Re V amped

The Essential Curse of Strahd Companion

The Land of Barovia

Get the lay of the darkest land with this
module guide for
Curse of Strahd

A module guide from Lunch Break Heroes

Credits Patrons
Writer & Designer: Lunch Break Heroes This guide was made possible through the generous
support of the following patrons.
Special Thanks
The following community members have made sig- Gold Tier
nificant contributions to this guide, either directly or • Amber-Nicole Stephens
indirectly. • Artie Tessmann
• u/MandyMod • Julia Pihlmann
• u/DragnaCarta • Justin Mendoza
• u/Ziopliukas • Nicholas Hochhalter
• u/Attercops • Samuel Baum
• Will Brensdal
Artwork
• Maps of Barovia and Krezk: u/Expert-Use Platinum Tier
• Other images from Pixabay.com and Unsplash. • Brenton Snyder
com • Chilly
• Cody Ilg
• David Despoth
• Jason Haase
• Joe M.
• Kevin Brandon
• Kevin R. Cannon
• Thomas van Iersel
• Warmaster James

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loss of limbs, sanity, or soul that may arise as a result
of using this guide to traverse the lands of Barovia.
We are additionally indemnified against the effects
that any player might experience after eating at Mor-
gantha’s diner.

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The Land of Barovia
S
ituated in a small valley, the land of Barovia
was once home to verdant, fertile fields and a
peaceful and happy populace. Rivers flowed
clear, crops grew under bright sunlight, and
nefarious monsters were things of legend.
These days, life in the land of Barovia is harsh, and
all-too-often short. The days are dark, travel is danger-
ous, and food is scarce. Fields that once grew wheat
and corn now only grow kale and other cold weather
plants. Groves that yielded bountiful fruit now serve
only to fill the slop buckets of pigs.
Video Companion
Watch the companion video for this chapter on YouTube.
A Closed Ecosystem
No one enters or leaves Barovia without Strahd’s
permission (or the whims of a Dark Power). This has
caused Barovia to become a closed ecosystem, reliant
entirely on what can be grown and produced within
its misty borders.
Over the centuries, the population has entered an
equilibrium with its surroundings. Families have
become smaller in order to have fewer mouths to
feed, and people have grown used to eating food made
from hardier—if less flavorful—crops. Meat, both from
livestock and wild game, has become a staple of the
Barovian diet.
Most of the valley’s population live their lives in one
of the three main settlements: the Village of Barovia,
the Town of Vallaki, or the Village of Krezk. With the
exception of Krezk, which is self-sufficient, the people
in these settlements must get their food from some-
where.
Surrounding the Village of Barovia and the Town of
Vallaki are farms of various sizes. The lands between
the River Ivlis (D) and the Village of Barovia (E) are
particularly fertile, and serve a great deal of the land’s
agricultural needs. In addition to those farms, wild
game roams most of the forested areas of Barovia.
Deer, rabbits, fish, and other woodland creatures
round out the diet of most villagers.
The Land of Barovia | 3
 Give an Inch, Take a Mile
In the module, the map of Barovia measures roughly
19 miles east-to-west, and 12 miles north-to-south.
Those measurements mean that Barovia covers 228
square miles. This is a fairly sizable area to travel on
foot or horseback, given the fact that overland travel is
hampered by unmaintained roads, savage wilderness,
and evil creatures.
Despite issues with overland travel, most adven-
turing parties will find themselves trekking from one
settlement to another within the span of an afternoon.
Unless you, as the Dungeon Master, assault the party
with a myriad of roadside encounters, the walk from
Vallaki to Krezk amounts to little more than a day hike.
The Curse of Strahd adventure module is not
the first time Barovia has been given dimen-
sions, however. Its size and scale are also de-
fined in previously published works, such as the
books I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire, and
The War Against Azalin.
These previously published novels depict a
Barovia that is roughly three times the size of the
land shown in Curse of Strahd. For example, in
The War Against Azalin, Krezk is explicitly stated to
lie 40 miles west of Castle Ravenloft.
Using the map of Barovia that is included with the
adventure module, you can update the scale of the
map by changing each hex from 1/4 of a mile to 3/4 of
a mile. This change to the scale of the map transforms
Barovia into a much larger landmass, measuring 57
miles east-to-west and 36 miles north-to-south. This
gives Barovia a total area of 2,052 square miles.
Adjusted Travel Times
With the map of Barovia being three times its original
size, travel times are increased dramatically. It’s all but
guaranteed that a party traveling from one settlement
to another will need to make camp along the Svalich
road at least once, or travel in the dreaded Barovian
night.
This time on the road and the isolation of wilder-
ness camping provide ample opportunity for the party
to encounter the things that go “bump” in the night,
without a set of four sturdy walls to protect them. It
also provides Strahd or his spies with chances to get
close to the party during the night.
The Soulless Barovians
The module describes one in every ten Barovian as
lacking a soul. Those that lack a soul exhibit certain
behaviors, such as not crying as a child, being very
dull as an adult, and providing no sustenance to a
vampire.
4 | The Land of Barovia
Instead of being “empty shells created by [Strahd’s]
consciousness,” this guide posits a different and far
more sinister origin for the soulless Barovians.
Something in the darkness is preventing nature
from taking its course.
A Sick Cycle
When someone dies in Barovia, its soul remains
trapped until it is reincarnated. It remains in limbo,
cycling and tumbling in a tumultuous cloud of torment.
When a Barovian is born, one of those souls is
plucked from the swirling mass. It gets wiped clean
and sent on its way for another life under Strahd’s
rule. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Over
the last several centuries, something has been disrupt-
ing the cycle of death and rebirth.
The Ravenous Ones
Deep within the Amber Temple lie the Vestiges—rem-
nants of dark gods, trapped inside prisons of amber.
Once held fast by the spells of the Amber Enclave, the
Vestiges have begun to find flaws in their prison.
Since the fall of the Enclave, the seals and wards
that have kept the Vestiges locked away have begun to
wear down. Although the flaws in their prisons aren’t
enough to escape completely (yet), they are enough to
let the Vestiges’ influence reach out across the land in
search of potential victims.
As they no longer possess physical bodies, the
Vestiges rely on their own innate magical abilities and
their cunning. In the night, they reach out to the minds
of sleepers and invade their dreams. Often in the
guise of family members or lovers, the vestiges trick
the sleeper into surrendering their soul.
Upon death, instead of joining the tumbling mass of
souls to await rebirth, the victim’s soul is snatched up
and devoured by the Vestige who claimed it.
A Dwindling Supply
As the centuries have worn on, more and more souls
have been taken out of the cycle of death and rebirth
by the Vestiges. With very few new souls entering the
land of Barovia, this has created a problem of supply
and demand. There are no longer enough souls to go
around for every new Barovian.
For Strahd, this creates a problem of sustenance.
As stated, the blood of soulless Barovians does not
nourish a vampire. As fewer and fewer souls are rein-
carnated, the food supply for Strahd and his minions
diminishes. At this time in Barovia’s history, Strahd is
only vaguely aware of the growing issue of soulless-
ness. He knows that some Barovians lack souls, but
has not yet noticed that the number is growing as time
goes on.
 At your discretion, Strahd may discover this infor- Strahd and Ireena
mation and possibly change his motivations during
the game. It’s possible that, if he discovers his food Strahd’s relationship with Ireena is an abusive one.
supply is dwindling, Strahd will redouble his efforts in Under the guise of undying love, he seeks to end her
attempting to escape the demiplane. life and force her to join him as an immortal vampire.
The module states that he has already bitten Ireena
The Sunsword twice prior to the arrival of the characters.
Once a crystalline sword belonging to Sergei von Za- A question that often comes up very soon during
rovich, Strahd’s younger brother, the Sunsword now play is: “Why doesn’t Strahd simply come and take
serves as a potent weapon against the undead. Ireena away?” This is a valid question, given the fact
Rather than allowing players to find the sword intact that Strahd certainly has the strength (and assistance)
and ready for use, it’s recommended that they find to remove her from the burgomaster’s mansion, and
only the hilt. The hilt carries the sentient properties from the hands of a low-level party of adventurers.
described in the module, with the addition of the fol- Thus, some explanation must be proffered to explain
lowing trait: The Sunsword’s hilt grants its bearer the his lack of direct action.
urge to visit Krezk. This guide suggests making a slight change to the
Once the hilt is brought to Krezk, characters are dynamic between Strahd and Ireena to answer that
further urged to visit the Shrine of the White Sun, question and inform future gameplay. The relationship
where Sergei von Zarovich awaits their arrival inside and Strahd’s goals are still abusive in nature, but his
the pool. At that point, you can run the The Power of tactics are different than those written in the module.
the Sun special event. Over the centuries, Strahd has tried many times to
In addition to adding incentive to visit Krezk, this woo and transform Tatyana’s reincarnation. Each time,
change adds greater depths and interactivity to the he has failed for one reason or another, and the rein-
character of Sergei. Instead of just being someone carnation’s life was ended. Although his first attempts
from history, and a magical NPC that whisks Ireena were fraught with passion, Strahd quickly became
away, he is someone that directly contributes to the cold and calculating in his efforts. He began to employ
success of the party. the scientific method and treated each reincarnation
as an experiment. Each time, he changed certain
Murial Vinshaw aspects of his approach and took note of how and why
In the module, Muriel is a wereraven that characters it failed. Tatyana’s latest reincarnation as Ireena is no
may encounter in the bogs of Berez. She serves pri- exception. Strahd is trying a new approach—one that
marily as an information dump, providing the players may see his quarry come to him.
with insight into the dangers of Berez and its resident Strahd’s current goal now is to make Barovia in-
witch, Baba Lysaga. hospitable to Ireena. He aims to remove all support
While there is no problem with Muriel’s portrayal in structures in her life—friends, family, sanctuaries—
the module, this guide recommends turning her into a and leave her with no option but to come to his castle
recurring character for your adventure. She can make for safety.
her first appearance in disguise as the raven who Instead of having bitten her twice when the charac-
tries to warn the party away from Old Bonegrinder, or ters arrive, the story has changed so that Strahd has
perhaps during the burial of Kolyan Indrovich. From not bitten her at all. His forces have been assailing
there, she can crop up again and again to guide and her house, not in an attempt to steal her away, but to
aid the players when necessary. make it seem unsafe. His other efforts in the Village of
Barovia are detailed in that chapter. These acts serve
to make her home seem like a dangerous place to stay.
The death of Ireena’s father during the assault, while
not intended, was a happy accident in Strahd’s favor.
The change in Strahd’s approach to Ireena necessi-
tates another change to the module: that of the bur-
gomaster’s letter, which players can find on a corpse
on the road. Instead of stating that Ireena has been
“bitten by a vampyr”, change the text to state that she
has been “harried by a vampyr”. Additionally, change
the mention of Ireena languishing and dying from an
“unholy wound” to a fear that the vampire will con-
sume her blood and damn her soul.

The Land of Barovia | 5

 Random Encounters
The module presents quite a few random encounters
for use during your game. It splits the encounters into
two groups by day and night, and instructs you to roll
for an encounter after every 30 minutes of travel on
the roads or in the wilderness.
Although the random encounters provided are
interesting and can be used to great effect, it’s the
opinion of this guide’s author that their usage should
be anything but random. An encounter on the road in
Barovia should be more than a simple reminder that
the land is dangerous, and it should always be more
than a time filler.
To that end, it is recommended that you preplan
encounters that your party has a chance of running
into. Hand pick and tailor the encounters so that they
tie into your overall narrative, or foreshadow upcom-
ing events. For instance, parties who are going to
the werewolf den might find daytime encounter 15, a
corpse. In that case, it would be evidently mauled by a
large animal, indicative of a werewolf.
If you have made Barovia three times larger, in
accordance with this chapter’s suggestions, you may
also want to extend the duration between random
encounters by the same factor. Instead of rolling for
every thirty minutes of travel time, roll for every ninety
minutes of travel time.
The Blood of Ravens
This is a new encounter that you can employ any-
where, but preferably after the party has visited Valla-
ki. It provides foreshadowing of the druids and blights
at Yester Hill, and also introduces the antagonistic
relationship between the druids and the wereravens.
While on the road near a forested area, characters
with a passive Perception score of 13 or higher will
hear the sound of an animalistic struggle within the
underbrush. If they investigate, they will find one vine
blight and 1d4 twig blights pinning down a were-
raven in hybrid form. Closing in from the opposite
direction is a single druid from Yester Hill.
If the druid does not spot the characters, he will
attempt to kill the wereraven by casting shillelagh and
bashing in the wereraven’s skull with his staff.
Should the characters intervene or otherwise make
their presence known, the druid will immediately re-
treat and leave the twig blights to handle the party.
If freed, the wereraven will shift into raven form and
fly away at the first opportunity so as to maintain the
secrecy of the Keepers of the Feather.
6 | The Land of Barovia
A “Chance” Encounter
This encounter provides you with the opportunity to
introduce your party to Vasili von Holtz, Strahd’s alter
ego. When Strahd desires to walk amongst his people
unnoticed, he dons the disguise of the mild-mannered
Vasili.
While your party is traveling on the Svalich Road
between Old Bonegrinder and Vallaki, they see an
overturned stagecoach in the distance. Upon closer
inspection, they find that the coach’s horses are gone,
their fastenings having been broken.
Lying in the brush some ten feet away is the finely
attired figure of a man. He appears to be unconscious,
having hit his head on a nearby rock. The man regains
consciousness while the characters draw near. When
he catches sight of the party, he scrambles away in
fear and asks that they don’t hurt him.
Should the characters attempt to assuage his fears,
he calms down and introduces himself as Vasili von
Holtz. He then requests the party’s assistance in
escorting him to Vallaki. If they agree, he takes a black
case from the overturned stagecoach before setting off
with the party.
The black case contains old ledgers and figures from
property sales and taxes in Vallaki. These were pre-
pared by Lief Lipsiege in Castle Ravenloft years ago.
Strahd regularly uses them as part of his disguise.
In order to protect his true identity, Strahd has cast
Nystul’s Magic Aura and Nondetection on himself.
This combination of spells prevents anyone from using
divination magic to determine that he is both undead
and evil. To all observers, he will look, sound, and feel
like a living man.
If Strahd manages to ingratiate himself with the
party, he will use every opportunity to gain more in-
formation about each character regarding their back-
ground, personality, and motivations. He may even
choose to sow discord amongst the party members if
he thinks he can get away with it.