Page 143 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

Multiattack. The phantom warrior makes two attacks with its order to which they once belonged. They let go of their
spectral longsword or spectral longbow. hatred and their corporeal bodies, leaving corpses be­
Spectral Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, range hind as their spirits find rest at long last. Henceforth,
150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1 d8) force damage. any random encounter with a revenant should be treated
as no encounter.
53. BEACON OF ARGYNVOSTHOLT FORTUNES OF RAVENLOFT
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it's
resting on the west windowsill.
Wooden stairs climb to the tower's peak, which has a
stone floor and a thirty-foot-high pitched roof. Ravens SPECIAL EVENTS
roost on crisscrossing rafters, coming and going through You can use one or both of the following events as the
small holes in the roof. Ten-foot-high, five-foot-wide characters explore Argynvostholt.
arched windows are evenly spaced around the walls. Each
window consists of a lead latticework titted with small SPECIAL DELIVERY
panes of transparent glass. This encounter occurs while the characters are inside
Argynvostholt. Those who have a passive Wisdom (Per­
ception) score of 11 or higher hear the clopping of horse
The ravens that roost here are harmless, but they watch hooves and the crunch of wagon wheels on gravel.
the characters with great interest. If the characters look A cart pulled by a draft horse and driven by a mad
out the windows, you can use the following text to de­ Vistana named Kolya (CN male human bandit) stops
scribe what they see in the distance. in front of the mansion. After relieving himself on the
statue of Argynvost (area Ql), Kolya untethers the horse
and rides back to the Vistani camp outside Vallaki (chap­
To the north and east lies a mist-shrouded valley with ter 5, area N9), leaving the cart and its cargo: a plain
dark woods, a small town, and a lonely windmill on a wooden coffin.
precipice. To the south, a river flows through a foggy The coffin was made in Vallaki by the local coffin
marsh. To the west, between rocky hills, you glimpse an maker, Henrik van der Voort (see chapter 5, area N6). It
abbey perched on a snowy mountainside beyond a long has the name of one of the characters (determined ran­
stretch of fog-smothered pines. domly) neatly chiseled into its lid. Opening the coffin re­
leases a swarm of bats from within. The swarm attacks
the character whose name is engraved on the coffin. If
The small town is Vallaki (chapter 5). The windmill is that character isn't in sight, the swarm flies away.
Old Bonegrinder (chapter 6). The abbey is the Abbey of 1
Saint Markovia in Krezk (chapter 8). ARRIGALS HUNT
Ezmerelda d'Avenir (see appendix D) arrives at Argy­
LIGHTING THE BEACON nvostholt on the back of a riding horse stolen from the
When the skull of Argynvost is placed in the dragon's Vistani camp outside Vallaki (chapter 5, area N9). She
mausoleum (area Q16), the dragon's spirit transforms has heard that the reportedly haunted mansion might
into a brilliant light that fills this room and flashes harbor enemies of Strahd and contain secrets to the
across the valley like the beacon of a lighthouse. Even if vampire's destruction.
the tower is cast down, the light of Argynvost remains Once she arrives, Ezmerelda releases the horse
where it is, flashing in the sky. Although the mountains (which flees back to its camp) and quietly makes her way
prevent the beacon's light from reaching Castle Raven­ through the mansion until she reaches the characters.
loft directly, Strahd can see the light's glow in the sky Hot on Ezmerelda's trail are the Vistani leader Arrigal
to the west. (NE male human assassin) and two Vistani bodyguards
The beacon can be seen in Vallaki (chapter 5), Krezk (CE female bandits). Arrig_al rides a black riding horse,
(chapter 8), and Berez (chapter 10), as well as from Old while the bandits ride two-dire wolves. These.dire
Bonegrinder (chapter 6), Van Richten's Tower (chapter wolves are servants of Strahd and can't be charmed or
11), and the werewolf den (chapter .15). frightened. . .
The beacon's light can be."fel.t'' even by'creatures that Arrigal is determined to captu:re Ezmerelda an_d haul
are blind. The light allow� goo°d;alig�e.d; creatures to ex- her back to the Vistani camp tc:{face· punishment for ..
perience glimmers of hope arid}�y. while eviCcreatures horse theft. He does nothing to a_ntagonize the chatac- ·
find the light disconcerting .. ' · · · ters, however, and returns to the.Vi�fani camp if he can't
- Beacon of Protection. While the beacon shines, convince them to give up Ezmerelda: For more informa­
characters and other creatures that oppose Strahd gain
•. - - ·: .# tion on Arrigal, see chapter 5, ar<!a N9c .
· a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws for as Jong as they
· remain in Barovia.
Revenants at Rest. l adimir Horngaard and the other
V
revenants that haunt Barovia see the light as a reminder
of all that was once good and noble about the knightly
--
CHAPTER 7 I ARGYNVOSTHOLT
142
-� /'---.. .?"""
. I
,, f ' I