role of burgomaster's mansion weeks before, inspiring his assault on
Tatyana's reincarnation, there are a few important details that the home to find her.
character will learn over the course of the campaign. During this brief meeting, Strahd only addresses the player
This character is now an essential part of Strahd's curse. character as Tatyana, and not by her character name, and
She is reborn over and over again just to die horribly before proclaims his love for her. He offers her his hand in marriage,
Strahd can claim her. but doesn't push for an immediate answer. However, there is
This player character should start the campaign without a vaguely threatening undertone to the conversation that
any idea of their past lives and learn about this curse slowly. implies the player character will end up with little choice.
For instance, dreams induced by dream pastries or drinking After Strahd's departure, Ismark informs the party of the
from the Pool of the White Sun in Krezk might bring back horror that it is to be chosen as one of Strahd's future brides.
memories of her time as Tatyana and she might recall loving He tells the party of the potential safety of Vallaki's walls and
a man in golden armor (Sergei). The ruins of Berez might cathedral and tells them to seek sanctuary there.
also feel exceptionally familiar to her and she might be able
to navigate certain parts of Castle Ravenloft instinctually. The Reincarnation s Endings '
Look for ways to pepper in ideas of this player character's The unsatisfying endings for Ireena which occur at the Pool
mysterious past lives and lead them to understand that they of the White Sun in Krezk and in the Epilogue section of the
are cursed to die young so long as Strahd survives. module are no longer needed if a player character takes up
the role of Tatyana's reincarnation. This character's story will
The Reincarnation s Safety ' instead end when they die in Barvoia, in accordance to
The original module makes note that Strahd goes to great Strahd's curse, or when they defeat Strahd and free
lengths to ensure Ireena's saftey. As written, most of the themselves forever.
monsters of Barovia avoid attacking her and she has Sergei's spirit might briefly reappear before moving on into
advantages with certain NPCs due to her status. While this the afterlife, but otherwise, defeating Strahd signifies the
works for a NPC, it is highly problematic for a player liberation of Tatyana from her abuser. This player character is
character. now free to move on and live their life anew.
In order to give the new reincarnation player character the
same sense of danger as the rest of the party, relax Strahd's
control over the beasts of his realm. For instance, wolves and

other monsters might only obey Strahd while he is in sight Whether or not Ireena's character is replaced with that of
and attack the party normally if Strahd is elsewhere. player character, it is recommended that you have a player
Additionally, Strahd wants Tatyana's reincarnation to submit character fill the role of Izek Strazni's missing sibling. If
to him willingly and giving her leniency and favoritism with you've already replaced Ireena with a player character, do not
past reincarnations could have feasibly cost him ground with also make Izek their long lost brother. Instead, give this
them. Strahd would avoid making such a mistake twice. connection to another player character.
At the end of the campaign, in the final confrontation with

Orphans and Missing Family
Strahd, Strahd finally understands that this reincarnation will
never submit and he regretfully moves to kill her himself. In order to fill this role, look for player characters that have
Strahd understands that she will only be reincarnated and dubious family backgrounds. Perhaps a player character is an
that he can try again with Tatyana's next iteration. orphan, born - but not raised - in Barovia. Izek is what
remains of their family. Or perhaps there is a player character
The Opening Quest in the Village of who's family was murdered in their backstory. This murdered
Barovia family now includes a brother, who's corpse was transported
to and resurrected in Barvoia, unknown to the player.

One of the first and most prominent quests in the Curse of
Strahd campaign is the escort mission involving Ireena, Racially, characters who are human, half human, or tiefling
which requires players to accompany Ireena to Vallaki and work best for the role of Izek's missing sibling, if only so you
later to Krezk to find a safe haven from Strahd. By removing may use his art or token if required. A tiefling sibling would
Ireena from the campaign, this quest disappears. also explain Izek's demon arm to a minor extent. However, if
no such race exists in your party, you can easily change Izek's
Instead, players arrive in the Village of Barovia to learn that
race to match a player character instead. For instance, if your
the stress of Strahd's harassing minions has driven the
party contains an orphaned dwarf character, Izek is now a
burgomaster, Ismark's father Kolyan, into an early grave.
burly dwarf with a demon arm instead of a human.
Ismark employs the party to help him carry the coffin to the
'
graveyard and persuade Father Donovich to preform a proper
Izek s Obsession
burial.
While Izek is obsessed with his missing sibling, he is fully
Later that evening, Strahd and his minions reappear at the
aware that they are related to him. While the book tells of his
door of the burgomaster's mansion for a brief meeting.
taboo love for his missing sister, such a connection could be
Strahd expresses his sympathies over the death of the
uncomfortable to have with a player character. Instead, Izek is
burgomaster (but shows no signs of guilt or remorse for
highly aware of his relation to his missing family member and
causing the death) and implies that his knowledge of
while he is still overprotective of them, he harbors no
Tatyana's impending arrival made him overzealous towards
romantic inclinations towards them.
the late burgomaster.

15
Since their separation as children, Izek has had
unexplainable, prophetic dreams about his missing sibling.
Over the years, he has watched this sibling grow up in his
dreams and would recognize them from across a crowded
room. The hundreds of dolls in Izek's room are all of this
sibling player character and heavily resemble the player
character at different stages of their life thus far.

If your party contains a player character that is searching for
someone, that someone might easily be Rudolph van Richten.
Another Pupil
While haunted by his losses and an overall grim man,
Rudolph van Richten makes for an excellent past mentor for
a player character. He is an accomplished monster hunter,
doctor, and adventurer and has been known to traverse
between planes in the past.
It is extraordinarily easy to give van Richten a second pupil
that he may have trained before or after Ezmerelda. After
receiving word of Strahd's oppressive rule over Barovia and
securing a path into the demiplane, he left this player
character without explanation or a way to follow. After
arriving in Barovia, the player character learns that their
mentor may be closer than they think.
Hunting a Killer
While van Richten is generally a good man who cares for the
lives and well-being of common folk, he is also a determined
individual who is willing to sacrifice lives for the good of
many. He does not hesitate in combat and takes no quarter
against monsters. For instance, van Richten is not the sort of
man to let a werewolf live based on good behavior or
sympathy. He would sooner break a dam and flood a village to
stop a vampire infestation, killing every innocent inhabitant,
than let the vampires scourge grow.
It's entirely possible that van Richten murdered a friend or
family member of a player character, either because that
person was somehow dangerous or because they were a
victim of collateral damage. That player character might be
out for revenge and attempt to hunt down van Richten.
Interacting with Van Richten
When a player character makes it to Barovia and is on the
hunt for van Richten, van Richten will not reveal himself to
them unless under dire circumstances. Even if he recognizes
the player character as his former pupil, he values his hunt
for Strahd more than relinquishing his disguise as Rictavio.
However, while disguised, van Richten might attempt to help
his former student with dubious advice on the horrors of
Barovia.
Should a player character meet van Richten under less
favorable circumstances, like on the hunt for revenge, van
Richten will attempt to persuade the player character out of
attacking by describing the necessity of preserving the
greater good. However, if such persuasions seem ineffectual,
van Richten will show this player character no mercy.

16

A dragonborn, a sorcerer with unknown magical origin, or an
godless but good aligned aasimar may get their abilities from
their distant connection to the silver dragon.

While player characters with the Warlock class are the most
Before the start of the campaign, this character may have
obvious choice for this campaign hook, most any character
started to recieve visions of a fallen castle and a call for help.
can adopt this secret provided they have the right backstory
elements. At one point in their backstory, a player character

Hunting the Fallen
may have come in contact with some ancient and mysterious
Paladins and clerics of good domains and oaths may receive
entity. Maybe they interrupted a ritual or inherited some
important callings from their patron god. If you have a player
strange artifact from a family member. Now, their connection
character with an inclination towards some holy quest,
with this enigmatic entity has drawn them to Barovia.
consider plugging the idea of a demon in need of purging. As
the campaign progresses, these vision get more and more

A Sealed Dark Power
clear, revealing that the unholy creature is not only a man, but
The Dark Powers sealed away in the Amber Temple, while
some kind of fallen angel.
unable to truly influence the planes from within their prisons,
Eventually, this player character discovers the Abbott and
can still communicate with individuals willing to listen.
his terrible madhouse. Stopping the Abbott from continuing
Vampyr, for instance, spoke to Strahd for some time before
his depravity would satisfy this character's holy quest.
convincing Strahd to free him.
It's possible that a sealed Dark Power managed to reach
through the planes and randomly find a player character that 
would listen. In return for power or perhaps some one-time
Dusk elves are one of the few alternate races native to
assistance, the player character has been tasked with helping
Barovia. Like drow, they have dark skin, but instead have
their mysterious patron. After the player character finds
black hair and dark eyes to match. The dusk elves,
themselves in Barovia, their connection to the Dark Power
unfortunately, are far from a thriving race. During Strahd's
grows and eventually ends with a demand that they are freed
first conquest, he and his father's armies decimated the dusk
from the Amber Temple.
elves. Centuries later, Strahd ordered all their women
This personal quest may end with the player character
executed and their race has been slowly dying out ever since.
succumbing to the request and potentially freeing the ancient
evil for unknown and long-reaching effects. It may also end

The Last Dusk Elf
with them taming their patron or further sealing away the
It is possible that one dusk elf female survived the purge of
Dark Power that contacted them.
their women and is a player character. Perhaps her parents
managed to steal her away in a Vistani caravan as a baby,

Restoring the Fanes
letting her grow and thrive in another plane. Or, perhaps, a
The Fleshing Out series heavily relies on the Fanes of
player character is a male and after discovering their broken
Barovia to push the players forward in the adventure. The
brethren, will take up the thematic role of Kasimir in
Fanes consist of a trio of ancient archfey called the Ladies
pursuing a way to resurrect a dusk elf female. Lastly, if there
Three. At the start of the campaign, the Ladies are all but
is a player character that wishes to play a dusk elf male, you
powerless, reduced to the forms of undying, elderly women.
could instead gender swap the whole subplot, making all the
It's possible that one of these Ladies has secretely
remaining dusk elves in Barovia female.
employed the help of a player character to restore the Ladies
No matter the role, a dusk elf player character has grown
to their former glory. In particular, Jeny Greenteeth, the
up outside Barovia. Make sure to tell this player that their
former Weaver of the Swamp Fane, is an avid trickster who is
character is assuredly an elf, but that their physical
more than willing to interact with mortals and traverse the
appearance is unlike any known subrace. If this character
planes. Jeny may have befriended a player character in their
was raised by elves, they are most certainly adopted or at the
backstory without revealing her true identity. As the
very least were born under dubious circumstances.
campaign progresses, it's Jeny who reappears and quietly
Discovering the broken remnants of the dusk elves in
pushes the party forward in their quest.
Barovia should motivate this player character to seek revenge

on Strahd and to lead their people back to their former glory.
Curse of Strahd is a gothic horror campaign filled to the brim 

with desecrated land and undead creatures. It's likely that at
There are no doubt other ways to connect player character
least one player will be interested in playing a divine class,
backstories to the Curse of Strahd campaign or otherwise
subclass, or race in order to combat the coming horrors.
personalize the adventure for your party. If the above
suggestions don't inspire you or otherwise seem appealing,

A Draconic Bloodline
look for alternate ways to incorporate your player characters'
It's possible that instead of some horrible dark secret, a
backstories into the module. Above all things, remember to
player character's family might harbor some good familial
have fun!
trait. If one of your player characters develops a backstory
that has some revealed, blood-related secret, consider giving
that character a connection to Argynvost, the silver dragon.

17

T
he Barovian valley lays nestled within the If a creature attempts to leave Barovia by traveling into the
Balinok Mountains and is rich in natural mists without Strahd's permission, use the following rules to
magic. The environment is loosely based off determine the outcome of the attempt.
real-world Romania, with cool summers and

Time itself is warped within the mists. A day in the mist is
frost ridden winters. Under Strahd's reign, the
equivalent to about an hour in Barovia.
land has slowly taken a darker turn, with
A creature will roll two checks for each day they spend in
monsters gaining strength in the Svalich
the mist: one to determine if they are noticed by the Dark
woods and the people relying on old customs to stay safe and
Powers swimming within, and one to gain levels of
sane.
exhaustion and mark the passage of days.
This section of the Fleshing Out guide aims to redefine and
The first check is a straight d20 roll, DC 10. On a failure, a
expand upon the lore regarding the setting of Curse of Strahd
Dark Power notices the creature and tries to pursue them
and should provide everything Dungeon Masters need to run
through the mist. Describe this event as a giant, shadow
an adventure set in the Barovian valley.
like horror descending on them. By running or cowering,
 the creature manages to evade the Dark Power, but takes
a -1 penalty to their all their core stats. All the penalties
accumulated by failing this daily check last 1d4 + 1 days

As a quick reminder, any magic meant to facilitate planar
after the creature has escaped the mists. Additionally, you
travel or otherwise leave Baroiva simply fails. Barovia is a
might give this creature a temporary or permanent
closed demiplane entirely controlled by Strahd. While every
madness from the DMG for failing this check.
so often, an outsider might wander into the realm through the
The second check in a DC 12 Constitution saving throw. A
mists - like the players might at the start of the campaign -
failure will give the creature 1 level of exhaustion. Making
leaving Barovia is impossible without Strahd's permission.
this check also marks a day gone by in the mist.
If players wonder why Barovians don't leave the realm with
After a creature accumulates a total of 3 successful checks
magic, it's recommended that you allow them to discover the
from either or both categories, they find their way out of
ineffectiveness of such magic organically. For instance, if a
the mists and stumble back into Barovia at the location
Wizard player character takes the spell banishment when
from which they left, hungry, tired, and confused.
they gain access to 4th level spells, they might go to cast the

spell and see it fail without explanation. While this might
seem harsh, it also reflects the restricted and unforgiving
nature of Barovia.
As a reminder, there is no natural sunlight Barovia for the
 purposes of overcoming resistances. Shortly before sunrise, a
thick layer of cloud cover stretches over the sky, muting the
There is a physical wall of mist that surrounds Barovia and light of the day. Most evenings, these clouds dissipate to
isolates the land. The mist wall reaches into the sky and it is reveal the starry sky and the moon above.
impossible to see within it more than a few feet at a time. The overcast skies are a passive outcome of Strahd's
Strahd is the only creature that can open and close the power over Barovia. Indirectly, Vampyr moves the weather in
mists at will, allowing interplanar travel. However, because he such a way to protect his Darklord. However, Strahd's control
is a Darklord and bound to this demiplane, he ironically can't over the Fanes of Barovia means that he has control over the
leave Barovia himself. Because of the debt he owes the weather and can get rid of the cloud cover if he chose, though
Vistani, he opens and closes the mists for their travel without he most certainly has no reason to do so.
question, unless a Vistana has broken that trust in some way.
A creature who travels into the mists immediately loses
their sense of time and direction. There is no day and night
cycle within the mist and the environment is nothing but
stone-like ground and a dense fog that limits vision to about
15 feet at a time.
If a tether or something similar is used to protect someone
from the mist, such as tying a rope around a traveling
creature, the rope goes slack shortly after the creature
disappears from view. If the rope is pulled back, the end is
cleanly severed, as if cut by an invisible wall. Additionally, if
multiple creatures enter the mist at the same time, they
immediately become separated from one another and each
continue their travel alone.

18

Additionally, travel time in Barovia is essential for pushing
the dangers of the land. As written, there's no reason citizens
can't quickly travel between towns, thus limiting the danger of

Most Dungeon Masters agree that the general scale of
such travel. However, if travelers are forced to spend nights
Barovia is abysmally small. According to the Player's
on the road, that travel no longer seems viable to common
Handbook, parties can travel for 8 hours in a day and can
folk. Putting additional travel time between locations also
cover 24 miles in that day at a normal marching pace. As
ehances Barovia's sense of isolation, a key thematic
written, the map of Barovia is only about 20 miles wide (80
ingredient to any horror setting.
hexes x .24 miles per hex), meaning that player characters
can realistically travel the entire width of Barovia in under a


day.
For the many reasons above, it is recommended that you
 increase the scale of Barovia to allow for longer travel times
between locations.
Travel time is an extraordinarily important aspect of
The Fleshing Out guides recommends that you change the
Dungeons & Dragons world building. Not only does it give
world map to 1 hex = 1 mile. However, you might also extend
players the illusion of time to settle into the world, making
the distances to 1 hex = 2 miles and double the results on the
settings feel more visceral, but it also forces a campaign to
following map and table.
slow down, giving players a chance to role-play between one
No matter how you adjust the scale of Barovia, you want
another and build their in-character relationships without the
your players to spend at least one night in camp between
many distractions within townships. Travel time also allows
each major location, if not two. Give your party the
players to read books and investigate magic items found in
opportunity to have night-time random encounters, role-play
game.
amongst themselves, or otherwise use the time to process
Additionally, camp time is prime for random encounters.
things that have happened in the campaign thus far. If they
Wolf attacks and similar dangers will help the players feel like
don't seem to need that time, you can simply montage the
they're developing their abilities, making them feel like
travel with a short description. Even a short narration can
they've earned their skills through time and practice.
give the campaign a little breathing room to make the setting
However, with the as written distances, players can feasibly
feel more believable.
go from levels 1-10 in about two in-game weeks. That kind of
power spike is quite unbelievable.
This Map Assumes 1 Hex = 1 Mile:

19
Miles (1 Time (1 Miles (1 Time (1 Difficult Final Days
Travel Path Hexes hex = 1/4) hex = 1/4) hex = 1) hex = 1) Terrain Travel
4 hrs 20
Outer Gate to Village of Barovia 13 3.25 miles 1 hr 5 min 13 miles Yes 1 Day
min
Village of Barovia to Tser Pool 1 hr 30
18 4.5 miles 18 miles 6 hrs No 3/4 Day
Camp min
Tser Pool Camp to Inner Gate 12 3 miles 1 hr 12 miles 4 hrs No 1/2 Day
1 hr 15
Inner Gate to Castle Ravenloft 15 3.75 miles 15 miles 5 hrs No 1/2 Day
min
3 hrs 40
Inner Gate to Old Bonegrinder 11 2.75 miles 55 min 11 miles No 1/2 Day
min
8 hrs 20
Old Bonegrinder to Vallaki 25 6.25 miles 2 hr 5 min 25 miles No 1 Day
min
Vallaki to the Luna River 1 hr 20
4 1 mile 20 min 4 miles No 1/4 Day
Crossroads min
Luna River Crossroads to
12 3 miles 1 hr 12 miles 4 hrs No 1/2 Day
Richten's Tower
1 hr 10 4 hrs 40
Luna River Crossroads to Berez 14 3.5 miles 14 miles Yes 1 1/4 Days
min min
Luna River Crossroads to 1 hr 20 5 hrs 20
16 4 miles 16 miles No 3/4 Day
Argynvostholt min min
Luna River Crossroads to Raven
12 3 miles 1 hr 12 miles 4 hrs No 1/2 Day
River Crossroads
Raven River Crossroads to 1 hr 20 5 hrs 20
16 4 miles 16 miles No 3/4 Day
Argynvostholt min min
Raven River Crossroads to
6 1.5 miles 30 min 6 miles 2 hrs No 1/4 Day
Richten's Tower
3 hrs 40
Raven River Crossroads to Krezk 11 2.75 miles 55 min 11 miles No 1/2 Day
min
4 hrs 20
Raven River Crossroads to Winery 13 3.25 miles 1hr 5 min 13 miles No 1/2 Day
min
Raven River Crossroads to
36 9 miles 3 hrs 36 miles 12 hrs Yes 3 Days
Tsolenka Pass
3 hrs 20
Winery to Yester Hill 10 2.5 miles 50 min 10 miles Yes 1 Day
min
1 hr 40 6 hrs 40
Tsolenka Pass to Amber Temple 20 5 miles 20 miles Yes 2 Days
min min

20
A Reminder of Rules Player Facing Maps
The following is a simple list of travel rules from It is highly recommended that you do NOT show
pages 181-182 of the Player's Handbook. players the world map of Barovia!
Players should be new to Barovia and unaware of
A party can travel 8 hours in a day, covering 24 the general layout of the land, much like their
miles in those 8 hours. This travel assumes the characters. Not providing them a map is good for
party is taking small breaks and pacing making them feel alienated and out of their depth
themselves along the way. in this foreign setting.
Parties can choose to travel at a Fast Pace to If and when there comes a time when player
cover more ground. They travel 30 miles in 8 characters can obtain a map within the game, such
hours at a Fast Pace, but their passive as from the Burgomaster of Vallaki, from van
Perception is reduced by 5, making the player Richten, or perhaps even from a shop for a
characters more vulnerable to attack. significant price, provide them with a more
Parties can also choose to travel at a Slow Pace ambiguous, hand-drawn map. There are several
and only cover 18 miles in a day. However, alternative maps available across the Internet. Here
traveling slowly means they are able to travel are a couple recommended examples:
stealthily.
Difficult terrain applies to long distance travel Barovia Hand Drawn Maps available on the
as well. Traveling through the wilds or using DM's Guild.
more dangerous roads may slow the party, Map to the Barony of Barovia by u/theBlackBlue
forcing them to move at half speed and on Reddit
effectively doubling the amount of time it takes
the party to travel that distance.
Traveling with mounts or vehicles can expedite
travel speed.

Barovia is a dour and hopeless land and, for the most part,
Traveling with a mount effectively adds 4 miles that attitude is reflected in its inhabitants.
of distance to a day's travel.
Traveling with a wagon, carriage, or other land
vehicle provides no bonus to travel. As written,

land vehicles only provide bonuses towards Barovia is not the most diverse realm in the universe. While
carrying capacity and little else. the book says that Barovians are used to seeing fantastical
However, at the Dungeon Master's discretion, races from a constant influx of adventurers, it is
party members may be able to take short rests recommended that you instead limit the number of travelers
or perform light activities while riding in a that come to Barovia by a large margin.
vehicle, provided a single character takes
One of the most important marks of horror is isolation. If
responsibility of driving the vehicle.
players are under the impression that Barovia receives
Additionally, you may provide the same mount
bonus to a day's travel distance for vehicles. countless visitors, they will most likely feel more comfortable
in the setting, which is exactly the opposite of the tone you'd
Traveling longer than 8 hours in a day posses like to accomplish in this campaign. Instead, a handful of
certain risks to the party, detailed below. foreigners might slip through the mists every decade or two,
giving Barovia just enough diversity that the locals won't be

Trying to travel longer than 8 hours at a time
floored to see a dwarf, but will also find the appearance most
requires a Constitution saving throw from each
unusual.
player character. Failure means gaining a point
of exhaustion. The rules suggest the DC for this Otherwise, Barovians are almost exclusively human by
check equal 10 + the number of extra hours race. Every so often, a tiefling is born into their society, just
traveled. However, for simplicity's sake, you like in any other setting. Additionally, Barovia is home to the
might leave this check a straight DC 10. last remaining dusk elves, a rare subrace of elves. Otherwise,
Additionally, if parties do not stop to take a any dwarves, halflings, normal elves, or other races are either
long rest in a 24 hour period, most Dungeon former adventurers or descendants of those who became
Masters employ the Going Without a Long Rest trapped in Barovia decades prior. Non-humans remain
rules on page 78 in Xanathar's Guide to exceptionally rare in Barovia, though not unheard of.
Everything. These rules state that parties who
choose not to long rest must make a 
Constitution saving throw or risk taking a point
of exhaustion. However, many Dungeon Frankly, there aren't enough people in Barovia to
Masters do not require a roll and instead make appropriately support an economy as written and increasing
this point of exhaustion mandatory. the populace is another recommended change to the setting,
if only so that the endurance of the townships is believable.

21

Outside of pure logistics, "tiny, scared village stuck in the
dark ages" can get old to players as months of sessions roll The people of Barovia share common knowledge and
by. Part of the success of horror comes in seeing the good. superstitions amongst them. The following are lists of
For moments of terror and isolation, there should also be information that the odd NPC might know, outside of the
times of joy and comfort. For the miles and miles of horrible more informed and named individuals in the book. The
woods and dark dungeons, there should also be places of following lists also either repeat or alter the information
civilization and normalcy. found in the book.
For those reasons, the Fleshing Out series has rewritten

Of Monsters
the population numbers of Barovia. For a more in-depth
analysis on the changed populations, see each location's Near every Barovian knows that Strahd is not only King of
appropriate chapter in the Fleshing Out guides. Barovia, but also a dreaded high vampire. While he rarely
takes a role in local politics outside collecting taxes, he
Town/Group Population tends to take consorts from the populace every decade or
Village of Barovia 500 - 600 so. Those who voluntarily become one of Strahd's
consorts are usually considered evil, crazy, or

Vallaki 1500 - 2000 extraordinarily misguided individuals. Otherwise, being
Krezk 75 - 100 chosen by Strahd to become his potential bride or groom
is one of the most dreaded fates to anyone in the valley.

Forest Folk 150 - 200 Vampires are one of the greatest threats in the valley. All
Vistani 150 - 250 vampires in Barovia were either created by Strahd or by
one of his spawn and are therefore under Strahd's

Dusk Elves 50 - 75 complete control. Most Barovians know that vampires
can't enter a home without permission and are harmed by
 sunlight, but are unaware of other methods of combating
them. Additionally, most Barovians believe that garlic

Barovian names follow the conventions of old Slavic and
wards away vampires, though this is untrue.
Romanian culture, which can be rather confusing to some
Barovians also know that werewolves are cursed and
Dungeon Masters and players.
diseased individuals that run in packs in the woods. Most
More often than not, an NPC's surname is taken from the
know that werewolves can be harmed by silver and that
name of their father. For instance, the name Ismark
being bitten by one means becoming one of them.
Kolyanovich quite literally means, 'Ismark, son of Kolyan.'
While the woods are filled with a great many other
Similarly, Ismark's father's name is Kolyan Indirovich, which
threats, the most common are packs of wolves. Barovians
means 'Koylan, son of Indir.' This convention changes slightly
generally don't dare to travel outside their townships in
for woman, where the '-ovich' is changed to '-ana' or '-ova.' We
fear of these threats.
see this change in characters like Ireena Kolyana, who's
name means 'Ireena, daughter of Kolyan.' Most characters do

Faiths
not lose their surname when they marry. For instance, Urwin
The only known god and organized religion in Barovia is
Martikov's wife still possesses her family name and is called
the following of the Morninglord, a good aligned sun god.
Danika Dorakova.
From their centuries of isolation, Barovians haven't picked
However, this naming convention isn't absolute across
up any other alternate pantheons or gods. However, since
Curse of Strahd. For example, all the blood related members
Strahd's rise to power, the Morninglord has failed to
of the Martikov family possess the Martikov surname,
answer a single prayer. Paladins are non-existent and
regardless of their father's name.
clerics are in extremely short supply in Barovia.
Because of the confusion these naming conventions can
Nearly half of the forest folk worship Strahd as a god of
cause for both Dungeon Masters and players, you may choose
Barovia. Settled Barovians from the townships tend to
to negate them entirely for something more modern or more
believe all forest folk are evil and worship Strahd.
western. You might instead present Kolyan, Ismark, and
The Ladies Three were a trio of nature goddess that lived
Ireena all as Indirovich's and Danika as a Martikov, for
in the valley before Strahd's arrival. About half of the
instance. Much of the Fleshing Out series employs this
forest and mountain folk still worship the Ladies. Though
general change and you will see it noted throughout chapters
it is rare, the odd settled Barovian might have heard of the
of this guide whenever such a change occurs.
Ladies as well, and leave offerings to them to promote
good harvest. In the Fleshing Out series, the Ladies Three
completely replace Mother Night.

22
Superstitions
It has quite literally been centuries since the sun has
shone on Barovia. Though the people worship the
Morninglord out of tradition, there's a rare superstition
that the sun simply doesn't exist at all.
Ravens are symbols of good luck. Conversely, it's bad luck
to harm or kill a raven and the majority of Barovians will
treat anyone that does so as a doomed pariah.
Redheads are often considered bad luck. Tatyana and all
her reincarnations, Ireena included, have red hair. Though
Barovians are completely unaware of Tatyana, the
generations have slowly noticed that red-haired people
tend to meet poor ends with early graves. As a result, most
Barovians consider red haired individuals as bad luck. If
you end up replacing Ireena with a player character, as
detailed in the Connecting Player Characters to the Curse
of Strahd Campaign section, you may change this
superstition as you see fit.
Biases
Most Barovians do not care for the Vistani, believing them
all agents of Strahd because they alone can leave Barovia.
Most Barovians also think quite poorly of the forest and
mountain folk, seeing them as primitive peoples who'd
sooner murder their children in service of Strahd.
While the Vistani are generally an open and welcoming
people, they have a cultural superiority complex against
Barovians, believing them too serious and far too boring.
The forest and mountain folk have come to resent the


civilized people of Barovia. The half that actually worship There are three distinct biomes in the Barovian valley:
Strahd see them as cattle for the vampire lord. And the forests, mountains, and swamp. There are also very brief
half that still worship the Ladies tend to hate Barovians expanses of plains and grassland that usually develop
for having forgotten the nature goddesses. between breaks in the Svalich woods, but such grassland is
Ironically, all Barovians lack any bias against foreign hardly relevant to the overall terrain of Barovia. These
races. Besides finding dwarves, goliaths, and the like biomes combined with Barovia's sunless sky limit the variety
unusual oddities, they harbor no outright ill-will towards of flora and fauna that thrive in the valley.
foreign beings.
Similarly, no major groups harbor ill-will towards dusk 

elves. Instead, most Barovians regard them with a general
The lack of sunlight in Barovia hinders large scale farming in
overwhelming pity, as they are victim's of Strahd's anger.
the valley. The people of Barovia can't live off the skills of
hunters and fishermen alone, though.

Common Knowledge
The following list of crops are those that can grow with
All Barovians know the general locations of the major
almost no direct sunlight. Note that most of these crops
settlements - the Village of Barovia, Vallaki, and Krezk -
usually have more desaturated leaves and vines than their
and of Castle Ravenloft. The settled peoples also generally
healthy counterparts, often making the plants appear either
know the name of the Burgomaster of each town.
darker or lighter from the sunlight deficiency. Also remember
Wine is one of the most important drinks of the valley and
that most of the products of these crops will be small and
the lone Winery that supplies it is held in high esteem.
under-grown, meaning that farmers have to work twice as
The ruins of Berez lie in the bogs by the Luna River.
hard and plant more crops to grow enough produce.
Strahd destroyed Berez when their people openly defied
Spices and crops that require warmer environments, like
him in some way. Now, the ruins are home to a coven of
sugarcane and rice, are completely unavailable in Barovia
crazed, witch women. If a woman goes missing from one
except by extraordinarily rare Vistani imports. Even though
of the townships, many Barovians will believe she joined
the Vistani are more than capable of importing food stocks
their evil sisterhood.
and foreign alcohol, their poor relationship with the rest of
The two holiest locations in Barovia are the Church of St.
Barovia means they generally keep their trade goods to
Andral in Vallaki and the Abbey of St. Markovia in Krezk.
themselves.
There are other scattered ruins around Barovia, namely
the strange monoliths at Yester Hill, the old mage tower

Barovian crops include:
on Baritok Lake, and the old fortress southwest of Vallaki
Beet, cabbage, carrots, celery, collards, coriander, dill, garlic,
(Argynvostholt). However, no one knows the purpose or
kale, mustard greens, parsley, potatoes, radishes, tarragon,
history of any of these ruins. Additionally, no one has
and turnips.
heard of or is aware of the location of the Amber Temple.

23
 The people also raise pens of pigs, which they readily
slaughter for food. Lastly, though the meat of predators is
Outside of monsters, wolves, and ravens, we rarely see generally tough and unfavorable to most cultures, Barovians
mention of other wildlife in the printed module. Even the consider wolf meat a delicacy, as consuming it represents a
Adventure's League chapters surrounding Barovia mention minor victory over the horrors of Barovia.
that wolves are almost the exclusive inhabitants of the wilds.
However, that's simply not plausible, or the valley would be all 
but purged of life after a few decades.
Wine
The only mass produced alcoholic beverage available in
not
The compiled tables below include animals that would be
Barovia is wine. No beer. No mead, whiskey, or ale. .
native to Barovia. These tables certainly do include every
Quite frankly, Barovia doesn't have the environment to
animal found is such an environment, but they're
support the crops needed to make other alcohol.
comprehensive enough to satisfy a session in a pinch,
Though it's possible to produce forms of spirits from
especially if you have a Druid in your party.
potatoes, Barovians lack the sophistication, man power, and
 land to mass produce it. What crops they have are already
undergrown, so dedicating whole fields towards producing
Barovia's limited number of crops and livestock usually spirits when they already have wine available is generally ill-
makes for more uninspired meals. However, the hardy people advised.
of the valley have learned to make due. All wine in Barovia comes from the Wizards of Wine
Potatoes are by far the largest staple of Barovian diets. Winery, south of Krezk. The winery is known for three
Most tables have potatoes in near every meal, with potato vintages of wine: the most common and standard Purple
pottages and porridges commonplace to feed large families. Grapemash No. 3, the slightly more tantalizing Red Dragon
Without wheat available, Barovians even make their bread Crush, and the finely made Champagne du le Stomp, which
out of potatoes. they stopped producing about ten years ago after the theft of
Otherwise, Barovians use their spice crops to liven up their a magic gemstone. The winery also very rarely produces a
meals. They produce basic celery salt to mix into most dishes grape-based brandy, similar to real-world P álinka. However,
and favor garlic to ward off vampires. Barovians also tend to because this takes so much time to produce, only the very
favor root based salad dishes and vegetable soups, since wealthy citizens of Barovia own bottles for special occasions.
they're easy to make and feed many at a time. The Vistani are the only group that have access to other
Barovian diets tend to favor protein more than other alcohol from their travels beyond the mist, though they
cultures, since animals are more easily cared for than crops themselves culturally prefer wine and don't tend to carry
in this setting. Chickens, sheep, and goats are generally kept other varieties of drink. Additionally, their poor relationship
alive as long as possible for their eggs, whool, and goat milk, with local Barovians prevents most trade between Vistani
but are regular staples of Barovian meals. and those trapped in Barovia.
Wild Animals
Environment Predators Game Birds Other

Ravens, Owls, Falcons, Larks,
Wolves, Boar, Bears, Deer, Rabbits,
Woods Jackdaws, Pheasant, Doves, Rats, Bats
Lynx, Foxes Squirrels, Mice
Thrush
Ravens, Owls, Larks, Rats, Bats,
Swamps Wolves, Boar, Snakes Muskrats
Jackdaws, Thrush Frogs/Toads
Wolves, Bears, Lynx, Rabbits, Mountain
Mountains Ravens, Owls, Falcons Rats, Bats
Foxes Goats, Squirrels
Domestic/Production Animals
Food Production Pets/Labor Fish

Sheep Dogs Carp
Goats Cats Perch
Chickens Horses Pike
Domesetic Boar (hairy pigs) Donkeys Trout

24

L
ong before Strahd's conquest, the Barovian The religious practices involving the Ladies were usually
valley was once an untamed land watched over communes with nature. A worshiper might live alone in the
by a trio of ancient archfey. The forest folk of woods for a year in respect for the Ladies amd then return
old called these archfey, The Ladies Three, and home spiritually awakened. Other rituals included great
built great, monolithic shrines in their honor. seasonal feasts and village-wide pilgrimages to the major
The Ladies Three were chaotic beings of shrines.
nature, as wild as the land itself. Though they
possessed physical forms, they rarely showed themselves to 

mortals. Instead, they would appear in auguries, dreams, and
After Strahd's arrival and the introduction of the religion of
omens, speaking through the mouths of animals and in the
the Morninglord, worship of the Ladies rapidly declined in the
wind that mused the trees.
valley. Unfortunately, few Barovians remember the Ladies
Shortly after Strahd became a Darklord, he cemented his
Three and their shrines are no more than relics of a bygone
rule over the land by stealing power from the Ladies Three,
era to the current populace. However, the odd nursery rhyme
reducing these once great archfey to little more than
or folk tale perseveres.
immortal, but powerless, hags.
Outside of the settled Barovian townships, about half of the
The Ladies Three are more often referred to as the Fanes
forest folk still worship the Ladies. The other half has
of Barovia. These Fanes are canonical Ravenloft lore that
forsaken them in favor of worshiping Strahd, who they believe
appeared in previous editions of Dungeons & Dragons but
a literal god of the valley.
not at all in the Curse of Strahd module. However, they are
now an essential feature of the Fleshing Out revisions and
restoring their power is an overarching quest of the campaign 

that motivates players to explore and engage with the various
Though the Ladies Three were wild goddesses of nature who
locations in Barovia. The Fanes also completely replace
rarely interacted with people, signs of their influence remain
Mother Night in the module, overwriting the devilish moon
across Barovia.
goddess.
This section of the guide will cover all the information you

need to incorporate the Fanes into your adventure.

 The Ladies Three are the origin of lycanthropy in Barovia.
The Ladies originally used lycanthropy to gift their faithful

As a direct definition, 'Fane' refers to a temple or shrine.
followers and to curse their blasphemers. The Huntress is
However, for the sake of this module, it's far more
responsible for wolf lycanthropes in Barovia while the Seeker
constructive to define Fanes as magical environments. There
is responsible for raven lycanthropes in Barovia. However, in
are three core environments in Barovia, each with an
their current, weakened states, they are incapable of granting
associated shrine and Lady.
or curing lycanthropy.
They are:
The Seeker of the Forest Fane


The Weaver of the Swamp Fane The printed module provides very little information as to the
The Huntress of the Mountain Fane origin of the mystical gems that give life to the vineyards of
the Wizards of Wine Winery. The text only mentions a

 mysterious mage who crafted the gems for their fields.
Alternatively, the three gems were gifts from the Ladies

The people of the valley used to worship the Ladies through
Three. The mage formed a bond with the local, settled
shrines scattered across their respective environments, some
Barovians as well as the forest folk and managed to broker a
small and some large. The three most prominent shrines
temporary peace between the two factions. The resulting era
were large circles of stone monoliths that all still stand
of understanding impressed the Ladies Three significantly.
during the time of the campaign. The shrine of the Forest
To help the mage settle the land and start a bountiful
Fane is the collection of monoliths behind Old Bonegrinder.
vineyard, they each gifted the mage a gemstone to plant in
The shrine of the Swamp Fane is the circle of stones in
their fields.
Berez. Lastly, the shrine of the Mountain Fane is the great

circle of stones atop Yester Hill.
The worship of the Ladies usually came in the form of
minor religious practices and offerings. The offerings were Unfortunately, the Ladies Three are no longer the reigning
usually nature based tithes, such as the best sack of grain powers of the Barovian valley. As stated previously in this
from a first harvest or the antlers of a buck killed on a hunt. chapter, Strahd desecrated their shrines and stole their
Alternately, worshipers of the Ladies also left small, carved immense power, giving himself control over nature and
statues or other bits of artistic labor as offerings. weather. With this stolen power, Strahd is literally, "The
Land." Players will have to restore the Fanes to weaken
Strahd, enabling his defeat.

25
 
In contrast of the Seeker, the Weaver of the Swamp Fane
Though the Ladies Three have fallen, they are not gone.
represents the remembrance of the past. She acts as a nature
These archfey are still alive during the time of the campaign,
based historian that remembers all that the land remembers.
living on in Barovia as elderly, eccentric women. In their
The Weaver is, in her essence, the keeper of time itself in the
weakened states, they maintain only their immortality and
valley of Barovia.
access to very basic magics. Players will encounter these
At full power, she once appeared as a petite, sprite-like
women throughout the game, though they won't understand
woman with a playful air about her. Her skin was a bright,
their true significance until the Fanes are restored.
yellow-green, similar in color to frog skin, and her mouth
The following section of this guide will cover each Lady
sported a row of pointed, razor sharp teeth. Her hair was
individually, describing their domains, their appearances, and
white like spider's silk and it floated about her head as if
their sightings during the campaign.
perpetually underwater.
 During the campaign, the Weaver appears as a stout old
woman by the name of Jeny Greenteeth. Jeny is an quirky, old
The Seeker represents the coming of the future. Of the herbologist with an eye for mischief that owns a shop just
Ladies, she is the representative of foresight and soothsaying, outside the walls of Vallaki. She owns a cluttered rickshaw
peering into the future with timeless eyes. The Seeker is cart pulled by a giant boar named Toady, which she uses to
most often represented with ravens, highly intelligent birds make trips to Berez in vain attempts to rescue her sister, the
that watch the valley from on high as the Seeker herself Huntress, from the dreaded witch of the swamp.
watches over the future.
Before her fall, the Seeker appeared as a tall, beautiful 

woman with angular features and ebony skin that absorbed

light, making her look like a moving shadow. Her eyes were a
pure, sightless white, without irises or pupils, and she had a Unlike her sisters, the Huntress has no representation in the
mane of raven feathers instead of hair. passage of time. The forest folk of old didn't believe in the
concept of the present, and instead focused solely on the past

After the the desecration of the Fanes, the Seeker was
and the future. The Huntress is reflective of these old beliefs
reduced to the form of an simple, old woman. She now
and instead represents the dark, underside of the weave of
appears in the campaign as Madam Eva, and lives amongst
time.
the Vistani as an honored seer. Though she has lived with the
Vistani for generations, the Vistani recognize her longevity as The Huntress is a nature-based death goddess. However,
a side effect of her immense gift for soothsaying and not as a death is not synonymous with evil. In the case of the
sign of her former power. Huntress, death is a natural occurrence meant to be accepted
and not feared. Strahd and other undead are therefore her
Madam Eva - or more affectionately known as Eva Treenail
natural enemies, as their very existences are perversions of
to her sisters - instantly sees the player character's potential
death. Lastly, the Gulthias Tree, a tree of death and one of the
towards her restoration and uses her fateful Tarroka reading
eldest living things in the valley, is a direct representation of
to guide them on that path.
her power.

26
 Magic Resistance. The Lady has advantage on saving
throws against spells and other magical effects.
 Proof Against Detection and Location. The Lady is hidden
Medium fey, true neutral from Divination magic. She can't be targeted by such
magic or perceived through magical Scrying sensors.
Armor Class 10 (16 with barkskin) Spellcasting. The Lady is a 3rd-level spellcaster. Her
Hit Points 33 (6d8 + 6) spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to
Speed 30 feet hit with spell attacks). The Lady has the following druid
spells prepared:
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA Cantrip (at will): druidcraft, gust, mold earth, shape
water
10 (+0) 10 (+0) 14 (+2) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 14 (+2) 1st level (4 slots): charm person, cure wounds, faerie
fire, purify food and drink
Skills Animal Handling +10, Deception +10, Medicine 2nd level (2 slots): barkskin, healing spirit
+5, Nature +10, Survival +5 Innate Spellcasting. The Lady's innate spellcasting
Condition Immunities Charmed, Exhaustion, Sleep ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell
Senses Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 attacks). She can innately cast the following spells,
Languages Celestial, Common, Druidic, Primordial, requiring no material components:
Sylvan
Challenge 2 (450 XP) At will: animal friendship, beast bond, speak with
animals
Archfey. The Lady is a weakened archfey and nature 2/day: locate animals or plants
goddess and cannot be killed by normal methods.
When the Lady drops to 0 hit points, she falls Actions
unconscious and wakes with 1 hit point after 1d4
hours instead of dying. Bone Dagger. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, Reach 5
ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4 + 2) piercing damage
The Huntress is the eldest sister of the Ladies Three, as old Most importantly, with the notable exception of Lara's
as the mountains themselves. Before the desecration of her capture in Berez, the Ladies have mostly managed to avoid
shrine, the Huntress appeared as a tall, chiseled woman with the notice of the powerful beings that would exploit their
grey skin. Her physique was toned, like that of an Amazonian weakness. Strahd, for instance, would likely wish to contain
woman, and her long, white hair sat upon her shoulders like Jeny Greenteeth and Madam Eva if he knew their true
snow on the cold stone of a mountain top. She had a pair of identities. These two Ladies seek to avoid fates similar to
enormous, stag antlers growing from her temples, adding their sister.
significantly to her height. While the Ladies gladly assist the party in their endeavors
As an old hag, the Huntress goes by the name Lara to defeat Strahd, they will not reveal themselves until they
Stoneheart and at the start of the campaign, she is a captive have been restored.
of the evil witch, Baba Lysaga in Berez. Instead of using goat
blood for her rituals of immortality, Baba has Lara bound to
the ceiling of her hut above her bathtub. Every week or so,

Baba slits Lara's throat and bathes in her blood. This horrible As previously stated, the Fanes are little more than ancient
and painful ritual has kept Baba Lysaga alive and powerful legend to the people of Barovia. The Ladies themselves have
for centuries. And because Lara is still immortal, she has no little power now and barely a whispered rumor remains of
choice but to continuously endure the ritual. their godhood. So how might the players learn of these
enigmatic archfey?

 
The players' first encounters with the Fanes should be quite
The Ladies Three have no intention of revealing their
small and seemingly insignificant.
backgrounds to the player characters. When they each first
Besides the great shrines at Old Bondgrinder, Berez, and
meet the party, they have no reason to believe that this group
Yester Hill, smaller shrines and relics still exist in Barovia
of adventurers will fair better than previous groups and
pertaining to the Ladies Three. Should you require a benign
would rather not waste their trust on individuals who may not
random encounter during travel, consider having the party
deserve it. Additionally, these women once possessed all the
discover an old shrine to the Ladies. This shrine might be a
power of nature and their own, innate pride sours them from
lone boulder with simplistic drawings of the Ladies carved
admitting to how far they've fallen. Their claim to be
into its face. Or, perhaps the party finds an old, carved
woodland goddesses would sound insane to the average
figurine of a lady with stag antlers in the dirt.
person, and they have no desire to be ridiculed by mortals.

27
28
Additionally, nursery rhymes or old rumors might still pop up The Vistani also believe the Ladies to be dead gods of a
among the Barovian populace, though most civilians won't Barovia past.
know their meaning or history. You might provide your Rudolph van Richten and Ezmerelda. Both these
players with a handout of one of these rhymes to foreshadow characters are excellent monster hunters and have built
later reveals. The song provided on the previous page, intelligence towards defeating Strahd specifically. As such,
entitled Ring of Stone, is an an example of one of these they are well aware of Strahd's connection to the Fanes and
rhymes. that these fallen nature goddesses are the source of a great
deal of his power. Though they don't know how to go about it,
 they both correctly suspect that the power of the Fanes can
be taken from Strahd. However, both van Richten and

Players should also learn of Strahd's immense power
Ezmerelda are less informed about the general symbolism of
sometime in the early campaign. In particular, they should
the Ladies Three and know little of their shrines.
learn about his control over nature in Barovia. For example, a
The Werewolves and the Forest Folk. These two groups
NPC might tell the players the story of Berez's fall,
live much more in line with nature than the rest of the
proclaiming that Strahd flooded the Luna River to wipe out
Barovian populace and are very well informed about the
the village. Witnessing or hearing about Strad's displays of
Ladies Three. They know of the Ladies' symbolism, the
power should signify to the players that Strahd's abilities far
desecration of their shrines, and that they can be restored,
exceed a standard statblock.
though they are unaware of a method to do so.
While Strahd's power and relics of the Fanes will seem
The Abbott. As a celestial angel, the Abbott knows of the
unconnected to the players at first, appropriately seeding this
Fanes, though he wasn't around for their desecration. He is
information will ease the reveal later in the adventure.
unaware of their symbolism and the locations of their main
 shrines. However, he's one of the few that knows that it is
almost impossible to truly kill a god, and that the Fanes can
Once the Fanes have been foreshadowed naturally through be restored somehow. He also knows of the Amber Temple,
the Barovian populace and through random encounters, though not its exact location.
there are more informed NPCs that can tell the players about The Revenants of Argynvostholt. These undead knights
the fallen Ladies Three and provide clues to their restoration. remember a Barovia before Strahd became a vampire. They
Ideally, these NPCs should eventually lead the players to the remember the Fanes, their shrines, and their desecration.
Amber Temple, where the party can learn the mechanical The revenants are also some of the very few that know the
method of reconsecrating the Fanes. location of the Amber Temple in the southern mountains,
The following NPCs have information on the Fanes. which possesses a method towards reconsecrating the Fanes.
Vargas Vallakovich, Fiona Wachter and other Nobility. However, because they are so intent that Strahd remain in his
Vargas, Fiona and a variety of other nobility have access to own purgatory, they'll be far less inclined to help the players
better education and resources than Barovian civilians. They restore the Fanes.
would know that prior to the Morninglord, the native peoples Baba Lysaga. This evil witch not only knows most
of the Barovian valley once worshiped nature goddesses. everything about the Ladies Three, but she is also the captor
They would know nothing of these goddess' connection to of the Huntress herself. While she doesn't know for certain a
Strahd, their greater shrines, or their symbolism. method of reconsecrating the Fanes, Lysaga is informed
The Martikovs/Keepers of the Feather. This spy network enough to make a few educated guesses. She also knows the
of wereravens are far more informed than the average location of the Amber Temple, which can prove her guesses
Barovian. They know of the Ladies' symbolism and that right or wrong. However, Lysaga will under so circumstances
Strahd drained them of their power to gain his own control part with this information willingly.
over nature. However, the Keepers do not know that the Strahd von Zarovich. Lastly and most obviously, Strahd
Ladies can be reinstated and instead believe that the Fanes knows most everything there is to know about the Fanes. He
are completely dead. not only is responsible for their fall, but also has complete
The Vistani. Most Vistani know the same information as access to the Amber Temple. Like Baba Lysaga, he will not
the Keepers of the Feather. They know a great deal about the part with any of this information willingly.
symbolism behind the Seeker of the Forest Fane in particular,
from their similar appreciation of the gift of foresight, but
know far less of the other two Ladies. Werewolves

Keepers of Richten & & Forest
Nobility Vistani the Feather Ezmerelda Folk Abbott Revenants Baba Lysaga Strahd
Symbolism No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Shrines'
No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Locations
Strahd's
No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Connection
Methods of
No No No No No No No No Yes
Reconsecration
Amber
Temple No No No No No No Yes Yes Yes
Location
29
 
In order to gain information on the Fanes, the players should In order to restore the Forest Fane, players must retrieve the
interact with the various NPCs listed on the previous page. Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and return it to the henge of
Their first rumors of the Fanes might come from Lady stones behind Old Bonegrinder.
Wachter or Vargas Vallakovich in Vallaki. They then might Once the symbol is presented at the shrine in honor of the
make friends of the Keepers of the Feather or of the pair of Seeker, the players are beset upon by a monstrous and
vampire hunters and come to learn that the Fanes are corrupted wereraven precursor. Once this creature is
directly connected to Strahd. defeated, the shrine becomes consecrated and a single raven
In the search for more information, the players might then swoops in and takes the Holy Symbol.
seek out the werewolves, who can tell them of the great
Amber Temple, though not its location. The players might
then confront the revenants at Argynvostholt or Baba Lysaga
herself to learn the location of this temple. After traveling into
the mountains and exploring the Amber Temple, the players
will finally learn a direct method of reconsecrating the Fanes
and restoring the Ladies Three.
Ideally, one informant should lead to the next, forcing the
party to explore the various locations in Barovia. For
example, while van Richten may not know if the Fanes can be
restored, he'll know that the werewolf packs in the northwest
woods would likely possess that information. Players would
then follow van Richten's hook to the Werewolf Den.

Restoring the Ladies Three is an arduous task that should
take place in the last third of the campaign and after the
players have visited the Amber Temple to acquire this
information. During this restoration, the players will have to
travel to or revisit three locations in the game to right
Strahd's past wrongs.
Initially desecrating the shrines of the Fanes was no easy
task. Doing so required a great deal of time and effort on
Strahd's part. As such, once the Fanes are restored, Strahd
could not simply rush off to reclaim the power of the land
before the final confrontation.
Additionally, the power of the Fanes is not incremental. All
three shrines must be restored before Strahd loses access to
that power and the Ladies rise again. Even as the Fanes are
in the process of restoration, Strahd would not sense his
access to that power waning until it is all suddenly gone. If,
however, Strahd finds out the players actually have a method
of restoring the Fanes, he will use all the power at his
disposal to stop them. Discretion in the last stretch of the
adventure is therefore paramount.
The following section of this guide provides information on
reconsecrating the Fanes of Barovia.

In accordance to the module, Lugdana was a holy paladin of
light that spent much of her life battling the undead. In honor
of her service, a giant, angelic raven presented her the Holy
Symbol of Ravenkind. In this guide, the angelic raven was the
Seeker herself.
In contrast to the module, Lugdana did not grow old and
die in this profession. Instead, she was an elder, but still
capable, warrior when Strahd came to power. Strahd
captured Lugdana and forcefully turned her into one of his
spawn, later entombing her in the catacombs beneath
Ravenloft. During Lugdana's struggles against this fate, the
Holy Symbol was lost to the wilds of Barovia.

30
 The first player character to approach the menhir draws
the wereraven precursor out of the reflection. It rears back its
After the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind is presented to the head and lets out a horrific scream, which is cut short as it
mehirs behind Old Bonegrinder, the largest monolith begins to choke. As it retches forward, a cloudy, black fog
shudders and the front of it turns into a smooth, black spills from its beak and initiative begins.
obsidian that is vaguely reflective. Within the obscured The wereraven precursor will spend its first action or its
reflection, a humanoid figure appears, shrouded in black first legendary action vomiting darkness onto the battlefield.
feathers, with a beaked face. Its feathers appear matted and Instead of attacking during the first one or two rounds, it will
bent, the space between them clotted with a diseased-looking, prioritize spreading its darkness to protect itself and disable
black ichor. the party. It will then focus down one enemy at a time,
It mutters to itself in a low, rough voice and any player starting with the player character who first approached the
character that can understand druidic, primordial, or sylvan, black mirror.
can recognize that it continuously repeats the phrases, "My When the wereraven precursor is defeated, it falls to its
Ladies are gone. My Ladies are dead." and "Please, my Lady. I knees and bursts into a swarm of ravens, the last of which
hurt. Help me." picks up the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind and flies into the
woods.
 The Weight of Corruption. The wereraven precursor's

wings and feathers are rotted and unkempt, making it
 appear undead or diseased. The weight of this
corruption hinders its ability to fly reliably and it cannot
Medium monstrosity, chaotic evil maintain flight for more than 3 turns at a time.
Armor Class 16 Actions

Hit Points 139 (26d8 + 22) Multiattack. The wereraven precursor makes two claws
Speed 40 ft. Fly 10 ft. attacks.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, Reach 5 ft., one
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA target. Hit Damage (1d8 + 4) slashing damage
10 (+0) 22 (+6) 15 (+2) 18 (+4) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) Piercing Flyby. The wereraven precursor lunges forward,
turning itself into a living torpedo with a single flap of
Saving Throws Dex +10, Int +8 its decrepit wings. The wereraven precursor moves in a
Skills Acrobatics +10, Perception +8, Stealth +10 straight line up to its speed without provoking
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing opportunity attacks. This movement does not count
from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered towards its movement on that turn. Any creature within
weapons 5 feet of the wereraven precursor at any point during
Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Frightened this movement takes 1d6 + 4 piercing damage and
Senses Truesight 300 ft., passive Perception must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw or be
Languages Druidic, Primordial, Sylvan knocked prone.
Challenge 11 (7200 XP) Feathered Kindred (1/Day). The wereraven precursor
calls 2d4 swarms of ravens to aid it in battle.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the wereraven precursor
fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead. Legendary Actions
Beget Darkness. The wereraven precursor knows the The wereraven precursor can take 3 legendary actions,
Darkness spell and can cast it at will and without choosing from the options below. Only one legendary
material components. This spell is not a concentration action option can be used at a time and only at the end
spell for it. of another creature’s turn. Vampire regains spent
legendary actions at the start of their turn.
Light Sensitivity. The wereraven precursor has
disadvantage on any attack roll or saving throw while in Move. The wereraven precursor moves up to its speed
bright light or sunlight. without provoking opportunity attacks.
Dissonant Mimicry. The wereraven precursor constantly Claws. The wereraven precursor makes one claw attack.
mutters to itself, mimicking the cries of wounded
Darkness (Costs 2 Actions). The wereraven precursor
villagers, screaming children, and dying animals. Any
casts the Darkness spell.
creature within magical darkness that can hear the
wereraven precursor, but not see it must make a DC 16
Intelligence saving throw at the start of their turn or
take 2d6 psychic damage or no damage on a successful
save.

31
 
Strahd only managed to desecrate the Swamp Fane with the The Gulthias Tree remains sacred to the Huntress and is
help of his former nursemaid, Baba Lysaga. Under the witch's representative of her domain. Even in the current time of the
guidance, he hunted down and captured a half dozen high campaign, the forest folk that still worship the Ladies Three
priestesses of the forest folk and lashed them to the stone present their honored dead to the Gulthias Tree. Any corpse
monoliths at the Berez henge. or flesh in long term contact with the tree is eventually totally
There, Strahd tortured the priestesses, bidding them consumed by it in a process that only takes a few weeks.
forsake the Ladies and proclaim him the rightful ruler of While this method of burial would seem gruesome to the
Barovia. It took time, but eventually all succumbed. Once average Barovian, the forest folk only present their tribe
each priestess surrendered their faith, Baba cut out their leaders, priestesses, powerful warriors, and other honored
hearts and presented them to Strahd. With the foul gift, individuals to the tree.
Strahd took the power of the Swamp Fane. To desecrate the Mountain Fane, Strahd fed the Gulthias
Tree a series of his undead minions, mainly vampire spawn.
 As stated previously, the undead are perversions of death and
To reconsecrate the Swamp Fane, players must right the therefore direct enemies of the Huntress herself. As the
tragedy that befell the priestesses of the forest folk. To do so, Gulthias Tree consumed these undead beings for months at a
the party must slay Baba Lysaga and present her corrupted time, the Mountain Fane lost its power.
heart at the henge of stones in Berez.

To reconsecrate the Mountain Fane, the players must go
Baba Lysaga s Heart' through the Trial of the Huntress in the caverns beneath the
Baba Lysaga's heart is sickly grey in color. Gulthias Tree. This Trial only presents itself to those who
Swamp reeds and vines weave in and out of the look for it, meaning that uninformed parties that investigate
muscle, flowing through ventricles and sinew in the tree will not find the entrance to the Trial. However, once
unnatural tangles. When the main arteries are the players are ready to brave this immense test, they'll
cut, brown swamp water spills forth where discover a crawlspace in the roots of the tree leading
blood should be. downward.
Though it stinks of bog and decay, the heart has The Trial of the Huntress is essentially a path through the
no magical properties. land of the dead, where players can reconcile with lost loved
ones, deal with the angry dead, and atone for their wrong
doings. At the bottom of the caverns, the players come to the

If the players have already killed Baba Lysaga when they
altar of the Huntress and receive her visions. Emerging from
learn of this ritual, they can return to the site of Baba's death,
the Trial signifies the proper reconsecration of the Mountain
find her corpse, and successfully harvest her heart. If the
Fane.
players burned or otherwise destroyed her body, her heart
This Trial and its associated dungeon are not detailed in
remains mostly intact amongst the remains and can still be
this chapter. Instead, refer to the Gulthias Dungeon Chapter
retrieved. If, by some chance, your players somehow erased
later in this series or the original, informal posts on the
Baba from existence, her heart is instead kept in a jar within
r/CurseofStrahd subreddit.
her hut, removed by Baba herself years ago, and can now be
retrieved by the players.
Once Baba Lysaga's heart is presented at the shrine,
players standing within the stone circle will experience a
series of visions. Remember that the Weaver is the keeper of
the past, and now the players will bear witness. You can read
the set of scenes on the following page to your players or
interpret them in your own words.

32

Turning Back Time Ireena smiles widely, her eyes shining with unfamiliar joy. And
You stand in the center of the stone circle, Baba Lysaga's heart in then her smile falters, but only a little. "My family... I know they'll
your outstretched hand. For a moment, you feel like a fool. But just never understand us. But... I must say goodbye at least. I'll meet
as you're about to lower your hand, you notice a change in the you here tonight?"
light.
Strahd frowns, but bows low and kisses Ireena's hand. "What are
You all look up to the sky and see the distant light of the sun - a few more hours after centuries of waiting? Of course, my love.
obscured by layers of cloud cover - as it moves much more quickly Tonight."
than usual. More than that, it seems to be moving West to East.
The Loss of the Swamp Fane
Backwards. Wrong. Suddenly it's dawn. And then it is the darkness
Again, time moves backwards. The clouds overhead move so
of midnight. And then it is dusk and then it is yesterday.
quickly it hurts your eyes to look at them. How many years are
You all gather together in the center of the circle as the passing? Hundreds at least. Finally it slows to a stop again. Berez is
obscured sun seems to soar through the sky, days passing in the nothing more than a collection of huts on the riverbank.
blink of an eye. It is day and then night, day, night, day, night, over
Six young women are lashed to the surrounding menhirs, each
and over until you can no longer distinguish the difference. The
wearing hides and foliage. Five are dead, their chests carved out.
world is flying in perpetual twilight, seasons changing too fast for
Strahd stands in the center of it all, Baba Lysaga at his side. His
you to feel the frosts of winter for more than a second at a time.
face bears no emotion, no sympathy.
The Flood
The last girl, no more than fifteen, breathes ragged, wet breaths.
Suddenly, time stops. It is midday and Strahd stands before you in
Her shoulders are bent at odd angles from being lifted for so long
the circle.
and tears stain her cheeks. As she cries, she whispers something.
But he isn't looking at you. He's holding up one hand as if in a Though the language is unfamiliar to you (unless a player speaks
mock wave, facing the river and the ruins below. Except, you each Druidic), the meaning flows into you like grief incarnate. "They are
do a double take and see that they aren't ruins. In the once boggy gone. Left us. My Ladies are dead."
marshes now stands a village. And the river... it's gone. The muddy
Baba Lysaga walks forward and plunges a dagger into the girl's
bed lays ripped into the earth but there is no water. None at all.
chest. The process is long and bloody, but eventually the old witch
Strahd lets out a low breath and closes his open hand into a fist. turns with a freshly cut heart in hand. She gives it Strahd with a
manic grin.
And then you hear it. At first, it sounds like a storm, or perhaps
the thundering of a distant army. You all look south and there, up Accepting the Gift
the riverbed and roaring down the mountainside, is an unholy Time moves backwards, undoing the horrible scene. This time, the
torrent of water. One of you screams and turns to run, always a cycle is somehow faster than before. You're surprised when the
little faster than the others. Another rushes to hide behind a clouds break and beam sunlight upon you for the first time in
menhir. But neither of you are fast enough! The water slams into months. Berez deconstructs on the river and for a flash you see an
Berez, drowning out the screams of the villagers! The water hits army on a distant hill and a dragon, its silver scales catching the
you! Soaks you to the bone and knocks the air out of you! But just sunlight, dash across the open sky.
before it washes you out of the Weaver's shrine, time stops and
When time finally stops again, you're surprised to see Baba
again begins to move backwards.
Lysaga standing before you. She seems out of place in this bright,
Marina serene world of ages passed. But... she's different. She's not a
Time moves backwards only two days, stopping in the dead of memory! She sees you! Baba stalks towards you, but just as she's
night. Strahd walks into the circle and his face falls in horror. You about to reach you, an arm bursts through Baba's chest! It's
follow his gaze down into Berez and you see the bonfire; hear the clutching the old witch's rotten heart. You blink and find that your
final few screams of a woman dead. You can only vaguely see her, own hand is still outstretched, meeting the new appendage in the
lashed to a pole in the middle of the blazing pyre. middle.
And time moves backwards again. Just one day this time. It's Baba Lysaga's form melts away. Behind where she stood,
dusk and Strahd stands with a woman. Ireena. You recognize her holding her heart, is a young woman with yellow tinged skin, her
immediately. hair drifting about her brow as if floating underwater. Her lips
stretch up to reveal a cheshire grin made up of rows of sharpened
"Come, my love," says Strahd. "Let us go and I shall give you all teeth. The woman brings the heart to her grinning lips... and takes
you have dreamed of." a bite.

33
 Overcast Skies
Outside weakening Strahd, restoring the Ladies Three more
Restoring the Fanes of Barovia weakens Strahd by
than warrants a more mechanical reward.
removing his control over the land. This means that
Once the final shrine is reconsecrated, the Ladies Three Strahd can no longer control the beasts of the
appear to the players as the elderly Jeny Greenteeth, Lara Svalich Woods or the weather itself.
Stoneheart, and Madam Eva. As they approach, their elder However, Barovia remains sunless even after the
forms melt away to reveal their more youthful and fey-like Ladies Three are restored. The Dark Power, Vampyr,
appearances. They thank the players and give them their makes Barovia permanently overcast to protect his
rewards, but say little else. Darklord from the sun.
In particular the Ladies might gift the players with the
Sunsword. If the Dungeon Master rigs the Tarroka reading at
the Tser Pool encampment, they might have the sword
appear at Yester Hill, indicating the party's later descent into
the Gulthias Dungeon. They might also provide a more vague
prophesy without any particular location, and instead indicate
a great magical event that moves the will of nature.
In addition to the Sunsword, the Ladies might also gift the
players with additional magical items or abilities, which
would feel especially warranted after they give up the Holy
Symbol of Ravenkind.
This guide recommends that you reward the following
items and abilities to parties that have restored the Fanes:
The Sunsword
The Orb of Rest (Magic Item found on page 37)
This ability to each player character: "Proof against
Enchantment. When you fail a saving throw to resist
being charmed, you may choose to succeed instead. Once
you use this ability, you may not use it again until you have
completed a long rest."
Each of these gifts is representative of the Ladies. The
Sunsword represents the Huntress, as it is a weapon meant
to destroy her foes. The orb of day is a manipulation of time,
which represents the Weaver's keeping of history. Lastly,
protection from enchantment represents the Seeker, who's
foresight can offer clarity.
All three of these gifts may prove crucial to Strahd's defeat.
The sunsword is a mighty weapon to use against Strahd. The
orb of day allows the party to quickly rest before summoning
Vampyr or otherwise survive the final fight. Lastly, protection
from enchantment allows the party to resist Strahd's
powerful charm ability, which can last for 24 hours.
Once their gifts have been given, the Seeker turns into a
swarm of ravens that scatter, the Weaver turns into a puddle
of swamp water that falls to the dirt, and the Huntress turns
into a stone statue, which promptly crumbles to dust.

34

A
nother overarching change made to the
campaign in the Felshing Out series involves


lycanthropy in the Barovian valley. Additionally, Inherited lycanthropy is more akin to a species than a
this section of the guide offers some alternative disease. This more benign form of lycanthropy is passed on
rules towards running a player character from parent to child and inherited lycanthropes lack the
infected by lycanthropy. ability to pass on their lycanthropy through their bites. While
slightly weaker than their infected counterparts, this form of
 lycanthropy is also controllable.
Inherited lycanthropes can change forms at will and retain
These guides recognize two forms of lycanthropy in Barovia: their full personality and mind when in their altered states.
infected and inherited. Inherited lycanthropes undergo their first change in early
adolescence. With enough practice and focus, they can gain

 full control of their change in a few short years. Because of its
controllable nature, inherited lycanthropes often view their

Infected lycanthropes are affected by a magical disease or
condition as a blessing rather than a curse.
curse, and are examples of the most classic version of
However, on nights of the full moon, inherited lycanthropes
lycanthropy. This curse is spread through bite and enables its
are still forced into their were-forms and become primitive
victims to succumb to their most beastly urges in exchange
and animalistic in nature, though they are generally still not
for monstrous power. The curse also makes its victims more
as violent as their infected counterparts. Most inherited
violent in nature, giving them a soul-deep bloodlust that they
lycanthropes arrange locations to lock themselves away
cannot control.
during the full moon as a result.
Infected lycanthropes have little control over their
In Barovia, nearly all wereraven lycanthropes are inherited
transformations and usually shapechange into their were-
in nature and live safely among the native populace, though
forms when under duress or when angered. Once
all mysteriously disappear on nights of the full moon. Lastly,
transformed, they lose almost all control of their actions,
inherited lycanthropy in Barovia was once a gift bestowed on
attacking the source of their duress indiscriminately.
their ancestors by the Ladies Three.
Infected lycanthropes are dangerous monsters of Barovia.

Though humanoids and therefore intelligent and sentient, it's
generally only a matter of time before the bestial nature of

their curse takes their senses and they become more violent
and primitive versions of their former selves.
In Barovia, the vast majority of werewolf lycanthropes are
infected in nature and highly dangerous. Additionally, infected 

lycanthropy is a curse of the Ladies Three.
In the rules as written (page 207 of the Monster Manuel), a
player character that becomes an infected lycanthrope gains
immediate bonuses to their character sheet. They gain a
bonus to one of their core stats, extra AC, and the ability to
shapechange at will. Additionally, they gain the monster
statblock's damage immunities, traits, and actions. The only
downside to becoming a lycanthrope involves a possible
change towards an evil alignment, meaning the Dungeon
Master has the right to take control of their character sheet
for the foreseeable future, potentially forcing the player to roll
a new character.
If a Dungeon Master allows their player to keep their
lycanthrope character, these many bonuses hardly seem like
a curse at all. And in Curse of Strahd, you certainly don't want
your players to think being turned into a werewolf is a good
thing. All power should come at a price, especially in this
module.
This section of the guide details an alternate way to run
lycanthrope player characters.

35

Firstly, do not change an infected player character's Surprise, Surprise!
alignment. Suddenly gaining an evil alignment can be a faster Do not tell your players whether or not their
way to lose a player character than death. Most infected characters have contracted lycanthropy after being
player characters are not actively choosing to be bitten and bitten!
suddenly losing their character in such a way can seem
Instead, have your players roll Constitution
drastically unfair to players.
saving throws whenever they are bitten, regardless
of whether or not they've already contracted
 lycanthropy, but then withhold the results of the
saving throw and knowledge of the accompanying
A player character infected with lycanthropy obtains the mechanical changes.
following traits and stat changes: If possible, prepare copies of your player
characters' sheets and make the necessary changes
Immunity to nonmagical and non-silvered damage. to them privately. Then, for example, when a player
Advantage on all skill checks relying on smell and hearing goes to make a perception check based on hearing,
(if a werewolf ) or sight and hearing (if a wereraven). have them roll with advantage but do not tell them
A Strength score of 18 (if a werewolf ) or a Dexterity score why they have that advantage.
of 18 (if a wereraven). If the player character's
Making their curse a discovery will be all the
Strength/Dexterity is already an 18 or higher, it doesn't
more interesting for them.
change.
Beasts of the same classification of the player character's
lycanthropy regard them with cautious friendship and 

don't outright attack. This is just a friendly reminder that objects worn or carried
An infected player character involuntarily transforms into by lycanthropes are not altered when they shapechange.
their were-form every night and therefore cannot benefit Weapons will be dropped, clothing will rip, and backpacks
from a short or long rest at night. For each 24-hour period will be abandoned, unless these objects are sized to
an infected player character goes without a long rest, they appropriately accommodate a shapechange.
gain one level of exhaustion.

 If there are no party members present to witness the infected
character's change into were-form, describe a blackout event

Infected lycanthrope player characters cannot control their
to cover the infected character's time out of control.
curse or their changes. They will transform into their were-
For example, the party goes to take a long rest, which
form every sunset and revert to their humanoid selves every
passes without incident. The following morning, they wake,
sunrise, without any memory of their time transformed. They
but the infected player character is missing. This character
also have no access to their beast form (wolf if a werewolf
wakes in an alternate location of the Dungeon Master's
and raven if a wereraven).
choosing, naked and/or in tattered clothing, and covered in
While in were-form, the infected player character
blood. This blood may belong to passing civilians, to animals,
succumbs to bloodlust and attacks the nearest living creature
or something else entirely. Give the infected player character
they can perceive, friend or foe. They must prioritize
their point of exhaustion and let them figure it out.
attacking weak or already injured creatures. If they cannot
perceive any creatures nearby, they spend their turn and
movement trying to seek one out.


If an infected player character drops to 10 hit points or fewer,
If you must run combat with a lycanthrope player character
have them roll a DC 14 Constitution saving throw. On a fail,
in were-form, use the following mechanical changes:
they transform into their were-form, regaining half their total
Whenever a player character transforms into their were- hit points and entering their uncontrollable bloodlust. They
form, they regain half their total hit points, but no spell remain in their were-form until they fall unconscious or until
slots, no class traits, and no racial traits. the following sunrise.
When in were-from, the player character has proficiency
with unarmed strikes and may add either their Strength or
Dexterity modifiers to those attack and damage rolls.


Their unarmed strikes include a Claw attack that deals As mentioned on page 10, the spell remove curse is an
2d6 slashing damage and a Bite attack that deals 1d10 exceedingly easy way to cure lycanthropy and mitigates the
piercing damage. Additionally, they can only use the attack severity of this curse. Instead, lycanthropy can only be cured
action as their action, and that attack must use an by the greater restoration spell or something equivalent.
unarmed strike. They may only use their strikes multiple In the campaign, the Abbott is capable of curing
times on a turn if their class already includes an Extra lycanthropy with his healing touch ability. Additionally, you
Attack feature. might give van Richten a spell scroll of greater restoration.
An infected player character has the ability to spread their Lastly, you might suggest that killing the root lycanthrope
curse only in were-form. If they bite another humanoid will cure all those that they cursed. In the module, that
creature while in were-form, that creature must make a werewolf might be Kiril at the Werewolf Den and killing him
Constitution saving throw, DC (10 + proficiency bonus), or would cure the majority of the infected werewolves in his
contract the player character's lycanthropy. pack.

36

L
astly, the Fleshing Out series employs modified
magic items for the campaign.


Staff, very rare, cursed (requires attunement)
The staff is a spongy, black length of wood with the same
statistics as a quarterstaff.
If the staff is broken or burned to ashes, its wood releases a
 terrible, inhuman scream that can be heard out to a range of
300 feet. All blights that can hear the scream immediately
Wondrous item, legendary (requires attunement) wither and die.
The holy symbol is a carved, bone amulet shaped like the

Attunement:
sun, with a large crystal embedded in its center. Those that
stare into the crystal can vaguely see an eye staring back at The Gulthias Staff can be attuned to over the course of a long
them. rest. Multiple creatures can be attuned to the staff at the
same time, though only one creature may attune to it per long
The changes to this magic item are meant to protect the
rest. Once attuned to the staff, the only way to end
party from Strahd's spying in the last third of the campaign.
attunement is to destroy or break the staff.
Abilities: The staff automatically attunes to a single humanoid
creature within 5 feet of it over the course of that creature's

The holy symbol has 10 charges for the following properties.
long rest. During attunement, the staff grows several dozen,
It regains 1d6+1 charges daily at dawn.
thread sized vines that reach out and pierce the skin of the
Mental Barrier. Anyone who wears the holy symbol gains the creature it is attuning to. After completing their long rest, the
benefits of a nondetection spell and is resistant to psychic creature can easily break the tiny vines, but pieces still live on
damage. As an action, the wearer can expend 4 charges to in their flesh. Occasionally, they can see these vines moving
project this effect in a 15 ft radius around themselves, beneath their skin.
protecting any other creature within range. This effect lasts
one hour. Abilities:
Blight Bane. Anyone who holds the staff, attuned or

Raven's Eye. As an action, you can expend 3 charges to
unattuned, exerts a certain level of control over blights.
magically summon 1d4 swarms of ravens to aid you in
Blights and other evil plant creatures don't regard the holder
combat. When combat ends, the summoned ravens burst into
as hostile unless they harm them.
feathers and disappear.
Blight Lord. The staff has 10 charges and regains 1d6 + 1 of

Sunlight. As an action, you can expend 5 charges while
its expended charges daily at dusk.
presenting the Symbol to make it shed bright light in a 30 ft
As an action, an attuned wielder can expend charges to
radius and dim light for an additional 30 ft. The light is
create any of the following creatures:
sunlight and lasts for 1 min or until you end the effect (no
action required). 1 charge: 1x Twig Blight
2 charges: 1x Needle Blight
 4 charges: 1x Vine Blight
Wondrous item, very rare The summoned creature appears in a location within sight of
The orb of rest is a small, crystal orb that fits comfortably and within 30 feet of the attuned user and is under their
into the palm of an average, humanoid hand. The orb seems control, sharing the summoner's initiative. After 1 minute, the
to contain an ever-flowing nebula of stars. summon disappears. The summoner may dismiss a summon
early as an action.
Abilities:
The orb has a single charge. Once used, the orb regains its When all charges are expended, roll a d20. On a 1, the staff
charge after 4d4 + 3 days. crumbles to dust without releasing its blight-killing shriek.
A Moment's Rest. As an action, a creature in physical Curse:

contact with the orb of rest can use the item's charge to Keep the staff 's cursed abilities secret from players.
choose up to six willing creatures within 60 feet of it,
including itself, to instantly gain the effects of a Long Rest. Symbiote. The staff lives by drinking the life force of its
attuned hosts. When a creature attuned to the staff completes
a long rest, they must make a DC 14 Constitution saving
throw or take 15 (3d6 + 5) necrotic damage and have their hit
point maximum reduced by the same amount. They take half
damage on a successful save and their hit point maximum is
reduced by that amount instead. This hit point reduction lasts
until they complete their next long rest, at which point they
must make another save.
37

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Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd:

Prepping the Adventure

expansions and elaborations to the main Curse

of Strahd campaign. The full series is a DM tool

that attempts to add depth to various NPCs,

streamline confusing plot lines, fill in plot holes,

As such, information presented and included throughout  6

the series is designed to overwrite some of the information in

Kolyana as the natural born daughter of the Village of 7

replace the original Curse of Strahd campaign. It instead is a

companion guide, used properly by reading and referencing  13

the original text to incorporate the overwrites detailed in this

For a more in-depth and casual look at the thinking behind

posting of the series on Reddit. Find the series under '

 Tracking Van Richten ................................................

Freeing a Patron ............................................................

Written & Edited by: u/MandyMod

Food Art: Mrs. Beeton's Household Management; Public 21

Custom Barovia Map: u/lefthandofjhereg Free

Supplement used with artist's permission.

All Other Various Art: DM's Guild Creator Resources 25

published under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters

Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd

popular modules available for Dungeons &

adventure overview. This chapter also establishes all the

groundwork for the additional changes found in future

chapters of the Fleshing Out series. Let's get started! 

control the Domains of Dread. In the Forgotten Realms

them an unfathomable and unconquerable air, essential to

the horror genre. Their numbers are unknown and their

Powers delight in the torture of the Darklords.

existence. The Material Plane is the foundation and

centerpiece of all planar knowledge. It contains multiple 

a series of closed demiplanes.

The newly created demiplanes eventually became known

as the Domains of Dread.

Fleshing Out Curse of Strahd

corrupted the land, the Barovian valley was an idyllic and

undiscovered piece of the Material Plane.

settlement, the Barovian valley was once home to a collection

of nomadic, druidic tribes. The people of these tribes lived

also the ancient ancestors of the druids and berserkers

outlined in the module.

These wild peoples have survived the test of time, enduring

throughout planar shifts and Strahd's conquest. The modern

people of Barovia refer to these tribes simply as the forest

folk or the mountain folk.

as the Ladies Three, or otherwise referred to as the Fanes of

Barovia. The Ladies were extremely powerful nature

goddesses who watched over the valley.

The Seeker of the Forest Fane

The Weaver of the Swamp Fane

The Huntress of the Mountain Fane

The Fanes are technically official Ravenloft lore found in

previous editions of Dunegons & Dragons but not mentioned

at all in the Curse of Strahd module. They are, however, now

information will be provided on the Fanes later in this

villages in the valley. These settlements were tiny, each home

to no more than a handful of families living in makeshift huts.

In time, four major settlements arose. Though they were

known by other names, now forgotten, these settlements

were the precursors to the towns in the module. They are:

The Village of Barovia, Vallaki, Kresk, and Berez.

Most of these people, settled or not, still actively worshiped