Curse of Strahd: Reloaded

A Campaign Guide by /u/DragnaCarta

Appendix E: The Svalich Road

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Appendix E: The Svalich Road

Landmark A: Barovian Farms
Landmark B: Old Gravesite
Landmark C: Ankheg Nest
Landmark D: Raven’s Roost
Landmark E: Crumbling Chapel
Landmark F: Ancient Watchtower
Landmark G: Destroyed Caravan
Landmark H: Huntress’ Monument
Landmark I: Crypt of Bats
Landmark J: Crypt of Vampire Spawn
Landmark K: Wolves’ Den
Landmark L: Abandoned Boathouse
Landmark M: Undead Cemetery

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 Landmark N: Weaver’s Monument
Landmark O: Footbridge Spiders
Landmark P: Mad Mage’s Retreat
Landmark Q: Drowned Well
Landmark R: Cliffside Tower
Landmark S: Bat Colony
Landmark T: Berserker Settlement (Yaedrag)
Landmark U: Avalanche Corridor
Landmark V: Roc’s Nest
Landmark W: Jeny’s Hut
Landmark X: Scout’s Outpost
Landmark Y: Abandoned Waterwheel
Landmark Z: Overgrown Orchard
Landmark %: Seeker’s Monument
Landmark @: False Trail
Landmark &: Burgomaster’s Messenger
Landmark $: Death House

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Appendix E: The Svalich Road

Landmark A: Barovian Farms

These six farms spread out across much of the Barovian Basin, growing grains and root
vegetables that are then carried in heavily-guarded merchant caravans to Vallaki.

Landmark B: Old Gravesite

This small collection of graves mark a Barovian farming family that died of a supernatural
plague in the night. Their residence, thought cursed by the locals, lies crumbling nearby.

Landmark C: Ankheg Nest

This nest houses a pair of mated ​ankheg​ that recently killed a band of adventurers. For more
information, see ​Last Week’s Meat​ ​here​.

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Landmark D: Raven’s Roost
A swarm of ravens can always be found nestled in the gnarled branches of this large dead tree.
If listened to using the ​Speak with Animals​ spell, the ravens can be heard gossiping about
recent events in Barovia, as well as recent events at the Wizard of Wines. If she is with the PCs,
Ireena warns the party that to kill a raven is considered bad luck.

Landmark E: Crumbling Chapel

This old shrine bears two altars: one to the Morninglord, and one to Mother Night. The
Morninglord’s fine wooden altar has decayed over time, leaving its carved sunburst barely
visible. Mother Night’s stone altar still bears the mark of her crescent moon, but moss and fungi
have overgrown her side of the sanctum, cracking and crumbling the floor.

Landmark F: Ancient Watchtower

This ancient watchtower is all that remains of a ruined fort used by the forces of Delmor during
Strahd’s invasion. It stands above a flat, grassy yard scattered with rusted armor and old bones.
The tower was stormed by Strahd’s forces long ago, and contains at its peak a brass spyglass.
A person that looks through the spyglass sees the world suffering beneath a terrible storm, and
sees only ghostly images when viewing characters non-native to Barovia. A character that dies
and is resurrected in Barovia appears solid to the spyglass thereafter. A character that lingers in
this tower can hear the whistling of wind and the far-away sound of marching troops, both of
which soon fade.

The watchtower is a safe place to take a short rest.

Landmark G: Destroyed Caravan

On the north side of Tser Falls, the PCs find the corpse of a horse, along with hoofmarks and
wagon treads leading into the underbrush. If they follow the tracks, they find a wrecked wooden
cart, along with the corpses of a second horse and six desiccated humans. The horses have
had their throats slit by a set of sharp, elegant claws (Medicine DC 15), and the humans have
had all blood drained from their veins (Medicine DC 13).

The wreckage of the cart contains barrels of salted jerky, wool-spun cotton, a number of
shattered glass bottles that once held inks and dyes, and a small sack of destroyed wooden
Blinsky toys (A vaguely coffin-shaped jack-in-the-box containing a pop-up Strahd puppet; a
spring-loaded set of wooden teeth with fangs, all painted white; and a smiling jester marionette
with tangled strings and tiny copper bells sewn into its cap).

This trade caravan was attacked by a thirsty and bored vampire spawn of no individual
significance. Five of the corpses are armored and carry spears (hired guards); the sixth is

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dressed in furs and wears a copper chain (the merchant). A DC 12 Investigation check shows
that nothing appears to have been stolen from the corpses or cart, while a DC 14 Survival check
can show the PCs a single set of tracks leading from the nearby underbrush onto the road. A
PC that follows the tracks will find themselves back on the road; from here, a DC 20 Survival
check will eventually lead them to Castle Ravenloft.

The humans' corpses are quite spread out, and it is clear that at least one of the guards broke
rank and ran. A DC 15 Investigation check can tell the PCs that the attack took place more than
a day ago. The guards each carry a moneybag containing 2d6 cp and 1d10 sp. The merchant
carries a purse holding 2d6 sp and 2d4 gp.

Landmark H: Huntress’ Monument

This mossy stone slab stands four feet in height, and rests on a stone surface bearing intricately
carved curls and spirals. It bears a rough carving of a wolf’s head, and was constructed as a
monument to the Huntress of the Ladies Three by the druids of old Cerunnos long before Strahd
arrived.

Landmark I: Crypt of Bats

The stone slab that covered the entrance to this crypt was pushed aside long ago, revealing
crumbling stone steps leading down. The crypt contains three simple stone coffins of Delmorean
nobility, the coffins’ carved text faded beyond legibility. The crypt has been looted of everything
but the skeletons; however, a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) reveals a silver, crescent
moon-shaped pendant forgotten behind a crypt. The chamber now serves as a home to a
colony of bats, who rest here in the day and attack any creature that wakes them, fleeing once
reduced to half hitpoints.

Landmark J: Crypt of Vampire Spawn

The entrance to this crypt is covered by a heavy stone slab, which requires a DC 15 Strength
(Athletics) check to move. The crypt contains twelve unmarked stone coffins. If the PCs arrive
during the day, each coffin contains a sleeping ​vampire spawn​. If the PCs arrive at night
instead, they find that the slab has been moved aside, leaving the entrance to the crypt open; if
they descend, the PCs find that each of the coffins has been opened and emptied, leaving 1d4
awake ​vampire spawn​ lurking in the darkness.

Landmark K: Wolves’ Den

Any PC that attempts to circumvent the curve in the Svalich Road north of Old Bonegrinder by
cutting across the Svalich Wood soon stumbles into this small glen. The shallow cliffs on either
side mark the entrances to three dens of wolves, each containing two ​wolves​ and one ​dire
wolf​. The wolves attack as soon as the PCs enter the area. The wolves’ caves contain only
droppings and bones.

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Landmark L: Abandoned Boathouse
This rotted boathouse sits forgotten on the shore of Lake Zarovich, just beside an old wooden
dock. The boathouse’s small interior contains a single canoe and several lengths of usable
hemp rope.

Landmark M: Undead Cemetery

This overgrown, fenced-in cemetery once housed the dead of a small hamlet beyond Vallaki’s
walls. Its twelve ​zombies ​sleep in shallow graves during the day, and are overgrown with moss
and mushrooms. They do not pursue intruders beyond its rusted fence. The three homes and
well that once comprised the hamlet lie just over a hundred yards away.

Landmark N: Weaver’s Monument

This mossy stone slab stands four feet in height, and rests on a stone surface bearing intricately
carved curls and spirals. It bears a rough carving of a tree, and was constructed as a monument
to the Weaver of the Ladies Three by the druids of old Cerunnos long before Strahd arrived.

Landmark O: Svalich Footbridge

This old stone bridge crosses a wide ditch fifteen feet across and twelve feet deep, with steep
sides and few handholds. Several ​giant spiders h ​ ave constructed a web-woven lair beneath a
separate side of the bridge. The spiders attack any creature that passes over the footbridge
alone. Passers-by can see a well-worn trail that winds toward the south on the Krezkian and
Vallakian ends of the bridge. Any traveller that follows the trail through the trees eventually
comes to a newer wooden bridge that provides safe passage across the ravine.

Landmark P: Mad Mage’s Mansion

A closed extraplanar door to Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Mansion can be found here. The Mad
Mage haunts the woods nearby.

Landmark Q: Drowned Well

The road cuts through a ruined hamlet that was abandoned when the Luna River first flooded its
banks. An old well at the center of the hamlet holds the souls of twelve shrieking ​ghosts​, whose
remains have settled at the bottom of the cistern beneath. These wretched spirits were trapped
here by the vampire spawn Ludmilla Vilisevic, who once used their corpses to experiment upon
the nature of life force . Any creature that approaches the well finds themselves surrounded by
the ghosts, who are bound to the shaft of the well by ethereal chains when manifested. The
ghosts attack if the well is damaged. If the spirits are spoken to, one of them requests that their
bones be recovered from the waters beneath. 1d4 ​shambling mounds ​lurk in the cistern, and
attack if the bones are disturbed.

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Landmark R: Cliffside Tower
This old structure was once employed by the army of Delmor as a watchtower overlooking the
southwestern corner of Barovia. The tower was stormed by Strahd’s forces long ago, and
contains at its base a small, rotted wooden chest. The chest contains a broken pendant of a
silver dragon that’s always cold to the touch.

Landmark S: Bat Colony

The bats rest in this shallow cave during the day and attack any creature that wakes them,
fleeing once reduced to half hitpoints.

Landmark T: Berserker Settlement (Yaedrag)

This small settlement hosts the largest population of Mountain Folk in Barovia. For more
information, see here.

Landmark U: Avalanche Corridor

This section of the path up Mount Ghakis is unstable and prone to rockslides. If the PCs are led
by Kasimir or a berserker guide from Yaedrag, the party is warned to keep slow and quiet, for
fear of triggering an avalanche. Each member of the party must pass a DC 13 Dexterity
(Stealth) check. If one or two characters fail the check, their clumsiness triggers the fall of an
equal number of large boulders, requiring each member of the party to pass a DC 15 Dexterity
saving throw per falling boulder, taking 2d6 bludgeoning damage on a failure. If three or more
characters fail the check, a full avalanche is triggered. To escape, the PCs must pass a skill
challenge. For more information, see here.

Landmark V: Roc’s Nest

This snowy peak hosts the nest of the Roc of Mount Ghakis.

Landmark W: Jeny’s Hut

Nestled just beyond the treeline of the Old Svalich Road, the hut of the ​green hag​ Jeny
Greenteeth is an odd sight to behold. Perched atop a set of wooden scaffolding resembling
rickety stilts, and draped with an array of flickering luminescent mushrooms, bulbs, and insects
trapped in jars, this wooden hovel serves as Jeny’s home and shop. A poorly-painted sign on
the main road directs travellers down the dirt path that leads to the hut, advertising
“GREENTEETH ENCHANTMENTS. SOLICITORS WILL BE STEWED.”

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Jeny herself has the stat block of a ​green hag​, but with a Charisma score of 15 and a Wisdom
score of 17. A quirky old bag with a penchant for mischief, Jeny spends her time alone
undisguised, but prefers the form of a single-toothed and warty grey-haired matron when
travelling or with company. She owns a single garishly yellow dress and an unpleasantly pink
sun-hat.

Jeny is also a long-lived former servant of the Ladies of the Fanes, and so is endowed with a
certain amount of spellcasting and enchantment ability. Her spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell
save DC 14, +6 to hit with spell attacks), and she has the following spells at her disposal:
● Cantrips (at-will): Spare the Dying, Thaumaturgy, Mending
● 1st level (4 slots): Bane, Cure Wounds, Identify, Purify Food and Drink
● 2nd level (3 slots): Augury, Blindness/Deafness, Gentle Repose, Lesser Restoration
● 3rd level (3 slots): Bestow Curse, Dispel Magic, Remove Curse, Speak with Dead
● 4th Level (3 slots): Divination, Guardian of Faith
● 5th level (1 slot): Raise Dead, Scrying, Greater Restoration

Jeny enjoys selling her services to wayward villagers and travellers, but asks a cost in gold in
addition to a “favor” (the favor, more than the gold, serves as Jeny’s component for casting the
spell). She is also happy to barter for items of equivalent value (or items of high sentimental
value, which she keeps on a shelf beside her bed). A list of spells for purchase is as follows:

Spell Cost Favor

Mending 5 gp Give Jeny a stein full of your still-warm saliva.

Cure Wounds 10 gp Give Jeny a lingering embrace.

Identify 10 gp Bring Jeny 13 strands of your hair.

Purify Food and Drink 10 gp Allow Jeny to dig out one ounce of ear wax from your ear.

Augury 20 gp Tell Jeny your deepest, darkest fear.

Gentle Repose 20 gp Give Jeny exactly one ounce of your skin.

Lesser Restoration 20 gp Allow Jeny to dye your hair a color of her choice.

Dispel Magic 90 gp Eat 11 of Jeny’s cantaloupe-and-venison cookies

Remove Curse 90 gp Allow Jeny to trim your toenails with her teeth.

Speak with Dead 90 gp Describe 3+ generations of your family tree to Jeny

Divination 250 gp Bring Jeny 3 pounds of the Stinking Rotweed flower, found
near the shores of Lake Zarovich.

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 Raise Dead 880 gp Allow Jeny to remove one of your fingers for use as a spell
component.

Scrying 440 gp Bring Jeny a small white puppy, a large brown cat, and an
aged rooster for use as spell components - alive.

Greater Restoration 440 gp Allow six of Jeny’s leeches to feed from you for a full hour.

Jeny also has a number of magic items for sale. She also owns a Broom of Flying, but refuses
to part with it for anything less than 1,000 gp (or its equivalent).

Item Cost Item Cost

Amulet of Proof 500 gp Bag of Tricks, Gray 250 gp

Against Detection
and Location Bottled Breath 250 gp

Bag of Holding 125 gp Cap of Water 250 gp

Breathing
Eyes of the Eagle 250 gp
Dust of Sneezing 250 gp
Figurine of 300 gp and Choking
Wondrous Power,
Silver Raven Ring of Jumping 250 gp

Lantern of 500 gp Ring of Water 250 gp

Revealing Walking

Rope of Climbing 300 gp Sending Stones 250 gp

Staff of Birdcalls 25 gp Staff of Flowers 25 gp

Wand of Entangle 400 gp Wand of Smiles 25 gp

Wand of Web 400 gp

Landmark X: Scout’s Outpost

A Passive Perception of 15 or higher is required to notice this well-camouflaged structure. This
ten-foot-tall wooden platform is disguised by expertly shaped foliage, with a retractable
vine-wrapped ladder leading up from the forest floor. The top of this ten-foot-square platform
holds a small lean-to (large enough for two Medium-sized creatures), a spare set of blankets,
and a locked chest containing a longbow, a shortbow, 30 arrows, 4 days’ worth of rations, a
waterskin, and a compass. The chest can be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity
(Thieves’ Tools) check. Yevgeni and Szoldar, the Vallakian wolf hunters, use this outpost while

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hunting or foraging in the woods. If approached at night, there is a 20% chance that either
Yevgeni or Szoldar has retracted the ladder and is resting in the lean-to on top.

Landmark Y: Abandoned Waterwheel

This creaking water wheel once used the power of the Raven River to drive a saw that split
trunks into lumber. The mechanism that drives the saw has long since rotted away, though a
rusted lock keeps the wheel in its place. The abandoned lumberjack’s cottage connected to it is
bereft of any valuables, but contains an old bed and a rotted straw-stuffed mattress. The roof is
intact, and can serve as shelter in the case of a storm.

Landmark Z: Overgrown Orchard

While travelling on the road or in the wilderness, the PCs find that their path runs through an
overgrown orchard beside an old, run-down shack. The shack once belonged to a married
couple whose adolescent son was bitten by a werewolf while hunting. Hiding his wound in
shame and fear, the son transformed on the night of the full moon and slaughtered his parents
in his madness.

Today, the only items of worth remaining in the shack are a silver mirror upon a rotted vanity; a
full quiver of arrows hanging by the door; and a small, locked chest containing six gp,
twenty-eight sp, and forty cp. The key to the chest lies in the top drawer of the vanity.

The chest also contains a small leatherbound journal detailing:

● a disease that fell upon the orchard’s crops, shriveling and poisoning the apples
● the son venturing into the forest to hunt for food
● the son returning home with his injury
● the son snapping at his mother in a rage
● the father preparing the shack’s locks for the full moon
● the son falling ill with a grave fever on the night of the full moon

A pair of skeletons lie near the door, their flesh long since rotted away. Their clothes are of
simple peasant’s make, now little more than rags. A number of bones have been cast upon the
floor, and bear the teeth-marks of a large canine. The only window of the tiny cabin is broken; a
search of the ground outside shows that it was broken from the inside.

The orchard also contains a lone ​scarecrow​ that appears to resemble an ordinary, unmoving
scarecrow tied to a wooden post. A DC 12 Wisdom (Investigation) check shows that the
scarecrow is not overgrown by vines and roots as the rest of the orchard is. The scarecrow is in
truth a spy for Baba Lysaga, and returns to Berez to inform its master of any interesting events
at or near the Winery.

Landmark %: Seeker’s Monument

This mossy stone slab stands four feet in height, and rests on a stone surface bearing intricately
carved curls and spirals. It bears a rough carving of an eye, and was constructed as a

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monument to the Seeker of the Ladies Three by the druids of old Cerunnos long before Strahd
arrived.

Landmark @: False Trail

The road splits in twain at this misted intersection. The eastern path winds through a blighted
ridge that borders a rocky hill; the western path cuts through an autumnal grove. The western
trail was created by druids, and leads to a spiked pit trap concealed by a thin tarp made of twigs
and pine needles. Once the trap is set off, 2d6 twig blights emerge from the underbrush and
attack any creatures surrounding the pit. The eastern path is safe. A DC 15 Wisdom (Survival)
check can allow a creature to discern that the western trail has been travelled by far fewer
creatures than the eastern one.

Landmark &: Burgomaster’s Messenger

This is the resting place of the corpse of Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich’s messenger, Dalvan
Olensky.

Landmark $: Durst House

See ​Chapter 1: Death House​ for more information.

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