Page 69 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

each one as bright as a candle flame. Thanks to the
starry "night sky," the vault is dimly lit.
The plundered riches of Strahd's secret hoard lie
within this adamantine tower, which is actually a
Daern's instant fortress (see chapter 7, "Treasure," of
the Dungeon Master's Guide). Only Strahd knows the
command word to alter its shape and size, which can't _ .. ..
be done until every bit of treasure inside it is removed.
Only Strahd can open the two means of entry: a sealed
adamantine door set into the base of the tower on the
north side, and an adamantine trapdoor on the roof.
The arrow slits of the tower are 4 inches wide and 2
feet tall, and the walls of the fortress are 3 inches thick.
Characters who are able to reduce their size or assume
gaseous form can enter the tower through these slits.

TREASURE
The ground floor of the Daern's instant fortress contains
50,000 cp, 10,000 sp, 10,000 gp, 1,000 pp, 15 assorted
gems (100 gp each), and a +2 shield emblazoned with a
stylized silver dragon that is the emblem of the Order of
the Silver Dragon (see chapter ) . The shield whispers
7
warnings to its bearer, granting a +2 bonus to initiative
if the bearer isn't incapacitated.
The upper floor of the tower contains 10 pieces of jew­
elry (250 gp each) in a red velvet sack, an alchemy jug,
a helm of brilliance, a +l rod of the pact keeper, and an
unlocked wooden coffer with four compartments, each
one containing a potion of greater healing.
The figure on the bed is Gertruda (NG female human
FORTUNES OF RAVENLOFT
If your card reading reveals that a treasure is here, it is commoner), the daughter of Mad Mary (see chapter 3,
lying atop the coins on the ground floor inside the tower. area E3). Gertruda is oblivious to any danger to her­
If your card reading indicates an encounter with self-especially from Strahd, who has charmed her.
Strahd in this area, he is perched atop the tower. Sheltered by her mother, she was never allowed to leave
home as a child. She finally slipped away and made her
K42. KING'S BEDCHAMBER way to the castle, drawn by its majesty.
Gertruda is innocent, and years spent as a shut-in
have twisted her sense of reality. Consequently, she
Sweet smells waft from this delicately lit room. A great maintains a fairy-tale view of life. When faced with a
arched window along the west wall is covered by heavy decision, she almost always makes the most simplistic
choice. She is naive to the point of being a danger to her­
red draperies, their golden tassels glinting in the light self and others. Fortunately for her, Strahd has not yet
of three candelabras sitting atop small tables about the bitten her, though he intends to. (If he can do so while
room. Tall white candles burn with bright, steady light. the characters look on helplessly, so much the better.)
A large bed, canopied by silk curtains, sits with its Next to the bed, set into the north wall, is a secret
headboard against the north wall. Carved into the head­ door. It can be pushed open to reveal a dusty hall that
ends at a similar secret door in the back of an alcove
board with great skill is a large "Z." Lying amid the velvet (see area K45 for details). Gertruda doesn't know that
and satin sheets and bedclothes is a young woman in a this secret door exists.
nightgown. One of her dainty slippers has fallen to the
floor at the bed's foot. K43. BATH CHAMBER
. .. .... , _ ..... '*,
Arched double doors.Jead 'rrom t.his ro·om to the Red satin curtains hang in archways at both ends of the
south and east. south wall in this dark room. Between them, in the cen­
The window is divided into four tall panes of glass, ter of the chamber, stands a large, ornate iron tub with
each enclosed by a lead framework. The two outermost
sections have small iron hinges built into them so that clawed feet. The tub is full of blood.
·they can be opened, as well as iron latches to lock them
.Jn place when they're closed. The window looks out onto Both curtamed archways lead to area K44.
the parapet (area K46).

CHAPTER 4 I CASTLE RAVENLOFT