The Barovian Church
A church of the Sorted/Morninglord in the Village of Barovia.
When the players arrive at the church with the burgomaster’s body, Ismark is saddened by the damage wrought to its walls and roof. As he knocks on the front door, calling for Father Donavich, read the following:
The heavy wooden doors of the church are covered with Iclaw marks and scarred by fire.
As Ismark's knock echoes through the cold air, the door is opened and a deep voice rings out from the church: "He won't come out."
A hulking silhouette steps through the doorway and closes the door behind him—a young man, tall and brawny. His shaggy brown hair falls messily across his face, and his crooked teeth glint in the moonlight. Though muscles ripple beneath his tunic, there's a lightness and immaturity to his posture that belies his strength and size.
The young man fidgets with the hem of his tunic as your eyes fall upon him. "No strangers can go," he mumbles.
The young man is Parriwimple. Despite the early hour, he’s at the church. (He hasn’t been able to sleep well since his parents died in the siege, though he’s grateful to his uncle, Bildrath, for taking him in.)
CHAPEL
The chapel is a shambles, with overturned and broken pews littering the dusty floor. Dozens of candles mounted in candlesticks and candelabras light every dusty corner in a fervent attempt to rid the chapel of shadows. At the far end of the church sits a claw-scarred altar, behind which kneels a priest in soiled vestments. Next to him hangs a long, thick rope that stretches up
into the bell tower.
From beneath the chapI floor, you hear a young man's voice cry out, "Father! Im starving!"" Donavich (LG male human acolyte) has been praying throughout the night. His voice is hoarse and weak. He is, in a word, insane.
The village priest, Donavich, lives here. The church is filled with random members of the Obum.
A wooden holy symbol mounted above the altar-a sunburst. A ten-foot-long iron rod attached to one wall stands bare, suggesting a tapestry once hung there. Ancient stained glass windows stand shattered, letting in the mist and rain. Against the far wall stands a wooden cabinet with four tall doors. An empty wooden poor box rests on the seat of the chair. The desk drawers contain a few sheets of blank parchment, along with a couple of quill pens and dried-up jars of ink.
For its size, the wooden cabinet contains very little. Inside are a tinderbox, a few wooden boxes full of can dles, and two well-used books: Hymns to the Dawn, a volume of chants to the Sorted/Morninglord, and The Blade of Truth: The Uses of Logic in the War Against Diabolist Heresies, as Fought by the Ulmist Inquisition, a strange book that mixes logic exercises with lurid descriptions of fiend-worshiping cults.
TRAPDOOR
The assault of the vampires armies has punched holes in the ceiling of this moldy room, which contains a few broken roof shingles amid puddles of water. In one corner, set into the floor, is a heavy wooden trapdoor held shut with a chain and a padlock. A young man's screams of anguish can be heard through the door.
Donavich lost the key to the iron padlock. If the chain is removed and the trapdoor is opened, the screaming in the undercroft stops. The trapdoor is swollen and stuck in its frame, so that a successful Strength check is required to pull it open. Below it is a wooden staircase that descends 15 feet into the undercroft.
Donavich prays day and night, hoping that the gods will tell him how to save Doru without destroying him. If the characters seem intent on slaying Doru, Donavich does his best to stop them. If Doru dies, Donavich falls to the floor and weeps inconsolably, overcome with despair.
The doors open to reveal a ten-foot-wide, twenty-foot-long hall leading to a brightly lit chapel. The hall is unlit and reeks of mildew. Four doors, two on each side of the hall, lead to adjacent chambers.
You can see that the chapel is strewn with debris, and you hear a soft voice from within reciting a prayer.
Doru does not cry out to his father when the players enter the chapel. Instead, when the players first approach the chapel, Donavich’s prayers halt. Add the following line to the chapel’s description in place of Doru’s cry:
The sound of mumbled prayer stops, and a hoarse, tired voice rings through the chamber from the figure kneeling behind the altar. “I cannot offer the blessing you seek. Go, and leave this accursed place in peace.”
MARCH OF THE DEAD
When Kolyan Indirovich is buried and his rites are read. Spirits begin to rise from the cemetery one by one and surround Kolyan's grave. He too rises from the grave and joins then. Then, as one, they turn and march up the Old Svalich Road to Castle Ravenloft. An eerie green light suffuses the graveyard. Wavering images of doughty women toting greatswords, woodwise men with slender bows, warriors with glittering axes, and archaically dressed mages with beards and strange, pointed hats-all these and more march forth from the grave yard, their numbers growing by the second.
These are the spirits of the barovian people buried here. They have no interest in the living and can't be hit, damaged, or turned. They will not communicate with the characters.
As they march, all the locals in the cemetery are shocked speechless. Donovich will regale the following the tale with his mouth agape, unable to take his eyes off of the vision.
The ancient tell tales of the spirit of the Barovians. Brave and hardy people, they suffered no oppressor and would bow to no conqueror. Whenever a warlord descended upon the valley, they would rise up and fight them. Such was their fervour, that they would even be buried with their weapons, vowing to fight those that would try to steal their freedom even from the grave.
It is said that whenever a brave warrior sacrifices their life, the spirits of their ancestors come to accompany them on their journey onwards. Some believe that one day the ghosts too will join the fight against Strahd.