Curse of Strahd Reloaded Update: Welcome to Argynvostholt

This is the eighth in a series of regular posts providing updates on my progress in drafting and editing the new Reloaded guide. You can find all previous posts here.

The holidays have come and gone, and so has the end of Arc M: The Den of Wolves. I've also passed the halfway point of Arc N: Argynvost's Beacon, and anticipate having it and Arc O: The Moonlit Murders finished before the end of the month.

Before we move onto this week's update, I'd like to give a warm shoutout to Caleb Cleveland, the incredible artist who has contributed his beautiful work—for free!—to the new Reloaded guide. His "Faces in the Mist" series is responsible for all of the outstanding new character and item splash art that I've added to the revised guide, including Kasimir, Arabelle, the Greater Strix, and the gallows speaker Leo Dilisnya.

He's recently published a Patreon page, where supporters of his work can access early-access, high-quality images; sketches; art polls; and more. I'm a member myself, and I can confidently say his art is more than worth supporting. Check it out!

Back on topic—since my last update, I've:

• drafted the encounter with the imprisoned Ilya Krezkov and Zuleika Toranescu
• added a confrontation with the werewolf Bianca Stoyanovich
• added a climactic return of (and escape from) Kiril and the werewolf pack
• reworked and relocated the players' first meeting with Sir Godfrey Gwilym
• designed a new investigative narrative arc for Argynvostholt
• added three new ghostly encounters to Argynvostholt
• reworked the encounter with the phantom warriors in the trapped hallway 

Here's a sneak preview of the escape from Kiril, the players' first meeting with Sir Godfrey, and the players' first encounter with a new spirit in Argynvostholt:

Return of the Pack

The players have one minute to escape the cave and hide themselves before the pack arrives. If the players flee through the entrance of the cave, Ezmerelda advises them to hide in the lake in order to conceal their scent.

If the players treated Bianca with kindness and persuaded her to stand down instead of summoning Kiril, she offers to help them escape through the passage to Z8. Ring of Stone (p. 205), promising to show them a hidden stone ledge that will lead them safely around the mountain spur toward the woods along the northern shore of Lake Baratok.

In either case, when Kiril and the pack first arrive at Z1. Cave Mouth (p. 203), Kiril catches wind of the players’ scent and assumes his hybrid form to sniff them out. If the players have a line of sight to the cave mouth, read:

One of the pack pauses before the entrance to the cavern—a hulking creature the size of a dire wolf with thick, shaggy black fur.

Suddenly, the beast's form twists and swells in size, shattering the stillness with a grotesque symphony of cracking bone and sinew. Its silhouette staggers from four legs to two, its spine and limbs lengthening and popping unnaturally. Swollen, misshapen muscle chokes each inch of its form, its towering figure nearly matching the cavern's fifteen-foot mouth in height.

The moonlight glints across its arm-length fangs, and its scarlet irises gleam madly in the darkness. A low rumble cuts through the night as the massive beast bends its muzzle toward the earth, the earth seeming to tremble faintly with each great step it takes.

Chapel of Morning

This area is largely as described in Q13. Chapel of Morning (p. 134). However, the pillars are made of stone, rather than wood, and the three kneeling revenants are not present. Instead, add the following text to the end of this area’s description:

A rusted, wrought-iron lantern hangs from each of the six pillars, each lantern’s glass panels fogged with age. Cold, ethereal lights flicker and writhe within them, and faint whispers seem to emanate from their depths.

A knight stands between two of the furthest pillars, his arms outstretched like a haunting mockery of a scarecrow. Strands of black wire ensnare his chest in a macabre web, with additional strands looping down and around his biceps and rusted gauntlets before stretching across to the stone pillars on either side.

The knight's chain-mail shirt is dulled and corroded with age, his silver helm cracked and blackened. Beneath it, strands of silver-gray hair fall limply across his gaunt and ashen face. His flesh is gray and pallid, skin stretched taut over sharp, skeletal cheekbones, and his head slumps forward toward the ground.

This is the revenant Sir Godfrey Gwilym, who is as described in Q37. Knights of the Order (p. 139). If the players approach, interact with, or otherwise make themselves known to him, read:

The knight’s head lifts, revealing red eyes that flash with a quiet intensity. His arms seem to flex, almost instinctively, against his black-wire bindings—and it’s then that you notice that each wire is covered with tiny, razor-sharp barbs, many of which bite deeply into his armor and flesh.

"Welcome, travelers,” he rasps. “I must ask that you forgive my rudeness. I am ill-disposed to greet you properly."

The Dragonet

If a player approaches or crosses in front of the fireplace, read:

An alien sense of anticipation and childlike excitement suddenly grips you. It’s only after a moment that you realize that the sensation isn’t coming from you, but from something brushing against your mind.

The emotions are a telepathic communication sent by the spirit of Zorya, Argynvost’s deceased pseudodragon familiar (use the statistics of a **smoke mephit** with a pseudodragon’s languages and limited telepathy feature), which is hiding in the pot over the fireplace instead of a bat. The sensations fade if the player moves away from the fireplace and grow stronger if the player moves closer.

If a player moves within reach of the iron pot, read:

The iron pot suddenly begins to tremble, rattling on its hook and bobbing up and down as though something is inside it. The alien emotions intensify to a nervous, yet excitable giddiness.

If a player removes the pot’s lid, Zorya—in the form of a wisp of silvery mist—bursts forth from the pot’s interior with a sound like chiming crystal and flees into Servants’ Quarters. When she does, the players feel a muted sense of hopeful longing in addition to any other emotions.

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, as well as a changelog and Trello board of upcoming edits, can be found on the Patreon Bronze Masterpost.

Thank you for following and using this guide! If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to drop them in the comments.

I look forward to bringing you future updates.

Cheers,
Dragna