Tsolenka Pass is a gravel road that hugs Mount Ghakis, climbing to great heights. The road starts at the Raven River crossroads (chapter 2, area area R) and travels seven miles to a gatehouse (area areas T1–area T3) and a guard tower (area areas T4–area T6), as well as a stone bridge (area areas T7–area T9) that spans the Luna River. Wind and snow make the journey treacherous. Without some way to keep warm, characters who aren’t dressed for cold weather suffer the effects of extreme cold at night (see “Weather” in chapter 5, “Adventure Environments,” of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
The road curved and climbed, making a lengthy switchback into this edge of Mount Ghakis. The air grew colder, not warmer, and patches of snow became more frequent until they were unbroken.
—Strahd von Zarovich in I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire
Areas of the Pass
The following areas correspond to labels on the map of the Tsolenka Pass below. These structures are made of tightly fitted stone and can’t be scaled without the aid of magic or a climber’s kit.
T1. Gatehouse Portcullis
When the characters approach from the west, read:
The shelf of rock on which the mountain road clings grows narrow. To your left, the icy cliffs rise sharply toward dark, rolling clouds. To your right, the ground falls away into a sea of fog. Ahead, through the wind and snow, you see a high wall of black stone lined with spikes and topped by statues of demonic vultures with horned heads. Set in the center of the wall is a closed iron portcullis, behind which burns a curtain of green flame.
On the other side of the dark wall, gripping the mountain’s edge, is a guard tower of white stone topped by golden statues of mighty warriors.
The gatehouse is 30 feet high. The adjoining walls are 20 feet high and lined with stone spikes. If the characters circumvent the gate by flying or climbing over it, the statues on the gatehouse (area T2) animate and attack.
If the characters approach within 10 feet of the portcullis, it shrieks with the sound of metal on metal as it rises on its own. It stays open for 1 minute, then closes.
T2. Demon Statues
These statues are actually two
T3. Curtain of Green Flame
A curtain of green flame fills the eastern archway of the gatehouse. Any creature that enters the curtain for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in the green flame takes 33 (
A successful casting of
T4. Guard Tower, Ground Floor
The tower door is made of ironbound wood and barred from within. A character can force open the door with a successful DC 22 Strength (
A cold hearth stands across from the door, the wind howling down its chimney. A stone staircase is on the south wall. Three windows look out over a foggy sea.
The stairs climb 20 feet to area T5.
Teleport Destination
Characters who teleport to this location from area area K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked X on the map.
T5. Guard Tower, Upper Floor
The upper level of the tower is an icebox with windows set in almost every wall. A rusted iron ladder bolted to the floor and ceiling leads up to a wooden trapdoor. Mounted above the stone hearth is a dire wolf’s head. The wind coming down the chimney howls in its stead.
The trapdoor in the ceiling pushes open with a squeal, revealing the rooftop (area T6) and the stormy gray sky.
T6. Guard Tower Rooftop
Ten-foot-tall, gold-plated statues stand atop the battlements, facing outward. Each one depicts a female human knight holding a lance. The cold wind stirs the snow, under which you see human skeletons clad in rusty mail.
The roof is 40 feet high and 540 feet above the misty valley below. A wooden trapdoor in the floor squeals as it is pulled open, revealing area T5 below.
The skeletons are the remains of four guards who held this post long ago. Characters who search the remains find tattered bits of cloth, broken longbows and arrows, rusted blades in ruined sheaths, and rusty chain mail.
Fortunes of Ravenloft
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, read:
The swirling snow assumes the forms of thin, young women. The wind howls, “Begone! The treasure is ours!”
The forms are six Snow Maiden. Use the specter statistics, with the following modifications:
- The snow maidens have immunity to cold damage.
- The snow maidens' Life Drain attack deals cold damage instead of necrotic damage.
The snow maidens don’t speak, nor are they interested in hearing what the characters have to say. If the characters don’t leave at once, the snow maidens attack. When the last snow maiden is defeated, the treasure that the characters seek magically appears in the swirling snow on the rooftop.
T7. Western Arch
When the characters approach the bridge, read:
The snowy pass comes to a gorge spanned by a stone bridge. At each end of the bridge is a thirty-foot-tall, thirty-foot-wide stone arch. Atop each one are two statues of armored knights on horseback with lances, charging toward one another. The wind bites and howls like wolves as it passes through the gorge.
The western arch contains empty guard posts, one on each side of the bridge. These 10-foot-wide chambers provide some protection against the howling wind.
T8. Stone Bridge
The low walls that enclose the stone bridge have fallen away in a couple of places, but the bridge appears intact. A black-cloaked rider on a charcoal-colored horse guards the middle of the bridge.
The cloaked rider is a manifestation of Strahd von Zarovich—a grim warning to proceed no further. If the characters interact with the manifestation in any way, the rider and horse disperse like ash in the wind.
Five hundred feet below the bridge is the Luna River, barely visible through the fog. Though slippery in a few places, the 10-foot-wide, 90-foot-long bridge is safe to cross.
T9. Eastern Arch
One of the statues atop this arch has crumbled, leaving only the hindquarters of the horse intact. The mountain pass continues beyond.
This arch contains 10-foot-square guard posts, one on each side of the bridge. Both rooms are empty.
Beyond this arch, Tsolenka Pass hugs the mountainside for three miles before branching north and south. The northern branch leads to the Amber Temple (chapter 13). The southern branch continues to wrap around Mount Ghakis until it ends at the deadly fog that surrounds Barovia (see chapter 2, “area Mists of Ravenloft").
Special Events
You can use one or both of the following events as the characters make their way along Tsolenka Pass.
Roc of Mount Ghakis
As the characters cross the stone bridge (area area T8) from east to west—possibly on their way back from the Amber Temple (chapter 13)—they are spotted by a roc that has survived in the mountains for thousands of years. The roc has a great nest on the top of Mount Ghakis to the southeast and feeds on fish in the nearby lake.
When the Roc of Mount Ghakis appears, read:
Diving toward the bridge is a creature of unearthly size—a bird so monstrous that its wings blot out the sky.
The roc attacks a random creature on the bridge, snatching up a horse or a mule, if one is available. Otherwise, it attacks a party member. It can’t reach characters who hide in the guard posts at either end of the bridge. If it has nothing to attack on its turn, the roc lets loose a horrible shriek and flies back to its nest.
Bloodhorn’s Charge
As the characters make their way along Tsolenka Pass, they encounter a beast that the druids and berserkers of Barovia call Sangzor (“Bloodhorn”):
The road ahead is cut out of the mountainside, rising steeply to one side and falling away on the other. Mist and snow greatly reduce visibility, and the howling wind cuts through you like a knife.
If no character has a passive Wisdom (
A nine-foot-tall goat stands atop a crag above you, its gray fur blending perfectly with the rock of the mountainside. It lowers its head, and malice glimmers in its eyes.
Sangzor is a giant goat known for its supernatural resilience and evil disposition. Mountain folk have been hunting it for years. Modify its statistics as follows:
- It has an Intelligence of 6 (−2 modifier) and is chaotic evil.
- It has 33 hit points.
- It has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
- Its challenge rating is 1 (200 XP).
The giant goat charges down the mountainside (using its Charge feature) and rams a character. If the attack hits and the target fails its saving throw, it is sent tumbling down the mountainside, falling 100 feet onto a ledge.
The goat flees if it takes 10 damage or more. The mist and snowfall prevent seeing anything more than 60 feet away. Once the goat is out of sight, it disappears through a cleft.
Development
A character who wears Sangzor’s pelt can command the respect of the berserkers who inhabit Strahd’s domain. They will not attack the character or that character’s companions unless provoked.