The Abbot's Letter to Vasili ...2 the Anti God

Tomes of Ravenloft is a collection of twenty three player handouts The Abbot’s Letter to Vasili...... 2 intended to enrich a Curse of Strahd campaign. The entries marked The Anti God...... 3 with a * in the Table of Contents are books or letters native to the Baking (for) Children...... 4 campaign. They were mentioned somewhere in the text but had no Balinok Mountains Survey Report...... 5 substance—until now. Barovian Home Remedies...... 6 The other entries are completely new creations. You can find a The Blade of Truth*...... 7 place for them and hand them out whenever you feel the time has Castle Building 101*...... 8 come. Study them well. Some offer quest hooks, others tell the The Devil We Know*...... 9 characters about the lore of the world. Some of the lore is old, Embalming: The Lost Art*...... 10 other lore is completely new. For example, did you know that the From the Life of Saint Markovia...... 11 inhabitants of Barovia called their home Balinokova before the Goats of the Balinok Mountains*...... 12 devil Strahd invaded? The Grimoire of the Four Quarters*...... 13 Hymns to the Dawn*...... 14 On the following page, you will find some ideas on where to place Killing the Devil...... 15 the new tomes and how they, and the old ones, might benefit the Legends From the Svalich Woods...... 16 characters. Life Among the Undead*...... 17 The Oath Celestial*...... 18

Author: Christian Eichhorn Rictavio’s Journal*...... 19 Rituals for Mother Night...... 20 Editor: John Parker Van Richten’s Guide...... 21 Travel Guide: Balinokova...... 22 Von Holtz’s Letter to Lovina*...... 23 Wolf’s Head Jamboree*...... 24

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, Ravenloft, Eberron, the dragon amper- sand, Ravnica and all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. This work contains material that is copyright Wizards of the Coast and/or other authors. Such material is used with permission under the Community Content Agreement for Dungeon Masters Guild.

All other original material in this work is copyright 2021 by Christian Eichhorn and published under the Community SampleContent Agreement file for Dungeon Masters Guild. Use these thoughts to award the characters with books and boons where applicable. The books don't give any permanent bonuses but may result in advantage on certain ability checks or small bonuses. Some books may even open completely new avenues for the characters, like Rituals for Mother Night and Grimoire of the Four Quarters.

The Abbot’s Letter to Vasili. A letter explaining the Hymns to the Dawn. A volume of chants to the Abbot's thoughts about his life choices, linking him to Morninglord. Offers insights for certain Religion and Vasili von Holtz and the Belview family. Can be found in Performance checks. Can be found in churches. the Abbey or Castle Ravenloft. Killing the Devil. A pamphlet that hangs in Vallaki's dark The Anti God. A heretical text about the gods. Offers alleys. A quest hook to get the characters into trouble. insights on the inner workings of the world and the gods. Could be a trap laid by Baron Vargas Vallakovich or a Offers limited insight on Religion checks. Can be found in genuine appeal from the Keepers of the Feather. churches and libraries. Legends From the Svalich Woods. A book featuring dark Baking (for) Children. A collection of recipes by and for stories about the Svalich Woods. Grants deeper insights hags. Offers insights on baking and benefits checks using for History checks about Barovia and contains a quest cook's utensils. Can be found in Old Bonegrinder or in hook. Can be found in many homes. Castle Ravenloft near the cauldron. You can try out the Life Among the Undead. A tragic story, written by one recipes at home, only switch bone flour for regular flour. "Vasili von Holtz." Offers role-playing opportunities with Balinok Mountains Survey Report. A survey Strahd, giving an insight into his disturbed mind. Can be commissioned by King Barov before the invasion. Offers found in Castle Ravenloft. a quest hook to prospect for gold in Lake Luna and The Oath Celestial.A historical book about the knights of information about the Amber Temple. the Holy Empire of Valentia. Offers limited benefits for Barovian Home Remedies. A hodgepodge of questionable History checks and role-playing opportunities with the tips and remedies for real and imaginary ailments. Can Revenants. Can be found in Argynvostholt. be found in almost any home. Offers some insight into Rituals for Mother Night. A book containing rituals to medicinal plants and corresponding Nature checks. interact with Mother Night. The rituals work and give Castle Building 101. A book about the basics of building benefits once properly executed. The Rite of Forlorn castles. Grants insights for checks using mason's tools and Tongues gives a character dangerous or forbidden ability checks to find traps or hidden doors. Can be found information. The Rite of the Night's Eye allows a character in libraries or Castle Ravenloft. to see and speak with the recently deceased. Mother's Embalming: The Lost Art. A paper detailing advanced Boon gives a character a large bonus or advantage on embalming techniques. Interesting conversation topic for ability checks. Can be found in Baba Lysaga's hut or the parties. Can be found in libraries. werewolf den. Travel Guide: Balinokova. From the Life of Saint Markovia. A book detailing the A guide with information life and death of Saint Markovia. Gives hints about the about Barovia before Strahd invaded. It offers insight for whereabouts of her body and has benefits for History History checks and includes a quest hook. Can be found in checks. Can be found in churches or the Abbey. libraries. Van Richten's Guide to Lycanthropy and Vampirism. Goats of the Balinok Mountains. A paper about goats. Contains quest hooks about treasure and mountable goats A book containing information on vampires and (can carry Medium creatures). Can be found in libraries or lycanthropes. Improves all History or Arcana checks for Castle Ravenloft. these types of monsters and contains useful information on how to fight them. Can be found in Van Richten's tower or The Grimoire of the Four Quarters. A book detailing ways Samplethe Bluewater Inn. file to summon and negotiate with devils. Summons a different type of devil depending on the characters' level. Can only be found in the Wachterhaus. The Abbot’s Letter to Vasili

Dear Vasili, We haven’t seen each other in many years. Decades, or centuries even? Not after you revealed your true self. I am not sure why I write this letter. Maybe to meet you again, at least in my memories. Writing helps focus the mind. As I formulate each thought, it gathers more meaning. It becomes more tangible once I put it in ink. To this day, I am struggling with what we did to—or rather together with—the Belviews. I say us, but in the end, it was my decision and responsibility. A responsibility I am staying true to even now. I do not know why you pushed me, revealed secrets to me I never wanted to know. Maybe you genuinely wanted to help. Or it was part of your grander designs. Whatever it may be, I still feel the urge to help. You are many persons, a split soul. I see good in there and I will do my best to save it, my friend. I have recently started tailoring. Though, not with fabric. Instead, I use flesh and skin. It will take many months and years to harvest the necessary parts. I hope the villagers can forgive my deeds. It is for the greater good, Sampleafter all. Soon, I will reunite you with your love. file Stay strong. The Anti God

The Anti God Second Annotated Edition Written by an unknown author, with commentary by Loremaster Elspeth Paxton

A tick burrows into the flesh of its host. It This book started circulating in 999 DR, penned sucks blood to survive, depriving its victim by an unknown author. Independent actors of their energy and lifetime. The tick must handled reproduction and distribution, making it stay hidden, else the host notices and ends near impossible to confiscate and burn all copies. 1 it. Parasites have no reason for being. (1) Parasites have meaning. They strengthen a The gods are more shrewd. They are species as a whole by winnowing out the weak. parasites who hide in plain sight. They can The entire argument is moot since the gods have only exist as long as we invest them with a symbiotic relationship with their worshippers. 2 our faith and power. Prayers, thoughts, and (2) Gods can indeed perish when none of their sacrifices nourish them. They deprive us of faithful remain. However, a portfolio does not die our lifetime, a trickle at a time. Although alongside its custodian. Exemplar, the concepts of they redistribute some of their accumulated murder and love always accumulate power. powers, they keep enough for themselves. (3) The ways of the gods are ultimately mirror For what? To waste it on strife and idle images of their worshippers. The fault lies with us. machinations.3 (4) "Peon" is hardly the correct term for what Would you still pray if you knew that the awaits the souls of the faithful after death. After a thousandth part of your thoughts and life life of worship, our souls enter the realms of our is spent on wars of vanity? What if it was various patrons and revert to their original state. a hundredth? A quarter? We are the host. Yes, some may serve. Others become feral beasts The gods suck us dry. When there's only a or food. It is the free decision of every conscious withered corpse left, they grab our souls and being to pick a god who serves them best. make us peons.4 (5) A simple fallacy. Some ascend as divine reward We must do away with the gods of old— for their heroic deeds or sacrifices. the pretender mortals, who ascended to godhood by deception and force.5 I propose (6) All power, all life, all thoughts, and all matter a new way. We can focus our beliefs only on come from the gods. If you find power in yourself ourselves. The more we believe, the more after meditation, training, or magical change, the power we invest into our soul and body. power ultimately stems from the gods. We don't Those with the noblest minds will become create power—we are born from the outflow of the miracle workers of new.6 power. We have everything to win and nothing to (7) Withershins. If all gods were to die, the world lose.7 After we stop the seepage, the world as such would end. Like a plant that starves for willSample enter a golden age. The creativity and a lack of sunlight, or a dreamfile that ends when industry that was heretofore wasted on the the sleeper wakes. The potential for doom this conceited pantheons will—in the future to message carries was reason enough to ban this come—transform everything. book. Baking (for) Children

Ravenloft StollenI Barovia Pancakes l l

30 oz bone flour 2 eggs 17 oz bone flour 1 qt oil 10 oz raisins 3/4 cup milk 7 oz milk strawberry jam (or 7 oz diced apples 1/2 cup wine 2.5 oz butter whatever else you fancy) 7 oz butter 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1.5 oz sugar 3.5 oz ground hazelnuts 1/2 teaspoon cardamom 4 egg yolk 3.5 oz sugar 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 grated apple 1/3 oz yeast 3/4 oz yeast

Step 1 Step 1 Mix the raisins, diced apples, wine, and ground hazelnuts. Pour the bone flour, milk, butter, sugar, yolk, apple, and Let it rest for an hour so the flavors seep in. yeast into a bowl. Knead the mass until it's no longer sticky, but at least for 20 minutes. Step 2 Let the mass rest for 30 minutes. Pour the bone flour into a bowl. Form a small depression in the center. Pour in the yeast and a dash of sugar, then Step 2 sprinkle two spoons of warm milk on top. Cover the mess Divide the mass and form it into small dough balls. About with a bit of flour and let it sit for 15 minutes. half a fist size. Place the doughlings on a tray and let them rest for about 4 hours. They should double in size. Step 3 Mix in the butter, eggs, spices, sugar, and a dash of salt. Step 3 Knead the mixture for about 15 minutes while slowly adding Pour the oil into a deep pan and heat it up until it boils. the milk. Carefully put the doughlings into the boiling oil. Ignore Now fold in the mix created in Step 1. the screams. Let them fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side until they are golden brown. Step 4 Form the dough into a nice shape. Let it rest for half an Step 4 hour, then put it into the oven. Ignore the screams. Pull it Fill the strawberry jam into a piping bag and inject the out once it's brown and tasty looking. Now glaze it with doughlings from the side. As long as they are still warm, someSample molten butter and enjoy. you can roll the doughlings in somefile icing sugar. Enjoy. Balinok Mountains Survey Report

SURVEY REPORT

Surveyor: Timotei Parasca Date of Survey: 30th of Eyune, 345 BC To: King Barov Re: Survey of the Balinok Mountains

CERTIFICATION I, Timotei Parasca, do hereby certify that this report and survey was prepared and performed by myself (Timotei Parasca) and my assistant (Tara Andreescu).

PURPOSE The primary purpose of this survey is to locate deposits of precious metals and gemstones in the Balinok Mountains. The secondary purpose is to assess the practicability of exploiting all available deposits. We have performed this survey and prepared this report for his lordship King Barov. Copying is permitted only to the benefit of these parties.

REPORT The Balinok Mountains comprise two mountains, Mount Baratok to the north and Mount Ghakis to the south of the valley. Both hold considerable deposits as detailed below.

A. Mount Baratok Our remote sensing techniques revealed rich copper and iron ore veins in the mountain's northern slopes. The veins lie shallow enough to allow extraction with medium effort.

B. Mount Ghakis Mount Ghakis and its environs are rich in gold and silver. We have located placer gold in the local Luna Lake and the streams leading into the lake. Draining the lake should reveal abundant accumulations which promise short-term profits. The gold and silver veins lie deep, exploiting them directly will prove costly in time and expenses.

C. Hazard Analysis Nomadic berserker clans range the mountains. They are aggressive, and a diplomatic solution is unlikely. The temple located on the southern slopes of Mount Ghakis is of concern. The occupants denied us entry and Sampleproved to be uncooperative. Extremely aggressive wildlife aroundfile Mount Ghakis is of further concern. Barovian Home Remedies

Barovian Home Remedies by Sorine Hagi

Vampire Bites with the hot water, but not so hot that you Vampire bites are not the most common would burn yourself. Then prepare compresses bites but are among the most concerning with the plant matter. During the month ones. After you notice two puncture marks after the bite, you are not allowed to eat on your neck, which most often occurs in the any meat whatsoever. Fish is fine. Should morning, you must immediately apply leeches you experience certain urges during the full to suck out the vampire spit. Vampirism is moon, place an amethyst below your pillow. transmitted by the vampire’s saliva. The more It purifies your body and soul. you can get rid of, the better. If there is a temple or church nearby, ask the priest for Witch’s Eye holy water to wash out the wound. Under no circumstances tell the priest what you need If you caught a witch's evil eye, you may the holy water for. develop many different ailments. Among For the following seven days, spend as much others, an evil eye can cause dizziness, time in the sun as you possibly can. Salvia stomach aches, warts, rashes, pains in the is known to counteract the vampire spit, so head or back, pustules, bloody cough, colorful prepare a tea from it to drink. Don't rub discharge, or memory loss. anything into the wound, it only makes it There are two cures you can pursue. You can worse and people will notice. Consuming either throw the curse back at the witch or garlic won't help against vampirism directly pass the evil eye on to a different person. but strengthens you in general. It's not unlikely that you yourself got the evil eye not from a witch but an envious neighbor Werewolf Bites or spurned lover! To throw the evil eye back at the witch, you When a wolf bites you, don't jump to first need an eye. A sheep's or goat's eye conclusions just yet. It might have been just a will do. Whatever you can spare. The eyes of simple wolf. At the worst, you'll get worms or lower beings like fishes, flies, or lizards are hydrophobia. To determine what ails you, place no good. Put the eye shortly into your mouth a silver coin on the wound. If it burns the and then bury it, pupil down, during a full skin, and in some cases even produces smoke, or new moon. Now, you must water the place you have indeed been bitten by a werewolf. for twelve days. On the thirteenth day, a NowSample you must act fast. Go into the woods black flower grows from thefile evil seed. Burn to gather wolf's-bane, or monkshood as some the stem and eat the blossoms, and you'll be call it. Boil the herb and wash the wound freed of your affliction. The Blade of Truth*

The Blade of Truth The Uses of Logic in the War Against Diabolist Heresies, as Fought by the Ulmist Inquisition by Gwen Bib Loimperstiel

“What better tool to defeat chaos and evil than logic "There is nothing more infectious than convenient and truth? Logic and truth—unshakable axioms, the ideas. To find factual answers, the mind must labor, foundation of faith and sanity.” exert itself completely." —Inquisitor Zeke Ulmist —Inquisitor Zeke Ulmist

The Heresy of the Ascension Thought The Stillborn Heresy of Silverymoon

The heresy of the Ascension Thought spread A cadre of Silverymoon's finest mages fell prey quickly and violently. The heretics believed to an errant thought. If they implanted the mind that with a simple enlightened thought, their of a carrying mother into the mind of her unborn souls could evade the gods—who capture souls child, the mother would give birth to herself— traversing to the afterlife to hoard them in their thereby becoming a creature more powerful godly domain. A realm of complete knowledge than the gods themselves. They debated the idea and satisfaction beyond the grasp of the gods for years, decades even. Always too afraid of themselves. the consequences of their actions. Finally, they The "ascension thought", as they called it, invited Inquisitor Ulmist to Silverymoon to settle couldn't be shared by word—it was too powerful. the debate. Should they attempt such a thing, or The spoken word would destroy the world and was it better to forget about the matter? end all life. Only by drilling a hole into their skull Inquisitor Ulmist spent seven days and seven and implanting a piece of flesh could they learn nights thinking in solitude. When he emerged, and understand its omnipotence. The flesh the he was pale and weakened from the ordeal. He heretics grew and shared among themselves was spoke: "The woman would not give birth to herself. that of an archdevil. You would not only need to implant her mind as it is The Ulmist inquisition apprehended hundreds today but also all that she will learn before her end and of followers, all with debilitating damage to their what she has irrecoverably forgotten." brains. Inquisitor Ulmist ended the heresy with The mages were elated by the conclusion. Later, a single sentence to the heretic leader: "If you Inquisitor Ulmist discovered that a warlock know a word with the power to end the world, but you disguised as student already attempted the cannot speak it, isn't it a word of utter impotence?" experiment years ago, killing dozens of innocents The leader took his life in desperation. As he bled in the process. All died within a month following out,Sample his skull exploded. Hundreds of blind devils the birth. None were more powerfulfile than the escaped the black soup that was left of his brain. gods.

“Logic is a scalpel. I use it to cut out sick flesh from the skulls of the gullible and the seduced.” —Inquisitor Zeke Ulmist Castle Building 101*

Castle Building 101 A Book by Neraehilde Lavalout

Chapter 1: Ten Things You May Not Know About Building Castles

No. 1: It Stands or Falls by the Stone No. 3: Moats Are a Double-Edged Sword

I am a dwarf. I was born below the Moats are great. People in heavy armor surface. The first thing I saw after I was drown in moats. You can breed fish or born was me ma. Then stone. Lots and serpents in your moat. They also have lots of stone. There are so many types of downsides though. Nothing severe, but stone, you wouldn't believe it. I could fill something one should keep in mind. Your an entire book alone with all the different wine cellars, dungeons, and secret treasure stones I've seen. To make a long story hoards will be moldy. We are talking short: If you want to build a proper castle, severe levels of mold here. Sometimes one that stands for a few millennia at even perhaps sentient cases of mold. At least, you need the right type of stone. least they help defend the treasure. Want to build a castle on the wrong kind of mountain? Forget about it. Unless you No. 4: Secret Doors and Corridors Are Key want to carry all the stone you need from When you ask me how many secret someplace else. Then you'll need a decent doors and corridors are enough, I'm river near your site at least. Remember: A stumped. I don't understand the concept sturdy wooden fort is worth more than a of "enough." In my opinion, at least lousy castle that a strong wind blows over. half a castle should be secret doors and No. 2: Don’t Scrimp On Machicolations corridors. The younglings learn the layout straight from birth. They should have no Everybody and their devil dog talk about problems navigating the maze. Attackers, crenellations. When the orc hordes start assassins, or thieves who infiltrate the battering down their door, standing square castle lose their way. Best case scenario, in the defenders' blind spot, they'll regret they die of thirst before ever reaching saving coins on the machicolations. Here their target. are more upsides of machicolations. You can get rid of rubbish. A privy is always On that note: Traps are your friends. but a step away. You can comb out the Pressure traps, swinging blades, poisoned guardsSample who drink on duty. You can fish needles. The more the better.file Incompetent from the ramparts if you have a moat. castle personnel weeds itself out and you can sleep with no eye open.