Introduction

Under raging storm clouds, a lone figure stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. The vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stares down a sheer cliff at the village below. A cold, bitter wind spins dead leaves about him, billowing his cape in the darkness.

Lightning splits the clouds overhead, casting stark white light across him. Strahd turns to the sky, revealing the angular muscles of his face and hands. He has a look of power—and of madness. His once handsome face is contorted by a tragedy darker than the night itself.

Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as Strahd turns his gaze back to the village. Far below, yet not beyond his ken, a party of adventurers has just entered his domain. Strahd’s face forms a twisted smile as his dark plan unfolds. He knew they were coming, and he knows why they have come—all according to his plan. He, the master of Ravenloft, will attend to them.

Another lightning flash rips through the darkness, its thunder echoing through the castle’s towers. But Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind—or perhaps a lone wolf—fills the midnight air. The master of Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. And you are invited.

Running the Adventure

Curse of Strahd is a story of gothic horror, presented here as Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game adventure for a party of four to six adventurers of levels 1–10. A balance of character classes is helpful, since the adventurers will face a variety of challenges. Each character class will certainly have its moment to shine.

A Classic Retold

This adventure is a retelling of the original Ravenloft adventure, which was published in 1983 by TSR, Inc. In the years since, the original has gained a reputation as one of the greatest Dungeons & Dragons adventures ever, and it went on to inspire the creation of a campaign setting of the same name in 1990: Ravenloft, home of the Domains of Dread.

Module I6: Ravenloft, written by Tracy and Laura Hickman, broke new ground by presenting a D&D adventure that was as much story-driven as location-based, featuring a villain who was complex and terrifying. Castle Ravenloft, with its amazing three-dimensional maps, remains to this day one of the most iconic and memorable of all D&D dungeons.

This book includes the original adventure, as well as expanded material developed in consultation with Tracy and Laura Hickman. It expands what we know about the lands around Castle Ravenloft and sheds new light on the dark past of the castle’s lord. The lands of Barovia are from a forgotten world in the D&D multiverse, and this adventure gives glimpses into that world. In time, cursed Barovia was torn from its home world by the Dark Powers and bound in mist as one of the Domains of Dread in the Shadowfell.

This book is meant for you, the Dungeon Master, alone. We recommend you read the entire adventure before attempting to run it. It assumes that you have the fifth edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual.

The Monster Manual contains stat blocks for most of the monsters and nonplayer characters (NPCs) found in this adventure. Descriptions and stat blocks for new monsters and NPCs are provided in appendix D. When a creature’s name appears in bold type, that’s a visual cue pointing you to the creature’s stat block in the Monster Manual. If the stat block is in appendix D, the adventure’s text tells you so.

Spells and nonmagical equipment mentioned in the adventure are described in the Player’s Handbook. Magic items are described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, unless the adventure’s text directs you to an item’s description in appendix C.

Text that appears in a box like this is meant to be read aloud or paraphrased for players when their characters first arrive at a location or under a specific circumstance, as described in the text. Indoor and nighttime descriptions are written with the assumption that the adventurers are using a torch or other light source to see by.

Story Overview

Adventurers from a foreign land find themselves in Barovia, a mysterious realm surrounded by deadly fog and ruled by Strahd von Zarovich, a vampire and wizard. Using a deck of tarokka cards to predict their future, a fortune-teller named Madam Eva sets them on a dark course that takes them to many corners of Barovia, culminating with a vampire hunt in Castle Ravenloft.

Madam Eva’s people are called the Vistani. They travel in covered wagons from world to world, luring strangers into Strahd’s domain.

Barovia is a land of ghosts, werewolves, and other fell creatures. The wilderness hides many secrets, including forgotten ruins and battlefields that tell the story of Strahd’s life as a conqueror. Adventurers who explore the wilderness find the remnants of Strahd’s ancient enemies, not all of them as dead as one might expect.

For the people of Barovia, there is no escape from this harsh land. The town of Vallaki stands ready to defend itself against the servants of Strahd, but it’s far from the sanctuary it purports to be. The village of Krezk lies near the edge of Strahd’s domain, its abbey now in the clutches of evil, misguided creatures.

Of all the settlements in Strahd’s domain, the village of Barovia is by far the most oppressed. Many of its shops are closed, and the locals have succumbed to despair. It is well known that Strahd desires the burgomaster’s adopted daughter, Ireena Kolyana. The villagers neither protect nor harm her, lest they incur the vampire’s wrath. Few know that Ireena bears an uncanny resemblance to Tatyana, Strahd’s dead beloved.

The village of Barovia cowers in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, Strahd’s home and fortress. The castle stands atop a great spire of rock, invincible and ever watchful. Every night, thousands of bats fly out of the castle to feed. It is said that Strahd sometimes flies with them. Barovia will never be safe until the evil in his castle is destroyed.

Once Strahd becomes aware of the adventurers, he and his spies watch them closely. When the time is right, Strahd invites his “guests” to Castle Ravenloft. He aims to turn them against one another, torment them, and kill them, as he has done with so many other visitors. Some will become undead thralls. Others will never rise again.

The adventurers' best hope of defeating Strahd is to learn his secrets, for he is no ordinary vampire. Guided by Madam Eva’s card reading, they must scour his domain and his castle for magic items that might weaken or slay him, all the while trying to stay alive.

Although the adventurers can escape by slaying Strahd, he can’t be truly destroyed. Barovia is his prison, and not even death can free him from his curse.

The adventure ends when either Strahd von Zarovich or the characters are defeated. Your goal is to keep Strahd in play for as long as possible, using all the abilities and resources at his disposal.

Adventure Structure

Much of the adventure’s action is driven by the clash between the adventurers' decisions and Strahd’s goals, and the adventurers and the vampire are all caught in strands of fate that are represented by a special card reading detailed in area chapter 1, “Into the Mists.” Before you run the adventure, you need to conduct that reading to determine the location of several items that are key to the story, as well as one of the locations where Strahd can be found.

Chapter 1 also outlines Strahd’s goals, and it suggests adventure hooks to draw the player characters into the cursed realm of Barovia. If the characters are 1st level, the character background in appendix A is available to them, and consider starting their time in Barovia with the mini-adventure “Death House” in appendix B.

Chapter 2, “The Lands of Barovia,” provides an overview of the realm and includes special rules for it and its people, including the mysterious Vistani. Chapters 3–15 detail areas that correspond to places on the map of Barovia in chapter 2.

The epilogue offers ways for you to end the adventure. Appendix C details the special items—magical or otherwise—introduced in the adventure, and appendix D provides stat blocks for Strahd and various NPCs and monsters that can be met in Barovia. Appendix E shows the tarokka cards that the Vistani use for their fortune telling, and appendix F contains handouts for you to show the players.

Character Levels

The adventure is meant for characters of levels 1–10 and includes threats for those levels and beyond. Strahd can be an especially deadly challenge at these levels. It is assumed that the characters will gain levels over the course of the adventure, as well as acquire allies and powerful magic items that can tip the scales in their favor. Characters who head directly to Castle Ravenloft without first increasing their power will likely die.

You can award experience points for the defeat of foes, use milestone awards, or a mixture of both. Given the fact that much of the adventure involves social interaction and exploration, rather than combat, your work will probably be easier if you use milestone awards. Appropriate milestone awards include the following:

• Finding Artifacts. The characters gain a level when they obtain the Tome of Strahd, the Sunsword, or the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.
• Defeating Villains. The characters gain a level when they defeat the featured antagonist(s) in a location, such as the hags in Old Bonegrinder (chapter 6).
• Accomplishing Story Goals. The characters gain a level when they accomplish something significant, such lighting the beacon of Argynvostholt (chapter 7), thwarting the druids' ritual atop Yester Hill (chapter 14), or forging an alliance with Ezmerelda d’Avenir (area appendix D).

Appendix B, “Death House,” uses milestone awards by way of example.

Be prepared for the fact that the adventure is exceedingly open-ended—one of the hallmarks of the original Ravenloft. The card reading in area chapter 1 and the adventurers' choices can lead them all over the map, and a party can easily wander into an area well beyond their power. If you’d like to steer them toward places that correspond to their level, consult the Areas by Level table, but beware of undermining the sense that the characters' choices matter. Sometimes the adventurers will simply need to flee or hide when they are out of their depth.

If an area of the adventure ends up feeling free of mystery or danger, consider using tips from the “area Marks of Horror” section to increase the ominousness. If a combat encounter feels too easy, either (a) guide it to its end as quickly as possible or (b) increase the threat by raising a foe’s hit point maximum to the upper end of its hit point range, by adding monsters/traps, or both.

Areas by Level

Marks of Horror

A gust of air like the foul-smelling breath of some horrible monster greets the adventurers as they climb the steps of a tower in Castle Ravenloft. Nearing the top, they begin to hear the beating of a heart in the darkness above. Not a human heart, but the heart of something monstrous and horrible. Such is the nature of gothic horror: fear bred by anticipation and the dark realization that all will be truly and horribly revealed in time.

The following tips can help you make this adventure a chilling experience for you and your players.

The Unknown

Horror is born out of fear of the unknown. Our fear is heightened when the darkness engulfs us and we can’t see, or when the truth is behind a locked door, covered by a sheet, or buried in the soft earth. It’s not the monster, but its shadow, that breeds horror. The more we know about a monster, the less we fear it, so the trick is to keep it out of the light for as long as possible. Here are two tricks to heighten fear of the unknown:

• When it seems as though the characters have everything under control, you can have a gust of wind suddenly blow out their torches, plunging them into darkness.
• Before a monster appears, take a moment to describe the odor that precedes it, the eerie sound it makes, or the weird shadow it casts.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is about finding clues to a horrible truth yet to be revealed. Consider the following examples:

• Before characters encounter a monster, hint at the monster’s presence with clues such as claw marks, gnawed bones, and bloodstains.
• Whenever characters take a long rest, give one character a prophetic dream in which he or she glimpses something yet to be found or encountered.

Age

Barovia is the grim reflection of its undead master. Almost everything here is old and timeworn. Everywhere the adventurers go, they should be reminded of death, decay, and their own mortality. Here are a couple of ways to reinforce these pervasive themes:

• Take time to describe the rotting timbers of buildings, the faded and moth-eaten clothing of the Barovian peasantry, the worm-ridden pages of old books, and the rust on iron fences and gates.
• A character gazing into a mirror, a pool, or other reflective surface might glimpse an older, more decrepit version of himself or herself.

Light

A tale that is perpetually dark in tone becomes tiresome very quickly. It needs to feature the occasional ray of light for contrast and to create a sense of hope. Monsters and other terrors must be offset with creatures that are kind and lovable, giving the characters even more reasons to stand against the darkness. Here are a couple of ways to add glimmers of light to a tragic tale:

• In a land as dreary as Barovia, take the time to describe the occasional scene of beauty, such as a pretty flower growing atop a grave.
• Make sure that the heroes have contact with NPCs who are honest, friendly, and helpful, such as the Martikovs in Vallaki or the Krezkovs in Krezk.

Personification

Ascribing human characteristics to an inanimate thing is one way to turn something ordinary into something malevolent. A groaning house, the wailing wind, grasping mud, and a squatting chest aren’t just mundane things—they’re characters in your story, made all the creepier thanks to their humanlike traits. Torches sputter nervously, rusty hinges shatter silence with their sudden cries of anguish, and cobwebs quietly beckon us to our doom. Here are more examples:

• Imagine darkness as a silent crowd that follows the characters everywhere and stares at them while they sleep.
• Imagine trees as towering giants that stand idle yet ever watchful as characters face the perils of the Svalich Woods alone.

Details

In a horror story, there’s no telling where danger might be lurking. A leering gargoyle might be a monster in disguise, or merely a fiendish sculpture. A mirror hanging on a wall might have the power to transfix all who gaze into it, or it might be nothing out of the ordinary. In a horror story, taking the time to describe an object in detail draws attention to it, makes one suspicious of it, and might distract from the real danger. Here are a couple of tricks you can use:

• In a given encounter area, choose one object or feature to describe in some detail. It need not be important to the story.
• Allow the character who has the highest passive Wisdom (Perception) score to see, hear, or smell something that no one else can perceive.

Humor

There are no stranger bedfellows than horror and humor. Tension can’t be sustained indefinitely, so a dash of humor provides a respite, giving horror a chance to sneak up on us later and catch us off guard. While humorous situations will occur naturally in the course of running the adventure, here are some tips for creating humor when needed:

• Allow NPCs (even evil ones) to tell jokes, speak in a funny voice, or behave idiotically. Even morbid humor is better than none.
• When a hero, villain, or monster rolls a natural 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, describe a humorous mishap that occurs as a result of the low roll, such as a character accidentally knocking over a lamp and setting some drapes on fire while trying to hide or move silently.