Curse of Strahd: Reloaded Update: Toward the Fanes

I've officially broken ground on Arc T: The Three Fanes, which is already 8.5k words long and fully outlined. Thus far, I've completed the following work:

• wrote the players' return to Soldav and the Shrine of the Rozana

• designed the players' communion with the Weaver and/or Huntress in the Cavern of Lights

• designed an encounter with the roc of Mt. Ghakis to obtain the third winery gem

• drafted the players' return to the Wizard of Wines, which has been ransacked by Baba Lysaga

• drafted the players' return to Vallaki, including new edicts implemented by an emissary sent from Castle Ravenloft, and their impact on St. Andral's Church, the Blue Water Inn, and Blinsky Toys

• designed the Tyrant's Final Trial, and Strahd's reaction to the Sunsword

• drafted Exethanter's warning of the impending Grand Conjunction

• designed the Berez mirage arcane hedge-maze "dungeon," as well as the first three dungeon "rooms": the town green, the northern cottages, and the southern cottages

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

Return to Vallaki

If the players pass N1. St. Andral’s Church (p. 97) during the daytime, read:

A dark-haired woman wearing a gray robe stands on the church steps, a small crowd encircling her from below. An unfamiliar poster has been posted on the church doors behind her.

”The silver light is a message from Ezra, She Who Dwells in the Mists,” the woman proclaims. “We must not surrender to darkness, nor lose ourselves to fantasies of a golden dawn. We must bend with the wind and seek solace in the mist, for only there may we endure what must be endured.”

If the players previously encountered her in Arc H - The Lost Soul, they recognize the woman as the cult fanatic Ruxandra, a loyal follower of Lady Wachter. (The “silver light” Ruxandra refers to is the lit beacon of Argynvostholt.) If inspected, the poster reads: “BEWARE: ARMED AND DANGEROUS. REPORT ANY SIGHTINGS TO THE BURGOMISTRESS,” and features a rough sketch and description of the players.

If Milivoj is alive and in Vallaki, add:

A dozen yards away, Milivoj kneels amidst the churchyard, a small pile of weeds beneath his muddy gloves and a brown cloak draped across his shoulders. He glares silently at the woman from afar.

The Grand Conjunction

 At dusk on the first night of the Grand Conjunction, and on each night thereafter, the skies split to reveal glimpses of other worlds. Read:

As the grey daylight fades, and the Moon begins to rise above the trees, the stars follow it into the sky—but they are no longer alone.

Strange, alien constellations join them from behind, forming a bright, shimmering tapestry that hangs across the sky. Other moons, too, float amidst the darkness, their orbiting shadows falling across the surfaces of great, distant planets. In the void beyond, sparkling nebulae drift across unfathomable vacuums, their light crossing windows into other realms—a sea of endless fire, a bloodstained expanse, a mount that rings with celestial hymns.

These sights amidst the heavens are obscured only by a thin sphere of mist, from which Barovia’s false stars twinkle like patches on a blanket. Beyond them, in the center of it all, stand thirteen bright stars in near-perfect alignment, forming a line that cuts across the night sky like a bloody wound.

Return to Berez

The players’ approach to Berez is largely as described in Approaching the Ruins (p. 161). However, revise this area’s description as follows:

The trail hugs the river for several miles. The dirt and grass soon turn to marsh as the trail dissolves into spongy earth pockmarked with stands of tall reeds and pools of stagnant water. A thick shroud of fog covers all.

Past the trail’s end, an enormous shadow rises within the fog: a mass of vines, thorns, and branches more than two hundred feet in height. The structure sprawls a half-mile wide and a half-mile deep, its southeastern edge hugging the river as it flows sluggishly through the basin. A tall, gaping hole thirty feet wide and thirty feet tall stands at its northeastern corner, the trail vanishing into its darkened depths.

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