Argynvostholt (ar gin vos toat)
Credit to MandyMod for her Fleshing Out Strahd series, which inspired my changes to this area.
Centuries ago, a silver dragon named Argynvost came to the Valley disguised as a human warrior. With the blessing of Felis and of the Count Von Zarovich of the time, he formed the Order of Silver, a group of knights who defended the Valley. The Order was instrumental in Strahd eventually fighting off the Tergs, but when he made his deal with darker powers, they turned on him and were hunted for it. Strahd marched on their hold and slew their leader.
The hold differs from the book in the following ways:
Living Fire
At the first fireplace, hearth, or furnace that the players approach, read the following:Among the cold dead ash, you see a single ember struggling for life. As you look, the ember moves, extending one tiny arm to weakly drag a small bit of ash closer to its body, fueling its small fire.Should the characters feed the ember, it will burst to life, assuming the form of a dragon made of cold fire and white smoke. It is incapable of speech, and will fly away, leaving a trail of ice on the ground beneath it. The characters can glimpse the dragon flying or can follow its trail to area Q35.
Q3. Dragon's Foyer
This room feels like a king's tomb. A grand staircase leads up to stone balconies held aloft by stone pillars and arches. A tall, faded tapestry depicting a faceless knight in silver armor hangs from an iron rod above the staircase landing. Six sets of double doors lead from this foyer. Along the walls, displayed on marble pedestals, are three alabaster busts, each with a faded silver plaque below it. A fourth bust and its pedestal have been knocked over, and their shattered remains lie strewn across the mosaic floor. Two chandeliers of wrought iron hang from the ceiling.The busts are of the four commanders the Order of Silver has had since its inception. The plaques read: Knight-Commander Lysander, Knight-Commander Dragomir, and Knight-Commander Alaric. The plaque of the smashed bust can be found in the rubble. It reads: Knight-Commander Vladimir.
Q6. Dragon's Den
This wood-paneled den has been ransacked, its furnishings tossed about. A cold, dark hearth dominates the west wall between two narrow windows. Standing upright against the north wall is a huge blackwood cabinet, its doors hanging open and nothing but smashed glass on its shelves.The den's furtnishings include rotted divans, broken chairs, overturned ottomans, and smashed oil lamps. A secret door at the north end of the east wall can be pushed open to reveal a storage room (area Q11.)
Q11. Wine Storage
Five barrels lie in wooden braces along the walls of this dark, moldy storage room. They have all been smashed open, and the long-dried wine that flowed from within stains the floor like blood.Emblazoned on the barrels' sides are the name of winery Wizard of the Wines, and the name of the wine, Perfume Crush.
Q13. Chapel of Morning
Cracked wooden pillars support a wooden, U-shaped balcony that overhangs this stone-walled chapel. Narrow archways lead to spiral staircases that curl up to the balcony, and a door set in the north wall has a wooden beam barring it. At the east end of the chapel rested a stone altar flanked by iron candelabras. The altar is carved with a cat's paw bas-relief. Tall, arching windows set with panels of stained glass decorate the walls behind the altar. One of the windows has been shattered, covering the chapel floor with shards of colored glass, and allowing thick fog to enter the room. Through the fog, you see three armored figures kneeling before the altar.The figures are three Silver Revenants. If the beacon has been lit, they are corpses. Unless the characters are aware of Felis, they will be unable to deduce to whom this altar is dedicated. The stained glass depicts animals and people (mostly humans and halflings) existing in peace across four seasons. The summer window has been smashed. The balcony (area Q24) is 20 feet high and can be reached by climbing either spiral staircase. The bar across the north door is easily lifted. The door opens to a stone staircase leading down to the cemetery (area Q15.)
Q15. Cemetery
Tucked behind the mansion is a fog-shrouded cemetery enclosed by a seven-foot-tall fence of wrought iron. Five of the graves have been dug up. (On a DC 10 Perception check) They appear to have been dug from the inside out, as if the corpses crawled out of their graves. The stone gravemarkers of the empty graves read: Ser Godfrey, Ser Albert, Ser Robynne, Ser Darian, Ser Aleks.A stone staircase curls up the outside of a turret to a flagstone landing in front of a sturdy wooden door. The door is barred from the inside and opens into the chapel (area Q13.)
Q16. Dragon's Mausoleum
This area has been removed.Q26 Northeast Guest Room
There is no mephit in this area.Q29. Northwest Guest Room
There is no portrait of human Lord Argynvost in this room.Q35. Upstairs Gallery
This room has dark wood paneling on the walls that rises to a height of 3 feet. Above the paneling, the walls are painted with murals of people and animals lounging in the sun. In the center of the west wall is a tattered curtain hanging in an open doorway. Three tall, slender stained-glass windows set into the opposite wall depict five figures with their arms at their chest, cradling a golden glow. If the players have encountered the Living Flame. The ghost of a massive silver dragon lies before you. Wisps of pale smoke emanate from his noble form. It looks once to the room behind it with an intense gaze, then it looks to you. It rises to its feet and walks through the walls in one direction, tail beckoning you to followFrom north to south, the three stained-glass windows portray Felis's three champions: the monk Rishi, the druid Tatyana, and the knight Ser Godfrey. If the characters have encountered the Living Fire of Argynvost, he is waiting for them here. He will lead them to area Q40.
Q.36 Dragon's Audience Hall
The west wall of this fifty-foot long, thirty-foot-wide audience hall has crumbled, leaving a gaping hole and pile of rubble. Weapons and shields that once hung from the walls have fallen to the floor and succumbed to rust. A large wooden throne faces three tall windows to the west. Slumped in the throne is a gaunt, armored figure with one gauntlet wrapped around the hilt of a greatsword.Vladimir Horngaard, knight-commander of the fallen Order of Silver, is slumped on the throne. It the beacan has been lift (area Q53), the corpse is lifeless and the characters can plunder it freely. Otherwise, the body is serving as a host for the revenant. If the players persist, Vladimir tells them to, "Go away." If they persist, continue:
The creature's grip on the sword tightens. "If you have come to destroy me, know this: I perished failing to defend this place over seven hundred years ago, and for my failure, I am forever doomed. If you destroy this body, my spirit shall find another. You cannot free me from this damnation, nor would I wish it. "If you have come to free this land from that foul creature who rules, know this: there is none I hate more than Strahd Von Zarovich. He slew my master, broke the life of the man I loved, and destroyed that Order to which I devoted my life. This hell of misery and unrest he finds himself is of his own creation, and I shall destroy any who seek to end his tormented life."Vladimir fights in self-defense, or if the party tells him they intend to kill Strahd.
Q37. Knights of the Order
Changes to this area are to Ser Godfrey and can be seen in his article.Q39. Ser Vladimir's Bedroom
Light enters this circular room through five cracked windows, which also allows fog and dust to creep in and settle on the floor. The ligh falls on a large, dust-covered bed in the center of the room, its posts topped with wood-carved dragons and cats entwined. Flanking the double doors are two large carved statues of dragons. To the left, on the far side of the statue, is one chest, upended and lying open.This room once served as a bedchamber for Ser Vladimir and Ser Godfrey. The only thing in the room is underneath one of the pillows on the bed: a silver ring that Ser Vladimir wore in life. Engraved on the band is the phrase, Forever, through life and death, in love.
Q40. Argynvost's Study
This room is a haven for dust and cobwebs. Three cracked narrow windows allow slivers of light and the chill of winter into the room. The light illuminates bare oak shelves along the walls and a cavernous hearth on the far wall. A picture above the mantle has been slashed, its lower half hanging down below the frame like a torn piece of flesh. It depicts the mansion in better days. In the picture, the top of the chapel tower glows like a beacon. An iron door set in the south corner of the west wall hangs open on one hinge. If the characters have encountered the Living Flame, and Argynvost's ghost. The ghost of the dragon waits for you, lying in the center of the room before the hearth. His bright eyes watched you eagerly as you enter.There is no journal page, enchantment, or book. For what Argynvost has to say, see his article.
Q44. Dragon Gargoyle
The gargoyle does not speak.Q53. Beacon of Silver
Wooden stairs climb to the tower's peak, which has a stone floor and a thirty-foot-high pitched roof. Magpies roost on crosscrossing rafters, coming and going through small holes in the roof. Ten foot-high, five-foot-wide arched windows are evenly paced around the walls. Each window consists of a lead latticework fitted with small panes of glass. Laid on the ground with obvious reverence is a massive draconic skeleton, lying as if in slumber. Its head is missing. If the characters look out the windows. To the north and east lies a mist-shrouded valley with dark woods, a small town (Vallaki), and a lonely woodmill on a precipice (Mistwatch Mill.) To the south, a river flows through a foggy marsh. To the the west, between rocky hills, you glimpse a massive building perched on a snowy mountainside beyond a long stretch of fog-smothered pines (The Sunrise Temple.)If the skull of Argynvost is found in Berez and placed here with his body, his spirit transforms into a brilliant light that fills the room and flashes across the valley like the beacon of a lighthouse. Even if the tower is cast down, the light of Argynvost remains where it is. Although the mountains prevent the beacon's light from reaching Castle Ravenloft directly, Strahd can see the light's glow in the sky to the west. Beacon of Protection. While the beacon shines, characters and other creatures that oppose Strahd gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws for as long as they remain in Barovia. Revenants at Rest. Ser Vladimir and the other revenants that haunt Barovia see the light and are reminded of all that was good and noble about their Order. Their hatred is released, and their spirits are released at long last. Henceforth, any random encounter with a revenant shall be treated as no encounter.
Special Events
Neither special event happens, unless the party's fated ally is Ezmeralda and they have yet to be introduced to her, in which case they meet her in the Arrigal's Hunt event.
RUINED STRUCTURE
9127
9127
Founding Date
8892
Type
Mansion / Villa
Parent Location
Owner
Owning Organization
Characters in Location