The Abbot

Usually in the Main Hall S13. 
The Abbot is a deva in disguise (see appendix D, as well as “Something Old” in the “Special Events” section at the end of this chapter). He wears a holy symbol of the Morninglord around his neck. The woman in the tattered red gown is Vasilka, a flesh golem that has been exquisitely put together to serve as Strahd’s bride. Characters within 5 feet of Vasilka can see the seams in her powdered skin where disparate body parts stolen from Krezkite graves have been carefully stitched together. The Abbot is teaching Vasilka the finer points of etiquette. He also intends to teach her how to dance. Vasilka obeys his every command. She can’t speak but lets loose an unholy scream if harmed. If driven berserk, she fights until the Abbot reasserts control or until she is destroyed. She has the supernatural strength of a typical flesh golem despite her smaller size.
The Abbot has no desire to harm the characters. He knows that Strahd has brought them to Barovia for a reason and doesn’t want to thwart Strahd’s plans for them. His calm, pleasant demeanor changes if they become hostile or if they threaten Vasilka. He sheds his disguise and assumes his true angelic form, hoping that sight is enough to make them back down.
The Abbot would like to find a proper bridal gown for Vasilka. If the characters seem friendly, he asks them for help in locating one. In exchange, he offers his magic, agreeing to cast raise dead up to three times on their behalf, or give them each the benefit of his healing touch. If they decline to help or behave rudely, he orders them to leave the abbey at once, attacking them if they refuse and doing his utmost to keep Vasilka safe.
The music comes from upstairs (area S17). The stone staircase leads down to the wine cellar (area S16). The wooden stairs climb to the loft and belfry (area S17).
The stew pot in the fireplace contains several gallons of hot turnip and rabbit soup, intended for the mongrelfolk imprisoned in areas S12c and S15.
Roleplaying the Abbot The Abbot believes he is righteous. He regrets transforming the Belviews into horrid mongrelfolk, and he considers their imprisonment to be necessary, to contain their madness. With regard to Strahd’s bride, he believes that she is the key to freeing the land from its curse. The insane Abbot can’t be convinced otherwise.
The Abbot shares his beliefs openly, claiming that his decisions are based on the Morninglord’s guidance. He will give visitors a tour of the abbey if they seem friendly, but he turns hostile if they threaten him or his charges.
Appendix D: No creature in Barovia is older than the master of the Abbey of Saint Markovia in Krezk. This nameless holy figure, whom others call the Abbot, was drawn to the abbey after Saint Markovia died by Strahd’s hand. He sought to restore the abbey after it fell to corruption, but was himself corrupted.
Angel in Disguise. The Abbot is a deva that has lived for millennia. He typically assumes the form of a strikingly handsome human priest in his late twenties or early thirties. More than a hundred years ago, the deva was sent from the Upper Planes to honor the legacy of Saint Markovia. He reopened the abbey and began tending to the physically and mentally ill. In so doing, he hoped to bring some much-needed light to Barovia. His efforts worked for a while, but then the Dark Powers began to corrupt him.
Imperfections. The Abbot’s fall from grace started when the Belviews—a family of sickly, inbred lepers—came to the abbey seeking salvation. The deva rid them of their diseases, an act for which they were eternally grateful, but could not cure them of certain human defects that had been present since birth. The Abbot became consumed with a prideful, obsessive desire to rid the poor Belviews of their lingering imperfections. The Belview family, however, had strange ideas of what it meant to be perfect. They didn’t want to be ordinary humans. They wanted the eyes of a cat, wings to fly like a bat, the strength of a mule, and the guile of a snake. In short, they craved bestial traits, and the Abbot, taking pity on them, yielded to their mad desires.
Enter Vasili von Holtz. The Abbot’s early experiments proved fatal to their subjects, but the Belviews insisted that he keep trying. One day, a Barovian lord named Vasili von Holtz visited the abbey. The Abbot knew at once that the man was evil, but von Holtz stressed that he only wanted to help. He furnished the Abbot with forbidden lore plucked from the Amber Temple (chapter 13), then helped the Abbot transform the Belviews into mongrelfolk—maniacal humans with bestial deformities and traits. The Belviews were happy, albeit insane. Only then did von Holtz reveal himself to be Strahd von Zarovich. Somehow the deva realized that any attempt to slay Strahd would be futile—that the ancient curse upon the land meant that the vampire could never truly die, at least not in Barovia.
Bride of Strahd. Strahd confided in the Abbot, lamenting his curse and telling the deva that he wished nothing more than to escape Barovia. His performance garnered the deva’s sympathy, and the Abbot, playing into Strahd’s hands, set for himself the goal of finding a cure for Strahd’s “malady.” The Abbot is now convinced that the cure lies in reuniting Strahd with his lost love and, in so doing, ending Barovia’s curse. The Abbot has recently completed work on a flesh golem bride made from the body parts of dead women. While the Belviews languish in the abbey’s madhouse, the Abbot is giving his creation lessons in etiquette and ladylike conduct so that “she” can be formally presented to Strahd and win his love.
Strahd has no interest in a flesh golem bride, but he enjoys corrupting this once angelic being and driving the Abbot to commit further acts of depravity.
Statistics. Use the deva stat block in the Monster Manual, but change the Abbot’s alignment to lawful evil.
The Abbot’s Traits Ideal. “I want to rid Barovia of its sickness. By giving the devil his heart’s desire, I bring salvation to him and his land.” Bond. “I love the creatures I create, including my beautiful golems and mongrelfolk.” Flaw. “I can’t be corrupted. My heart is pure, my intentions noble and good.”