Page 197 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

Inside the wooden crates, buried in earth, are six is identical to that of the resurrection spell, except that
vampire spawn created by Strahd from a dead party of it works regardless of how long the creature has been
adventurers. As soon as they hear intruders in the room, dead. After it has been used once, the dark gift vanishes.
the vampire spawn burst out of their crates and attack, The beneficiary of this dark gift takes on a corpselike
fighting until destroyed. appearance and is easily mistaken for an undead.

TELEPORT DESTINATION SPECIAL EVENTS
Characters who teleport to this location from area
K78 in Castle Ravenloft arrive at the point marked T Two dusk elves are drawn to the Amber Temple for dif­
on the map. ferent reasons. You can use one or both of the following
special events while the characters explore the temple.
AMBER SARCOPHAGI
Characters who touch the amber sarcophagi are offered RAHADIN'S PRAYER
dark gifts by the evil vestiges contained within them (see Strahd's loyal chamberlain, Rahadin (see appendix D),
the "Amber Sarcophagi" sidebar earlier in this chapter). believes that his master forged a pact with the nameless
Kasimir will know when he touches the east sarcopha­ god of secrets to whom the Amber Temple is dedicated.
gus in this area that he has found the dark gift he seeks. The dusk elf comes to the temple on occasion to petition
West Sarcophagus. The vestige within this sarcopha­ the dark god into releasing his master from his torment.
gus offers "the dark gift of the Vampyr" to any humanoid Rahadin rides a phantom steed along Tsolenka Pass
creature of evil alignment that touches it. The Vampyr's to the Amber Temple and kneels before the great statue
gift is the immortality of undeath. If the dark gift is in area XS. (The arcanaloth that guards the temple
accepted, its effect doesn't occur until the following con­ knows Rahadin and doesn't harm him. The arcanaloth
ditions are met, in the order given below. The creature and the flameskulls don't attack other visitors until Ra­
becomes aware of the conditions only after accepting hadin is killed or leaves.) Rahadin then pulls out a live
the dark gift. toad, swallows it whole as a sacrifice, and offers a ges­
The beneficiary slays another humanoid that loves or ture of supplication to the secret god.
reveres him or her, then drinks the dead humanoid's
blood within 1 hour of slaying it. DEVELOPMENT
The beneficiary dies a violent death at the hands of Rahadin knows that Strahd will deal with the charac­
one or more creatures that hate it. ters when he sees fit. If the characters confront the dusk
elf, he defends himself but won't cause them any perma­
When the conditions are met, the beneficiary instantly nent harm. Strahd's chamberlain would sooner die than
becomes a vampire under the Dungeon Master's con­ allow himself to be captured. Rahadin doesn't divulge
trol (use the stat block in the Monster Manual). his reason for visiting the temple, or even who is he or
After receiving the dark gift, the beneficiary gains the what role he serves. Left to his own devices, he rides
following flaw: "I am surrounded by hidden enemies back to Castle Ravenloft.
that seek to destroy me. I can't trust anyone."
South Sarcophagus. The vestige within this sarcoph­ KASIMIR's DARK GIFT
agus offers "the dark gift of Tenebrous" to any humanoid
creature of evil alignment that can cast 9th-level wizard If Kasimir Velikov (see appendix D and chapter 5, area
spells. Tenebrous's gift is the secret of lichdom. This N9a) finds his way to area X42 and accepts the dark gift
dark gift grants its beneficiary the knowledge needed to ofZhudun, he then asks the characters to accompany
perform the following tasks: him to the catacombs of Castle Ravenloft so that he can
restore the life of his centuries-dead sister, Patrina Ve­
Craft a phylactery and imbue it with the power to con­ likovna (see chapter 4, area K84, crypt 21).
tain the beneficiary's soul
Concoct a potion of transformation that turns the DEVELOPMENT
beneficiary into a lich If Kasimir succeeds in his quest, the newly resurrected
Patrina (NE female dusk elf archmage) feigns repen­
Construction of the phylactery takes 10 days. Concoct­
ing the potion takes 3 days. The two items can't be tance until she regains her strength and her spells,
crafted concurrently. When the beneficiary drinks the whereupon she travels to Castle Ravenloft and attempts
potion, he or she instantly transforms into a Heh under to return to Strahd, seeking to become his vampire
the Dungeon Master's control (use the stat.block in bride at last. The mutilation of her brother at the hands
the Monster Manual, altering the Lich's prepared spells of Rahadin, Strahd's chamberlain, doesn't sit well with
as desired). her. She hopes to avenge her bro_ther and distract the
_
The beneficiary of this dark gift gains the following characters by setting them on a path. to killing Rahadin,
flaw: "All I care about is acquiring new magic and ar­ who has long opposed her l1}arriage to S�ahd.
cane knowledge." Strahd has lost interest in Patrina as a ·consort. Given
East Sarcophagus. The vestige within this sarcopha­ the chance, he turns her into a vampire spawn and puts
gus offers the dark gift of Zhudun, the Corpse Star. Zhu­ her back in her crypt-a fate she would do everything
dun's gift is the power to raise the ancient dead. As an in her power to prevent. Her attraction to Strahd is out­
action, the beneficiary of this dark gift can touch the re­ matched by a desire to increase her own power. She is
mains of a dead creature and restore it to life. The effect no one's plaything.

CHAPTER 13 I THEAMBE TEMPLE
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