One of the men employed by Strahd to raise Castle Ravenloft was an archwizard named Khazan. After his work on the castle was complete, Khazan retired to the Barovian valley and built a tower for himself on a small island on Lake Baratok. With the help of some engineers and laborers, he also built an earth-and-gravel causeway connecting the island with the nearby shore.
In his waning years, Khazan visited the Amber Temple (chapter 13) and discovered the secret to becoming a lich. He returned to his tower and was able to complete the transformation. Some years later, after Strahd became a vampire, Khazan paid a visit to Castle Ravenloft with the notion of challenging Strahd for rulership of Barovia. Instead, much to Khazan’s surprise, Strahd persuaded him to serve as an advisor in matters of magic. When not advising Strahd, the lich spent most of his time in the Amber Temple, trying to master the secret of demilichdom in the hope of finding a way to magically project his spirit beyond the confines of Strahd’s realm. His efforts failed, and Khazan destroyed himself. His remains lie entombed in the catacombs of Ravenloft.
Khazan’s tower stood empty for ages, it seemed, and would have collapsed under the weight of neglect were it not for the magic wards placed on it long ago. Recently, the tower was taken over by the legendary vampire hunter Rudolph van Richten, who used it as a base from which to explore Barovia. He has since relocated to the nearby town of Vallaki, where he hides in plain sight.
Following in the vampire hunter’s footsteps is his protégé, Ezmerelda d’Avenir, who has taken to living in the tower while she searches for her mentor. She isn’t present when the characters arrive, however.
Van Richten has returned, the old fool. He tries to hide from me, but I shall find him. He and I have much to discuss.
—Strahd von Zarovich
Approaching the Tower
The Svalich Woods have swallowed up the road that once led to the tower. Now only a wide dirt trail remains.
You come to a cold mountain lake enclosed by misty woods and rocky bluffs. Thick fog creeps across the dark, still waters. The trail ends at a grass-covered causeway that stretches a hundred yards across the lake to a flat, marshy island with a stone tower on it. The tower is old and decrepit, with collapsing scaffolds clinging to one side where a large gash has split the wall. Timeworn griffon statues, their wings and flanks covered with moss, perch atop buttresses that support the walls.
Parked near the base of the tower, within sight of the entrance, is a barrel-topped wagon spattered with mud.
The tower stands 80 feet tall. It has four levels (each 20 feet high) and a mostly intact slate tile roof. The second, third, and fourth floors have arrow slits that are 6 inches wide, 3 feet tall, and 1 foot thick. The tower’s uppermost level overhangs the levels below it and has window boxes in addition to arrow slits.
The mossy griffons atop the buttresses are nothing more than decorative statues.
Khazan’s Spell Drain
Khazan warded his tower so that he alone could cast spells near or within it. The effect is identical to an
Areas of the Tower
The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Van Richten’s Tower below.
V1. Ezmerelda’s Magic Wagon
Ezmerelda’s wagon is parked in front of the tower. If the characters investigate the wagon, read:
Under layers of mud, this wagon sports a fresh coat of purple paint, and its wheels have fancy gold trim. A brass lantern hangs from each corner, and red drapes cover a tombstone-shaped window on each side. A steel padlock secures the back door, hanging from which is a cheap wooden sign that reads, “Keep out!”
The wagon radiates an aura of conjuration magic if it is scrutinized with a
Anyone who sits in the driver’s seat and speaks its command word (“Drovash”) summons a pair of quasi-real draft horses, which are magically tethered to the wagon and can’t be separated from it. The horses and wagon have a speed of 30 feet, and the horses heed the driver’s simple commands. The driver can dismiss the horses with a second command word (“Arvesh”). The horses can be dispelled (DC 15) but not harmed.
The wagon has a hidden trapdoor in its underbelly that can be detected by a character who scuttles under the wagon and succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (
Booby Trap
The inside handle of the door has a wire looped around it, and the wire is connected to a flask of alchemist’s fire hanging from the wagon’s ceiling. When the door is opened, the flask falls and explodes, igniting one hundred more flasks of alchemist’s fire that dangle from wires like ornaments along the wagon’s interior walls. A creature within 30 feet of the wagon when it explodes must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw, taking 55 (
A character inside the wagon spots the trap automatically (no ability check required) and can disable it with a successful DC 10 Dexterity check. A failed attempt to disable the trap triggers it.
Treasure
The interior of the wagon contains the following items:
- A wooden trunk covered with claw marks that holds a
battleaxe , aflail , amorningstar , alight crossbow , and 10 silvered crossbow bolts - A narrow wardrobe containing three sets of
fine clothes , two sets oftraveler’s clothes , several pairs of shoes, a harlequin mask, and three wigs - A
climber’s kit , adisguise kit , ahealer’s kit , and apoisoner’s kit - A lyre with golden strings (worth 50 gp)
- A sculpted wooden cage holding a chicken and a silver ewer (worth 100 gp) with five chicken eggs in it
- A tiny wooden box containing a deck of tarokka cards (see appendix E) wrapped in silk
- A set of copper pots and pans (worth 50 gp)
- Three sets of
manacles - A
shovel - A wooden chest containing a gold
holy symbol of the Morninglord (worth 100 gp), threeHoly Water (flask) , three vials of perfume, two vials ofAntitoxin (vial) , aHempen Rope (50 feet) , atinderbox , asteel mirror , a sharpened wooden stake, and aspyglass - Two
Spell Scroll (major image andremove curse ) - A map of Barovia (showing all the locations marked on this adventure’s map of Barovia)
- A charred page from van Richten’s journal (show the players “area Journal of Rudolph van Richten” in appendix F).
V2. Tower Door
The tower door is made of iron, with no visible handles or hinges. In the middle of the door is a large, embossed symbol—a connected series of lines with eight stick figures set around it. Carved into the lintel above the door is a word: Khazan.
Show the players the door symbol to the right. The door is magically locked and trapped, and the symbol on the door is the key to disabling the trap. Magic that would normally unlock the door is neutralized by the tower’s spell drain effect (see “area Khazan’s Spell Drain” earlier in the chapter).
A creature that touches the door without first disabling the trap causes lightning to envelop the tower. Any creature outside the tower and within 10 feet of it must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, with disadvantage if it is wearing armor made of metal, taking 22 (
The third time this trap is triggered, the magic fails and causes the tower to collapse. Each creature inside the tower when it collapses takes 132 (
Opening the Door
Each stick figure embossed on the door has differently positioned arms—either bent up or down at the elbow, or sticking straight out to the side. When a creature standing within 5 feet of the door uses an action to imitate the arm positions of all eight stick figures in the proper sequence, the trap is disabled and the door swings open on rusty hinges for 10 minutes. The lines of the symbol on the door reveal the proper sequence. The dance can be performed in one of two ways; a creature must trace the path of the lines, starting at either endpoint. All eight sets of arm positions must be performed, with no repeats, for the sequence to be complete.
If the arm positions are done out of order, a young blue dragon magically appears within 30 feet of the door and attacks all creatures it can see. The characters can keep trying to open the door while the dragon is attacking them. The dragon disappears if it is reduced to 0 hit points or if the characters open the door.
Vestibule
Beyond the door is a 5-foot-square vestibule with a tattered curtain that conceals area V4 beyond. The iron door leading outside can be safely opened from this side. It magically closes after 1 minute unless held open.
V3. Rickety Scaffolding
Rotting wooden beams support the scaffolding, which groans and creaks with the slightest breeze. A series of ladders and platforms lead to a hole in the northwest wall on the third floor.
The scaffolding can’t support more than 200 pounds of weight. If it collapses, anyone standing on it falls 20 feet to the ground, taking
V4. Tower, First Floor
The flagstone floor is strewn with debris, and a few old crates stand near the east wall. A torn curtain to the south partially obscures the tower vestibule.
A five-foot-square indentation in the center of the floor contains four pulleys attached to taut iron chains that stretch up through a similarly sized hole in the rotted wooden ceiling. Standing next to the chains are four tall clay statues.
The four statues are Clay Golem that defend themselves if attacked. Otherwise, their sole purpose is to operate the elevator, which they do by pulling on the chains. The chains attach to a 5-foot-square wooden platform that normally rests on the fourth floor.
If it appears that a creature wants to use the elevator, the golems lower the platform, then raise it to whichever level the creature specifies. They also heed commands issued from above. They obey only commands having to do with raising and lowering the elevator.
The elevator isn’t a smooth ride. The platform rises or lowers 5 feet per round, and its movements are jerky. If even one clay golem is destroyed, the remaining golems can no longer operate the elevator and remain motionless until attacked.
The crates in this room are all empty.
V5. Tower, Second Floor
Dust and cobwebs fill this otherwise empty room, the wooden floor of which is badly rotted and partially collapsed.
In the middle of the room is a 5-foot-square hole in the floor and ceiling, with a rusty chain near each corner. The chains are part of the tower’s elevator mechanism (see area V4). The 5-foot-square sections of floor that surround the central shaft are weak. Each 5-foot section can support 150 pounds; any more weight causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on that section fall 20 feet to the ground floor.
V6. Tower, Third Floor
Time and the elements have all but destroyed this chamber, leaving a gash in the northwest wall and slimy black mildew on the walls. The wooden floor is completely rotted and has begun to fall away in places.
In the middle of the room is a 5-foot-square hole in the floor and ceiling, with a rusty chain near each corner. The chains are part of the tower’s elevator mechanism (see area area V4). The 5-foot-square sections of floor that surround the central shaft are weak. Each 5-foot section can support 50 pounds; any more weight causes the section to collapse, and any creatures standing on that section fall 40 feet to the ground floor, smashing through the second floor on the way down.
V7. Tower, Fourth Floor
Unlike the levels below, this room shows signs of recent habitation, and although the place reeks of mold and mildew, it has plenty of creature comforts, including a cozy bed, a desk with matching chair, bright tapestries, and a large iron stove with plenty of wood to feed it. Light enters through arrow slits as well as through dirt-caked windows with broken shutters. Other features of the room include a standing suit of armor and a wooden chest. Old wooden rafters bend under the weight of the tower roof, which has somehow remained intact. Mounted to the rafters are pulleys around which hang iron chains that support the tower’s elevator platform.
Van Richten spent several months in this room, reviewing a lifetime’s worth of research on Strahd von Zarovich—notes that, once he committed them to memory, he burned in the stove. He also burned his journals. Ezmerelda searched the room, hoping to find a clue to her mentor’s plan or whereabouts. Among the things she found here was a rolled-up map of Barovia and a burned page from van Richten’s journal, which she took and hid in her wagon (area area V1).
The standing armor is a suit of animated armor. It is
A lavender aroma emanates from the wooden chest, which is unlocked and safe to open. It contains the severed head of a human Vistana named Yan. Its flesh has a waxy complexion and has been embalmed with magic oils. If a
The magic oils preserving Yan’s head allow it to remember conversations it has while under the effect of
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it’s in a narrow compartment hidden in the wall behind the suit of armor. If the armor is activated and commanded to retrieve the treasure, it pulls the stones out of the wall, revealing the treasure beyond.
If the characters have collapsed the tower (see area area V2), they find the treasure after
Special Events
You can use one or both of the following special events while the characters are exploring Van Richten’s Tower.
Pack Attack
If the characters blew up Ezmerelda’s wagon, activated the lightning sheath around the tower, or caused the tower to collapse, the sound of their handiwork echoes through the valley as far west as Krezk and as far east as Vallaki. The disturbance attracts the attention of a pack of werewolves, which arrives after 1 hour.
The werewolves haunt the Svalich Woods west of Van Richten’s Tower. They come running in wolf form, hoping to trap prey on the island by cutting off access to the causeway.
Leading the hunt is Kiril Stoyanovich, a werewolf with 90 hit points. Accompanying him are six normal Werewolf and nine Wolf. While in wolf form, the werewolves are indistinguishable from ordinary wolves. They either remain in wolf form or assume hybrid form.
If the characters were drawn into Barovia by the “area Werewolves in the Mist” adventure hook, this encounter represents a climactic confrontation between the characters and the werewolf pack that has been terrorizing settlements in the Forgotten Realms. The werewolves know that the tower has magical defenses, so they are cautious. Kiril tries to lure the characters outside for a final showdown, but pulls his pack into the woods if the characters start lobbing spells or making ranged attacks from the tower.
Development
A captured werewolf can be forced to divulge the whereabouts of the children kidnapped by the pack. They are being held in a cave to the west (see chapter 15, “Werewolf Den”).
Ezmerelda’s Retreat
Ezmerelda d’Avenir (see appendix D) returns to Van Richten’s Tower after confronting Strahd in Castle Ravenloft and barely escaping with her life. She arrives on the back of a riding horse stolen from the Vistani camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area area N9).
Ezmerelda hopes that the arsenal of weapons in her wagon will be enough to protect her from the vampire’s wrath. If the characters blew up the wagon, she is understandably annoyed and retreats to the tower. (She knows the trick to bypassing the trap on the tower door.) If the tower has also been destroyed, she doesn’t stick around unless the characters are clearly her best hope of survival.
Ezmerelda’s altercation with Strahd has left her with only 30 hit points. She graciously accepts any healing the characters have to offer.
Development
From this moment on, Strahd gains a new goal: kill Ezmerelda d’Avenir. Knowing that his Vistani spies might be conflicted at the thought of slaying one of their own, Strahd relies on the druids and the werewolves of the Svalich Woods, as well as human spies and vampire spawn hidden in Barovia’s settlements, to help him find and kill Ezmerelda. If Strahd learns that she and the characters are working together, he invites the characters to Ravenloft, expecting that Ezmerelda will accompany them. The characters receive their invitation in the form of a letter delivered by one of Strahd’s spies. If the characters open and read the letter, show the players the “area Strahd’s Invitation” handout in appendix F. If the characters head toward the castle, they have no threatening random encounters on the way.
