Castle Ravenloft

**Castle Ravenloft** is the ancestral home of the von Zarovich family and the current home of the vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich. It looms dark over the land of Barovia, stark against the sky as an omnipresent sign of Strahd's power over the land.

## History

King Barov von Zarovich fought to reclaim Ravenloft, which had been captured by the worshipers of dark gods who had conquered the von Zaroviches' ancestral lands. Both Strahd and his younger brother Sergei were born in Castle Ravenloft. Shortly after Sergei's birth, there was an assault on the castle, during which young Strahd defended his mother and brother from the invading army. Shortly thereafter, Strahd became lord of Castle Ravenloft, and it served as the base of operations for his wars of reconquest through Barovia.

## The Campaign

After helping Ismark and Ireena bury their father, Liluth, Fate, Stellaluna, and Solaris accompanied Ismark to dinner at Castle Ravenloft. There, they met with Strahd and were invited to stay the night. While Solaris distracted their vampire guard, Fate explored the castle. Shortly thereafter, the wereravens Dagmara and Fyodor Martikov arrived at the castle and told the party that they had to leave soon, or they would never be permitted to leave. With the help of the wereravens, the party fled the castle. As they escaped, they saw someone else fleeing Ravenloft: Ezmerelda d'Avenir had been in the castle at the same time that they had, stealing the Tome of Strahd and escaped, badly wounded, on horseback.

Later, the party encountered Ezmerelda again, at Van Richten's Tower. There, they also discovered a map of Castle Ravenloft, seemingly drawn by Van Richten himself, and marked with notes about the castle's secrets.

## Areas of the Castle

### First Floor

#### Chapel

There is a chapel to the Morning Lord on the first floor of Castle Ravenloft. An ornate altar stands at the far end of the room, flanked by two stone alcoves. In one of these alcoves is a statue of Barov von Zarovich, clad in the same crimson-enameled armor which Strahd is known to wear. Many of the chapel's beautiful stained glass windows are now broken or boarded over, and many of the polished wood pews before the chapel have been splintered or have begun to rot.

Great Hall

Feasts and formal dinners at Castle Ravenloft are held in the great hall. One high table sits on a raised dais at the far end of the room, with four carved chairs. Strahd sits in the tallest of these chairs, and no one else sits with him at the high table. Below and perpendicular to the high table are four long trestle tables with accompanying benches at which guests to Castle Ravenloft dine. Since only humans visiting the castle need to eat, these tables are rarely used. Near the door to the great hall is a massive pipe organ. Each brass pipe is shaped like a person, head upraised and mouth open, so that when the organ is played, it seems as if they are singing... or screaming.

### Second Floor

#### Family's Chambers

Three bedchambers are marked on Van Richten's map as belonging to Barov and Ravenovia, Strahd, and Sergei, respectively. All three of these rooms were locked during Fate's exploration of the castle, although she could hear a male voice softly weeping in the last chamber.

#### Guest Apartments

A suite of apartments on the second floor of the Castle are reserved for guests. These are usually unoccupied, save for one chamber which is used by Strahd's human consort, Gretruda Stiegler. The party and Ismark were assigned chambers in this suite when they visited Castle Ravenloft.

#### Private Dining Room

A smaller dining hall with a single table is located near the guest apartments on the second floor. This table is perpetually covered with long-rotten food. In the center of the table sits a massive, ancient cake. The walls of this room are lined with portraits of dozens of green-eyed young women. Among these portraits is one portrait much larger than the others: a huge painting of Tatyana Ivanova.

### Towers

#### Bathing Room

In one of the towers of Castle Ravenloft, there is a chamber containing only a large brass tub which seems to be entirely filled with blood. When Fate observed this bathtub, a dark-haired head began to rise out of the waters. Ezmerelda later told Fate that the blood in this tub was illusory and the woman beneath it a lost spirit.

#### False Treasury

One of the tower chambers is filled with loose piles and sacks of gold, and, among them, a large, ornately carved chest. Before the chest, Fate saw a skeletal figure, seeming to have been lying there for centuries. This room is marked on Van Richten's map as the "false treasury."

#### Hall of Heroes

Along the staircase leading up one of the castle's towers are a series of statues. These men and women, clad in armor and holding weapons, have stern and stoic expressions on their faces. When they are illuminated by flashes of lightning, however, their facial expressions instead show stark horror. This hallway is marked on Van Richten's map as the "Hall of Heroes."

#### Heart of Sorrow

One of the towers of Castle Ravenloft is marked on Van Richten's map with the ambiguous label "Heart of Sorrow."

### Dungeons

It is unclear how the dungeons should be accessed, since they are not on Van Richten's map, and the party never saw the dungeons or an entrance to them while visiting the castle. The only clue that they have is a note on Van Richten's map, written on the Great Hall. The note says, "DUNGEONS: PLAY DEAD."

## Current Residents

* Strahd von Zarovich
* Escher Belasco, Strahd's consort
* Gertruda Stiegler, Strahd's consort
* Rahadin, Strahd's castellan