Terror in Krezk

Creatures: Terror in Krezk Terror in Krezk Creatures introduced in this book will be listed in bold type the  rst time they appear in the text, A Dungeons and Dragons adventure for along with a page number to direct the DM to the characters of levels 10 – 15. appropriate page to  nd the creature’s stat block. Creatures from the Monster Manual will The land of Barovia is a dark and simply be listed in bold type. Creatures from any other book will be listed in and corruption. Dark Powers watch over bold type with a direction to see the appropriate text (such as Curse of Strahd or Volo’s Guide to thistwisted region, realm, their �illed gaze with blanketing eldritch the horrors land Monsters) in misery and suffering. Under the rule of Strahd von Zarovich, Barovia is a nightmarish These alien creatures quickly set up a base of and isolated land of terror. No soul may enter operations in western Barovia, on the banks or leave Barovia without the blessing of the of the Raven River. The Illithid and their devil Strahd. While the vampire lives, anyone servants soon begin feeding on the residents unfortunate enough to come to Barovia of nearby Krezk, and once again tales of terror becomes little more than a prop for Strahd’s and monsters begin to spread across Barovia. sick amusement. Unknown to the poor residents of Krezk, If the vampire lord is killed, a reprieve is the living are not the only victims of these granted to the inhabitants of this accursed attacks. The souls of the Barovian dead are realm. As Strahd succumbs to the reaper, the also in jeopardy. The Illithid colony has been Mists of Ravenloft fade. The realm opens, infected with arcane magic. Among the mind becoming a mundane portion of the realm ulithalich (see page 23) named to which it is now attached. The clouds Zellix, who has begun infecting others among �layers is an part allowing true sunlight to bathe the the colony with ambitions to learn arcane Barovian valley, and souls trapped within magic. Zellix has uncovered numerous secrets of necromancy, including means of feeding on and manipulating the souls of the dead. This the boundaries of Barovia are freed to �inally repulses the elder brain (see Volo’s Guide moveThe on absence to their of �inal Strahd destination. and the fading of to Monsters.) who is in charge of the colony the Mists of Ravenloft do not utterly cleanse (and, ostensibly, the nautiloid ship the colony the land. Corruption still abounds in the calls home) and has led to an intense, but region of Barovia, even after the defeat of so far non-violent, rivalry between the two the vampire lord. Barovia without Strahd factions. How long this rivalry can remain is a little less dark, and a little less evil, but is still a festering den of supernatural evil. should erupt, there is little doubt that the peaceful is anyone’s guess, but if open con�lict As such, Barovia is somewhat appetizing to various evil entities. With Strahd gone such Only the bravest and most resourceful of Barovian people will suffer in the cross�ire. opportunistic monsters are drawn to Barovia, heroes stand a chance at eliminating the seeking to sate their unholy appetites on the Illithid threat and driving the ulithalich out of SampleBarovia. file fattenedTerror �lock in Krezk of Barovia’s explores survivors. one such Thus, it falls to the player characters to scenario, in which the newly freed lands of once again save the Barovian people. Barovia become infested by an Illithid colony.

TERROR IN KREZK 3 previous relationship with the Burgomaster, Part 1: A New he may approach them in person or by messenger to request their aid in solving these mysterious disappearances. If the Terror characters are new to the area, they can easily In this section of the adventure, the hear rumors of the disappearances at the characters discover that a new threat has Blood of the Vine Tavern, the Blue Water Inn, risen in Barovia, as the village of Krezk suffers or from one of the Vistani. It does not take a sharp spike in strange disappearances. long for the word of these disappearances to spread.

Krezk Upon arriving at the village, the characters are escorted by two guards (LG male The village of Krezk is fully detailed in or female human) to the Burgomaster’s Curse of Strahd, Chapter 8. For maps, basic Cottage, where Krezkov explains the current layout details, and an overview of the village predicament and asks the characters for and nearby abbey, see that text. aid. Troupes who have played through the Curse of Strahd should draw from previous Over the past several weeks, ten Krezkites interactions with Krezkov to color this have gone missing. Two disappeared from interaction. The Burgomaster will play on the character’s sympathies, placing emphasis on assumedSample had deserted his post) during the file the innocent and defenseless nature of the guard duty (the �irst, Burgomaster Krezkov abducted. Three of the victims were children, have been abducted from their homes. and those taken from their homes all appear �irst week. Since then, eight more villagers The Burgomaster is dumbfounded and the to have been snatched from their beds in

TERROR IN KREZK 4 villagers are terri�ied. If the characters have a their sleep. Krezkov makes it a point to state entered through the front door, and the that he is sure the responsible parties are not locks were not picked or forced. No signs of vampires, due to the victims being taken from struggle are revealed in any of the homes. their beds while asleep. He will reluctantly Characters wishing to attempt to track the confess fears that the mongrelfolk of the most recent victim may do so with a Wisdom abbey may be responsible, and will suggest (Survival) check at DC 15. If the characters that the characters begin their investigation investigated the abbey before the houses, the there. check becomes DC 20 due to the passage of time. As the village of Krezk is poor, there is little by way of treasure that the Burgomaster Using magic may help with the is able to offer for the party’s services. He will investigation. A locate creature spell will offer trade goods valued at a paltry 15 gp, not reveal the location of any of the missing should the characters press him for a material parties, but a scrying spell cast on the most reward. recent victim, Magda Dilisnya (LG female non-combatant child) will reveal her alive and If the characters choose to investigate bound in a small, dark, stony chamber (Area B8 of the nautiloid.) If the scrying effect is missing children. If the characters question maintained for 5 or more minutes, the scrying the mongrelfolkabbey, they will guards not �indat the any abbey, trace the of the character will see an Illithid guard look in guards will maintain that they have no through the bars of the cell, to check on knowledge of disappearances in the village. Magda. Scrying attempts to locate the other The guards have noticed nothing out of the victims will yield no ordinary, but offer to escort the characters results. through the abbey and grounds to conduct a search. A thorough search reveals no evidence of the missing Krezkites, but does take several hours.

If the characters ask to see the homes where the villagers were abducted, the Burgomaster happily agrees to take the party to each home. He will not think of this himself until the characters return from investigating the abbey (should they choose to do so.) If investigating the cottages by mundaneSample means, a file successful Intelligence (Investigation) check at DC 10 reveals that the homes were each

TERROR IN KREZK 5 If the characters are unable to pick up a trail from their investigation, they will be use their tentacles to incapacitate any other invited by the Burgomaster to patrol the membersage 6). The of mind the Ulrich �layers family grab Ruxandrawho awaken and streets after sundown. By the time the sun and respond to the intrusion. In an unusual sets, the villagers will have all entered their cottages, locked their doors, and shuttered damage those who they target with these their windows. The only exceptions are the show of restraint, the mind �layers do not six evening guards posted along the village’s modify memory to remove any recollection of outer wall, two archers (LG male and female theirtentacle presence. attacks. The mind �layers then use human scouts) and two city guards on foot patrol in the streets. If the characters are able to spot the

Around midnight, four Illithids (mind (Perception) check at DC 14, they may engage �layer arcane apprentices, see page 21) tomind interrupt �layers the with abduction. a successful A check Wisdom to spot the

disguise self to assume the appearance of the Ulrich home. If this check is failed, allow Vistani.sneak into They the will city. attempt The mind to sneak�layers into use the mind �layers should be allowed as they enter cottage of the Ulrich family (four commoners, one male adult (Emeric), one female adult attemptanother checkto follow as thethem mind stealthily. �layers If exit. attacked, The (Kala), and two female children non- orplayers if they may notice then they engage are beingthe mind followed, �layers, the or combatants (Fatima, age 9 and Ruxandra, mind blast attacks, and attempt to escape. Theymind will�layers do theirwill defend best to themselves retain control with of

are reduced below half their hit points, they willRuxandra, abandon but the if any child one in oforder the mindto escape. �layers The

unless reduced below one fourth their hit pointmind �layerstotal. will not use plane shift to escape

If the characters manage to follow the

themind characters �layers back may to resume their lair, investigating. proceed to ThisPart mayII: The include Outer trying Shell. Ifto the pick mind up the �layers kidnappers’ escape, trail using a Wisdom (Survival) check at DC 15. Alternatively, if the party still believes the kidnappers to be Vistani, they may begin seeking out Vistani camps in the region in order to interrogate their members. Naturally, the Vistani in the region know nothing about Samplethe kidnappings, and takefile great offense at the accusation that they are stealing Krezkite babies. This is the type of thing that can land the players on the receiving end of a Vistani curse or two if not handled delicately.

6 TERROR IN KREZK Features of The Dilapidated Fortress resume their kidnapping on the following Light: The dilapidated fortress is devoid of light night,If left this unchallenged, time targeting the the mind Lansten �layers cottage. sources, and considered to be completely dark. The only light sources characters will have are The makeup of the Lansten household is those they bring with them. similar (four commoners, one male adult Movement: The slimy, eshy oors of the (Hans), one female adult (Danya), and two fortress makes the entire area di cult terrain. male children non-combatants (Waltar, age This does not impede the movement of the mind ayers or mindwitnesses (see Volo’s Guide to Monsters), but does a ect intellect devourers and Sergei for abduction, but otherwise this event Barovian thralls (see page 21) 14 and Sergei, age 5.) The mind �layers target plays out exactly as the night before. If the Ceilings: Unless otherwise noted, the ceilings characters are unable to subdue or defeat the throughout the fortress are made of the same eshy material as the walls and oors. Ceilings elude being tracked, the characters are throughout the fortress level are 30 feet high. approachedmind �layers the this following time, and sunrise the mind by �layersDorina Map: The map of this area uses a 1 square = 10 feet scale. Nimirova (wereraven scout see page 24) who divulges that she was able to track the building looks as if it has been abandoned kidnappers to a dilapidated fortress on the for several decades. If any character from banks of the Raven River about 1 mile to the Barovia accompanies the party (or if the party southeast of Krezk. Dorina offers to escort the traveled along the bank of this river during party to this fortress. a previous adventure) they will know that this structure was not here previously. The building sits about sixty feet back from the riverbank, with dirt paths leading from the Part 1I: The river to two entrances. There are no sentries posted outside the building and the area is deadly silent. OuterIn this section ofShell the adventure, the characters arrive at the strange and mysterious fortress that has appeared along Area A1: Western Gate the banks of the Raven River. This area is the western gate to the fortress. The doorway is open, and only the The Dilapidated Fortress rotten remnants of wooden planks attached to rusty hinges on the western side of the As the characters travel toward the opening indicate that there was ever a door dilapidated fortress, they begin to feel as present. Vines have grown all along this edge though they are being followed. Wisdom of the building, and several branches extend (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks into the doorway. A successful Wisdom will not reveal any party in pursuit of the (Survival) check at DC 10 will reveal these characters. A result of 15 or higher on either plants to be strands of razorvine. Characters check will reveal that there is no wildlife in can use an object such as a polearm or sword the area. Even the insects have abandoned the to push the vines aside in order to enter the region.Sample area safely, moving through file the doorway as When the characters approach the precaution causes the character to make a fortress, they see a crumbling stone structure DC10if it were Dexterity dif�icult saving terrain. throw, Failure suffering to take 5 this sitting on the northern bank of the river. The (1d10) slashing damage on a failed save. TERROR IN KREZK 7