In a distant October I volunteered to run a special Halloween tabletop event for the Paul Sawyier Public Library. What began as a trio of brief sessions meant to provide some spooky fun and give patrons a taste of Curse of Strahd grew into a campaign that lasted almost two years.

Players came and went. Heroes died or were corrupted or met fates worse than death. But in the end the vampire overlord of the mist-shrouded realm of Barovia was defeated and the surviving heroes knew a moment of peace, if not happiness, in their victory.

As for me, I’m left with a lot of great memories and a large file of campaign notes. At the suggestion of my players, I’m sharing those notes here. What follows are all my campaign notes for Curse of Strahd and a bit of commentary in italics. I’ve made no attempt to shield readers from spoilers.

The Notes

As a GM I rarely take structured notes and almost never run prepackaged campaigns. For my home-brew campaigns and one-shots all I use is a sheet of lined paper with a basic premise outlined on one side with a few important NPCs in the margins and some brief notes about important story beats written as they happen on the reverse. Curse of Strahd was different.

The premise and NPCs were already covered in the book. Instead, my notes took the form of snapshots capturing the closing moments of each session and the occasional reminder of a looming crisis. The only note I had to take in preparation for the campaign was Madame Eva’s prophetic cartomancy. I randomly determined each card in advance, then transcribed dialogue to read in Eva’s voice at the appropriate time, with a reminder of just what/who each card referred to once the heroes got to questing.

Card 1
”This card tells of history. Knowledge of the ancient will bring understanding of your true enemy.
Seek you a den of wolves in the hills overlooking a mountain lake. The treasure resides in the clutches of Mother Night.”
(Shrine of Mother Night Z7)

Card 2
”This card tells of power, a holy force for good and protection, a symbol of great hope.
Go to the mountains. Climb the white tower guarded by golden knights.”
(Tsolenka Pass guard tower T6)

Card 3
”A card of power and strength! A potent weapon of vengeance! A sword of sunlight!
Seek you a wizard’s tower on a lake. Let the wizard’s name and servant guide you to that which you seek.”
(Van Richten’s Tower V7)

Card 4
”This card reveals the one destined to aid you in the battle against darkness.
The bride of evil! She is the one you seek!”
(Ireena Kolyana)

Card 5
”Your enemy is a creature of darkness, whose powers are beyond mortality. This card will lead you do him!
I see a dark figure upon a balcony, looking down upon this tortured land with a twisted smile!”
(Overlook K6)

Note 1

What follows is the first official note of the campaign taken during play. It also corresponds to the first random encounter the party discovered after passing through the mists and entering Barovia.

The 3rd and 5th graves are cursed.

Just some roadside graves. But woudln’t you know it, the party never disturbed the 3rd and 5th graves, so the curses never befell them.

Note 2

Victor knows Find Familiar and Ray Of Enfeeblement.

Three or four sessions passed between these first two notes. In that time the special Halloween event went from three sessions requiring no notes to a full campaign. In this time the party’s original cleric, Galan, perished in The Death House.

Victor was an NPC who would return to bedevil the party on a number of occasions. He copied Find Familiar from the party wizard’s own spellbook as I recall. Copying Ray of Enfeeblement wasn’t part of the deal.
Resume next game as the party returns from hunting in the woods at night. A mysterious figure blocks the road. (a wandering revenant)

Note 3

Victor is now Strahd’s apprentice. (vampiric touch, ray of enfeeblement)
I told you he’d be back! Unfortunately, the party left Viktor to his own devices and his magical experiments drew the eye of Strahd, who taught the young dabbler some necromancy. Later, the party decided to respond to Strahd’s generous offer to join him in the castle for supper with the following hand-written letter.

Our Esteemed Count,
Though we are honored by your invitation, at this time we must decline. However, once it becomes more convenient, we shall intrude on your hospitality.
Thank you again,
Your Friends

Note 4

A great deal happened in this part of the campaign mainly involving a cult of werewolves in the wilds. There was a lot of lycanthropy going around.

Ireena is being savaged by the werewolf
Melkur has the curse of Mother Knight
Which is what happens when you desecrate a shrine to a goddess of all things dark and dangerous. The curse turned the barbarian’s dreams to night terrors, preventing all the benefits of a long rest. However, the curse only effects the victim at night, which it took several sessions for the party to discover.
Bone fetish resembling corrupted dryad, protective magic

Found on the body of one of the werewolves, it was discovered this poppet granted advantage on one saving throw per day.
Melkur is a werewolf. 2 full moons remain.

Note 5

While on their journey, the party sent the following missive to Vicktor.
Victor,
I hope this letter finds you in good health, and that your father is not bothering you too much. How goes the teleportation circle and your studies? So far my own wizard studies have been doing well.
I am writing to you because my friends and I have a small problem. I am in need of a Remove Curse scroll desperately for one of my friends. We are out of real options right now unfortunately, and I am hoping that you can help us.
Enclosed with this letter you will find a beautiful cloak pin that I am sure you can use for your studies. Whether for components or to help with the wizard aesthetic. After all, what makes a wizard memorable is their appearance.
I promise that if I find something worth your time, I will send it via Bailey on our adventures if you can help us.
Gaes on Mika to hand over Ireena

This was a turning point in the campaign. The party was split, with half venturing to Vallaki while the other half took shelter in an abandoned wizard’s tower. However, Strahd was waiting at the top of the tower to make polite conversation and make an offer. In exchange for Ireena (the woman of Strahd’s darkest dreams who the party was protecting) the Count would grant the party a great boon. Carys, the party wizard, agreed. The two shook on it and the pact was sealed by magic. This would have grave consequences.
We end at the temple of St. Andral, the town militia approaching.

Note 6

Roscario Van Kraz
Boskovich Brews

My personal favorite NPC of the entire campaign was Roscario, the apothecary and proprietor of Boskovich Brews! I modeled him after Arthur, Dudley Moore’s character from the film of the same name, though I think the players thought I was doing an impression of Captain Jack Sparrow. Let’s just say he was an alchemist who enjoyed sniffing his own polychlorinates. He was the closest thing the party had to a real ally at the time. He brewed up a sleeping potion that granted Melkur his first long rest in days. As for why his name wasn’t on the business he owned, he said that was a complicated story he didn’t have time to get into.
We end with a long rest at the Blue Water Inn

Note 7

I’m not sure why this came up now as they were resting at the edge of a Vistani camp outside of Vallaki, but the party finally inventoried the bundle of goods they acquired from the temple of the Morninglord in Barovia Village. But loot is loot!
10 cp
4 sp
2 blank parchment sheets
4 quill pens
1 bottle of ink
3 flasks of oil
1 tinderbox
2 boxes of candles (6 candles per box)
1 holy book (Hymns of the Dawn)
Father Donavich’s unfinished, bloodstained letter
Now that I think about it, some of this may have been nabbed from the temple in Vallaki where Strahd had recently perpetrated a massacre.
We end at dawn. The Vistani camp has moved on and Ireena is missing.

Note 8

A great deal happened behind the scenes in this session. In short, the party’s action and inaction in Vallaki, particularly their refusal to carry out a hit for the treacherous Lady Wachter, made the town’s political situation unstable. Victor, the only son of Vallaki’s rightful ruler, had to act.

Victor moves to Barovia under the assumed identity of Father Patashnik, priest of The Morninglord. He will take over the temple, re-open it, but in reality will be a spy and agitator for Strahd and continue his magical experiments in the undercroft, which he will remodel for that purpose.
The Order of The Feather now has Ireena under their protection. They still don’t trust the rest of the party.
We end with the party back at the dusk elf settlement camping for the night.

Note 9

Just some notes to work out travel times. At this point the party had resolved to escort the dusk elf Kasimir to the Amber Temple. Carys, fearing the consequences of her Geas, had also left the party and been retired at a PC. This section of the campaign had the structure of a more traditional dungeon crawl.
Travel To The Amber Temple
By Trolenka Pass 12+5 miles
By Overland Round by Berez 7 (rough terrain) +5 miles
By Air 6.5 miles
Travel With Haste, reduce travel time by 3 hours or more.

3 werewolves follow the party
We end at the Amber Temple with the party still locked in combat with the following initiative order:
Flame Skulls
Kasimir
Gallows
Arcanoloth
Cyril
Gladiator & Berserkers

Mika

This note on initiative order provides a great snapshot of the party as it was at the time. Gallows was the Thief, and had been with the party from the beginning. Cyril was a Warlock/Druid who replaced the Cleric who died in the third session. Mika was the Ranger who replaced Carys. The party also included Mad Melkur, a Barbarian who was in the party from the beginning. However, Melkur’s player wasn’t available for this session, hence their absence in the initiative order.

Note 10

Remember when I said Carys left the party? As a side project we tracked her activities for a few sessions. At one point she gathered up a posse of NPCs. As I recall they were going to investigte the wine shortage in Barovia.
Carys’ Party: woodcutter, herdsman, washerwoman, seamstress
We continue with the party dealing with specters in the banquet hall. Melkur has the curse of the Frost Staff.

Note 11

The party snagged some loot!
Amber figurines 25gp each.
We end with the Barovian Witches attacking the party with flying brooms.

Note 12

The party snagged some more loot!
scroll of resistance
We stop after a short rest.

Note 13

We stop with the party taking refuge in room X9 with Vilnius the Apprentice
At this point the party was deep into The Amber Temple and the campaign became much more of a standard dungeon crawl. There were few story elements I needed to track. I loved playing Vilnius the Apprentice, and I wish he had lasted longer. Unfortunately, power mad wizards with little power don’t last.

Note 14

Potion of Water Breathing
We leave with the party split and Melkur in the area of a Sympathy spell.

Melkur had a knack for getting into trouble.

Note 15

We leave with Vilnius returned with his master to reclaim the Frost Staff.

All those story elements I didn’t need to track returned in a big way. Vilnius had a falling out with the party, ran off on his own and got thoroughly corrupted by accepting the dark gifts of nearly every evil entity imprisoned in The Amber Temple. He then used one of those gifts to return his master Jakarion to life. Below are my notes of which gifts he accepted and the changes they wrought upon his mind, body, and soul.

Vilnius’s Gifts
Cast Contagion three times (reeks)
Cast Lightning Bolt three times (sagging face)
Cast Raise Dead three times ("If I help someone, I expect payment in return.”)
Mind Blank (empty eye sockets)
Skeletal Wings fly 50’ (eat bones and grave soil)
Cast Suggestion three times, saves have disadvantage (extra fingers "I can't get enough pleasure. I desire others to create beauty for me at all times.”)
Cast Finger of Death three times (black blood)
Amulet of proof against detection, ring of evasion (twitchy "I can't give a straight answer to any question put to me.”)
Summon two Hell Hounds & speak infernal (sulferous smoke when speaking infernal)

Note 16

Vilnius and, to a lesser extent, Jakarion were itching for a fight, and that’s exactly what happened. However, once Vilnius was dead Jakarion retreated, thankful the party had rid him of his thoroughly corrupted apprentice. As a show of good faith he removed the curse of the Frost Staff that was afflicting Melkur. The party ended up looting Vilnius’s remains and a room or two in The Amber Temple, and being good sports they split it with their dusk elf companion Kasimir.
Kasimir’s Loot
1246 gp
1320 ep
We end with a long rest.

Note 17

There was a bit more dungeoneering and an encounter with an amnesiac lich, but in the end the party discovered the massive library at the heart of The Amber Temple. However…
We end with Strahd teleporting into the middle of the room, clapping sarcastically.

Note 18

We end with Mika dead and the party taking shelter in a cave.
Strahd, villain that he is, engaged in some witty banter, a game of cat and mouse, and finally went in for the kill. Mika, the party ranger, sacrificed herself to buy the rest of the party time to escape. The ploy worked, but the rest of the party barely survived. This was another turning point in the campaign.

Note 19

We end on the road back to Vallaki.

This session had one significant development. Namely the introduction of Mara, the half elf vistani paladin of The Morninglord who took Mika’s place in the party.

Note 20

And so we leave with the mysterious appearance of Baba Lysaga in the the vineyard’s restored fields.

At this point the party resolved to investigate the wine shortage afflicting Barovia and made their way to the Wizard of Wines. This began a lengthy game of cat and mouse between the party and Baba Lysaga.

Note 21

We end with the party on the road in a cart drawn by two draft horses. They have one barrel of wine and are unsure where to go.

The party also had on their person a magic green stone they had recovered, a stone that Baba Lysaga wanted so badly the party didn’t want her to have it even more. However, objects of power like that are traceable to those who know, meaning a target was on their backs.

Note 22

We end the dawn after a long rest camped out in the woods north of Krezk. A mundane raven snatched one of the raven nails from the paladin. Remember to put the Krezk tokens into Roll20!
The “raven nails” were part of a campaign of terror Strahd was waging against The Order of The Feather, a secret society of wereravens that had been plotting against him for generations. By this point The Order was exposed ,and acting under Stahd’s orders all community leaders in Barovia put up large bounties for ravens, and the remains of ravens were nailed to trees and city gates as a warning. At this point the campaign started taking a bleak turn. As for that last bit, I had fallen behind of making custom tokens for the campaign and just wanted to remind myself to finish the next batch. I was usual two sessions ahead on that kind of thing.

Note 23

Sasha “Two Fingers” Krovnikov - Securing a wedding dress of the proper dimensions.
”Two Fingers” was another fun NPC to roleplay. A barovian smuggler who was half Johnny Tightlips and a third Fonzarelli. He made a few more appearances, but not as many as I would have liked. I can thank Gallow’s criminal contacts ability for bringing him into the campaign.
We end with Otto Belview opening the door to the Abbey’s main hall.

Note 24

We end leaving the Abbey after discovering the Abbot’s true form. The following dawn the Abbott will present the party with a Scroll of Commune attuned to him at the shrine by the lake.
Barovia has few NPCs that are are truly helpful to the party, and even fewer who make good allies. As an angel of The Morninglord the Abbot could do much, but as a corrupted being with counterproductive views on Strahd’s curse there were “irregularities” in his aid. The conflict between the Abbot’s angelic and corrupted natures was a theme that resonated down to the climax of the campaign. It’s just a shame the Abbot, who has never once had to question his faith or his motives, was completely unaware of his own inner conflict. I based the Abbot’s voice on Brother Mace, the tavern monk from Knightmare.

Note 25

We end with Baba Lysaga descending from the sky on her flying skull to force a bargain.

Note 26

We end the following morning after a long rest, but Baba Lysaga has issued an ultimatum. “Bring the stone to the cave of Mother Night by midnight or Krezk dies!”

It may seem strange that a whole session passes between Baba Lysaga’s arrival and her final ultimatum, but I can really get into playing a cackling witch, especially when I go 55% Mad Madame Mim and 55% Witchiepoo.

Note 27

The target magically regains 20 (4d8 + 2) hit points and is freed from any curse, disease, poison, blindness, or deafness.
The party reached out to The Abbot, who was not fond of Baba Lysaga, before their trek to the cave of Mother Night asking for aid, and in return he granted them the above boon. In essence, he gave them a one-off ability to use the Deva’s healing touch.
We end with a procession of Strahd’s new church of the Morninglord approaching the gates of Krezk.

This was another turning point in the campaign. Having discovered several members of the party were heavily invested in The Morninglord but most of the local Morninglord priests were dead, Strahd decided to twist the knife by renovating the temples, stocking them with new priests, and passing himself off as the The Morninglord’s chosen prophet. Strahd’s ability to control the weather in Barovia did a lot to convince the locals this was all true, particularly when Strahd parted the ever-present cloud cover to shine beams of true sunlight on his “anointed” townships. Victor helped him come up with and spearhead the plan.

Note 28

I had intended for the following NPCs to become recuring antagonists. The party had other ideas and had to deal with earning a reputation as priest killers and earning the ire of The Abbot. Of this new church hierarchy, only Victor survived.
Frater Korlov
Sir Lugosov of the Black Shield
Arch Bishop Patashnik (Victor Villakovich)
We end with the party in Argynvostholt, penned in by needle blights and surprised by the passing of a dragon’s shadow.

Note 29

2 revenants return in 24 hours as dead PCs/NPCs.

The revenants of Argynvostholt are one of my favorite parts of the campaign, and I made a point to track their ability to return from death by inhabiting/animating a corpse. From this point forward, any time one of the revenants died it returned in the body of an slain PC or an NPC the party was familiar with. The first one to return inhabited the remains of Galan, which caused shock and confusion.

We end with the flame dragon emerging from room Q6.

Note 30

We end with Vladimir raising his sword in wrath against the party.

Note 31

Vallaki is where Vladimir returns
And so Galan’s remains are repurposed to house the vengeful soul of Vladimir, master of the Order of the Silver Dragon.
We end with a long rest on the roof. It will be after sundown when the party is finished.

Note 32

Poking around the ruins the party found some random treasure. Not listed here, because it was immediately put to use, was the Bow of Storms, a magic item recovered from the body of a long-dead adventurer.
Potion of water breathing
There was a lot of roleplay in the Agynvostholt section of the campaign. In addition of tense interactions with the revenants, the party also briefly encountered and adventured with a dusk elf scout named Savid who I can reveal now is the long lost father of their paladin Mara. The dusk elves were having their own problems with Strahd and were looking for a new place to settle that would hopefully keep them hidden from his attentions. This was not to be.
We end with the party in a cave near Argynvostholt, its door sealed with summoned iron bars. The Vistani have been dissuaded, and Ezmerelda now enjoys a long rest with the party. The next session begins at sunrise.

Note 33

One of the nastier features of Curse of Strahd is Stahd’s ability to intercept spells like Commune if he so chooses. By this point Strahd had been using Mara’s Cummune spells to manipulate the party, often by feeding them false information or leading them into trouble. Below are my notes on the most important questions Mara asked upon casting Commune and the responses given.
Ambush at lake thanks to Strahd’s intercepted commune spell!! He’s directing them to the lake
Take Ireena to lake? NO!
Go to lake before facing Strahd? YES!
Take Tatiana’s remains to lake? NO!

By this point Ireena had rejoined the party, but due to her time under the protection of the now mostly eradicated Order of the Feather, she was a wereraven locked forever into her raven form.

Sir Devin Devole buried at Argynvostholt
We end with Revenants pursuing the party. The two slain revenants have returned in the bodies of Galan and the dead Burgomaster of Barovia.

Note 34

During their stint in Argynvostholt the party became a target of the Order of the Silver Dragon’s vengeance, meaning every revenant in Barovia was on their tail. This threat loomrd over the party for several sessions and keep them constantly on the move.

We end with the party fleeing south to Berez. The Shield Guardian is destroyed. They will arrive around 3pm. Ezmerelda is with them.

Though I didn’t mention it earlier, in the Amber Temple the party got a hold of a Shield Guardian, which stuck with them until this session, where it was destroyed by revenants while covering the party’s escape.

Note 35

We end at sunrise the following morning, having completed long rest in the standing stones. Baba’s hut has moved a bit to the north east, but the old witch has yet to return.

Note 36

At this point the party was beginning to lose faith in the Commune spell and had taken to consulting a tarokka deck before making major decisions. The following are the cards drawn in a spread during the party’s stay in Berez.
Marionette
Evoker
Elementalist
Ghost
Beggar
We end after a long rest in the carpenters workshop/house in Krezk. The Belview bride is scratching at the door.
Mishka Belview was probably my second favorite NPC in the game. Melkur had given her a haunch of meat upon their first meeting, and from that point forward Mishka assumed she was being courted. She escaped from the Abbey and shadowed the party for some time, doing her best to protect her beloved barbarian. This led to my favorite line of the game. “You are my husband! Or my bride. I’m not picky.”

Note 37

Human Fighter
Half-elf Druid/Warlock
Half-orc Barbarian
Half-elf Paladin
Just taking stock of the party’s current composition. Not sure why I did it here in the middle and not anywhere else.
Madame Eva’s new reading on Strahd’s Enemy: The Raven.
“Find the leader of the feathered ones who lived among the vines. Though old, he has one more fight left in him.”
A lot happened this session. The party returned to Krezk only to find Baba Lysaga made good on her threat and the town is well and truly dead. The buildings are abandoned, the land is blighted, and a few hastily dug graves have been disinterred by ghouls.

However, the party brought the raven Ireena to the lake and a miracle occured, The spirit of Sergei (the brother Strahd murdered) guided Ireena into the lake, cured her lycanthropy, and the two were at last united in death and far from Strahd’s power.

As Ireena was Strahd’s prophesied enemy, I prepared another card reading in case the party ever sought out Eva to find another being of destiny who could take up Ireena’s burden. The result was Davian Martikov, the elder patriarch of the Matrikovs and one of the leaders of the all-but-irradicated Order of the Feather.

Finally, the party gained a new member, the dwarf cleric Zevrem, who was introduced protecting a caravan of refugees who became ensared by the mists of Barovia. His special starting gear is listed below.

9 Potion of Greater Healing
10 Bag of Holding
87 Driftglobe
Whesker - Refugee convoy leader.
We end with the party at the Abbey gate having just been handed Strahd’s final letter. The Abbot is most displeased.

Strah’d Final Letter

My friends,

You have wounded me more deeply than you could ever know. You have denied me my one and only love, my only reason for going on in this half-life of endless night. But a von Zarovich does not surrender to despair!

As you have broken my heart, I shall break your bodies! As you have stolen my love, I shall steal your souls! As you have filled my eyes with tears, I shall fill your days and nights with horrors! This is my vow as a von Zarovich!

To think, I once viewed your antics with some degree of amusement. They have grown tiresome.

Your host,

Strahd von Zarovich

Note 38

Prestov Malikovich
The party tracked down Madame Eva’s convoy and received her new prophesy. Madame Eva’s final message before sending the party on their way was a whispered, “We shall not see each other alive again.”

While at the convoy the party did some wheeling and daling with Prestov, a smuggler who was eager to trade. However, a critical failure on a roll to bargain had consequences.
Potion of Heroism is real, the diamond dust isn’t.
Gold circlet set with four aquamarines
The suposed diamond dust was a fake, little more than powdered quartz. This would come up later when the party attempted to use their “diamond dust” as a material component.
We end with the party taking a long rest at the western edge of the Old Svalich Road having gained an accurate prophesy, a useful tip, and a fake pouch of diamond dust. The Knights of the Silver Dragon will be arriving tomorrow at dawn.

Note 39

The NPCs have their own agenda, and time marches on. I kept Jakarion in my back pocket in case I needed a morally compromised ally, a suprise antagoniat, or a monkeywrench for later in the campaign.
Jakarion has rebuild Van Richten’s Tower and is preparing to transcend into lichdom.

The party did attempt to track down the wereraven Davian, but Baba Lysaga got to him first, eventually snapping his neck in full view of the party.
We end with Baba Lysaga on the run, her hut destroyed, with the cry of an infant echoing through its rotting remains.

Note 40

Baba Lysaga is dead, but she will become a ghost.
I wasn’t satisfied with Baba Lysaga’s demise. It was a bit too easy, but it was too easy for reasons that were true to her character. In her rage she acted foolishly, left herself vulnerable, and paid the price. But it did allow me to keep her around as a ghost haunting the party.
We end with a long rest in the magic circle just outside of the ruins of Berez. The party will awaken to the Knights searching through the remains of Baba Lysaga’s hut.

Note 40

9 days until Davian cannot be raised.
The party recovered Davian’s remains and hoped to raise him from the dead. At this point I kept a running tally of how long it would be before that wouldn’t be an option.
We end with the party taking shelter in a cave in the lee of Castle Ravenloft as Cyril, in the form of a blood hawk, scouts the castle from the air. However, as he finishes his survey 4 Flying Swords swoop up and give chase! For the moment Strahd and Rahadin are elsewhere.

Note 41

We end with Mara and two Barovians trapped in the freshly triggered elevator trap in room K61. (Early afternoon)
At long last, the party is inside Castle Ravenloft!

Note 42

We end with the party attempting to flee the castle on Cyril in roc form. However, Strahd has returned and calls down an apocalyptic storm. Now that he has been met on the balcony, the prophesy is ended. (Early evening)
Just as the cards predicted, Stahd was alone and with his guard down on the balcony. However, the party was focussed on escape and didn’t take advantage of this moment of weakness. Due to the nature of the prophesy, such a moment of weakness would not return.

Melkur’s Letter to Mishka

Dear Mishka

Please take Patches to Krezk. I will meet you where we had our first date in the abbey well.

Love, Melkur & rest of party.

A few sessions agp the party left Mishka Belview and Gallow’s horse Patches (so named because he was summored from a patch on a Robe of Useful Items) in the cave where they had rested the night before. However, Strahd had discovered this cave and slaughtered the both of them. Later, The Abbot would collect the remains and return them to The Abbey for one of his experements.

Note 43

We end on the grounds of Argynvostholt. The dragon’s spirit has been laid to rest and his order is disbanded. Only Godfrey remains to accomplish one final quest.

Note 44

Remember Cyril’s message on the stick marking Rahadin’s grave
The party killed Strahd’s right hand man Rahadin and burried him in the woods near Argynvostholt. A Gentle Repose spell was cast on the grave to prevent the dusk elf from returning as an undead.
We end with the party in flight heading to Castle Ravenloft, stopping off at the cave for a long rest.
Clawed finger bone from Mishka and a tooth from Patches found in cave.

Note 45

We end with the party having broken into the restored tomb of Strahd’s parents. The sarcophagi are now trapped and a party of armed Barovian commoners lurk in the crypts, lead by a vengeful woman turned vampire who saw her husband killed by the party’s negligence.
This woman was the wife of one of the Barovians trapped in the elevator with the party in Note 41. With her husband dead, she blamed the party and gladly accepted thralldom as the price for a shot at revenge.
We end in the chapel of Castle Ravenloft as a cadre of Wights walk out on the balcony, arrows nocked, thus interrupting the party’s short rest at the 30 minute mark. It is early evening.

Note 46

2 days until Raven cannot be raised.
2 days until Rahadin can be raised.
We end with the party circling Argynvostholt from the air. The fallen Mika Hallows is in pursuit. From this vantage point they can see a Vistani caravan pressing west. An army flying Strahd’s colors is marching past Vallaki. Night has fallen.

MIka, last seen sacrificing herself to cover the party’s escape from the Amber Temple, returns as a vampire thrall in Strahd’s service. Named “The Huntress”, her powers have been darkly inverted. Once a Protector Asamar, she is now a Fallen Aasamar tasked with hounding the party she once called her own.
Several session back Strahd used his weather control to turn Barovia’s perpetual autumn into a deathly winter. To back up his deception that he was the chosen of The Morninglord, Strahd protected Barovia Villiage, Vallaki, and Krezk from the endless blizzrd. The cold and severe weather drove the wereravens to the brink of extinction and kept the party at constant risk of exhaustion. It made escape by flight, a favorate tactic of the party, a risky endeavor.

Finally, the army flying Strahd’s colors was another major development. With his mind turned to vengence, Strahd realised that the only thing other than his true love that gave his life purpose was conquest. The vistani caravan was to use its freedom of movement to enter a new realm and work a spell that would call up the mists and have them surround some poor town in this other realm, effectively expanding Barovia’s borders. The army was to follow in the vistani’s wake and demand unconditional surrenders and oaths of fealty to their undead master.

Note 47

Borgol Pavalaki
This incedental NPC, named after the title character in Danial Pinkwater’s novel Borgel, was Strahd in disguise just screwing with the party.
We end with the party using Transport via Plants to enter Strahd’s withered vineyard shortly after dawn. The tower of Argynvost is destroyed by Strahd’s agents, but its light remains. Strahd weeps in Serge’s tomb, but he is well guarded. Zevrem made a prayer to see Godfrey again when they both have their blades at Strahd’s throat, and the gods answered!

Note 48

We end with the party in the Heart’s tower (area K20). The tower has awakened. Stahd’s animated armor has gone to inform it’s master of the heroes’ presence. Melkur has fallen to the bottom of the tower!
The endgame begins! This encounter played out over several sessions as an escalating combat where death was constantly in the cards.

Note 49

We end with the party still trapped in the tower, and Strahd has made his triumphant entrance through his teleportation location in the tower’s top chamber.

The Huntress also joined this fight, as did Carys, rescued from her Gaes by Strahd and now reborn as a vampire thrall. She wept blood as she did Strahd’s wicket bidding.

Note 50

We end with Strahd climbing down the tower just as The Abbot lands upon its top to confront the party. Strahd plans to merge with his armor!

I say merge, but he was just going to enter his armor and go full Iron Man.

Note 51

However, it was not to be. There are no notes for this, the final session. Strahd never made it to his armor. However, Godfrey returned to joind the battle, as did Miska the Patches! The Abbot stitched the remains of Miska and Gallow’s horse together into a centaur-like being, then brought it to live. Somehow, this new creature embodied the most virtious qualities of Mishka and Patches. Now a would-be paladin of The Morninglord, Mishka escaped from the Abbey and came to the party’s aid!

In one of the greatest acts of heroism I’ve ever seen as a GM, Zevrem threw himself down the tower, to his almost certain death, just to get within range of Strahd and cast a potentially lethal spell. It worked, and Strahd was slain never to return. This was the final full session of the campaign. However, I like to wrap up all campaigns with an epilogue, which we played out the following week.

Note 52 (The Epilogue)

I like to do an epilogue so loose story threads can be tied off, and the whole campaign can be wrapped up with a bow. But I still took notes because I wanted to be sure to remembr where the party found itself as Barovia knew its first true sunrise in almost 500 years.
We end with Mara and Ezmerelda riding away romantically to bring Izmark into their throuple. Melkur is in the mountain peaks of his homeland. Zevrem is once again walking the pilgrimage trail and protecting faithful wanderers. Gallows has walked away into the mists, redeemed by the grace of The Morninglord he is now a wandering hero with a sword of light. We end with Cyril smelling a fresh grape blossom in the new dawn having restored life to the fields around The Wizard of WInes vinyard.
But there was one thread that wasn’t quite tied off, so…
Kasimir digs through the rubble of Castle Ravenloft in the post credit scene.