The fortified village of Krezk lies near the edge of Strahd’s domain, and the wall of mist that marks the border is clearly visible above the treeline. Yet even here there is no escaping the vampire. In fact, the villagers are so terrified of Strahd and his wolves that they never venture away from the village. Within their walls, they grow trees that provide ample wood to keep them warm on cold nights, and they draw water from a blessed pool. They have chickens, hares, and small pigs, as well as gardens of beets and turnips. The only thing they depend on from the outside world is wine. The burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov, comes from a noble family and regularly has wine delivered from the nearby winery, the Wizard of Wines (chapter 12), to keep the locals' bellies warm and their spirits up.
Looming high above Krezk is the Abbey of Saint Markovia, once a convent and hospital, now a madhouse overrun with wickedness. After Saint Markovia and her followers failed to overthrow Strahd, the abbey became a fortress closed off from the rest of the world. Strahd ruthlessly preyed on the fears of the clerics and nuns holed up inside, but ultimately it was their isolation and greed that doomed them. The clergy began fighting over food and wine. By the time their supplies ran out, they had either been killed by each other’s hands or driven hopelessly insane by Strahd’s acts of terror against them. For years afterward, the villagers of Krezk avoided the place, fearing that the abbey was cursed, haunted, or both.
Then, over a century ago, a pilgrim from a distant land came to Krezk and insisted that he be allowed to reopen the abbey. The nameless man was strikingly handsome and extremely persuasive, and the villagers couldn’t help but do as he commanded. Eternally young, he presides over the abbey to this day, and locals refer to him simply as the Abbot. Many villagers suspect that the Abbot is Strahd in disguise, for they’ve heard stories about Strahd appearing in other guises. The truth, however, is even more disturbing.
The gleam in her eyes was like warm sunlight on a still pond. That light is gone forever. When I try to imagine those eyes, all I see is a mad abyss.
—Strahd von Zarovich
Areas of Krezk
The following areas correspond to labels on the map of Krezk below.
S1. Road Junction
The road branches north and climbs a rocky escarpment, ending at a gatehouse built into a twenty-foot-high wall of stone reinforced with buttresses every fifty feet or so. The wall encloses a settlement on the side of a snow-dusted mountain spur. Beyond the wall you see the tops of snow-covered pines and thin, white wisps of smoke. The somber toll of a bell comes from a stone abbey that clings to the mountainside high above the settlement. The steady chime is inviting—a welcome change from the deathly silence and oppressive fog to which you have grown accustomed. It’s hard to tell at this distance, but there seems to be a switchback road clinging to the cliffs that lead up from the walled settlement to the abbey.
The Old Svalich Road continues west from this location for a little more than a mile before it plunges into the foggy curtain that surrounds Barovia (see chapter 2, area “Mists of Ravenloft”). Characters who follow the road north arrive at the gatehouse (area area S2).
S2. Gatehouse
The map of Krezk includes a diagram of the gatehouse.
The air grows colder as you approach the walled settlement. Two square towers with peaked roofs flank a stone archway into which is set a pair of twelve-foot-tall, ironbound wooden doors. Carved into the arch above the doors is a name: Krezk.
The walls that extend from the gatehouse are twenty feet high. Atop the parapet you see four figures wearing fur hats and clutching spears. They watch you nervously.
Cut into the upper floor of each tower is an arrow slit 6 inches wide, 4 feet tall, and 1 foot deep. An open doorway leads from the archer’s post in each tower to the adjacent parapet. Behind the walls, wooden ladders lead from the parapets to the ground 20 feet below.
Two archers (male and female human Scout) are stationed inside the gatehouse, one in each tower. Four Guard (male and female humans) man the adjacent walls. If the characters are seen flying or climbing over the walls, the guards assume that the village is under attack and cry out in alarm. Five rounds after the alarm sounds, every able-bodied adult in the village arrives at the gatehouse, ready for battle. Krezk’s militia consists of four more guards plus forty Commoner (male and female humans) armed with handaxes.
The double doors are made of thick wood planks bound with iron bands and sealed shut with a heavy wooden bar held in iron brackets. The bar can be lifted with a successful DC 15 Strength check. The doors require a siege engine to break them open.
There aren’t enough people in Krezk to adequately defend its outer wall. Every 300-foot stretch of wall is watched over by a lone guard (male or female human). The guards are trained to crouch behind the wall and sound the alarm at any sign of danger.
Burgomaster Dmitri Krezkov
If the characters ask to be let inside or otherwise draw the attention of the guards on the wall, one of the guards fetches the burgomaster, Dmitri Krezkov (LG male human noble). His ancestors built Krezk at the foot of the abbey after Strahd’s armies conquered the valley.
Dmitri is a lord and expects to be treated like one. He places the safety of his village above the welfare of strangers. He has seen adventurers before and assumes that the characters are Strahd’s allies or enemies; either way, their presence spells trouble for Krezk. Dmitri isn’t prepared to shelter Strahd’s enemies any more than he is willing to humor Strahd’s allies. The only way the characters can earn his favor is to help Krezk in some way, whereupon Dmitri is required by his oath of office and his honor as a Barovian noble to show them hospitality. If the characters ask what they can do, Dmitri asks them to secure a wagonload of wine from the Wizard of Wines winery to the south. His people have been without wine for days, and the next delivery is long overdue.
If the characters force their way into town using magic or strength of arms, Dmitri tells his guards to stand down, hoping to avoid bloodshed, and does everything he can to expedite the characters' departure.
A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (
S3. Village of Krezk
When the characters get past the outer wall, read:
The mist-shrouded village beyond the wall is nothing more than a scattering of humble wooden cottages along dirt roads that stretch between stands of snow-dusted pine trees—so many trees, in fact, as to constitute a forest. To the northeast, gray cliffs rise sharply, and the road winding up to the abbey is easy to see from this vantage.
The village operates as a commune, with no exports or moneymaking businesses. Villagers grow trees and vegetables, cut wood to heat their homes, raise chickens and pigs, and share their food. A few villagers have cows and mules, but there are no horses in Krezk. The village has no inns or taverns. Characters who are willing to chop wood, milk cows, or perform other chores can spend the night in the burgomaster’s cottage or some other residence.
Cottages
Krezk’s residences are single-story pine cottages with stone chimneys and thatch roofs. Pigs and chickens are kept in indoor pens and coops so that they don’t freeze.
Burgomaster’s Cottage
The building closest to the outer gate is the burgomaster’s cottage—the largest building in town but still a modest dwelling. Dmitri Krezkov and his fearless wife Anna (LG female human noble) have no living children. The last of their four children, Ilya, died of an illness seven days ago at the age of fourteen. Given their age, the Krezkovs are unlikely to have more children—a source of great consternation to everyone in the village, since that means the end of the Krezkov bloodline.
The burgomaster’s cottage has a wine cellar (currently empty) and lots of space for pigpens and chicken coops. Behind the cottage is a graveyard where deceased members of the Krezkov family are interred. Dmitri and Anna’s four children, all of whom died of illness, are buried here. Several of the family caskets are empty, their contents stolen in the night by the Abbot’s mongrelfolk gravediggers (see area area S6). Ilya’s plot is fresh and undisturbed, since he was interred only four days ago.
Commoner Cottages
A typical cottage is only 200 square feet yet contains
Every cottage has its own graveyard where family members are interred. All the caskets planted in the past decade are now empty, thanks to the Abbot’s sneaky mongrelfolk gravediggers (see area area S6).
Krezk Lore
In addition to the information known to all Barovians (see area “Barovian Lore” in chapter 2), the villagers of Krezk (called Krezkites) know the following bits of local lore:
- Residents never leave the village for fear of being attacked by wolves, dire wolves, and werewolves.
- About once a month, a wagonload of wine arrives from the Wizard of Wines (chapter 12), the winery and vineyard to the south. The business is owned and operated by the Martikov family.
- Burgomaster Krezkov recently lost his fourteen-year-old son, Ilya, to illness. Ilya was the last of the four Krezkov children.
- A pool at the north end of the village provides fresh water throughout the year. Next to the pool, the village’s ancestors built a shrine to the Morninglord in a gazebo. It’s known as the Shrine of the White Sun.
- The Abbey of Saint Markovia is named after a priest of the Morninglord who took a stand against the devil Strahd. After a fierce uprising, Markovia and her most loyal followers stormed Castle Ravenloft, only to be destroyed.
- The abbey was once a hospital and a convent, but it fell on hard times after the land was swallowed up by the mists. Some of the clergy fell prey to Strahd, while others went mad and either starved themselves to death or turned to cannibalism.
- The head of the abbey, called simply the Abbot, arrived over a century ago and hasn’t aged a day since. He occasionally visits the Shrine of the White Sun but doesn’t talk much, and he demands tribute in the form of wine. No one knows his true name or where he came from, and many believe he’s Strahd’s servant or the vampire himself in disguise.
- No one from the village visits the abbey anymore. The abbey’s bell rings at odd times, day and night, and the place is filled with baleful screams and horrible, inhuman laughter that can be heard throughout the village.
S4. Pool and Shrine
Even under gray skies, this pool at the north end of the village shimmers and sparkles. Near its shore sits an old gazebo on the verge of collapse. A wooden statue of a mournful, bare-chested man, its paint chipped and faded, stands in the gazebo with arms outstretched, as though waiting to be embraced.
The pool is fed by an underground spring and was blessed long ago by Saint Markovia. Its waters defy corruption, and anyone who drinks from it for the first time gains the benefit of a
The gazebo is so frail that it wouldn’t take more than a strong wind to knock it over. It remains standing because it’s protected from the elements by the surrounding trees, walls, and cliffs. The statue is a depiction of the Morninglord, positioned so that he is reaching toward the east (the dawn). Locals refer to the statue and gazebo as the Shrine of the White Sun, though they have no idea why their ancestors named it so.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, the item is hidden under the gazebo. The gazebo must be torn down to reach it, and doing that doesn’t sit well with the locals. If the characters damage the gazebo and don’t repair it, any Charisma checks they make to shift the attitudes of the villagers have disadvantage.
S5. Winding Road
The switchback road that hugs the cliff is ten feet wide and covered with loose gravel and chunks of broken rock. The ascent is slow and somewhat treacherous, and the air grows colder as one nears the top.
The road climbs 400 feet, doubling back on itself twice before reaching area area S6.
The following areas correspond to labels on the maps of the Abbey of Saint Markovia below.
The mongrelfolk that infest the abbey are all descendants of one family—the Belviews—and all suffer from some form of madness. Whenever the characters interact with a mongrelfolk who isn’t detailed here, roll on the Indefinite Madness table (see “Madness Effects” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide) or choose from the available options on the table to determine how that particular mongrelfolk’s madness is expressed.
Most of the mongrelfolk in the abbey are locked up because they can’t be trusted to wander about unsupervised. The only mongrelfolk who are free to move about are the Abbot’s gravediggers, Otto and Zygfrek, and his faithful, two-headed manservant, Clovin.
Clovin Belview rings the abbey’s bell (area area S17) when the Abbot decides it’s time for dinner. The toll of the bell causes all the other mongrelfolk in the abbey to hoot and holler with excitement as they wait to be fed.
The windows of the north wing are made of leaded glass that is translucent—good for letting in light but not good for seeing through. The windows of the east wing are broken outward and have damaged shutters.
S6. North Gate
The road from the village climbs above the mist to the wide ledge on which the abbey is perched. A light dusting of snow covers the trees and the rocky earth.
The gravel road passes between two small, stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a five-foot-high, three-foot-thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear to be unlocked. Viewed through the gates, the stone abbey stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop of the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing gray smoke.
The iron gates are unlocked but squeal loudly when someone opens them.
Two gate guards are on duty, but they aren’t awake when the characters arrive (see below). Characters who succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity (
The gate guards are Otto and Zygfrek Belview, two lawful evil mongrelfolk (see area appendix D). They sleep under piles of musty animal furs. Both are loyal servants of the Abbot, yet not so good at guarding. If the characters seem friendly, the mongrelfolk escort them to the courtyard (area area S12) and ask the characters to wait there while they fetch the Abbot (area area S13). If the characters seem hostile, the mongrelfolk let them enter but don’t accompany them willingly.
Hanging on the inside wall of each guard post is a net woven from twigs and pine needles, as well as a shovel. Otto and Zygfrek cover themselves with the nets when they skulk through the village at night in search of fresh graves to dig up.
Roleplaying the Mongrelfolk
Use the information below to roleplay the mongrelfolk guards, Otto and Zygfrek.
Otto Belview
Otto is 4 feet, 9 inches tall and squats instead of standing upright. He looks like a beardless dwarf with patches of donkey flesh covering his face and body. He has one human ear and one wolf’s ear, and a protruding wolf’s snout and fangs. His arms and hands are human, but his legs and feet are leonine, and he has a donkey’s tail. He can barely speak Common, and his laugh sounds like a donkey’s bray. He wears a plain wool cloak.
Otto has the Standing Leap feature (see the mongrelfolk stat block in area appendix D). His madness is embodied in the following statement: “I am the smartest, wisest, strongest, fastest, and most beautiful person I know.”
Zygfrek Belview
Zygfrek stands 4 feet, 7 inches tall. The left side of her face and body is covered with lizard scales, the right with tufts of gray wolf fur. Between these tufts is pale human skin. One of her eyes is that of a feline, and her fingers and hands resemble cat’s paws with opposable thumbs. She has a gruff voice and wears a gray cloak with black fur trim.
Zygfrek has the
S7. Graveyard
Stunted pine trees grow out of the rocky earth in the graveyard near the foundation of the abbey’s north wing. The windows of the structure are cracked panes of leaded glass. Ancient gravestones burst from a thin crust of snow in the yard. Beyond the low wall that surrounds the graveyard, the ground falls away. The village lies four hundred feet below, and the view is breathtaking.
Carved into each gravestone is the name of a long-dead priest or nun. Some of the names include Brother Martek, Brother Valen, Sister Constance, and Sister Lenora.
Sun’s Grave
The gravestone marked X is carved with roses and bears a 3-inch-diameter sun-shaped indentation on its east side. Engraved beneath the indentation is the name Petrovna. If Tasha Petrovna’s holy symbol (see chapter 4, area K84, area crypt 11) is placed in the indentation, both the holy symbol and the indentation vanish. Then read:
A ray of golden sunlight breaks through the clouds to the west and shines upon the grave. The fog and the gloom shrink from its brilliance as the sunlight causes the gravestone to crack and crumble, revealing a ring within.
The sunray lasts for 1 minute. If the characters smash the gravestone without placing Tasha Petrovna’s holy symbol in it first, they find nothing within its remains.
The ring is a
S8. Garden Gatehouse
A gatehouse stands at the entrance to the abbey gardens.
The gatehouse is empty.
S9. Gardens
Nestled between rising and plunging cliffs are four rectangular garden plots enclosed by a five-foot-high wall of mortared stones. White rabbits nibble on turnips uprooted by the cold. Two lifeless scarecrows with stuffed gullets and sackcloth heads hang from wooden crosses pounded into the cold, hard earth.
If the characters haven’t cleared out the east wing, add:
The abbey’s east wing looms over the garden, its shattered windows dark and disturbing. A door leads into this forlorn edifice, which apparently isn’t as abandoned as one might have hoped. From within come the laughter and the wailing of things that should not be.
The rabbits and the scarecrows are harmless. The gardens contain a meager assortment of root vegetables and squash. The door leading to area area S15 isn’t locked.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, the item is hidden in the straw-filled gullet of the southernmost scarecrow. If the treasure is removed from the scarecrow, seven Wight erupt from the gardens and attack. They wear tattered livery of Strahd’s house.
S10. Abbey Entrance
A fifteen-foot-high curtain wall joins the abbey’s two wings. Behind its battlements, two guards stand at attention, their features obscured by fog. Below them, set into the wall, is a pair of ten-foot-tall, wooden doors reinforced with bands of steel. To the right of these doors, mounted on the wall, is a tarnished copper plaque.
The plaque bears the abbey’s name, under which appear these words: “May her light cure all illness.”
The “guards” on the wall are propped-up scarecrows that wear corroded chain shirts and clutch rusted spears (see area area S18). A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (
The double doors are heavy but unlocked. They can be pushed open to reveal a foggy courtyard (area area S12).
S11. Inner Gatehouses
These two empty buildings help support the curtain wall (area area S18) that encloses the courtyard (area area S12). The wooden doors that lead to them are unlocked.
S12. Courtyard
The thick fog that fills this courtyard swirls, as if eager to escape. The courtyard is surrounded by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall on which stand several guards with their backs to you—or so it seemed at first. It’s clear now that these guards are merely scarecrows.
Wooden doors to the north and east lead to the abbey’s two wings. In the center of the courtyard is a stone well fitted with an iron winch, to which a rope and bucket are attached. Along the perimeter, tucked under the overhanging wall, are several stone sheds with padlocked wooden doors, as well as three shallow alcoves that contain wooden troughs. Two wooden posts pounded into the rocky earth have iron rings bolted to them, and chained to one of them is a short humanoid with bat wings and spider mandibles.
The quiet is shattered by horrible screams coming from the sheds.
If the characters are escorted here by Otto and Zygfrek Belview (area area S6), they are asked to wait in the courtyard while the mongrelfolk fetch the Abbot from area area S13.
S12a. Well
The well is 80 feet deep. Hiding 20 feet down is a chaotic evil mongrelfolk (see area appendix D) named Mishka Belview. He clings to the wall of the shaft and scuttles up to attack anyone who shines a light down on him.
Mishka Belview
Mishka stands 5 feet tall and has a wiry, spindly build. He has three red spider eyes on the right side of his face, while the left side appears human. He has a frog’s foot in place of his left hand and a taloned crow’s foot where his right foot should be.
He has the Spider Climb feature (see the mongrelfolk stat block in area appendix D). In his madness, he’s discovered he enjoys killing people.
S12b. Old Troughs
These three horse troughs are badly rotted and fall apart if handled or jostled.
S12c. Chicken Sheds
Each of these sheds is fitted with an iron padlock. Clovin Belview (area area S17) carries the keys to these locks.
If the characters open a shed, read:
This shed holds the shattered remains of several chicken coops. Shackled to the back wall is a wretched humanoid with bestial deformities.
There are nine of these sheds, each one containing a howling or mewling mongrelfolk (see area appendix D).
S12d. Tethering Posts
Iron rings bolted to these wooden posts were once used to secure horses. Chained to one post is a chaotic neutral mongrelfolk (see area appendix D) named Marzena Belview, the older sister of Mishka Belview (see area area S12a).
If the characters approach Marzena, read:
The creature chained to the post flaps its leathery wings and takes to the air, but doesn’t get far before its chains go taut. She flutters about madly, screaming nonsense.
Marzena Belview is skittish and afraid of everyone and everything except for Clovin Belview (area area S17), whom she allows to come close enough to feed her.
Marzena Belview
Marzena stands 4 feet, 5 inches tall and has a hunched posture. Long, stringy black hair hides much of her face, but clearly visible are the spider mandibles and teeth that replace her human mouth. She has the arms and wings of a bat, as well as a cloven hoof in place of her right foot. She doesn’t allow anyone to get close enough to undo her shackles, but if her bonds are magically unlocked or if her chains are somehow broken, she flies away and never returns.
Marzena has the Flight feature (see the mongrelfolk stat block in area appendix D). Her madness is embodied in the following statement: “I am convinced that powerful enemies are hunting me, and their agents are everywhere I go. I am sure they’re watching me all the time.”
S13. Main Hall
Gentle-sounding music trickles down from above, played on a single stringed instrument by some unseen master.
The ground floor is one large, fifty-foot-square room with arched, leaded glass windows. A cauldron sits on an iron rack above a fire in a hearth, while above the fireplace mantel hangs a golden disk engraved with the symbol of the sun. In one corner, a wooden staircase climbs to the upper level, while in another corner a stone staircase descends into darkness.
Several chairs surround a wooden table that stretches nearly the length of the room. Wooden dishware and gold candelabras are neatly arranged on the table, standing behind which is a young woman with alabaster skin dressed in a torn and soiled red gown. Her auburn hair is neatly bundled so as not to touch her soft shoulders. She seems lost in her own thoughts.
The Abbot is normally here. If he is here, add:
A handsome young man in a brown monk’s robe gently takes the woman by her hand. A painted wooden holy symbol that depicts the sun hangs from a chain around his neck. He moves with the grace of a saint.
The Abbot is a deva in disguise (see area appendix D, as well as “area Something Old” in the “Special Events” section at the end of this chapter). He wears a holy symbol of the Morninglord around his neck. The woman in the tattered red gown is Vasilka, a flesh golem that has been exquisitely put together to serve as Strahd’s bride. Characters within 5 feet of Vasilka can see the seams in her powdered skin where disparate body parts stolen from Krezkite graves have been carefully stitched together.
The Abbot is teaching Vasilka the finer points of etiquette. He also intends to teach her how to dance. Vasilka obeys his every command. She can’t speak but lets loose an unholy scream if harmed. If driven berserk, she fights until the Abbot reasserts control or until she is destroyed. She has the supernatural strength of a typical flesh golem despite her smaller size.
The Abbot has no desire to harm the characters. He knows that Strahd has brought them to Barovia for a reason and doesn’t want to thwart Strahd’s plans for them. His calm, pleasant demeanor changes if they become hostile or if they threaten Vasilka. He sheds his disguise and assumes his true angelic form, hoping that sight is enough to make them back down.
The Abbot would like to find a proper bridal gown for Vasilka. If the characters seem friendly, he asks them for help in locating one. In exchange, he offers his magic, agreeing to cast
The music comes from upstairs (area area S17). The stone staircase leads down to the wine cellar (area area S16). The wooden stairs climb to the loft and belfry (area S17).
The stew pot in the fireplace contains several gallons of hot turnip and rabbit soup, intended for the mongrelfolk imprisoned in area areas S12c and area S15.
Roleplaying the Abbot
The Abbot believes he is righteous. He regrets transforming the Belviews into horrid mongrelfolk, and he considers their imprisonment to be necessary, to contain their madness. With regard to Strahd’s bride, he believes that she is the key to freeing the land from its curse. The insane Abbot can’t be convinced otherwise.
The Abbot shares his beliefs openly, claiming that his decisions are based on the Morninglord’s guidance. He will give visitors a tour of the abbey if they seem friendly, but he turns hostile if they threaten him or his charges.
Treasure
The golden sun disk hanging above the fireplace is worth 750 gp. Taking the disk off the wall reveals a niche that contains a
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is hidden in the niche along with the potion.
S14. Foyer
This room used to be an office, as evidenced by the remains of a desk and a chair, both of which have been smashed to pieces. A hallway to the south leads to a staircase going up. A dark passage to the east is full of unnatural whispers, mad laughter, and bestial odors.
The stairs lead up to area area S20.
If the characters enter this area making noise or carrying light sources, the golem in area area S15 is drawn to them (unless they have already defeated it).
S15. Madhouse
This lightless corridor has multiple doors behind which lie creatures that shatter the quiet with their mad cackles and whispered curses. The stench is overpowering.
Before he set out to create a bride for Strahd, the Abbot tried his hand at creating a more rudimentary golem. This creature paces the hall, tirelessly guarding the abbey’s madhouse and making sure no mongrelfolk escape. When the characters first see the golem, read:
Even in the gloom, you can make out a monstrous shape lumbering down the hall. When the darkness can no longer hide its true nature, your eyes are treated to a terrifying, 7-foot-tall assemblage of human body parts.
This flesh golem attacks anyone who isn’t in the company of the Abbot or Clovin Belview.
None of the doors leading from the hall are locked. If the characters open any and look inside, they see that the rooms on each side of the hall are dimly lit by natural light that filters through dirty, shuttered windows. The door at the east end of the hall leads outside and can be pulled open to reveal the gardens (area area S9).
The sixty mongrelfolk confined here are fed at irregular intervals by Clovin Belview. Dinner is foretold by the ringing of the abbey bell (area area S17). These mongrelfolk aren’t
S15a. Fearful Mongrelfolk
This room was once a shared bedchamber, but its furnishings have been destroyed. Three shrieking mongrels cower in the shadowy northwest corner. One of them cradles something shiny.
Three mongrelfolk are confined here. One of them cradles a polished brass candlestick as if it was a doll. Any attempt to take it causes the mongrelfolk to attack.
S15b. Quarreling Mongrelfolk
Four mongrel creatures brawl amid the wreckage of this bedchamber while a fifth watches and cackles behind a life-sized, painted wooden statue of a saintly woman in robes.
Five mongrelfolk are confined here. The four that are fighting aren’t trying to kill each other, but they are trying to assert dominance. They stop fighting if a character separates them.
The statue is a little over 5 feet tall and carved from a single piece of wood. It depicts Saint Markovia. Close inspection reveals that it is covered with bite marks.
S15c. Incanting Mongrelfolk
Seven mongrels are seated in the middle of this room, forming a ring. They appear to be chanting a spell.
These seven mongrelfolk are trying to cast a spell that will cause the abbey’s bell to ring, so that dinner will be served. They are speaking nonmagical gibberish.
S15d. Hungry Mongrelfolk
Nine mongrel creatures stand in the middle of this room, starting at the doorway in silence with hungry looks in their eyes.
These nine mongrelfolk haven’t been fed in days because Clovin doesn’t like them. They try to kill and devour any character who sets foot in the room.
S15e. Mongrelfolk Horde
This room is packed wall to wall with mongrels wallowing in their own filth. The floor is strewn with gnawed bones.
Sixteen screaming mongrelfolk are confined here. The bones are all that remain of mongrelfolk who perished and were eaten. The survivors beg for food.
S15f. Singing and Dancing Mongrelfolk
Eight mongrels caper about the wreckage of this bedchamber while singing a rhyme. One of them holds up a glittering gold statuette as it leads this mad parade.
The eight mongrelfolk sing the following rhyme:
The devil dwells in his dark house,
Upon the misty pillar.
First he’ll taste her sweet, sweet blood,
And then he’ll have to kill her.
They weep if their treasure is taken from them.
Treasure
The golden statuette depicts Saint Markovia and is worth 250 gp. It grants any good-aligned creature that carries it a +1 bonus to saving throws.
S15g. Mongrelfolk Babies
Filthy mongrels cradle screaming young in the debris-strewn corners of this room while several more hoot, holler, roll on the floor, and whack each other with sticks.
This room contains ten mongrelfolk, three of which are tending to noncombatant mongrelfolk babies.
S15h. Mongrelfolk Fort
This room contains a fort made out of piled bits of shattered furniture and torn draperies. From within the fort, you hear a mischievous cackle.
Two mongrelfolk live in the “fort” but refuse to come out unless baited with food. While hidden under the wreckage, they have three-quarters cover.
S16. Wine Cellar
The stone steps descend twenty feet to a cellar that contains ten barrels of wine and an L-shaped wooden rack packed with wine bottles.
The barrels in the center of the room are empty. The wine names are emblazoned on the barrels, as is the winery’s name: the Wizard of Wines. The barrels against the east wall contain Purple Grapemash No. 3, a cheap wine. The four barrels against the south wall contain Red Dragon Crush, a fine wine.
The wine racks contain thirty-three bottles of Purple Grapemash No. 3 and twenty-four bottles of Red Dragon Crush.
Treasure
Among the wine bottles on the rack is one with no stopper and a label that reads “Champagne du le Stomp.” It contains a rolled-up
S17. Loft and Belfry
Anyone on the curtain wall (area area S18) who listens at this room’s door hear the soft tones of a stringed instrument.
The wooden stairs climb twenty feet to a loft with a pitched roof and a door in the center of the south wall. Unlit lanterns hang from the rafters, and a rope dangles from a bronze bell lodged in the belfry thirty feet overhead. The room is filled with the sound of beautiful music—a melody so enchanting that it adds a bit of much-needed warmth to the otherwise freezing room.
A black shroud covers a humanoid shape lying on a wooden table. The music does nothing to stir it.
A cot heaped with furs rests in the northeast corner, surrounded by empty wine bottles. An oil lamp burns atop a table nearby, silhouetting a squat creature that has two heads. It sits on the edge of the cot with a viol between its legs. With a crustacean, clawlike appendage, it grasps the neck of the instrument while running a bow gently across its strings with its human hand.
This loft is where the Abbot creates his flesh golems. Needles, thread, saws, and other tools lie on a small table in the northwest corner.
If anyone rings the bell, a cacophony erupts from the courtyard and the east wing as the mongrelfolk cry out, “Food!” The cries last until the creatures are fed.
Clovin Belview, the Abbot’s manservant, a two-headed neutral evil mongrelfolk (see area appendix D), resides here. He plays the viol beautifully when he is drunk, and the music help puts his half-formed head to sleep. Hidden under the furs of his cot are three bottles of Purple Grapemash No. 3. Several empty wine bottles are strewn about the floor around the cot.
Roleplaying Clovin
Clovin stands 4 feet, 7 inches tall and has a barrel-like shape. His right head is fully formed and combines the features of a patchy-haired man with those of a goat, complete with stubby horns. His left head is about half normal size and has a soft, cherubic face partly covered with crocodilian hide. Clovin has a crab’s pincer in place of his left hand and a bear’s paw where his right foot should be. He wears an ill-fitting monk’s robe with a belt made of hempen rope.
Clovin is the Abbot’s faithful martinet, but he is despised by the other mongrelfolk, who accuse him of hoarding food and slowly starving them to death. He would let them starve, but the Abbot has forbidden it.
Clovin has the Two-Headed feature (see the mongrelfolk stat block in area appendix D). His madness is embodied in the following statement: “Being drunk keeps me sane.” He is drunk most of the time, but not to the extent that it impedes his combat ability, and his musical performance improves when he is inebriated.
The larger head does all the talking. The smaller head has a forked snake’s tongue and can’t do anything except hiss and make other horrible sounds.
Teleport Destination
Characters who teleport to this location from area area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked T on the map.
Thing on the Table
If the characters lift the black shroud covering the larger table, read:
Beneath the shroud lies a creature made of stitched-together body parts. You recognize some of these parts as your own!
The creature on the table appears to be made from the body parts of the characters, which, of course, cannot be. Strahd’s will is playing a trick on them. If a character touches the horrid creature, its true appearance is revealed:
Your eyes play tricks, for what truly lies atop the table are chopped-up body parts, all of them taken from cold, gray, lifeless women, all of them waiting to be stitched together into something horrid.
The body parts were plundered from graves in Krezk. They are leftovers—pieces the Abbot didn’t use in the creation of Strahd’s bride (see area area S13).
S18. Curtain Wall
Scarecrows line the abbey walls, looking outward. They wear tattered chain shirts and carry spears with rusty heads. The courtyard below is blanketed with fog.
The scarecrows are lashed to wooden stands. Though fearsome from a distance, they have no life to them.
It’s a 15-foot drop from the top of the wall to the courtyard. Any creature that falls over the southwest wall tumbles 400 feet down the cliffside.
S19. Barracks
Bunk beds that have disintegrated with age lie in heaps along the walls of this moldy, thirty-foot-square room.
Long ago, the abbey employed guards to defend its walls, and they were quartered here.
Ezmerelda d’Avenir
If the characters have not already encountered her elsewhere, the vampire hunter Ezmerelda d’Avenir (see appendix D) is here, plotting her next move.
Ezmerelda crept into Krezk unseen under cover of darkness and made her way to the abbey, in the hope of gaining knowledge about Strahd and his domain from the residents there. Having met the Abbot and Strahd’s “bride” (area area S13), Ezmerelda realizes the Abbot is insane. The Abbot told her that he is expecting Strahd to visit his bride-to-be. Ezmerelda has decided to wait for the vampire to come, so that she can destroy him away from Castle Ravenloft, far from his resting place. She is planning to create a magic circle in this room as an added precaution.
As the Abbot’s guest, Ezmerelda is free to come and go as she pleases. If the characters seem committed to fighting Strahd, she abandons her plan and offers to join forces with them.
S20. Upstairs Office
A wooden counter shaped like an L stands at the front of this spacious office. All the other furniture has rotted away, leaving heaps of moldy wood and faded cloth.
The wood of the counter is old, soft, and easily broken. Nothing of value remains here. If the characters haven’t already cleared out the madhouse (area area S15), they can hear the whoops, laughter, and screams of the mongrelfolk below. The clamor continues as they explore areas S21–S24 to the east.
S21. Haunted Hospital
This spacious chamber contains bed frames of wrought iron arranged in two neat rows. Cobwebs and bits of rotten mattress cling to each frame.
Three doors are spaced along the south wall, each with a plaque mounted on it. From west to east, the plaques read Operating Room, Nursery, and Morgue.
Six Shadow haunt this room. They are the remnants of dark souls that perished here long ago. The creatures wait until one or more characters are at least 10 feet inside the room before moving out from within the normal shadows to attack. The shadows can’t leave this room.
S22. Operating Room
A bloodstained table stands in the middle of this otherwise empty room.
The first time a character touches the table, read:
A scream fills the room—a scream that echoes through time. It is followed by other, fainter screams of those who died under the knife. The screams fade until they are nothing more than haunting memories.
There is nothing of value here.
S23. Nursery
This room contains the wreckage of old wooden cribs.
If the characters search the room, one of them (determined randomly) sees a figure reflected in the window glass: a nun in white robes, standing in the doorway. A look back toward the door reveals nothing there, and the reflection can’t be seen again.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is under the wreckage of one of the cribs.
S24. Morgue
A raven perches on the windowsill of this otherwise empty room.
If the characters approach the raven, it flies to the shoulder of the nearest scarecrow in the garden (area area S9).
A character who kills the raven is cursed. While cursed, the character has disadvantage on all attack rolls and ability checks. A
Special Events
You can use one or more of the following special events while the characters explore Krezk and the abbey.
Something Old
This event can occur if the characters don’t or can’t raise the burgomaster’s son, Ilya, from the dead.
If alive, the Abbot learns that Ilya died recently and, in his human guise, visits the burgomaster’s cottage. If one or more characters are staying there, they hear a knock at the door. Without bothering to introduce himself, the Abbot tells the burgomaster and his wife that he wants to raise their son from the dead. He claims that the “gods of light” want the Krezkov bloodline restored.
The characters can try to interfere in the raising of Ilya Krezkov. Otherwise, the burgomaster digs up his son’s corpse. Without needing the requisite material components, the Abbot casts a
Development
Ilya Krezkov returns to life with a random form of indefinite madness (see “Madness Effects” in chapter 8, “Running the Game,” of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). The Abbot uses the raising of Ilya as leverage to get the burgomaster to undertake an unusual quest (see “Something Borrowed” below).
Something New
The characters learn that a Krezkite woman named Dimira Yolensky (LG female human noncombatant) is about to give birth. A local midwife named Kretyana Dolvof (LG female human commoner) is summoned to the mother’s cottage to deliver the newborn. In the absence of a priest, the burgomaster’s wife, Anna Krezkova, is called upon to supervise the blessed event and offer prayers for the health of the mother and the child.
Dimira gives birth to a healthy baby boy, but the baby doesn’t cry. While the mother coddles the infant, characters who succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom (
Kretyana was raised to believe that newborns are soulless if they don’t cry, and she has come to believe, rightly, that most Barovians lack souls.
Something Borrowed
The Abbot needs a bridal gown. He doesn’t trust the mongrelfolk to find one, so he pays a visit to Burgomaster Krezkov and instructs him to obtain a gown within a month, either as compensation for raising his dead son (see “Something Old” above) or on pain of death.
No one in Krezk can fashion such a gown, leaving the burgomaster with no choice but to look elsewhere. His wife, Anna, says she should personally lead a well-armed group of Krezkites to the east to Vallaki.
Anna Krezkova (LG female human noble) bids her husband farewell and leaves with two Guard, four Commoner, and a mule laden with provisions. If the characters are present, the burgomaster urges them to provide escort. If they agree, check for random encounters as they make their way along the Old Svalich Road, as normal. If the guards at Vallaki’s gates can be convinced to let them in, Anna and the characters can begin searching for a bridal gown or a dressmaker. Local dressmakers are willing to fashion a gown for 50 gp, but Anna can’t afford it, and the dress won’t be finished in time. The dressmakers are quick to point out that Baroness Lydia Petrovna, the wife of Vallaki’s burgomaster, owns a beautiful white bridal gown (see chapter 5, area area N3p). The baroness, eager to please, is willing to give up her dress for a good cause, although her husband won’t allow it and could care less about Krezk’s problems.
If the characters don’t accompany Anna on her quest, her expedition falls prey to the perils of the wilderness and never returns. Krezkov sends more villagers to find them, and these villagers are also lost. Unwilling to risk any more lives, Krezkov visits the abbey for the first time in his life and makes a desperate plea to the Abbot, who ignores the plea. Characters can escort the burgomaster to the abbey or eavesdrop on the burgomaster’s conversation with the Abbot. If they do, they hear the Abbot promise “divine retribution” as punishment.
The evening after the burgomaster’s visit, the Abbot releases all the mongrelfolk in the abbey’s madhouse (area area S15) and sets them on the village. They steal pigs, chickens, and anything else that’s edible. None of the villagers are harmed, but their food supplies are depleted, and
The characters can stop all this from happening by delivering the dress to the Abbot. They can also stop the mayhem by halting the mongrelfolk as they descend from the abbey or by killing the Abbot beforehand.
Development
If Lydia Petrovna’s bridal gown is delivered to the Abbot, he honors whatever deal he made with the characters. If the characters resort to magical trickery (for example, creating an illusory dress), the Abbot becomes hostile toward them once the deception is revealed.
Something Blue
This encounter occurs if the characters bring Ireena Kolyana to Krezk, as the priest Donavich suggested (see chapter 3, area area E5f).
Ireena hears a gentle voice calling to her. It leads her to the edge of the blessed pool (area area S4). If the characters follow her, read:
As Ireena reaches the pool’s edge, an image appears in its sparkling blue waters: a handsome youth of kind and noble visage. The sadness in his eyes turns to sudden joy.
“Tatyana!” he says. “It has been so long! Come, my love. Let us be together at last.”
Ireena gasps and puts a hand on her heart. “My beloved Sergei! In life, you were a prince and a man of faith. We were to be married long ago. Has this blessed pool called your spirit to me?” She reaches toward the water’s surface as a hand of water rises up to take hers.
If the characters intervene, pulling Ireena away from the water’s grasp, the hand sinks back into the pool, Sergei’s image fades, and she cries as she screams his name.
If the characters allow her to take the hand, read:
Ireena is pulled into the pool and embraces Sergei beneath the rippling water. You have never seen a happier couple as they both begin to fade from view.
The spirit of Sergei takes Ireena to a place where Strahd can’t harm her. She is safe with him.
Whether or not Sergei takes Ireena, Strahd senses that the two have found each other. He reacts as follows:
A peal of thunder shakes the land, and the dark clouds coalesce into a terrible visage. A deep, dark voice from beyond the mountains cries out, “She is mine!” A terrible crack resounds as blue lightning splits the sky and strikes the pool.
Each creature within 15 feet of the pool must make a successful DC 17 Dexterity check or be knocked
Strahd’s wrath destroys the blessing on the pool, rendering its waters nonmagical and preventing the spirit of Sergei from manifesting in them again.
Development
If Sergei and Ireena are brought together, Ireena is no longer within Strahd’s grasp. Strahd blames the characters for his loss and seeks to destroy them from this moment on. Not long afterward, he has one of his servants deliver a letter to the characters, inviting them to Castle Ravenloft. If the characters open and read the letter, show the players “area Strahd’s Invitation” in appendix F. If the characters head toward the castle, they have no threatening random encounters on the way.