Page 115 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

A very old letter to Lady Lovina Wachter (an ancestor)
This room is crawling with cats. Bookshelves hug the from one Lord Vasili von Holtz, thanking Lovina for
walls, but most of the shelves are bare. Other furnishings her hospitality, loyalty, and friendship over the years
include a desk, a chair, a table, and a wine cabinet. The Characters who have the Tome of Strahd (see appendix
room has an irregular shape, and none of its angles seem C) realize that the handwriting in Lady Lovina's letter
quite right, as though the shifting of the house has set is identical to Strahd's handwriting, suggesting that
the whole place on edge. Strahd and Lord Vasili are one and the same.
N4R. CELLAR ENTRANCE
Eight cats have the run of the library. These family pets If the characters approach the cellar door from the out­
have vicious dispositions, attacking anyone who tries to side, read:
pick them up. Characters who have a passive Wisdom
(Perception) score of 10 or higher notice that one cat I A slanted, wooden cellar door with an iron pull ring and I
has a small key hanging from its collar. The key opens
the locked chest in area N4q. iron hinges stands against the foundation of the house.
There is a 25 percent chance that one of the maids is
here, dusting the bookshelves. The door is unlocked. On the other side of the door are
The cabinet holds a fine collection of wineglasses. The stone steps leading to a stone landing with a wooden
desk contains blank pieces of parchment, quill pens, railing. A longer staircase extends south from the land­
jars of ink, wax candles, and a wax seal. ing, leading down to the cellar.
Most of the Wachter family's book collection was sold
off years ago to cover debts, and the books that remain N4s. CELLAR
aren't particularly valuable. Use the Random Books
table (see chapter 4, area K37) to determine the subject
matter of a particular book. This large root cellar has a dirt floor. Two ascending
A section of the bookshelf that stretches along the flights of stone steps enclosed by wooden railings stand
southernmost wall is actually a secret door on hidden across from one another. Tracks in the earth lead from
hinges. The bookshelf can be pulled outward, revealing one staircase to the other, and other trails. go from both
an open doorway that leads to area N4q.
staircases to the center of the bare west wall. Four neatly
N4Q. STORAGE ROOM made cots are set in a row against the south wall.

Behind the hinged panel in the bookcase lies a dusty, Buried under the earthen floor are eight human skel­
ten-foot-square room with a curtained window and etons-the animated remains of dead Vallakians that
shelves lining three walls. On the bottom shelf rests an were stolen from the church cemetery (area Nl) and
iron chest. The other shelves are bare. animated by Lady Wachter. They rise up and attack in­
truders who cross the floor. The skeletons don't attack
anyone who utters the phrase "Let the dead remain at
The key to the chest can be found in the library (area rest" before setting foot on the floor. Only Lady Wachter,
N4p). Use of the key disables a poison needle trap hid­ her sons, her servants, and her loyal cult fanatics know
den in the lock (see "Sample Traps" in chapter 5, "Ad­ the pass phrase.
venture Environments," of the Dungeon Master's Guide). The cots are here for cultists to spend the night.
Treasure. The iron chest contains several items: The footprints in the dirt give away the location of a
secret door in the center of the western wall. Conse­
• A silk bag containing 180 ep, each coin bearing quently, no ability check is required to locate it. The door
Strahd's stern visage in profile
is soundproof and pivots open on a central axis.
A leather bag containing 110 gp
A wooden pipe that has been passed down through N4T. CULT HEADq_UARTEllS
many generations of Wachter P?tria.rchs
Five scrolls-notarized deeds:for parcels.·of land given
to the Wachter fa:hijly by-Count Str-ahd yon Zarovich Flickering candles in iron holders fill this room with light
nearly four ce1_1tilri�� -�.lt_c( ,;/:)/.',.<''. :: 0 .,," -: ·. . . and shadows. This room has a ten-foot-high ceiling and
A supple leather cai;;� sqn(aip.i_ng afi•unbound manu- a large black pentagram inscribed on the stone floor.
script titled The D��'il'We:Kl1d;1,f a:ri?e\ic·!11�hifesto .. At each point of the pentagram rests a wooden chair.
�
written by Lady FiQna Wachter>attesting.thafthe wor- Seated in four of the five chairs are men and women in
. ship of devi)s can' bring happiness/succes�;;freedoin,
. :, �eaffh, ahd ldngevity . . . black robes with hoods: a young man who has the face of
" ; A:blasphembus treatise' bound in black leather titled an angel; a balding hulk of a man; a squat, middle-aged
·;.c The,(Jri�oire of the Four Qµarters, ·written by the · woman; and a taller, younger woman with an unsettling
· .. infamous diabolist Devostas, who was drawn and glare. They rise to confront you.
· quartered for his fell practices yet did not die (thisjs a
forgery; the actual grimoire would drive a reader m11d)