Curse of Strahd Companion 14: Yester Hill
 |
The Curse of Strahd Companion is your comprehensive guide to running 5th Edition's greatest and grimmest campaign. The Companion dives through every chapter of Curse of Strahd and incorporates Wyatt Trull's mithral-bestselling module¸ The Wedding at Ravenloft as the campaign's climax. This chapter overhauls the Yester Hill Wines chapter:
The Prophet. This chapter features a new villain: a wildling druid raised by Baba Lysaga and fooled into believing he is the dhampir son of Strahd and Volenta Popofsky. Having marshalled the Gulthias druids¸ this "Prophet" seeks to fulfill Baba Lysaga's will: the destruction of the Keepers of the Feather. The Prophet is nothing more than a fool¸ of course¸ but his devotion to Lysaga's vision is unwavering. Crowpoison. The Companion addresses the wyvern in the room: even aided with spellcraft¸ how did the druids drive off the Martikovs¸ actual wereravens kept alert by swarms of ravens? Crowpoison is to wereravens what wolfsbane is to werewolves. It poisons wereravens and¸ when inhaled as an incense¸ robs them of their shapeshifting. With crowpoison¸ an invention in my Van Richten's Treatise on Lycanthropy you can fill this plot hole and render the Martikovs helpless. The Ravens Captured. Per Chapter 12¸ the Martikovs were rendered helpless and taken by the druids to be sacrificed in the blight ritual. Davian Martikov and Muriel Vinshaw return to help the adventurers free their loved ones. The Root of All Evil. This chapter boils down to a hard choice by the adventurers: slay the ritualists to prevent Wintersplinter's dark birth or save the exsanguinating Martikovs from the roots of the Gulthias Tree. The party can split itself at great risk. Kavan's Chosen. Kavan¸ the bloodthirsty chieftain of yore¸ cannot find rest as long as the wildlings birth blights and worship Strahd. The Companion gives Kavan a greater role in this chapter: the blood spear can be used to kill the Gulthias Tree (instead of uprooting it or casting *hallow*)¸ but only by battling Kavan's spirit¸ skeleton¸ and animated blood can his chosen champion hope to wield the spear. Revision. Strahd has been written out of this chapter¸ as his presence¸ I fear¸ detracts from the overall experience.
Dramatis Personae. A handy guide detailing all characters featured in this chapter of the campaign¸ with advice and variants. Areas of Note. A guide to swiftly running the winery's areas¸ replete with new flavor text¸ traps¸ and enemies.
DM Notes. Notes including but not limited to spicing up the region with valuable roleplay with select NPCs. Magic Item Descriptions. Save yourself the time of digging through the Dungeon Master's Guide to determine how the magic items in this chapter work. Monster Stats. Time is precious¸ and matters all the more in combat. Appendix B has the statistics for the NPCs used in this chapter!
Publishing Schedule It is no secret that Curse of Strahd's chapters are organized counterintuitively. The Companion will be publishing chapters with a more narrative focus in mind:
Order Chapter 1 1: Into the Mists 2 Death House Prologue 3 2: The Lands of Barovia 4 3: The Village of Barovia 5 6: Old Bonegrinder 6 5: The Town of Vallaki 7 7: Argynvostholt 8 11: Van Richten's Tower 9 8: The Village of Krezk 10 12: The Wizard of Wines 11 14: Yester Hill 12 15: The Werewolf Den 13 10: The Ruins of Berez 14 9: Tsolenka Pass 15 13: The Amber Temple 16 4: Castle Ravenloft
Website: https://wyatttrull.com/
Disc ord: https://discord.gg/FF3fKr7V4f
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wyatt_Trull
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wyatttrullpresents/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wtrullpresents
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/wyatttrull
Email: wyatt@wyatttrull.com