Curse of Strahd

N2c. TAPROOM

Damp cloaks hang from pegs in the entrance portico. 5"?.0LDI\R
The tavern is packed with tables and chairs, with nar­ 5"?.0LDI\ROVICH
row paths meandering between them. A bar stretches
along one wall, under a balcony that can be reached by a
wooden staircase that hugs the north wall. Another bal­
cony overhangs an entrance to the east. All the windows
are fitted with thick shutters and crossbars. Lanterns
hanging above the bar and resting on the tables bathe
the room in dull orange light and cast shadows upon
the walls, most of which are adorned with wolf heads
mounted on wooden plaques.

The double doors leading into the taproom can be YevGENI l<RUSHKIN
barred shut from within.
Wachter Brothers. Nikolai and Karl Wachter (N male
Mounted on braces and tucked into alcoves behind human nobles) are brothers of noble birth. They are
the bar are three wine barrels, each one three-quarters brash drunkards always looking for trouble, though they
empty. Two of the barrels contain Purple Grapemash are smart enough not to pick fights with well-armed
No. 3 (a cheap wine), and the third contains Red Dragon strangers. Their mother, Fiona Wachter (see area N4),
Crush (a fine wine). A brass spigot is hammered into is an influential figure in town, but her sons never talk
each barrel. about her. They'd rather listen to tales of the characters'
harrowing adventures or hear about how the characters
Danika Martikov usually tends bar while her husband plan to free Vallaki from the burgomaster's madness.
busies himself in the kitchen (areaN2e). Their boys,
Brom and Bray, scamper about and easily get underfoot. Rictavio. The Ione guest of the Blue Water Inn at pres­
ent is a colorfully dressed half-elf bard who goes by the
Between dawn and noon, there are no patrons here, name Rictavio-a false identity adopted by the legend­
and the Martikovs are upstairs in their bedrooms (areas ary vampire hunter Rudolph van Richten (see appendix
N2o and N2p) or in the attic (area N2q). D). He regales tavern patrons with stories so outrageous
as to be hardly believable, yet he asserts they are true
From noon to dusk, the taproom holds 2d4 local pa­ indeed. Rictavio claims to be a carnival ringmaster from
trons (LG male and female commoners). Between dusk a distant land. He's been staying at the inn for a·lmost a
and midnight, 2d8 Vallakians are here. In addition, one month, taking advantage of Urwin Martikov's generosity
or more of the following people might be present during and good nature. When he arrived, he was accompanied
this time. by a monkey named Piccolo. The monkey wasn't wel­
come at the inn, so Rictavio gave it to the local toymaker
WolfHunters. Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni (see area N7).
Krushkin (N male human scouts) are local hunters who
frequent the Blue Water Inn. They kill wolves and sell Rictavio admits to having no musica! talent but man·
the meat for a living, and their work is dangerous and ages to entertain locals nonetheless with his stories of
bloody. Both men are grim and have haunted looks in faraway places. Twice each day, at dawn and again at
their eyes. dusk, he leaves the inn with a couple of apples and a
cooked wolf steak wrapped in a handkerchief: He claims
These two are dour fellows, but they seldom pass the food is for his portly friend, "the ·destitute toymaker"
up an opportunity to earn coin. If the characters are (area N7) and his pet monkey. In fact, the apples are for
looking for guides or information about the land of his horse Drusilla (area N2f), and the steak is for his
Barovia, Szoldar and Yevgeni can be of service. They captured _saber-toothed tiger (area NS).
aren't afraid to venture beyond Vallaki's walls during the
day, and they know the woods and valley well. They're · During his stay at the inn, Rictavio is quietly gathering
willing to serve as guides for.5 gp per day, or to provide • irtformation on the Keepers of the Feather, trying to
directions to important landmarks in.exchange for free
drinks. They think it's foolish to travel "th;is cursed
realm" at night and won\do �o:-u�lesi, thefr �ayment is
exorbitant (100 gp or mo�e):_ · . : ,·:,·.'-' ·. - :

On rare occasions wheffhe na's'sorriething to say,
Szoldar speaks brusquely, while Yevgeni usually parrots
his friend in not so many words. Szoldar has a notch in
. his bow for every wolf he's killed, while Yevgeni adds a
.new swatch to his wolfskin cloak every time he makes
a kill. Both men have families but spend most of their
time together, either drowning their sorrows or hunting
in the woods. Most of the wolf heads that adorn the tav­
ern walls are the result of their handiwork.

CHAPTER 5 I THE TOWN OF VALLAKI -

100

figure out the identities of all the wereravens in town. You hear the squawking of birds and the plaintive whinny
of a horse as you peer inside this stable. The stalls are
He's also trying to learn as much as he can about the clean and well maintained. One of them contains a
gray mare. A small door is set into the east wall, and a
Vistani, particularly the ones living in the camp just wooden ladder gives access to a loft overhead. Perched
on the wooden railing that encloses the loft are dozens
outside town (area N9). Once he concludes that they of ravens.

are in league with Strahd, Rictavio plans to unleash his Any character who has a horse can keep it here for 1
sp per night. The gray mare is a draft horse named
trained saber-toothed tiger upon them, with or without Drusilla, and she likes apples. The horse belongs to
Rictavio (see area N2c).
the support of the wereravens.
The small door in the east wall can be pulled open to
Rictavio wears a hat ofdisguise and a ring ofmind reveal area N2g. The loft is described in area N2h.

shielding to conceal his identity. He carries an iron key N2G. STORAGE
This small room lies under a wooden staircase (area
that unlocks the door to his carnival wagon (area NS). N2i). Hanging from wooden pegs are saddles and bard­
ing to equip two horses. In an unlocked wooden chest
IN2D. WINE STORAGE I are a dozen horseshoes, a wooden mallet, and a mound
This hallway contains three curtained alcoves as well as a of horseshoe nails.
larger area stuffed with wine barrels.
N2H. RAVENS' LOFT
The Martikovs store their wine here. Tucked behind
red curtains are three alcoves, each one containing a Dim light spilling in through a pair of dirt-encrusted
half-emptied wine barrel lying on its side in a wooden windows reveals piles of hay with pitchforks sticking
brace. Twelve empty wine barrels are piled two high out of them. Ravens rule this roost-you can see hun­
near the door to the kitchen (area N2e). All the barrels dreds of them.
have the Wizard of Wines name burned into them.

Nine of the fifteen barrels, including two of the barrels
in the curtained alcoves, have the following label burned
into their sides, under the winery's name: Purple Grape­
mash No. 3. Six of the fifteen barrels, including one of
the barrels in the curtained alcoves, have a different
label: Red Dragon Crush.

The double doors that lead outside can be barred shut
from within.

N2E. KITCHEN Characters who search the loft thoroughly find three 1 ·... .
pitchforks and a locked wooden chest buried under
This room looks like the kitchen of someone who loves a pile of hay (see "Treasure" below), next to a secret
to cook. It has piles of pots, walls lined with utensils door. If the characters tamper with the chest, the ra­
and shelves of ingredients, and all manner of pleasant vens gather into four s�arms of ravens and attack. If
odors. Two lanterns hang above a sturdy pine worktable two swarms are killed, the others flee. Otherwise, they
in the middle of the clutter. A pot of soup bubbles on cease their attacks if the characters leave the chest
the hearth. alone. If the fighting continues for more than 3 rounds,
Urwin Martikov and two other wereravens hear the
Urwin Martikov, who prepares most of the meals, is ruckus and investigate (in human form).
found here throughout the day. He occasionally receives
help from his two boys, but they are easily distracted. A A secret door in the back of the loft can be pushed
cupboard against the east wall holds most of the inn's open to reveal a bedchamber (area N2p) beyond. No
supply of cutlery and dishware, none of it valuable. A ability check is required to spot the secret door, because
door in the west wall leads outside and is usually barred light in the room beyond slips through the door's cracks.
from the inside.
Treasure. Inside the locked chest are 140 ep, 70 pp,
A secret door at the west end of the south wall can be two elixirs ofhealth, three potions ofhealing, and a gray
pushed open to reveal a wooden staircase that leads ·up bag oftricks. The coins are embossed with the profiled
to area N2i. likeness of Strahd von Zarovich.

N21. SECRET STAIRS AND HALL

N2F. STABLE A wooden staircase to the north descends fifteen feet to
a landing. A window dimly illuminates a short, wood-pan­
The sliding wooden doors on the west wall of this room eled hallway that runs west to east.
are held shut by an iron lock and chain. Urwin carries
the key to the lock. The.qoors to.the north and south can,

be barred shut from tht: in.side but are usually unlocked. - • ,i. :�·� � �?(:· ,:-�/��·:;,·��,-�;·�,!-'!4;_·:.-;:�.t:·· :-'• ('�:r.,:. /t � ',,:�'.·..-:.�::Jr·.

· · ;·. Guests. aren) told about "the inn!,s se�reFh;c!,llv.vay..Ricta­

?�·� �-'��.-·:·.: . ': vio"kric,�s·o(1fs exi�tente.be6iusi·.iie_p,asna{rifthe·· ·
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CHAPTER 5 I THE.TOWN OF VALLAKl