Echoes of Blood An alternative telling of Curse of Strahd

Fifty years ago the rulers of Barovia dug deep into the earth and found deep underground tombs belonging to those that came before. These tombs were filled with all kinds of dangers, and all kinds of riches. The most powerful and potent treasure is what we have come to know as The Blood; a miraculous substance capable of treating any disease, any illness, treating any wound. Such a bright light it would come to be… But the brightest of lights cast the darkest of shadows.

A plague of untold proportions ravished the countryside, killing the poor, rich, young, old, pious, and sinners indiscriminately. Monsters attacked in droves and people disappeared into the night; never to be seen again. The Scourge it was called, the beginning of the end. As humanity became its most desperate our gods failed us. No prayers were answered, no divine miracle occurred. The ever-vigilant guardians of justice and righteousness. They left us. To fight alone. To die alone.

And then he came… our Savior.

He came from the castle with this miracle in hand and saved Barovia. He tended to the wounded, to the sick; he lifted the veil that had been placed over the people, revealing it all to be caused by the devils that hid themselves within the castle. The Zarovich's. They were the ones who unleashed the plague among the land, they were the ones responsible for the disappearances and the monsters.

And so he united all of Barovia against their ruler, and a swift and bloody coup seized control of the land. They marched upon the castle, slew the beast, and took back their freedom.

  That was thirty years ago. Even now, despite the Church's efforts, the curse placed upon this land lingers. The Scourge still plagues the country, claiming the lives of those it touches, monsters continue to prey upon the populace, and the disparity in wealth and power is at its worst.

A veil of darkness suffocates the land, turning the plants to ash, and the people to waste. A great pestilence, suffering devoid of reason or end, rocks this world. Deprived of goodness in their lives, the people continue to live on, turning a blind eye to all the wretched atrocities and horrors they commit; telling themselves that it is all in the name of survival. A never ending blight birthed by the cancerous growths of this world. The poor and sick cry out in vain, the rich lavish themselves in decadence, the holy continue their crusade to rid the land of this curse, and the hunters continue to hunt.

This world belongs to the cold, unfeeling, unfettered darkness that engulfs it. The monsters both within and without now entrap us. Virtue has left this world, and now all that is left is a husk desperately clinging to life. Corruption, greed, madness, depravity, horror.

Everyone has a story. What kind of story will yours be?

Welcome to Barovia… We will see if you survive.