Difference between revisions of "Barovia Village"

Revision as of 17:38, 6 July 2018

Ambient Audio

Rainy Barovia Village with weeping lady by Sword Coast Audio

Navigating the Streets

When the PCs exit Death House (or first arrive in Barovia from the Svalich Road, if you skipped DH), have a raven perch atop one of the houses flanking the street. This is Muriel, the wereraven, in animal form. She attempts to lead them to the Blood of the Vine tavern. ([1])

Make sure that you mention Mad Mary's sobs as soon as the players pass the boundary of town. They'll be naturally intrigued by this, and will want to follow up. ([2])

I consider the Dream Pastry event absolutely essential to building the depression of native Barovians in the players' minds, and for introducing them to a villain that they're nowhere near ready to combat (yet). I'd recommend placing Morgantha and her pastry cart either on the way from Death House to Blood of the Vine tavern; on the way from the tavern to the burgomaster's mansion; or on the way from the mansion to the church (and vice-versa). ([3])

Don't rely on your players to go exploring around Barovia themselves in order to trigger the Dream Pastry event; once they find the sanctuary of the tavern or the mansion, they're unlikely to leave unless Ismark or Ireena prompts them to go elsewhere. I personally described Morgantha as "glancing over her shoulder, as if taking caution toward anyone potentially following her," and slipping away into an alley street if pursued or addressed. If you place her immediately after Death House, it's almost guaranteed that the PCs will take interest - she's the first living person they've seen in Barovia, after all. ([4])

Once a player gets close enough to talk in person, though, she turns on the Southern Grandma Charm to present herself as a defenseless peddler who only wishes to sell some delicious pies... ([5])

Make sure to read up on the Night Hag statblock and lore before running the event, by the way. As /u/paintraina points out, the hags can really drive a narrative, especially at this early point in the game. ([6])

Roadside Encounters

If your players do go roaming around Barovia, or take their sweet time getting to the Blood of the Vine tavern, feel free to throw in one of these two encounters along the way: ([7])

A child with a dead pet (cat or dog) runs up to them. Unlike many other Barovians they have a soul, and are dressed in bright red clothes. They ask the PCs to heal their pet, believing them to only be sleeping. Bonus points if you've got a cleric or paladin in the party. ([8])

Two men are fighting in the street over a small paper bag. The bag contains a pair of dream pastries that one of them, Braden, just purchased from Morgantha that morning. The other man, Javaris, is going through a horrific withdrawal from a lack of the pastries, and will kill Braden if it means getting his hands on another fix. Both men are heavily addicted to the pastries, and will only relent if forcibly separated. ([9])

Mad Mary's House

This townhouse isn't really described in the module, so I thought I'd expand upon it to provide more of a narrative environment for the players. ([10])

The first floor contains a small kitchen with a broken glass on the floor and a rotted meal for two set on a table covered with a dirty blue tablecloth. Mary had poured herself a glass of wine to steady her nerves after realizing Gertruda's disappearance, and dropped it on the floor in anguish. A small sitting area contains a fireplace, two comfortable armchairs, and a dirty rug. Stairs lead up from here to the second floor. ([11])

The second floor contains a bathroom with an unemptied chamber pot and a bowl of dirty washwater. Mary is in her own bedroom, which holds a writing desk and a bed. Gertruda’s door is slightly ajar, and a tray holding a broken tea kettle and cup has shattered on the floor before it. Mary was bringing Gertrada tea when she found her daughter missing, and dropped it in her horror. ([12])

Gertruda's room holds a clumsily handwoven dress, a shelf holding fairytales and a hairbrush, a rug with a chewed-up bone, and an open window. Strahd stole Gertruda through the window one week ago. ([13])

When the party enters Gertruda's room, the Death House dog (see my post on running Death House) jumps up onto the bed and curls up beside the pillow, whining. He was raised by Gertruda as a puppy, and fled through a hole in the walls after Mary neglected to feed him, eventually wandering into Death House when tempted by the scent of food. ([14])

Blood of the Vine Tavern

The barkeep is an excellent opportunity to introduce the idea of the Soulless to the PCs. I described his motions and voice as emotionless, even robotic, and my players were thoroughly creeped out by his manner and drab clothes. As they made their way through town, they very quickly drew a mental line between the life-infused characters of Ismark, Ireena, and the Vistani, and the Soulless Barovians. ([15])

They likely won't understand why many of the people in this land are so dour and depressed; while you can have Ismark or Ireena share the (correct) superstition about Barovian souls, I preferred to leave it a mystery. They'll eventually find out from the midwife in Krezk, or might never discover the truth at all. My players fixated on the dream pastries as a potential cause for this depression, but aren't quite sure that they're right. ([16])

The Burgomaster's Mansion

To draw immediate attention to Ireena, and to hint even more heavily at Strahd's vampiric nature, I gave Ireena a scarf that she wears to conceal the marks of Strahd's predations. I also added a trinket inside of the mansion to add a little atmosphere and history to a fairly low-detail area. Here, the PCs found a child's drawing of a "man with dark, shaggy hair and a demonic left arm coated with jagged scales" - Izek. Ireena drew pictures of the "monster man" as a child, but forgot this piece long ago, and doesn't recall what drew her to make it. ([17])

There's a high probability that your PCs will arrive at the mansion thoroughly exhausted from their trials in Death House. If that's the case, have Ismark offer them the opportunity for a long rest overnight, or through the afternoon and evening if you want them to have the chance to see the March of the Dead. ([18])

Doru and Donavich

I quite liked the idea of a previous poster that, if Doru is killed, Donavich becomes withdrawn and inconsolable; when the PCs leave, the belltower rings a single time. If the party returns, they find that Donavich has hung himself from the bell's rope. ([19])

My players pretty much instantly viewed Doru as a Monster To Be Defeated, which is pretty much the way he comes off if you run his introduction by the book. Still, a good amount of the text seems to imply that the PCs should have a fair chance to gain the information that Doru knows about Strahd and the Mad Mage. If that's the case, you can make him more sympathetic and less monstrous by playing up his desperation and having him pleading for "just a little blood." ([20])

Church Graveyard

The March of the Dead is a fascinating encounter that really sets up the Herculean/Sisyphean task that the PCs have ahead of them (i.e., defeating Strahd). My players loved it, so make sure they get to the graveyard in time for the event! I took the advice of another DM to have Ireena coyly suggest that something "interesting" happens in the graveyard at midnight to get them there. ([21])

Strahd Encounter

Unlike many other DMs, this is where I chose to place my party's first Strahd encounter. By now, his reputation has been buffed by Ismark, Ireena, and Donavich, and the players are reaching the point where their imaginations are running wild. What better time to have Strahd confront Ireena - and her new accomplices - than the burial of her late father? ([22])

(Note: This encounter is pretty much wholesale stolen from here.)

In the minutes just before dawn, fog rolls in. The sound of wings flapping fills the air. A massive swarm of bats bursts out of the fog and flies into, past, and through the party. The swam scatters. ([23])

The group hears growls from the darkness. Snarling wolves creep out from the mist and surround the adventurers. Ireena draws a dagger and Ismark draws his longsword and shortsword. ([24])

A figure appears on the roof of the mausoleum - Strahd. He gives Ireena ("Tatyana") his condolences on her father's passing, even complimenting him. If you want to make things a little more cinematic, you can have Ireena challenge him. Otherwise, you can have Strahd ask her to introduce the party to him. You may want to have Ismark tell the party before this that Strahd will hold power over them if he finds out their names (false). The PCs will likely refuse to hand that information over, allowing Strahd to charm it out of them in a future encounter. ([25])

Regardless of how the PCs respond, Strahd introduces himself and charms Ireena into approaching him. If you want to go full movie-style, you can use the following description text:

Strahd holds out a hand toward Ireena. "Tatyana, my love. You have paid your respects to your father. Let these kine put his flesh under the earth. Come to me, my darling."

Ireena hugs her dagger closer to her chest. "Never."

Strahd eyes her for a moment, then holds up a finger. He crooks it, lazily. The mists swirl around his feet, and you can see his red eyes flare in the darkness. "I do not recall asking. Come, Tatyana." ([26])

Ireena jerks, then begins to approach him, dropping her dagger, a mix of fear and yearning etched on her face.

If none of the PCs try to stop her, Ismark will hold her back. At this point, Strahd will direct his wolves to attack.

This should be a difficult encounter, especially because it's likely that the PCs are enjoying the results of a long rest now. I used 8 wolves for 4 PCs, but don't forget that Ismark is a CR 2 Veteran. Don't be afraid to use Ismark to his full potential (my players now love keeping him around), but do remember that his first priority is to Ireena, rather than his own safety. If he goes down, let the wolves drag his body away, unconscious/presumably dead, for use as a vampire spawn later. ([27])

If Ireena reaches Strahd's perch, he swoops down and flies off with her into the night. I had her move at a slow rate of 10 ft./turn, visibly jerking as her unconscious mind struggled to keep her back. This provides a nice time limit for the encounter, and tells the players that losing combats can have serious consequences. If Ireena is stopped, however, in the aftermath of the fight, she collapses to her knees, stabbing a dead wolf over and over in powerless frustration. ([28])

The most important part to DM Barovia is to read the special events section. The dream pastries event is just spectacular, and you are missing out if you can't incorporate it in some way. If you take nothing else away from this write up, it will be a success. (reddit)

Mad Mary: Both of the parties who I ran did Death House prior to really experiencing Barovia. As a result they were very hesitant to investigate another villager in distress right away. (reddit)

Blood on the Vine Tavern: Both groups gravitated here right after Death House. This is a good place to meet new party members (you will probably need to replace some characters after Death House). I got caught off guard the first time I ran the conversation with Ismark. You need to know a few important things off the top of your head because the players will quiz you. Know how long his families manor has been under attack (a few weeks now), how long his father has been dead (3 days), and how he died (Natural causes/heart attack from stress). The players will look at Ismark favorably, and I think it is because he seems to be a good person in an otherwise depressing setting. Use Ismark to motivate the PCs to bring his sister to Vallaki (reddit)

Indirovich Manor: Straight forward. I allowed one group spend the night here so they wouldn't have to bury Kolyan at night. I also had Ismark decide to stay in Barovia as he is now the Burgomaster. He promises to help the PCs if they help him move Ireena. (reddit)

Church in Barovia: The PCs will end up heading here with Kolyan. I had Ismark and Ireena stay in the manor to keep Ireena safe. They had already paid their respects to their father. On the way to the Church is when I had the event with the Dream Pastries occur. Keep in mind that the hag will likely kill the PCs if they really decide to try to kill her. I tried my best to play her as a spry old crone to keep them from really teeing off and being content with stopping her for the time being. I made the mistake of not reading the Night Hag entry in the MM prior to the encounter. Don't make that mistake. These Hags are super cool and can really drive a narrative. Both of my groups did the same thing at the church - they asked a few questions to the priest about his vampire spawn son, and then interred Kolyan into the family crypt and GTFO. They didn't want to hang around the graveyard at night time to watch the parade. It's actually amazing how much the PCs avoid being outside at night in this module. (reddit)

Notes on Ireena: In the two groups I ran, I treated Ireena very differently. In Group A, I had Ireena be played by another player. In group B, I played her as a straight NPC. Having done both, I would HIGHLY recommend Ireena be played by another player. Let them read all the things Barovian people know, and the description of Ireena. This has really had a couple of huge benefits: (reddit)

The DM isn't talking to his/herself when Ireena and another NPC are in the scene. I try my best to have as little NPC-NPC interaction as possible, and this can't be done very well with Ireena as an NPC. (reddit)

You don't need to keep track of Ireena's combat stats. (reddit)

Through Ireena, you can subtly guide the PCs to certain areas. (reddit)

When the player who plays Ireena finds out that Izek is her brother - it's a huge payout. Lots of gasps around the table. These are the moments DMs live for. (reddit)

Tser Pool Encampment: Another thing I learned is that PCs LOVE tarot card readings and fortune telling. If Ismark or Ireena hint that Madam Eva is a skilled diviner and it might be wise to stop by her camp, they will take the bait. Honestly there should have been more reasons in the campaign to get the PCs to go the Madam Eva, because so much hinges on the Tarokka reading. Do everything in your power short of railroading to get them to go here. If it seems like they are going to miss it, have them find Tarokka cards in their pockets, or other random spots and they will get the hint. I also used the fortune reading as another milestone. The PC's being level 4 before the encounter the hazards of Bonegrinder and Vallaki will really help them. (reddit)

The road to Vallaki: The size of the map and relative travel speeds mean that you are rolling for a random encounter every 4 hexes or so. I let the players take turns rolling and when someone hits a random encounter, I let them roll the encounter. People like rolling. As for what happens when they roll the encounter, sometimes I use what they rolled but just as often I'll choose an encounter I like more. (reddit)

A general bit of DM advice: Have callbacks. When the players do something in the story that could be referenced later, make a note of it and make damn sure you set up a situation where they will see a call back to their actions. Players love this stuff, and it creates an intense feeling of agency and immersion. For instance, one group encountered the bundle of clothes in a tree as a random encounter. I decided they were more likely to encounter wereravens soon so I described a few black feathers in the clothes. The PC's wanted to cut a corner off of the cloak and put the clothes back in the tree. I made a note that at some point one of the patrons in the Blue Water Inn would have a corner cut off of their cloak. When they saw the Wereraven patron with a cut cloak, they went nuts. This sort of thing is really difficult if you haven't read ahead in the module, so try to read ahead and come back and review the section they are heading in to. (reddit)

After each session, I write down stuff like this so I don't forget to incorporate it. My Post-session notes might be just "cut cloak on wereraven, (Warlock Character Name) traded lock of hair to Vistani spy for fake potion, Hag will haunt (Rogue Character Name) because of assault outside Bonegrinder" Then when you recap the previous session, make sure to touch on these story points - TV series will do this all the time, they touch on plot points before the episode that are going to be developed in the episode. (reddit)