The Village of Barovia

The village of Barovia is the saddest place in the land, its residents so terrified of Strahd that they rarely venture from their homes. The village lies in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, buried under fog but still unable to hide from the vampire’s sight. Until recently, Strahd had been paying nightly visits to Ireena Kolyana, the adopted daughter of the village burgomaster. Ireena carries the soul of Strahd’s beloved Tatyana and looks exactly like her. Strahd intends to make Ireena his bride, turn her into a vampire, and lock her away in the castle crypts for all time.
E1. Bildrath’s Mercantile The sparse light from this building spills out from behind drawn heavy curtains. A sign over the door, creaking on its hinges, reads “Bildrath’s Mercantile.” The establishment is 70 feet long by 40 feet wide. The owner, Bildrath Cantemir (LN male human commoner), sells items from the Adventuring Gear table in the Player’s Handbook, but only items with a price lower than 25 gp in the table, and he sells them for ten times the price.
Bildrath trades with the Vistani when they pass through. He is also happy to make a profit from any strangers unlucky enough to find themselves here. He serves his own interests and offers no sanctuary. He never bargains since, as he says, “If you want it badly enough, you’ll pay for it.” He has no competition in the village.
If the characters give Bildrath a hard time, he calls Parriwimple (LG male human), his nephew and stock-boy, to help him out. Parriwimple has the statistics of a gladiator, except that he has an Intelligence of 6 and doesn’t carry a shield (AC 14). Parriwimple’s real name is Parpol Cantemir, but no one in the village calls him that. His muscles rippling beneath his leather tunic should give ample notice of his strength. At the same time, Parriwimple is simple-minded. He is devoted to his uncle and will not follow the characters as long as Bildrath has something to say about it.
E2. Blood of the Vine Tavern A single shaft of light thrusts illumination into the main square, its brightness looking like a solid pillar in the heavy fog. Above the gaping doorway, a sign hangs precariously askew, proclaiming this to be the Blood on the Vine tavern. The tavern building is about 60 feet square. Close inspection of the sign reveals that it originally read “Blood of the Vine.” (An “n” has been scratched over with the “f.”) This once finely appointed tavern has grown shoddy over the years. A blazing fire in the hearth gives scant warmth to the few huddled souls within. They include the barkeep, three Vistani sitting together, and a man named Ismark Kol­yanovich—who happens to be the son of the village burgomaster, Kolyan Indirovich.
Roleplaying Ismark
ISMARK THE LESSER Ismark (LG male human veteran) is a young man who sits by himself at a corner table, sipping his wine. Other villagers call him “Ismark the Lesser” because he has lived in the shadow of his father for most of his life.
Ismark isn’t a typically dour Barovian. He invites the characters to join him, offers to pay for their wine, and asks for their aid in protecting his adopted sister, Ireena Kolyana. If they agree to help, he takes them to the burgomaster’s residence (area E4). He wants the characters to help him escort Ireena to Vallaki, a settlement in the heart of the valley, beyond the view of Castle Ravenloft and (he hopes) beyond the reach of Strahd. Ismark knows that moving Ireena is a gamble, since she’s vulnerable to Strahd when she is outside their home, but he has heard assertions that Vallaki is well-defended.
Ismark is as tight-lipped as any of the other Barovian villagers, unless the talk deals with Ireena or Strahd. Ismark knows everything the other villagers know. He also knows that, for some unknown reason, Strahd is attracted to Ireena and desires her above all others.
If you used the “Plea for Help” adventure hook and the characters show Ismark the letter they received, he knows the burgomaster’s handwriting well enough to confirm that the letter was not written by his father.
Ismark has spent most of his adult life training with weapons in the hope of one day confronting and killing the Strahd. If the characters suggest that he accompany them, Ismark agrees provided that Ireena is first taken to a place of safety. As long as Ismark accompanies the characters, he acts as a party member for the purpose of determining each character’s share of experience points (though he gains no experience points himself).
Roleplaying the Other NPCs Use the following information to roleplay the other NPCs in the tavern.
Arik the Barkeep. A pudgy little man named Arik Lorensk (CN male human commoner) tends bar. Mindlessly, he cleans glasses, one after another. When they’re all clean, he starts over. If he is spoken to, he takes orders for drinks in a dull, hollow voice. A small glass of wine costs 1 cp. A pitcher of wine costs 1 sp. After serving drinks, Arik returns to cleaning glasses. He ignores all attempts to question him.
Vistani Owners. Three Vistani spies (N female humans) named Alenka, Mirabel, and Sorvia sit at a table near the front door. They own the tavern and see to it that all customers pay their tabs. They otherwise show little interest in the characters.
If the characters arrive in the company of other Vistani, the owners are much more likely to engage them in conversation and provide useful information. They suggest that the characters visit Madam Eva (see chapter 2, area G) to have their fortunes read.
E3. Mad Mary’s Townhouse A moaning sob floats through the still, gray streets, coloring your thoughts with sadness. The sounds flow from a dark, two-story townhouse.
MAD MARY The house, which is about 40 feet square, is boarded up and barricaded from the inside. Mad Mary (CN female human commoner) sits in the center of the floor in an upstairs bedroom, clutching a malformed doll. She is lost in her sorrow and despondency. She barely recognizes the presence of anyone in the room. She says nothing in the presence of anger, but she will talk, albeit haltingly, to someone who talks with her gently.
Mary hid her beloved daughter, Gertruda, in this house for the girl’s entire life. Gertruda, now a teenager, broke out of the house a week ago and has not been seen since. Her mother fears the worst—and is justified in doing so. See area K42 in chapter 4 for more information on Gertruda’s fate.
The malformed doll has a strange leer and wears a sackcloth dress. It belonged to Mary in her youth and was passed down to Gertruda. Gadof Blinsky, the toymaker of Vallaki (see chapter 5, area N7), made the doll. Stitched into the hem of its dress is a frayed tag bearing the words “Is No Fun, Is No Blinsky!”
E4. Burgomaster’s Mansion A weary-looking mansion squats behind a rusting iron fence. The iron gates are twisted and torn. The right gate lies cast aside, while the left swings lazily in the wind. The stuttering squeal and clang of the gate repeats with mindless precision. Weeds choke the grounds and press with menace upon the house itself. Yet, against the walls, the growth has been tramped down to create a path all about the domain. Heavy claw markings have stripped the once-beautiful finish of the walls. Great black marks tell of the fires that have assailed the mansion. Not a pane nor a shard of glass stands in any window. All the windows are barred with planks, each one marked with stains of evil omen. Characters who survey the grounds can, with a successful DC 11 Wisdom (Perception) check, discern trampled weeds all around the mansion as well as scores of wolf paw prints and human footprints. The footprints were made by zombies and ghouls under Strahd’s control.
Ireena Kolyana (LG female human noble with 14 hit points), the adopted daughter of the burgomaster, is inside the mansion and won’t open the heavily barred door to anyone unless she is convinced that those outside her door have no allegiance to Strahd. If the characters convince her, either with good roleplaying or a successful DC 15 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check, or if Ismark is with them, she opens the door and invites them in.
If the characters enter the mansion, read:
The interior of the mansion is well furnished, yet the fixtures show signs of great wear. Noticeable oddities are the boarded-up windows and the presence of holy symbols in every room. The burgomaster is in a side drawing room on the floor—lying in a simple wooden coffin surrounded by wilting flowers and a faint odor of decay. Ismark and Ireena made the coffin themselves.
Roleplaying Ireena
IREENA KOLYANA Ireena, a striking young woman with auburn hair, has been bitten twice by Strahd. The villagers are afraid of her and avoid her. The characters are Ireena’s best hope for protection, so she is willing to accompany them under certain conditions. Although she appears mild, she has a strong will, and she aids the party as best she can in saving herself. She doesn’t remember her early past. She doesn’t know how she came to Barovia or where she came from. Moreover, her encounters with Strahd are fuzzy memories, thanks to his vampiric charm, but she can recall clearly the blazing hunger in his eyes.
She tells the characters that wolves and other terrible creatures attacked the house night after night for weeks. The burgomaster’s heart couldn’t stand the constant assault, and he died three days ago. Strangely, since his death, the house has not come under attack.
She says that no one from the village has been brave enough to help Ismark take Kolyan Indirovich to the cemetery for proper burial. Ireena asks the characters if they would be so kind as to help Ismark deliver her father’s body safely to Donavich, the local priest (area E5). She refuses to be taken to Vallaki or anywhere else while the burgomaster lies dead on the mansion floor.
Special Events You can use one or both of the following special events while the characters explore the village.
March of the Dead Every night at midnight, one hundred spirits rise from the cemetery (area E6) and march up the Old Svalich Road to Castle Ravenloft.
An eerie green light suffuses the graveyard. From this light emerges a ghostly procession. Wavering images of doughty women toting greatswords, woodwise men with slender bows, dwarves with glittering axes, and archaically dressed mages with beards and strange, pointed hats—all these and more march forth from the graveyard, their numbers growing by the second. These aren’t the spirits of the people buried here, but of previous adventurers who died trying to destroy Strahd. Every night, the ghostly adventurers attempt to complete their quest, and each night they fail. They have no interest in the living and can’t be hit, damaged, or turned. They will not communicate with the characters.
Once they reach the castle, the spirits march straight to the chapel (area K15) and up the high tower stair (area K18) to the top of the tower (area K59). There, they throw themselves down the shaft toward the crypts (area K84), where they disappear.
Dream Pastries This event occurs as the characters make their way through the village.
You hear the sound of small, wooden wheels rolling across damp cobbles. You trace the lonely sound to a hunched figure bundled in rags, pushing a rickety wooden cart through the fog. Morgantha, a night hag in the guise of an old woman, has come to the village from Old Bonegrinder to sell her dream pastries for 1 gp apiece (see chapter 6 for a description of the pastries). She goes from house to house, knocking on doors. Most of the time, no one answers. When someone does, Morgantha tries to peddle her wares, offering customers an escape from the misery and despair of everyday Barovian life. If the characters shadow her for a while, she collects payment from one household in the form of a seven-year-old boy named Lucian Jarov (LG male human noncombatant). Lucian’s parents plead with Morgantha not to take their boy, but she snatches the crying child from their grasp, stuffs him in a sack, straps him down to her peddler’s cart, and casually makes her way back to Old Bonegrinder.
Morgantha recognizes that the characters are strangers and does her best to avoid them. If the characters demand the release of the child, she grudgingly complies, knowing that she can always come back for the boy later. She fights only in self-defense and offers the following information in exchange for her life:
Strahd has mastery over the land and the weather, and his spies include the Vistani. There’s a Vistani camp to the west, on the shores of Tser Pool (chapter 2, area G), and another on the outskirts of Vallaki (chapter 5, area N9). Strahd has undead enemies in Barovia, namely the fallen knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon. These revenants can be found in a ruined mansion west of Vallaki (see chapter 7, “Argynvostholt”). Strahd’s most carefully guarded secret is a temple of forbidden lore hidden in the mountains (see chapter 13, “The Amber Temple”). The temple can be reached by following the long and winding Tsolenka Pass (see chapter 9).

Type

Town