Ravenloft Adventure Series

Adventure: The Tragedy of Castle Ravenloft

For 3-4 Players

Introduction for Players - The Tragedy of Castle Ravenloft

For first time players, please read the Campaign Overview on this site's home page. Then, read the Introduction to the Ministry of Heroes.

Note: this adventure requires access to all three box sets of Ashardalon, Ravenloft and Drizzt. Also, the story that follows does not conform to the official Forgotten Realms lore.

The History of Castle Ravenloft:

The geography of the eastern border of D’nashk Re’at, the Kingdom of the Free, is high mountains, deep valleys, thick forests and deep, mysterious lakes. During the early settlement period of the Kingdom, a small, remote military outpost called Ravenloft was built along the edge of the Eastern Mountains, in the Grey Forest half way between Kaladron pass and Greystone Lake. A small village known as Barovia was established and many rural farms and ranches spread out from there.

Some years later, the Royal Family decided to entertain limited trade agreements with the Southern Kingdoms of Men, despite being occupied by Da'rahad, and despite loud protests from the Kingdoms of the Elves and most of the Elders of the Kingdom. The decision to start trade was in response to requests from many families along the Eastern Mountains who still have ties with people left behind in the Southern Kingdoms during the Great Exodus. Legal activity was restricted to the Kaladron Pass in the north by road, and Min'Mowen in the south by sea.

However, without the Royal Family's knowledge, some citizens began to engage in smuggling through secret trails in the Eastern Mountains as they became dissatisfied with the level of trade and its limited impact on relatives struggling in the Southern Kingdoms of Men. While these efforts were viewed as charity at first, they quickly fell under the attention of organized gangs and the trails were taken over for more profitable activities.

When requests from the Royal Guard stationed at Ravenloft began to arrive for help, a young Captain Strahd of the Royal Guard was commissioned to lead a sizable military force out of Landreer to clear out the organized gangs of thieves harassing the residents in the Barovia area. The campaign was successful and the Royal Family gave Captain Strahd a title of Count. Then they sent over 5000 residents to establish a larger, walled town on the site of the village Barovia and convert the military outpost of Ravenloft into a large castle. The town and castle were to be a shining example of the Second Generation of the Royal Family and their Legacy to the Kingdom of the Free.

Year: 3020, according to the Calendar of the Elves:

The Captain stepped down from his position in the Royal Guard to become Governor of Barovia. Castle Ravenloft and the town of Barovia became a prosperous part of the kingdom very quickly, and the Count attracted the romantic interest of Princess Lo’reean, sister of King Holgar. She began to visit regularly and soon they fell in love. The planned wedding of Count Strahd and Princess Lo'reean was seen as an opportunity to celebrate the greatness of the Kingdom against their enemies. And the celebration was the largest and most elaborate so far in the history of the Kingdom.

But only three months into the marriage, tragedy fell upon the Count and the Princess. He and his bride were attacked in the middle of the night by a wicked Agent of Darkness and only the Count survived! As a result the Count went mad and took the body of his bride into the crypts below the castle, and locked himself away as a secluded hermit. The news of this tragedy devastated the Royal Family. They sent a new captain and company of soldiers to ensure the peace, and gave orders to leave the Count alone in his castle so he may grieve on his own time, and waited patiently for the right time to request a ceremony of remembrance. No one knows exactly what happened, because the Count has refused to talk about it. The King and all his people mourned the loss of Princess Lo’reean, and happiness in the land faded like a setting sun.

A short time later, disturbing reports started to filter into the Royal Family. Residents in the area have been disappearing at a fast rate and the captain of the guard himself went missing. The Royal Family responded by sending a group of monks to investigate, and as the monks interviewed locals and prayed for guidance, the truth was revealed to them in a dream.

What the Royal Family did not know is the Count has been seduced by the Dark Magic of the Undead that attacked him, and he has become a student of its power and knowledge. Over time corruption has grown in his heart and mind and he is no longer the same person. The Count has learned three things in his studies, and because of these he now desires to revolt against the Royal Family and establish his own kingdom: First, he has learned how to start a new Vampire blood line with himself as the master Vampire. Second, he has kidnapped the military captain and converted him into a new bloodline of Werewolf, to be his eternal guard. Together they are planning to build up an army of Vampires and Werewolves - plucking residents out of the night without warning. Some for food. Some to convert… And third, because he knows that the Royal Family will send an army as soon as he makes his plans known, he has a secret weapon: He has risen a Dracolich from the grave - a powerful undead dragon.

Immediately on sunrise, one monk was dispatched with armed guard back to Landreer. The other monks organized the town and surrounding area. Citizens were put on alert, silver was donated for making arrows, holy water distributed, and a night-time curfew was declared with houses boarded up and families ready to fight. As a result, the Count's plans to build up an undead army have been temporarily stalled. But it's only a matter of time before he adjusts his plans and continues his reign of terror.

Now, a group of Heroes are being gathered to meet this newest threat in the east. On the King's orders - they must travel to Barovia and destroy Count Strahd and all the evil creatures he has created. And if possible, discover the mystery of the Agent of Darkness who attacked the Count and the Princess, what happened that terrible night, where it came from, and whose orders it was following...

Area Map

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Related Links:

Atlas: D'nashk Re'at

Atlas: The City of Landreer

Adventure Summary for GM

Download GM Guide

Warning: the information presented below is a spoiler alert for Players...

This Adventure assumes players have access to all three box sets of the Wrath of Ashardalon, Castle Ravenloft and the Legend of Drizzt. It is designed to run with 3-4 Heroes and 1 Summoned Ally. Only the Overview is presented below - a detailed PDF and supporting files are available through the [Download GM Guide] button above, or by going directly to the Downloads page (see top navigation).

See the information in Adjusted Board Game Rules for details about the roll of the GM, a list of Adjusted Out-of-Box rules, suggestions for managing Encounter Cards, and guidelines for using combined Dungeon Tiles from the Ashardalon, Ravenloft and Drizzt Box sets to build well-structured Chambers.

Overview:

Before beginning, the Heroes are briefed by the Monks at the Monastery and are given a number of useful things: some Holy Water that can reverse the Curse of the Undead (see below), and some Wooden Stakes (that cause a Vampire to pause in regeneration).

In Episode 1 (The Werewolf Captain), players must advance over the draw bridge and through the outer courtyard of the Castle, with Gargoyles and supporting Skeletons (as the first Chamber). Then they must fight their way through the main Hall with the Werewolf and supporting Wolves and Snakes (as the second Chamber). A Number of Item Tokens are placed face down, two of which are very useful to the Heroes, including a Silver Dagger (that causes the Werewolf to stop regeneration) and the Sun Sword (which provides a bonus against Vampires). At the back of the Hall are stairs that lead down to the Crypt below.

In Episode 2 (The Vampire Count), players will encounter the Vampire in the first Chamber (supported by Zombies and Ghouls). If the Vampire is reduced to half hit points, he will vanish and retreat either to his coffin in the next Chamber or to a Mausoleum in the Cemetery. Only when players exposed the Coffin labeled for Strahd and roll a die will they know which location he retreated to. The second Chamber contains the Howling Hag (supported by Skeletons and Wraiths) and has a number of coffins. Most are empty or trapped, but one is labeled for Strahd - a die roll of 10+ results in activating the Vampire at half hit points, who will fight to the death. Otherwise that Coffin is empty... (See Bonus Episode 4 below).

In Episode 3 (The Dracolich), players continue down a long tunnel system to a giant cave under the castle. There they find the Dracolich (supported by Blazing Skeletons and Wraiths). There are a number of chests, some of which are empty and others trapped, but two have useful items: the Dracolich Phylactery and a hand written letter from Count Strahd. The letter must be gathered by the Heroes to bring back to the Royal Family for evidence.

If the Vampire did not retreat to the second Chamber in Episode 2, then in Bonus Episode 4 (The Cemetery) Heroes must battle through Skeletons and Wolves and break open a number of Mausoleums/Coffins in search of Strahd. Time chips are used to represent the Vampire healing back from 1/2 HP.