Curse of Strahd: Reloaded Update - The Berez Slog

I have good news, bad news, and other bad news. The good news is that I've allocated four hours every night for the next three weeks to finishing Reloaded (and, since we only have one-and-a-half arcs left, I expect to hit that timeline). The bad news is that Berez is taking longer than I thought, and I'm still finalizing Baba's statblock and fight.

The other bad news is that, following some instructive deliberations in the Patreon Discord server, I now intend to revise the Van Richten storyline so that Ezmerelda helps him lift his curse, not Arturi. This will require significant revisions to both this and other parts of the module, so I anticipate that this will somewhat delay Arc T's release.

(For those expecting to use Arturi - fear not; I'll save my current Arturi-based version of the chapter and make it available to those who would find it difficult to switch this late in the game.)

Nevertheless, Berez is complete other than the final fight. Here's what I've completed since my last update:

• designed an encounter with Sergei's spirit at Marina's Monument

• revised the encounter with Burgomaster Lazlo Ulrich's ghost in the Ulrich Mansion

• added a new encounter in the Ulrich Mansion's cellar

• wrote the players' entry into Baba's lair

• designed the mechanics for Baba Lysaga's boss fight

You can read some excerpts of what I've written below:

Sergei's Guilt

Marina's Monument is largely as described in U5. Marina's Monument (p. 164). However, modify this area's description as follows:

Hidden by the fog and elevated a few feet above the surrounding marsh is a raised plot of land, barely ten feet on a side, enclosed by a disintegrating iron fence. In the center of the plot is a stone monument.

An ethereal, golden figure kneels before the monument.

The golden figure is the spirit of Sergei von Zarovich (use the statistics of a phantom warrior).

If the players draw Sergei’s attention, or otherwise fail to conceal their entry to this area, read:

The golden figure turns, revealing the familiar face of Strahd von Zarovich—but softer, younger, and worn with grief.

If Ireena is present, add:

The figure’s eyes fall upon Ireena’s face, and his eyes widen. With a quiet, terrified gasp, he whirls away—and vanishes from sight.

Lazlo's Wish

When the players first enter Ulrich Manor, read:

A ruined mansion stands here, reduced to piles of stone and rotting timber. Empty, arched windows stare at you, and the rotted remains of furniture and decor lie against the broken walls and floor. Thick coils of fog roll through the mansion’s husk, drifting lazily through the air.

When the players first move across the mansion, the ghost of Burgomaster Lazlo Ulrich appears before them. When he does so, read:

The fog stirs—then forms into a silhouette: a giant of a man with a thick, drooping mustache, his shadow dark against the mist. As his form resolves, so too do his features: his face and torso are mutilated, with his entrails hanging out like frayed rope.

”So you are the ones who have her,” he rasps. “You are the ones who have my daughter.”

Lysaga's Trap

Baba Lysaga's Hut is largely as described in U3. Baba Lysaga's Hut. However, if more than 10 minutes have passed since Baba Lysaga's programmed illusion activated in T3a. Berez Outskirts, revise this area's description as follows:

A small, grassy hill rises from the mire here. A ramshackle wooden hut rests on a stump that rests atop the hill. The stump’s rotting roots thrust down toward the mire, like the legs of a gigantic spider.

An open doorway is visible on one side of the hut, the interior concealed behind a curtain of beaded strings. Flanking the hut’s doorway are two empty iron cages that dangle like hideous ornaments from the eaves.

If the players enter the false hut, read:

The hut’s interior is fifteen feet on a side. No furniture stands here, save for a single iron cage that hangs from the far wall. Before it, green light seeps up through cracks beneath the rotting floorboards.

A lone raven lies in the cage. Some of its feathers are missing, leaving bare patches of raw flesh beneath. Those feathers that remain are bent, broken, or matted with blood. Its wings drag along the bottom of its cage, and a bloody, crusted gash cuts beneath one eye.

As you enter, the raven flutters to its feet and coos excitedly, flapping its wings against the cage’s iron bars.

An iron padlock locks the cage.

Due to its illusory nature, the raven doesn’t respond to the players’ attempts to interact with it, instead continuing its “performance.” Similarly, the cavity beneath the floorboards is empty, and doesn’t contain a magic gem.

If the players, after investigating the hut, learn that the raven is an illusion, learn that the cavity beneath the floorboards is empty, or otherwise decide that the hut is a trap, Baba Lysaga reveals herself. Read:

The hut pitches and shifts, its walls and floorboards splintering and bursting. Below it, the earth groans, sending geysers of soil into the air as the very hill begins to tear itself apart.

Mighty, black roots, like a spider’s swollen legs, pierce the hillside from within, then rip it away like a fragile shell.

Each creature within the hut must immediately succeed on a DC 20 Dexterity saving throw or be grappled by Baba Lysaga’s creeping hut. Continue:

The shreds of the hill and ruined hut fall away—revealing, beneath them, a thatched roof, a ramshackle wooden hut, and an enormous tree stump whose roots thrust into the air and mire. Twin iron cages hang from its eaves, filled with scores of shrieking, screaming ravens entrapped within.

Floating beside the hut, standing in an upside-down, hollowed-out giant’s skull, is an old, gnarled woman. Her white hair stands twin horns upon her head, then falls down into multiple iron-tipped braids that dangle like daggers across her chest. Her dark eyes burn from the depths of her wrinkled, sunken face, her long, yellowed nails curling like claws before her chest.

"You’ve had your fun, my dears,” Baba Lysaga rasps. “Now, I believe it is time for mine."

As always, you can get full access to my in-progress drafts by joining the Patreon as a paid member. All working drafts and outlines for future arcs can be found on the Patreon Bronze Masterpost.

That's all I've got for this update! I look forward to bringing you more :)

Cheers,
Dragna