APPROACHING THE VILLAGE
When the characters first approach the village, read:
Tall shapes loom out of the dense fog that surrounds everything.
The muddy ground underfoot gives way to slick, wet cobblestones. The tall shapes become recognizable as village dwellings. The windows of each house stare out from pools of blackness. No sound cuts the silence except for mournful sobbing that echoes through the streets from a distance.
Claw marks cover the walls of the houses, many roof have been destroyed and the streets are full of debris.
The sobbing comes from Mad Mary's townhouse.
Claw marks cover most of the walls. When the fog eventually burns off, Castle Ravenloft looms over the village, like a lance piercing the sky.
Same voice, same face, same graceful body, she was Tatyana come back to life again. I was absolute witless from astonishment.
-Strahd von Zarovich
in I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire
Locations
Bildrath's Mercantile
Blood of the Vine Tavern
Burgomasters Mansion
Church of Barovia
Death House
Mad Mary's Townhouse
Village of Barovia
While at the local tavern, the players meet Doru, a vampire spawn at war with his bloodthirsty nature, and have an opportunity to reconcile him with his father, the priest Donavich.
If the players agree to help him, Ismark escorts them to the Burgomaster's Mansion. There, Ireena insists on a burial for her father before departing, which can be performed at dawn with the aid of the village’s priest, Father Donavich.
Upon delivering the Burgomaster's coffin to the church the following dawn, the players can meet Doru, Father Donavich's son, who Strahd transformed into a vampire spawn as punishment for his rebellion. The players then face a choice: Will they destroy Doru, as Father Donavich requests —or spare him? When the players emerge from the Svalich Woods, read:
The dark woods fall away, revealing a misted, gloomy valley dotted with thick clouds of fog.
Rolling thunderclouds cast a gray pall over the land below, no sun visible in the cold, grey light. Evergreen trees climb the sides of the mountains that enclose the valley. To the north rises a stony mount with tufts of trees; to the south, a snow capped peak with rugged slopes towers imperiously above the land below.
The muddy road continues on ahead, passing through yellowed grasses and farmland until it reaches a small, humble settlement hunkered down in the earth. Alongside the road, a river flows as clear as a blue winter sky through the valley.
Far above the village looms a dark, twisted castle, standing alone atop a pillar of sheer stone. For an instant, a distant spear of lightning crackles, illuminating the towering keep in harsh lights and shadows—and then a thick bank of fog rolls in, concealing the village and castle from view.
The denizens of the Village of Barovia are a broken, haunted people, its residents so terrified of Strahd that they rarely venture from their homes. The village lies in the shadow of Castle Raven loft, buried under fog but still unable to hide from the vampire's sight. Until recently, however, the village of Barovia faced few overt troubles. While not thriving, its residents eked out a meager existence and lived as well as they could.
BAROVIAN VILLAGERS
A house of Barovian villagers is home to ld4 adults (LG male and female human commoners) and ld8 - 1 children (LG male and female noncombatants). Characters who listen at the door hear low, muffled whispers from within. These villagers aren't interested in speaking with strangers and never attack first, always fleeing from danger if possible. At night they cower by candlelight and keep makeshift holy symbols close at hand.
History
Doru's Uprising
The priest’s son, Doru—emboldened by the arrival of the vampire hunters Dr. Rudolph Van Richten and Ezmerelda—incites a Barovian mob to march against Castle Ravenloft.
Sick and tired of the oppression and mistreatment they face, the barovians are eventually driven to rebellion.
Outcome A: Strahd laid waste to the members of the mob, killing many of the villagers. Strahd then roused one of his lieutenants and an undead army and sent it against the village as punishment for their insolence. The siege of Barovia decimated the village, killing dozens and wounding many more. Barovia’s burgomaster, Kolyan Indirovich, his son Ismark and their loyal guards mounted a valiant defence, but Kolyan was slain in battle. Ismark made a deal with the lieutenant, and Strahd’s forces withdrew, judging the slaughter to be sufficient discipline.
The burgomaster’s children, Ismark and Ireena, took charge of the rebuilding effort. Even so, many Barovians, fearful of Strahd’s emergence and the shadow of Castle Ravenloft, left their ruined homes and broken families and fled for nearby cities. Many of those who remained in the village turned on Ismark, blaming him and his father for selling out to Strahd, and for failing to do more to prevent Strahd’s counter strike.
Ismark—named for “Ismark the Great,” an ancestral hero who rooted out nests of vampires across the valley—is now scorned as “Ismark the Lesser.”
The village has fallen into a state of paranoia, hopelessness, and despair. Neighbours mistrust neighbours, fearful that any person could be charmed by a vampire—or, worse, a vampire in disguise. Few go out of doors, whether day or night. All avoid the church, a scarred and haunted building rumoured to be cursed by the Devil Strahd himself.
Until recently, Strahd had been paying nightly visits to lreena 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.
Barovian Refugees
Those Barovians who fled their village in the aftermath of Strahd’s siege faced a long and difficult path on the road to Vallaki. Several lost their lives, whether to wolf attacks or malicious undead, leaving the survivors to bury them along the way—if, of course, there was anything left to bury.
When they arrived outside Vallaki’s walls and asked for sanctuary, however, they were met with disturbing news: the gates of the town were closed to them. News of Barovia’s siege had traveled to Vallaki’s streets, and Baron Vallakovich had evidently become convinced that the Barovians themselves were an accursed, unsavory people—and that permitting them to enter his “perfect” town would only empower the Devil to destroy it.
.Most of the refugees despaired, but only a few struck out on the path back to Barovia; those that did were never seen again. The rest linger on the outskirts of Vallaki, huddling in threadbare tents and bedrolls. Their encampment hugs close to Vallaki’s palisade walls, praying that the silvered spears and crossbows of the town’s guards will keep the beasts of the woods at bay—and that, sooner or later, the people of Vallaki will change their minds and allow them entry.
So far, the wolves have kept their distance, but so have the Vallakians. With resources running low, and morale even lower, the refugees are slowly running out of time—even as the shadows of the woods creep ever-closer to their campfires.
DM Notes:
Meet Ismark Kolyanovich in the Blood of the Vine Tavern, get introduced to his family and their plight (Strahd)
Must attend funeral of Kolyan Indirovich to proceed, introduces them to Father Donavich and his plight (Son Doru is a vampire trapped in basement)