Vallaki

Minimum PC Level

(Level 4) Town of Vallaki: Page 95 ([1])

Ambient Audio

Vallaki Town audio daytime by Sword Coast audio

Area Map

[2]

Hooks & Events

First off, there is a ton of stuff going on in Vallaki and it is really difficult to keep it all straight. Read the whole chapter beforehand and pay attention to the special events at the end. What follows are essentially the sub quests and underplots which at least one of my groups bit on Vallaki, and I will try to show you the paths my groups took for each side quest.

First review List of Deadly Encounters

Visit & redeem Mad Mage of Mount Bartok, Mordenkainen

Rumor of Best Customer Bluto Missing at Blue Water Inn >> Bluto on Lake Zarovich >> Return of Arabelle

Suggestion of Donovich in Barovia >> Party brings Ireena to St. Andrals >> Party gets bones from Coffin Maker (or gets wiped out in the process) >> St. Andrals Hallowed Feast of St. Andral

Party w/ Ireena asks to meet Burgomaster >> Welcomed as fellow noble >> Strahd attacks Burgomaster's Mansion >> Burgomaster kicks party out and they are forced to stay at Blue Water Inn

Party meets Karl and Nikolai Wachter at Blue Water Inn >> Party learns of brothers plans to vandalize Arasek Stockyard during Festival of Burning Sun >> Party intervenes to prevent Tyger, Tyger event (Or doesn't)

Party meets Blinksy at Toy shop >> Finds Ireena Dolls and learns about Izek's obsession >> This one is really open ended

Party meets Martikovs at Blue Water Inn and finds out about Wine Shortage >> Party goes to investigate Wizard of Wines

Party sees Ernst Larnak following them >> They confront and catch him (Or he gets away) >> Party is invited to the Wachterhaus >> Party fights Izek (or doesn't)

Visit Tser Pool Encampment If Party hasn’t already.

This town has so many hooks. These are only the ones my groups did, I'm sure your players will develop other paths, which is great. Now that we have a frame of reference for what your group is likely to do, I'll talk about the different areas of Vallaki. Lets start at the Blue Water Inn. (reddit)

Blue Water Inn

I chose to start here because this is pretty much the hub of the Vallaki Chapter. So many of the side quests can start here. The players will almost certainly spend at least one night here since they won't want to spend a night outside and it is the only Inn in town. The text for this part of Vallaki is an organizational nightmare. The authors made several mistakes here which make this a really difficult social encounter to run successfully - First they separated the information about the food and drink that the players are likely to order and the information about the taproom which is where they will spend most of their time. The information to run this encounter is in two places which are unnecessarily a page apart (WHY DIDN'T THEY MOVE THE MAP OF THE INN ONE MORE PAGE BACK?!), So be prepared to do a lot of flipping. Second, Danika Martikov tends the bar, so the PCs are very likely to meet her, but not likely to meet Urwin Martikov, but Urwin Martikov is the Wizard of Wines quest giver. My suggestion is to do one of two things - either make Urwin tend bar, or make Danika tell the PCs about the Wizard of Wines. (reddit)

The other thing you want to do is bookmark page 96 with the Vallaki Lore on it. You are going to insert these little blurbs into conversations whenever appropriate, and almost all are appropriate for the Blue Water Inn. This page is chock full of hooks. This is probably the best place for the group to find out about Bluto - "You folks are heading out of town? Let me know if you see Old Bluto. He is a great customer here, and he trades fish for wine. I haven't seen him in almost a week now. I'd expect him to be out on the Lake" (reddit)

Make sure you use the special characters on page 100 as well. The Wolf Hunters are easy to run, but the others, not so much. (reddit)

Rictavio

This is a tough character to play as a DM. You have to act like a guy who is acting like another guy. That's already hard enough. One thing you want to do is make sure you read about Rictavio's Journal on page 102, so you can drop examples of his acts that he has seen into conversation so you can get across the ringleader vibe. I really don't know how the PCs are expected to find out Rictavio's true identity, and neither of my groups have worked it out, so I can't comment on that. (reddit)

Wachter Brothers

These guys are easier to RP. Or they were for me at least because that's pretty much what I was like in my 20s. Any way, have these guys be affable in a "Bro, get drunk with us" kind of way. I had the two of them invite the PCs along with them to vandalize the Arasek Stockyards during the Festival of the Burning Sun. If you don't give them this information somehow, the Tyger Tyger event is essentially inevitable, which isn't fun. You want to have foreshadowing. One of my groups told Rictavio about the Wachter Bros. plans - preventing Tyger Tyger, while the other group didn't. (reddit)

Lake Zarovich

This isn't technically IN Vallaki, but the PCs will probably investigate it during their stay there. Make sure to mention Bluto's plight somehow at the Blue Water Inn. One of my groups found out about him that way, and the other didn't. The second group will now probably never find out about him. (reddit)

This is a really difficult encounter to run. The PC's have no way to know Bluto took Arabelle, so they consequently don't know time is of the essence. You can handle this a few ways - give them hints that something is wrong, "The fisherman looks like he is in a trance, something is not right" - Or you can just have Bluto put the sack in the water when the PC's get close enough to react to it. The way you describe the sack is bizarrely important as well. I initially told my group that the sack looked like a sack of potatoes, about 20 pounds worth. Two mistakes here - If you say it looks like a sack of potatoes, they will hear "It's a sack of potatoes" and not be worried. Second mistake is that a 7 year old girl will weigh on average, 50 lbs. Going back, I would describe the Burlap sack more like: "The burlap sack seems to have a form inside it, the approximate size and shape of a halfling.". I ended up trying to cover my ass by having the PCs all make perception checks, and the high ones saw a wisp of black hair coming from the opening of the sack. Saving Arabelle will likely send them to the Vistani Camp. (reddit)

RPing Bluto - The source book doesn't really give you hints here. I assume it is because they expect him to die pretty quickly. I ran him as someone who is very sick from a life time of alcohol abuse. Abuse of alcohol and withdrawal can have a host of psychological effects on a man. I ran him as someone who is pretty much a Zombie, then, the party Paladin did cure Disease on him. Well, Shit. After that I had him be a man who is very depressed unintelligent, and anti-social. He never uses two words when one will do. He realizes what he did was bad, but he thought he had to do it. (reddit)

The Vistani Camp

The PCs will most likely come here with Arabelle, and they might even capture Bluto and bring him here as well. Make sure you make mention that on their way in, they see the Dusk Elf Guards, and also mention that these are the first non-humans they have seen in Barovia. This will get them asking questions. (reddit)

Luvash will certainly kill Bluto in retaliation for what he has done, and I don't think there are many PCs out there who would find this unfair. My PCs are fascinated by horses for some reason, and always try to buy them. This would be the place to buy. I had the Vistani sell draft horses for twice the normal price of a horse (100gp). (reddit)

Arrigal is an interesting part of the adventure. One of my groups is most likely going to get the Sunsword really early on. This is the best item in the book by far. I might have Arrigal try to get it from them. Be carful with Arrigal. The Assassin statline is a doozy. His stealth is high so he will sneak up on the group. He will surprise them, and if he does, the amount of damage he does is ridiculous (an average of 42-66.) and can outright kill a lot of characters. (reddit)

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Wachterhaus

This area ties in pretty strongly with the "Lady Wachter's Wish" Event. There really isn't much of a reason to go here without that event, so read ahead on this one. Your group should be shadowed by Earnst Larnak and invited to the Wachterhaus. I say "Should", because the encounter with Lady Wachter is a really great way to give the players a really interesting choice. The PCs are put in a position where they choose which group of bad people they want to side with - The Baron, or Lady Wachter. Both of my groups decided not to push the agenda of either side, but there are a lot of interesting outcomes you need to plan for. If the Baron is deposed, Wachter comes to power - this is pretty obvious; but if Wachter is killed or removed, what happens then? The likelihood of Wachter coming to power is pretty great as the Baron is deposed if Izek is killed (pretty likely), or if St. Andrals is attacked (Also Likely). Now what happens if both Wachter and the Baron are gone, who would take Vallaki then? My plan was to have the Martikovs rule, since they are the only other prominent family. You don't need to have the same answer, but you should have an idea about who takes over if Wachter and Vallakovich are gone. (reddit)

Blinsky's Toys

This is a great encounter. Both groups loved it. Do what you can to get the PCs to go here because it is a great way for them to become aware of Izek Strazni's unhealthy obsession. At the beginning of the module, they recommend some dark humor - Blinsky is fantastic for this. The role playing basically does itself here. The other thing that makes this encounter so great is the multiple call backs to Blinsky's toys throughout the module. (reddit)

Special Events

The special events in Vallaki are pretty well done. I tried to use all of them for both of my groups.

Festival of the Blazing Sun

The festival really is a great set piece for the module. It gives a great visual, and an interesting decision for the party. Try to get the PCs to go to this. It would be easy as a DM to force a fight here, but resist the temptation. Be permissive with non-combat resolution of the conflict that will arise between the Baron and his laughing guard. In one of the groups, they saved the guard while he was being dragged. This type of thing you will want to make a note of - that guard could later help the party out, or the Wereravens could see the party as a group of do-gooders as a result and be inclined to help them. I always try to make notes about this sort of thing after each session so I remember important details like this. (reddit)

Tyger, Tyger

This event is really important because it can be used for the PCs to ingratiate themselves to Rictavio, and there are precious few opportunities for that. One group I had prevented the event from occuring because they found out about the Wachter bros. plan and warned Rictavio. The other group helped Rictavio corral and capture the Tiger and then escape Vallaki. Both groups now are owed a favor by Rictavio which can also help them out of a bind. (reddit)

Lady Wachter's Wish

See the Wachterhaus above.

St. Andral's Feast

I mostly covered this in one of the previous posts, but an additional note - I think as a DM you kind of want your players to prevent this from happening by finding the bones. Try not to do that. Let this event happen, because it really shakes things up and proves to the adventurers that they are part of a world with marches on with or without them. (reddit)

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St. Andrals Church

One of my groups went here straight away, the other didn't go here at all. The group which didn't go to St. Andrals instead went to Mayor Vallakovich's mansion hoping that he would shelter a fellow noble (Ireena). I say this because I only really have notes from one group on this site. As soon as the priest asks the adventurers about the missing bones, it is pretty compelling - they will shortly do their questioning and find out about the coffin maker. St. Andrals as an encounter pretty much runs itself. (reddit)

The Coffin Maker

For those of you who don't know, this is a really delicate encounter. The vampire spawn here will absolutely RUIN a party of 4-5th level characters, which is about where they will be at the time of the encounter. They are far outclassed, and will not have the magic items needed to beat the spawn yet. The upside is that it is fairly easy to guide the group away from the encounter by using the Coffin Maker himself. The coffin maker's alignment is evil, but that doesn't mean he is in league with Strahd. This encounter works best if you are very permissive with the information the Coffin Maker gives the party. They want to intimidate him into giving information? Fine. DC 10. Persuade? OK, DC 10. Deceive? DC 10. Bribe? GP 10. As soon as they get one of these options, Henrik needs to be very forthcoming with the important information - The Bones are upstairs... There are many vampires in the storage boxes... They threaten my life... Please don't say I told you... - That sort of thing. (reddit)

Hopefully this will prevent a total party kill. If it doesn't, that's not on you. It wouldn't hurt to start this session with the disclaimer from the Old Bonegrinder edition of these articles. (reddit)

Vallakovich Mansion

This is a difficult encounter to run because they don't give you a whole lot to go on in my opinion. Read the encounter and make a couple notes about the Baron and how he might act to the party, and Ireena since these are likely scenarios. I had the Vallakovich's be welcoming initially especially if the party shows up with Ireena in tow. The party may visit the mansion more than once, since there are several plot threads which run through it (Izek's story, Wachter/Vallakovich fued, the imprisonment of townsfolk, the magical experiments in the attic). This is also a great place for the party to meet Strahd. The Baron invited one of my groups to a meal, where they met Izek (they also learned of his relationship to Ireena here. More on that next week.) and supped with the Baron who talks about his upcoming festival. During dinner, there was a Strahdcounter which I will cover during the wrap up of the Vallaki series. (reddit)

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Locations in Vallaki

Arasek Stockyard

Rictavio the Bard’s carnival wagon rests here. Inside is his saber-toothed tiger, which is trained to attack Vistani on sight. The stockyard is run by Gunther and Yelena Arasek. They also run the general store there, selling inexpensive gear at 5x the price. There’s a secret compartment in the wagon containing items that are clues to Rictavio’s true identity.

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Arasek Stockyard Inventory

Prices already inflated for outsiders like the PC party

Abacus	10 gp[3]
Acid (vial)	125 gp[4]
Ammunition:
Arrows (20)	5 gp[5]
Blowgun needles (50)	5 gp[6]
Crossbow bolts (20)	5 gp[7]
Sling bullets (20)	20 cp[8]
Arcane focus:
Crystal	50 gp[9]
Orb	100 gp[10]
Rod	50 gp[11]
Staff	25 gp[12]
Wand	50 gp[13]
Backpack	10 gp[14]
Ball bearings (bag of 1000)	5 gp[15]
Barrel	10 gp[16]
Basket	20 sp[17]
Bedroll	5 gp[18]
Bell	5 gp[19]
Blanket	25 sp[20]
Block and tackle	5 gp[21]
Book	125 gp[22]
Bottle glass	10 gp[23]
Bucket	25 cp[24]
Caltrops (bag of 20)	5 gp[25]
Candle	5 cp[26]
Case, crossbow bolt	5 gp[27]
Case, map or scroll	5 gp[28]
Chain (10 feet)	25 gp[29]
Chalk (1 piece)	5 cp[30]
Chest	25 gp[31]
Climber's kit	125 gp[32]
Clothes, common	25 sp[33]
Clothes, costume	25 gp[34]
Clothes, fine	75 gp[35]
Clothes, traveler’s	10 gp[36]
Component pouch	125 gp[37]
Crowbar	10 gp[38]
Druidic focus:
Sprig of mistletoe	5 gp[39]
Totem	5 gp[40]
Wooden staff	25 gp[41]
Yew wand	50 gp[42]
Fishing tackle	5 gp[43]
Flask or tankard	10 cp[44]
Grappling hook	10 gp[45]
Hammer	5 gp[46]
Hammer, sledge	10 gp[47]
Healer’s kit	25 gp[48]
Holy symbol:
Amulet	25 gp[49]
Emblem	25 gp[50]
Reliquary	25 gp[51]
Holy water (flask)	125 gp[52]
Hourglass	125 gp[53]
Hunting trap	25 gp[54]
Ink (1 ounce bottle)	50 gp[55]
Ink pen	10 cp[56]
Jug or pitcher	10 cp[57]
Ladder (10-foot)	5 sp[58]
Lamp	25 sp[59]
Lantern bullseye	50 gp[60]
Lantern hooded	25 gp[61]
Lock	50 gp[62]
Manacles	10 gp[63]
Mess kit	10 sp[64]
Steel Mirror	25 gp[65]
Oil (flask)	5 sp[66]
Paper (one sheet)	10 sp[67]
Parchment (one sheet)	5 sp[68]
Perfume (vial)	25 gp[69]
Pick Miner’s	10 gp[70]
Piton	25 cp[71]
Pole (10-foot)	25 cp[72]
Pot iron	10 gp[73]
Pouch	25 gp[74]
Quiver	5 gp[75]
Ram portable	20 gp[76]
Rations (1 day)	25 sp[77]
Robes	5 gp[78]
Rope, hempen (50 feet)	5 gp[79]
Rope, silk (50 feet)	50 gp[80]
Sack	5 cp[81]
Scale merchant’s	25 gp[82]
Sealing wax	25 sp[83]
Shovel	10 gp[84]
Signal whistle	25 cp[85]
Signet ring	25 gp[86]
Soap	10 cp[87]
Spikes iron (10)	1 gp[88]
Tent (two-person)	10 gp[89]
Tinderbox	25 sp[90]
Torch	5 cp[91]
Vial	5 gp[92]
Waterskin	10 sp[93]
Whetstone	5 sp[94]
Artisan’s tools:
Brewer’s supplies	100 gp[95]
Calligrapher's supplies	50 gp[96]
Carpenter’s tools	40 gp[97]
Cartographer’s tools	75 gp[98]
Cobbler’s tools	25 gp[99]
Cook’s utensils	5 gp[100]
Jeweler’s tools	125 gp[101]
Leatherworker’s tools	25 gp[102]
Mason’s tools	50 gp[103]
Painter’s supplies	50 gp[104]
Potter’s tools	50 gp[105]
Smith’s tools	100 gp[106]
Weaver’s tools	5 gp[107]
Woodcarver's tools	5 gp[108]
Disguise kit	125 gp[109]
Forgery kit	75 gp[110]
Gaming sets:
Dice set	5 sp[111]
Dragonchess set	5 gp[112]
Playing card set	25 sp[113]
Three-Dragon Ante set	5 gp[114]
Herbalism kit	25 gp[115]
Musical instruments:
Drum	30 gp[116]
Dulcimer	125 gp[117]
Flute	10 gp[118]
Horn	15 gp[119]
Pan flute	60 gp[120]
Shawm	10 gp[121]
Navigator’s tools	125 gp[122]
Thieves’ tools	125 gp[123]
Starter Packs:
Burglar’s Pack	80 gp[124]
Dungeoneer’s Pack	60 gp[125]
Explorer’s Pack	50 gp[126]
Priest’s Pack	80 gp[127]
Monster Hunter's Pack	165 gp[128]

Blinsky's Toys

Owned by the delightfully fun Gadof Blinsky, the “wizard of tiny wonders.” He builds creepy toys befitting the tone of Barovia. He also has possession of Rictavio’s monkey, Piccolo. He is forced to create dolls in the likeness of Ireena Kolyana for the brutal and cruel Izek Strazni.

Gadof Blinsky is a perfect, wonderful cinnamon roll, and one of the very few bright spots that your party will encounter in Barovia (which is ironic, considering his own macabre sense of fun). Your PCs will adore him, especially if you put a good bit of effort into his excellent accent. Don’t forget to include the Ireena Kolyana dolls, which make for an excellently Twilight Zone-ish bit of foreshadowing to Izek’s obsession. 10/10; would purchase toys from again. (reddit)

The Coffin Maker’s Shop

Henrik van der Voort runs this shop. A man named Vasili von Holtz promised Henrik “good business” if he keeps boxes of vampire spawn in his shop. Now…what equates to “good business” for a coffin maker? Henrik will likely conceal that he knew the consequences of this promise, and ask for aid in evading the wrath of the spawn upstairs (as he knows he can’t overpower the PCs, and knows the game is up). (reddit)

The vampire spawn here are outright death for your party. This encounter can be a tricky balance of giving them enough information to keep them alive, but not so much that everything is made obvious. My advice: Carefully review exactly what Henrik knows, and then present it in a way that makes him appear the most sympathetic: (reddit)

He almost certainly does not know that the vampires plan to attack during St. Andral’s Feast, but he might know that they’ve recently become more active. Henrik knows that the vampire spawn have some machination involving the Bones of St. Andral (as he’s the one that paid Millivoj to steal them), but he’s clueless otherwise. No matter what, he sticks to his story that he is a helpless victim, forced to commit an evil act by Strahd’s creatures. (reddit)

The Town Square of Vallaki. This place is decorated for a celebration, in fact the Baron’s weekly festivals. Guards are removing the fliers of last week’s festival, and putting up fliers for this week’s festival. There are stocks with villagers imprisoned in them, wearing crudely made, plaster donkey heads to ridicule them.

St. Andral’s Church

A church for worshippers of the Morninglord, and watched over by Father Lucian Petrovich, Lady Baroness Lydia Petrovna’s older brother. He has with him Milivoj, a troubled young man, and an orphaned altar boy Yeska. Lucian is concerned about the recent disappearance of the Bones of St. Andral, which once lay hidden beneath the church’s altar, and consecrated the grounds. Many Vallakians rely on this place for comfort and hope against the hopelessness of Barovia.

The exciting “St. Andral’s Feast” event takes place here. The Baron of Vallaki and his festivals. He’s crazy, and it is very unlikely the party will get through Vallaki without meeting him. This means there’s a good possibility they’ll be forced to attend the Festival of the Blazing Sun, and that they’ll run into Izek at some point.

Don't forget to make Father Lucian Petrovich a super-likable NPC, by the way - while the book doesn't mention it explicitly, you can't go wrong by giving him some small-scale healing spells. The more hospitable he is to your PCs, the more it will hurt when you inevitably murder the fuck out of him. (reddit)

Blue Water Inn

Vallaki’s inn and tavern owned and operated by the Martikov family: Urwin, Danika, and their mischievous sons Brom and Bray. More of the Martikovs are found at the Wizard of Wines Winery further in the Barovia valley. They are all secretly wereravens of the Keepers of the Feather order, which fights against the darkness of Strahd, and can ally with the adventurers. They are concerned with the status of the Winery and their family there. Rictavio rents a room here, and Vallaki’s two wolf hunters – Szoldar Szoldarovich and Yevgeni Krushkin – can be found in the taproom often. Also frequenters of the inn’s bar are the Wachter brothers Nikolai and Karl.

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Burgomaster’s Mansion

This is where the mad Baron Vargas Vallakovich lives with his family: Baroness Lydia Petrovna, and the Baronet Victor Vallakovich. It is also where the brutal Izek Strazni lives. There’s a lot going on here as well. Missing servants, preparations for this week’s festival, Izek’s doll collection, an imprisoned Vallaki commoner, a bridal gown that will become useful later in the campaign, a magic mirror, and the Baronet’s attempts to escape Barovia via teleportation circle. Victor could also be an (unlikely) ally to the party. And all that doesn’t even include the insane Baron and his two mastiffs.

Wachterhaus

The evil Lady Fiona Wachter lives here with her 3 children. The two brothers who like to spend time at the Blue Water Inn’s taproom (who could possibly become allies to the adventurers) Nikolai and Karl, her insane daughter Stella (who thinks she’s a cat), her spy and confidante Ernst Larnak, and her invisible pet imp, Majesto. Oh yeah, and the body of her late husband, which lies preserved in her bed. Further, Wachterhaus plays host to a cult, known as Lady Wachter’s “book club,” made up of Vallakians who believe that the worship of devils will bring about peace and happiness.

Vallaki Town Gates

Once/If the Baron is overthrown, there will likely be a changing of the guard. Make sure they respond to the PCs appropriately, depending on which faction has seized power and how they feel about the PCs. Sneaking over Vallaki’s palisade wall can make for a great skill challenge - in my game, after seizing Ireena from the Church, Izek barred the PCs from re-entry, which led to a fantastic James Bond-style infiltration mission involving invisibility, a wolf corpse (to pad the spiked tips of the palisade), and an unhelpful Animated Dead zombie named Steve. (reddit)

Vallaki Town Square

If you wind up running some kind of coup or revolution, I highly recommend placing it here. I ran my own PCs through a session-long combat involving Izek, the town guard, masked cultists, concealed spellcasters, and a wrathful thunderstorm during the Festival of the Blazing Sun, and they had a blast. This big, open area lends itself well to hosting a number of props, important NPCs, and interesting combat options. If your PCs wind up participating in such a rebellion, that’s an excellent opportunity for a milestone, too (given how much of a thorn Izek has likely been in their side). (reddit)

[(https://www.reddit.com/r/battlemaps/comments/6no92r/curse_of_strahd_vallaki_town_square/ reddit)]

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Vistani Camp Near Vallaki

Located some distance outside of Vallaki, a lot is happening here as well. The Vistani leaders, brothers Arrigal and Luvash, are torturing a boy who was supposed to be watching Luvash’s daughter, Arabelle (she’s up at Lake Zarovich north of Vallaki, about to be drowned by a desperate, misguided man). Further, the Vistani are out of wine, and want the adventurers to bring them more. Finally, a group of dusk elves reside in this camp, the last of their kind, thanks to Strahd. One of them is a potential ally to the adventurers, but he has an agenda of his own.

In addition to all these locations and NPCs, there are FOUR special events that take place in Vallaki: Festival of the Blazing Sun; Tyger, Tyger; Lady Wachter’s Wish; and St. Andral’s Feast. That is a LOT to handle, especially considering that adventurers are only in Vallaki to escort Ireena there to safety, and are now – probably – set on a collision course with Strahd.

Here’s what I feel like are the most important parts of Vallaki. The Martikov Family and the Keepers of the Feather. Wine is a big plot point that keeps cropping up, and it’s especially important when you’re ready to get to Kresk. This means the party is eventually going to hit the Wizard of Wines Winery, which means the group should meet the Martikovs and start to become familiar with the ravens of Barovia.

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Vallaki Overview

Here’s the deal with Vallaki: It is huge. It not only contains a massive number of plot hooks, but is also the central location in Barovia, meaning that, once they reach level 3 or 4, it’s pretty likely that your PCs will spend a hefty amount of time here through levels 6 or 7. (reddit)

By that time, they’re liable to be sick of the politics and gloom, so make sure to throw them plenty of opportunities for day trips (e.g., Argynvostholt, Wizard of Wines, etc.) to keep them from feeling like they’re trapped. Of the three populated villages in Barovia, though, Vallaki is easily the most well-fleshed out, which means that you almost have to focus on it to make the plight of the Barovian people feel real. It’s a fine balance to walk, but there’s so much here that it’s definitely a fun one.

(reddit)

Vallaki Lore

I’d recommend placing Rictavio on the side of the road as the PCs enter Vallaki. Mention briefly the puppet show run by the brightly-dressed man; it makes for an excellent contrast with the drab Barovians watching from the muddy cobblestones. (reddit)

If any PCs inquire about the Amber Temple or similarly exotic locations, have a resident point them toward the Dusk Elf encampment on the outside of town - Kasimir makes for an excellent guide, especially if one of your Tarokka treasures is located within the Temple. (reddit)

[Blue Water Inn]

I’ll point you over to /u/paintraina’s excellent post for notes on this.

Burgomaster’s Mansion

If the Baron learns that Ireena is in town, I personally enjoy the idea of him inviting the party over for tea. This makes for a nice counterbalance to Lady Wachter’s own dinner invitation, and offers an opportunity for the PCs to meet Victor briefly (as Vargas may want to look into setting him up with Ireena). This also does a great job of humanizing the Baroness (who will likely privately suggest to any women of the group that they take Ireena to Krezk instead, fearing the consequences of drawing Strahd’s attention to Father Lucian, her brother), and increases the probability of the PCs antagonizing the Baron, with humorous consequences. It’s also a great opportunity for Izek to encounter Ireena, if he hasn’t already, or for the Baron to ask the PCs to pick up a shipment from the Wizard of Wines, in exchange for a “place of honor” at the Festival. (reddit)

I highly recommend using /u/guildsbounty’s take on Victor Vallakovich, found here. They do a better job of presenting the idea than me, but the TL;DR is: (1) Victor is a powerful mage; (2) Victor has already killed two innocents in the name of research; (3) Victor’s company actively drove Stella mad; and (4) It’s rare that “cruel words” alone can drive a person’s mind to insanity. (reddit)

Wachterhaus

When running a political game, I find it helpful to keep track of how NPC schemes would unfold in the absence of the PCs. With that said, I highly recommend using /u/Vindicer's discussion of Lady Wachter’s plots and plans, found here. (reddit)

Lady Wachter herself is a bit of an odd character to run. The module seems to gently prod you toward her cult’s headquarters, but never really provides a reason to view the cult unfavorably. Speaking from personal experience (involving one extremely necessary retcon), I’d recommend against making these cultists actively antagonistic. Don’t make them bullies of the townsfolk, a la Phandelver’s Redbrand Ruffians. Don’t make them generic Death House “death sacrifice fanatics,” either. Instead, if you must bring them to the forefront, keep them (and Lady Wachter) the “book club” that they are. (reddit)

This is a great opportunity for an uncanny valley/strange bedfellows plot point, as it’s quite possible that these cultists eventually wind up fighting Izek and the Baron’s forces in an effort to defend Ireena (or at least seize power in Vallaki for themselves). Your players will also be driven crazy by the sheer weirdness of socializing and/or allying with people who worship Strahd and other devils, which I absolutely consider a perk. (reddit)

Hook: Lady Wachter’s Wish

To be honest, I’m not really a fan of the whole “Arrigal rides to Castle Ravenloft to inform Strahd” part of this event. Us CoS DMs tend to assume that Strahd is already able to locate Ireena easily enough (given his access to the Scrying spell), so it’s honestly rather pointless. I’d prefer to have some Vistani hunt or ambush the PCs on the road outside of town, culminating in them stealing some sort of valuable item from the PCs. Perhaps that item even makes its way into the hands of Lady Wachter, complicating the situation. Whatever you choose, just make sure to be careful before setting up Arrigal himself against the PCs - a CR 8 enemy ain’t nothing to sneeze at. (reddit)

Tyger, Tyger

If you’re also the kind of DM who likes to run skill challenges, a la 4th Edition, this is a great opportunity for it. PCs have the chance to use Stealth, Animal Handling, Nature, Athletics, Perception, Investigation, and any number of social checks to track that saber-tooth down, evade detection by the Baron’s forces, and help Rictavio lead the beast back to its wagon. It’s also a great opportunity to loop Rictavio into the story if he isn’t already the party’s ally, which is never a bad thing. Don’t forget that this is also an opportunity to have Rictavio point the PCs toward Van Richten’s Tower, which is a fun little area that is otherwise a ways off the beaten path. (reddit)