TEXT: A Ravenloft
  A Ravenloft
  A Ravenloft
  A Ravenloft
  A Ravenloft
  ® Campaign Setting Supplement
   Campaign Setting Supplement
   Campaign Setting Supplement
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  1
  Ravenloft Gazeteer lV
  Credits
  Authors:
  James Lowder, John W. Mangrum, Ryan
  Naylor, Anthony Pryor, Voronica
  Whitney-Robinson and Andrew Wyatt
  Developers::
  Jackie Cassada and Nicky Rea
  Editor:
  Mike Johnstone
  Sword & Sorcery Managing Editor:
  Andrew Bates
  Art Director:
  Richard Thomas
  Layout and Typesetting:
  Ron Thompson
  Interior Artists:
  Talon Dunning, Jeremy McHugh,
  Veronica Jones, Richard Thomas, Beth
  Trott and Jason Walker
  Front and Back Cover Designer:
  Ron Thompson
  © 2003 Wizards of the Coast Inc. Ravenloft, D&D, Dungeons & Dragons and its
  logo, the d20 System logo, and Wizards of the Coast and its logo are trademarks or
  registered trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., in the USA
  and other countries, and are used by Arthaus under license. PRINTED IN CANADA
  Special Acknowledgements
  Andria Hayday (1st ed. design)
  Bruce Nesmith (1st ed. design)
  Tracy & Laura Hickman (original
  concept)
  Additional Thanks
  Based on the Original Dungeons &
  Dragons ® rules created by E. Gary Gygax
  and Dave Arneson and the new Dungeons
  & Dragons game designed by Johnathan
  Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams,
  Richard Baker and Peter Adkison.
  
  2
  Foreward
  Table of Contents
  Foreword
  3
  Report One: Borca
  8
  Report Two: Invidia
  38
  Report Three: Verbrek
  62
  Report Four: Valachan
  85
  Report Five: Sithicus
  106
  Attached Notes: DM’s Appendix
  131
  
  3
  Ravenloft Gazeteer lV
  Foreword
  Foreword
  The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
  But I have promises to keep,
  And miles to go before I sleep.
  — Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a
  Snowy Evening
  
  4
  Foreward
  I now take quill to the fourth Doomsday
  Gazetteer. Upon its completion I shall
  have dedicated two years of my life to
  this ambitious project, traveling over
  half the lands of the Core. My prior
  research had well established my own remarkable
  talent and resolve, and when Azalin, my patron,
  miraculously returned from the Gray Realm in 755
  BC, he approached me for an epic undertaking.
  The king of Darkon retained me to survey all the
  lands of the Core. For nearly a year my patron chose
  to remain anonymous, and to date I have yet to face
  him in person. I am unsatisfied with the scant
  reason he has given for sponsoring this ambitious
  project. Perhaps a monarch of his stature mistak-
  enly presumes that he can treat a peerless scholar
  such as myself like a common scraping courtier.
  The second, more unsettling possibility is that
  my patron is waiting for some event that will set a
  grandiose plan in motion. Is he anticipating some
  momentous occurrence that will reveal the reasons
  for this fool’s errand? Is this bracer a poisoned seed
  that only blossoms when the proper conditions are
  met?
  I am my own woman, my patron. I have
  received nothing from you but sinister commands
  and the wholesale suppression of information.
  Though the challenge of these Doomsday Gazet-
  teers appeals to me, I have no particular attachment
  to your patronage. The fate of your schemes means
  nothing to me, and if I chose to abandon our
  arrangement, my work would suddenly be avail-
  able to the highest bidder.
  Your sheer confidence in your erudition
  and thoroughness continues to provide me
  with much amusement, little scholar. Let us
  hope that you remain amusing rather than
  annoying.
  In the spring of 756, my journey began, while
  this spring saw my path wind through Dementlieu,
  Mordent and Richemulot.
  Now the chill in the air has returned, and it is
  with a leaden spirit that I turn my eyes once more
  to the Balinok Mountains. Borca lies before me, as
  well as all the other lands of the southwestern Core.
  The recent months have been bereft of word from
  my patron, which vexes me. Yet I have undertaken
  this journey out of my own intellectual curiosity
  and not due to any loyalty to or fear of my patron.
  The leather and onyx bracer that I have worn
  — as my patron requested — since I departed
  Darkon is the source of my current unease. Since I
  cannot remove it, I have found ample time to dwell
  on its purpose. I have seen no evidence that it is a
  “protective” device as my patron claimed, meant to
  shield me from his enemies abroad. Significantly,
  my patron has not contacted me since I first donned
  this bracer nine months ago. This silence invites
  one of two hypotheses. The first possibility is that
  my patron’s gift serves as an arcane monitoring
  device. If this is indeed the truth, I wish he would
  simply say so and save me considerable effort,
  parchment and ink.
  Such insolence; such lethal presumption.
  Rest assured, my little scholar, the benefits of
  my patronage will become apparent soon enough.
  Talent can take you only so far, and your luck,
  however remarkable up to this point, can last
  only so long.
  Report Format
   shall preface each volume of the Dooms-
  day Gazetteers with a summary of my
  standard practices and formatting. I shall
  continue to uphold the regular travel
  schedule I have maintained this past
  year, allotting roughly six weeks to study each
  country, taking more or less time as required. I shall
  then immediately relay each report back to Darkon
  upon its completion. When so-called “local color”
  proves intriguing, I will provide direct excerpts of
  my interviews with the native populace. For clarity’s
  sake, I shall present these anecdotes in illuminated
  sidebars.
  Given that my travels are taking me farther
  and farther away from Darkon, I will no doubt
  become dependent on my patron’s lackeys to de-
  liver these pages into his moldering hands. To
  avoid confusion, all reports adhere to the following
  standard format:
  Landscape
  In this section, I present a naturalist’s view of
  each region, focusing on noteworthy features of its
  
  5
  Ravenloft Gazeteer lV
  landscape, flora and fauna. I also take note of
  important waterways and trade routes, and I de-
  scribe prevailing architectural styles.
  Local Animals and Native Horrors
  These sidebars present natural wildlife
  and unnatural monsters that are particularly
  well-suited for adventures in the domain;
  they are not exhaustive lists of all the crea-
  tures to be found. Creature lists are divided
  into “Wildlife” (common, natural animals)
  and “Monsters” (uncommon, unnatural
  threats). To make it easier to prepare an
  encounter quickly, creatures are listed in or-
  der of ascending Challenge Ratings. Any
  creatures in italics are under the influence of
  the domain’s darklord (see “Enchantment”
  effects the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook).
  Unless noted otherwise, all creatures can be
  found in the Monster Manual or Monster
  Manual II. Creatures marked with an asterisk
  can be found in Denizens of Dread. Crea-
  tures marked with two asterisks are included
  in the Attached Notes.
  History
  As this letter marks the opening of a new
  Doomsday Gazetteer, I should once again address
  the frustrations of historical study. Objectively
  speaking, many lands in our world have existed for
  only a very short time. On those occasions when
  the Mists have parted, the lands they revealed have
  typically appeared fully formed and fully popu-
  lated. The inhabitants of these new lands own full
  memories of lives well before the emergence of
  their home. In addition, their historical records
  often stretch back centuries. In short, dear patron,
  these folk believe themselves to be as real as you or
  I, and in truth I cannot disprove the claim.
  Common wisdom holds that these new lands
  were simply “revealed” to the world, having existed
  all along while hidden deep in the Misty Border.
  Occultists in some circles, however, posit the exist-
  ence of other worlds — the supposed origins of the
  “outlanders,” with which my patron is assuredly
  familiar. These occultists theorize that each of
  these realms was possibly drawn into our Land of
  Mists from one of these so-called outlander worlds.
  
  6
  Foreward
  I once scoffed at such wild theories, but I have
  now come to accept them on a theoretical basis.
  Yet when one probes into the recorded history —
  or even living memory — of a region before its
  emergence, such history often proves to be vague,
  incomplete, or even self-contradictory.
  This situation leads me to the disturbing hy-
  pothesis that many lands in our world were
  potentially created from whole cloth on the day
  that they first appeared in the Mists. Every aspect
  of the region’s history, memories and lives predat-
  ing that day may be nothing more than an
  unfathomably complex phantasm. I hesitate to
  guess at the power of the nameless forces capable of
  such creation, but the facts speak for themselves.
  For the sake of clarity, I endeavor to establish
  a “seminal event” during which each land first
  emerged — or, perhaps, materialized. Following
  this seminal event, cross-referenced historical docu-
  ments from surrounding lands establish the region’s
  objective existence. I cannot confirm that any-
  thing before this seminal event actually occurred
  in any real sense. Therefore, although I include this
  “false history” in my accounts, I endeavor to focus
  only on those historical events that still resonate in
  the present.
  The historical record of some countries reads
  as a chain of usurpers, one tyrant overthrowing the
  next. If one or more of the past rulers of a country
  proves particularly interesting, I provide a brief
  biography in an illuminated sidebar.
  Populace
  In this section, I present a census taker’s view
  of each land. My survey includes physical charac-
  teristics, fashions, demeanor, customs, cuisine and
  an overview of prevalent religions. I also present
  brief primers on the foreign tongues that I encoun-
  ter.
  The Realm
  In this section, I turn my eye to the flow of
  power and the manner in which it is exploited.
  First, I provide an overview of each region’s formal
  government, including law enforcement and pre-
  vailing opinions regarding current rulers. Next, I
  turn to economic power, including forms of cur-
  rency, natural resources and notable industries.
  Lastly, I focus on matters of diplomacy, examining
  how each nation interacts with its neighbors.
  In addition, my Requiem research and my
  year-long trek across the Core have taught me
  much about the true nature of power. My patron is
  of course intimately aware of the legends of what I
  term “dread lords”: vile individuals who mystically
  bind themselves to their realms in the pursuit of
  power, receiving dire curses in return. It has come
  to my attention that my patron almost certainly
  already knows the identities of these dread lords,
  but to assuage my own intellectual curiosity, I shall
  continue to ferret out likely suspects whenever
  evidence presents itself. Though I suspect that my
  endeavors have something to do with these dread
  lords, in recent months I have come to believe that
  my patron’s true motivation lies elsewhere. With-
  out a doubt, he is searching for something, and I am
  his proverbial eyes and ears. If my patron would be
  so kind as to tell me what my quarry might be, it
  would save us both time and aggravation.
  Sites of Interest
  Here I present a brief travelogue of my journey
  through the significant settlements and other in-
  triguing locales in each nation, including
  noteworthy structures and inhabitants. To capture
  the flavor — and at times, annoyances — of my
  travels, I list communities and sites of more esoteric
  appeal in the order in which I visit them.
  Simply for my own reference, I also include a
  few notes on food and lodging for each community;
  to be thorough, my surveys have often required
  convoluted routes and extensive backtracking.
  Final Thoughts
  Upon the completion of my survey of each
  land, I compile my notes and conclude with my
  executive summary of the region as a whole. For my
  patron’s benefit, I shall distill my impression of the
  land, including potential causes for concern and
  weaknesses that might be exploited.
  
  7
  Ravenloft Gazeteer lV
  How to Use This Book
  The book you now hold is an annotated version of
  the Doomsday Gazetteer Volume IV, compiled from the
  narrator’s reports and correspondence. The bulk of this
  text is a travelogue, relating the narrator’s experiences
  and observations during a six-month survey of five
  domains of the southwestern Core: Borca, Invidia,
  Verbrek, Valachan and Sithicus.
  The narrator’s patron, Azalin Rex, may also occa-
  sionally remark on the narrator’s commentary, perhaps
  to offer a differing opinion, as can be seen above.
  Sidebars such as this one present special game
  material that should be read only by the Dungeon
  Master. If you are a player, reading these sections may
  spoil some of the mystery your Dungeon Master has in
  store for you. Keep in mind that Rule 0 still applies;
  “Dread Possibility” sidebars in particular present se-
  crets and adventure ideas that may or may not be true.
  The Dungeon Master should decide whether these
  scenarios apply to her campaign.
  The final section of this book, Attached Notes,
  covers new game rules, magic, creatures, NPCs and
  locations. Whenever the narrator refers to attaching
  extra notes at the end of a report, game material on that
  subject can be found in the appendix. As with sidebars,
  players should refrain from reading the Attached Notes.
  A single copy of each Doomsday Gazetteer exists
  within the game setting, written in Draconic and care-
  fully encoded (requiring a successful DC 30 Decipher
  Script check to interpret). Heroes may use the informa-
  tion found within these pages, but first they must obtain
  the book. This should entail an adventure in itself.
  Heroes would most likely intercept a Doomsday Gazetteer
  report as it is being delivered to the narrator’s patron. Of
  course, Azalin will seek to recover his property….
  While the primary purpose of the Gazetteers is to
  enrich the Ravenloft setting, Dungeon Masters are just as
  strongly encouraged to plunder these books for chilling
  NPCs, locations and concepts for use in any horror-
  tinged campaign. The Realm of Dread is a jigsaw world,
  and each element can be easily imported to other set-
  tings, including those the Dungeon Master creates herself.
  Domains at a Glance
  Each domain report opens with a brief account of
  the domain’s vital statistics, in the following format:
  Cultural Level: The domain’s degree of techno-
  logical and cultural development, ranging from Savage
  (0) to Renaissance (9). See Chapter One of the
  Ravenloft Player’s Handbook for more details.
  Ecology & Climate/Terrain: The domain’s ecology
  rating (Full, Sparse, or No) and terrain types (see the
  Monster Manual). These factors determine the effective-
  ness of summoning spells within that domain. (See
  “Conjuration” effects in Chapter Three of the Ravenloft
  Player’s Handbook.)
  Year of Formation: The year on the Barovian
  Calendar when the domain first appeared.
  Population: The domain’s approximate total popu-
  lation. Undead and full-blooded Vistani are not included
  in population statistics.
  Races: A racial breakdown of the domain’s popula-
  tion. “Other” indicates a mixture of standard nonhuman
  races that are not explicitly cited, as well as a smattering of
  living, intelligent monsters that can pass for human. When
  more than one human ethnic group lives in the domain,
  these groups are also broken down in descending order of
  social dominance.
  Languages & Religions: Local languages and reli-
  gions are presented in descending order of popularity.
  The official or dominant language(s) and religions(s), if
  any, are labeled with an asterisk.
  Government: The domain’s officially recognized
  form of government. In Ravenloft, however, the true,
  hidden chains of power may take a significantly different
  form. Not all domains have a centralized authority, and
  some have no formal government at all. When appli-
  cable, sidebars also include notes and game statistics for
  typical members of local law enforcement.
  Ruler: The domain’s publicly recognized political
  ruler, should the domain have a centralized government.
  Darklord: The domain’s true master. Individual
  darklords are described in full in the Attached Notes.
  The Native Hero
  These sidebars offer special notes and advice on
  creating PCs native to the domain. Such notes include
  the local role of the standard races and classes, recom-
  mended skills and feats that capture the domain’s
  atmosphere, and examples of typical names.
  Law Enforcement
  For quick reference, each report includes a brief
  sidebar offering game statistics for the typical member of
  local enforcement.
  Sites of Interest
  Each settlement includes a sidebar presenting full
  community statistics. (See “Generating Towns” in Chap-
  ter 5: Campaigns of the D&D Dungeon Master’s Guide.)
  
  8
  Report One
  Report One:
  Borca
  … if he who rules a principality cannot recognize evils
  until they are upon him, he is not truly wise.
  — Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
  Report One:
  Borca
  
  9
  Borca
  s the barge carried me up the Luna, I
  noted the colors of the forests — not the
  red and orange of turning leaves, but
  tree bark choked by bluish-gray lichens
  and the livid violet of lethal fungus
  glistening in the shadows. The Borcan woodlands
  exhibited an aura of lurking, subtle sickness.
  Several hours after we crossed into Borca, we
  encountered a tiny thorp, little more than a mill
  and a river landing. As we neared, the waterwheel
  turned and dredged up a thick, slime-coated chain
  from the riverbed, stretching from one bank to the
  other. River blockades are not unique to Borca, but
  we crossed no less than four before reaching Sturben.
  At each blockade, coarse thugs bearing the
  Borcan colors rowed out to inspect the craft. These
  militiamen cared only about the cargo manifest;
  their interest in the crew and passengers extended
  no further than the bulge of our coin purses. After
  each band of enforcers extracted their toll, they
  would inevitably suggest that we make additional
  donations to their coffers, assuring us that these
  would fund extra patrols to combat murderous
  brigands who preyed on river traffic. Otherwise,
  they would be unable to guarantee travelers’ safety.
  Once payment was extracted, the chain was
  lowered and we continued on our way. As I disem-
  barked, I asked the captain if the river guardians
  were always so effective at driving off brigands.
  He shook his head in disgust and said, “They
  are the brigands.” Such is Borca.
  Landscape
  orca lies near the heart of the Core, its
  hilly terrain climbing to the northwest-
  ern edge of the southern Balinoks. Cool,
  pleasant summers fade into crisp au-
  tumns. In colder months, frigid winds
  and severe blizzards scourge Borca. In both culture
  and geography, Borca is the borderland between
  the genteel western lands and the backward, moun-
  tainous realms of the southeast. Its oddly pinched
  shape is a remnant of its past; modern Borca is a
  melding of two formerly independent nations. Until
  the Great Upheaval, everything northeast of
  Sturben fell within the borders of Dorvinia.
  Borca’s hills rise from the convergence of two
  major river valleys, the Luna and the Vasha. West-
  ern Borca rolls in gentle slopes and ridges covered
  in verdant forests and grassy dales. Most common-
  ers here fled when Richemulot first emerged, chasing
  dreams of economic freedom. Many hamlets emp-
  tied virtually overnight. Today, the west is home
  only to a handful of thorps, river landings and
  remote country manors. The typical Borcan con-
  siders life in the western woods to be scarcely short
  of exile. Most local landholders either control their
  lands in absentia from the east or live as recluses,
  shuffled away from the dance of Borcan politics due
  to their incompetence or eccentricity.
  Two vast forests cover most of western Borca.
  The House of the Sages continues from Richemulot
  to cover the lands northwest of the Vasha and
  lower Luna, while the Blightwood covers the south-
  west. Cross-country travel is a chore, but Borca’s
  deepest forests are often safer to traverse than its
  back roads. Small bands of Borcan enforcers patrol
  the holdings of their aristocratic masters, and these
  supposed guardians often deal in extortion. Addi-
  tionally, I collected numerous rumors of Falkovnia
  using the sparsely populated wilds to conceal large
  troop movements to and from Invidia. These sol-
  diers may murder witnesses to avoid the attention
  (and taxation) of Borca’s masters. I can confirm
  that Borca has rebuffed numerous Falkovnian at-
  tempts to establish a trading enclave along the
  Luna’s banks.
  Borca at a Glance
  Cultural Level: Chivalric (8)
  Ecology: Full
  Climate/Terrain: Temperate forest,
  hill and mountains
  Year of Formation: 684 BC (Borca);
  709 BC (Dorvinia)
  Population: 34,200
  Races: Humans 95%, halflings 4%,
  other 1%
  Languages: Balok*, Mordentish*,
  Falkovnian, Luktar, Halfling
  Religions: Ezra*, Hala
  Government: Pseudofeudal despotism
  Rulers: Sefeasa Ivana Boritsi; Sef Ivan
  Dilisnya
  Darklords: Ivana Boritsi and Ivan
  Dilisnya
  
  10
  Report One
  Borca is much more densely populated to the
  east, along its major trade routes. With sprawling
  farms, vineyards, grazing lands and private estates,
  eastern Borca’s woodlands have been tamed, re-
  duced to private hunting preserves for the elite or
  kept as sources of timber and rare herbs. The Viorea
  Forest lies at the heart of central Borca, wedged
  between the Vasha and Luna Rivers. These woods
  were once thick and unbroken, but the Crimson
  Highway and generations of development split the
  Viorea into halves, surrounded on all sides by
  settled lands, including the communities of Sturben
  and Levkarest.
  The Balinok foothills grow more rugged as one
  travels east into the Dorvinian uplands, rapidly
  ascending to the ragged, barren peak of Mount
  Gries (4,480 ft.), the highest point in Borca. A
  thriving source of silver in centuries past, Mt. Gries
  is now a forlorn reminder of past glories. A thin ring
  of clouds continually obscures its peak, and the
  mountain is riddled with caves and exhausted
  mines, home to uncountable hordes of bats that
  plague the surrounding slopes.
  Borcans are not overtly superstitious folk, but
  many trace their ancestry to Barovia, and a few
  latent fears remain. A swarm of bats can drain an
  unsheltered animal dry of its blood overnight.
  When combined with the appearance of unusual
  strangers, these exsanguinations occasionally spur
  lethal vampire panics.
  Evidence indicates that Mt. Gries may be the
  origin of a legend I have traced throughout the
  Balinoks concerning the Night Swarm, a mon-
  strous swarm of bats so vast that their leathery
  wings block out the moon, so voracious they can
  exsanguinate entire herds of goats overnight.
  Borcans who live in the shadow of Mt. Gries are
  often as terrified of sunset as the most superstitious
  Barovian.
  Mt. Gries divides the Dorvinian uplands into
  two regions. The Steading spreads out from the
  southwestern slopes, while the Doldak Heights
  extend to the northeast. The settlement of Vor
  Ziyden marks the heart of the Steading. The Ziyden
  Woods spread north, while the Tainted Wood sits
  across the Strecura River, stretching to the border.
  Together, these forests have gained a reputation
  that extends even into Barovia. Lethal herbs and
  fungi sprout in such remarkable quantities — even
  for Borca — that they reputedly leak toxins into
  the soil, warping the trees and tainting the crystal-
  line mountain streams around them. The Steading
  
  11
  Borca
  is too rocky and hilly to support widespread agricul-
  ture and is thus occupied by grazing lands and
  highly prized vineyards.
  The mountainous and forbidding Doldak
  Heights are treacherous and barren, sparsely popu-
  lated by mining camps that seldom see visitors. The
  Royal Grove, the private hunting grounds of Ivan
  Dilisnya, clings to the jagged earth just east of
  Lechberg. Informally, this forest is better known as
  the Twinwood. Most trees here have two trunks
  growing from a single root system. In many cases,
  one of the trunks is parasitic, growing strong while
  the other shrivels and dies. In other trees, the
  trunks spiral and twine around each other, as if
  frozen in the midst of a dance — or a fight for
  dominance. To the north and west, the Doldak
  Heights reach an abrupt end at the cliffs of the
  Shadow Rift.
  Three major rivers tumble down from the
  Balinoks to the east, with mountain runoff bring-
  ing floods each spring. The Luna River flows from
  Barovia, winding through the country’s heart be-
  fore joining the Musarde in Richemulot. Fed by
  numerous lesser tributaries, the Luna is navigable
  throughout its entire length, forming a crucial
  trade route with the west. Only small craft can
  continue upriver past Levkarest, however.
  The Vasha River is Borca’s vital northern
  thoroughfare, linking Lechberg, Ilvin and Sturben
  before joining the Luna. Prior to the Great Up-
  heaval, the Vasha originated on the northern slopes
  of Mt. Gries, flowing into G’Henna before curving
  back around into Dorvinia. The Shadow Rift sev-
  ered that natural course; now, the upper Vasha
  remains a whitewater brook, but uselessly pours
  into the abyss of the Shadow Rift. The lower Vasha
  is low and sluggish, particularly above its main
  tributary, the Strecura River, where only minor
  brooks and springs feed its flow. In summer, the
  morass is a breeding ground for stinging insects.
  Ivan Dilisnya, however, funded the construction of
  a levee near the Vasha’s new headwaters and a
  series of new aqueducts to swell the river enough to
  support small vessels, though large craft still risk
  running aground upriver of Ilvin.
  Lake Srebro, Borca’s largest body of water, is a
  crystal pool at the southern foot of Mt. Gries. The
  Strecura River rises from these headwaters, but
  flows directly between the toxic Ziyden Wood and
  the Tainted Wood, so its waters do not remain pure
  for long. The Strecura curves around Vor Ziyden,
  often passing between high cliffs, before ultimately
  bolstering the Vasha. Its entire length is navigable
  by small craft.
  Borca’s water supply is fed by lesser rivulets
  and Borca’s natural hot springs. The country is
  geothermally active, but does not suffer from earth
  tremors. Mineral waters boil up from the earth in
  the form of geysers and natural, eternally steaming
  cauldrons. The sediment in their sulfurous waters
  produces garish colors and stone formations resem-
  bling molten wax. Tight clusters of these hot springs
  — traditionally called hellspouts — are scattered
  randomly, even appearing high atop hills and sub-
  merged in riverbeds. These latter hellspouts are
  known as river devils for the way they churn the
  currents like frenzied sharks.
  Common lore holds that ancient Borcans
  feared and shunned the hellspouts as lairs of de-
  mons, dragons and similar bogeymen. Centuries
  ago, the Borcans lost their fear and developed
  methods of safely harnessing the springs’ thermal
  power. Most modern Borcan settlements cluster
  around hellspouts, and the Borcans’ irrigation and
  water engineering techniques are quite advanced.
  Aqueducts feed their towns’ water reservoirs,
  cramped drainage sewers shield towns from spring
  thaws, and many hot springs have been harnessed
  to heat greenhouses or create fountains and sooth-
  ing baths. A few manors even boast hot and cold
  running water. These structures, however, incor-
  porate the waters through iron pipes and
  springhouses. All attempts to build large structures
  directly atop the hellspouts have been doomed,
  with the seething waters quickly undermining the
  buildings’ foundations.
  Such boiling vats could doubtless hold appeal
  for other cunning predators as well, to say
  nothing of those who wish to dispose of unwanted
  corpses.
  Every Borcan knows tales of the super-heated
  water boiling the flesh from a hapless victim’s
  bones. The most dangerous hellspouts cannot even
  be seen. On rare occasions, a cauldron forms just
  beneath a thin, brittle, cooked crust of earth,
  which can collapse under an explorer’s weight.
  When walking near a hellspout cluster, one should
  be wary of round, barren patches of earth or wisps
  of steam rising from the soil. Many Borcans report
  seeing strange lights and shapes in hellspout va-
  pors, particularly near dawn and dusk. Although I
  
  12
  Report One
  am inclined to ascribe these apparitions to natural
  gasses escaping from the springs, Borcans claim
  they are the tortured spirits of those who lost their
  lives to the searing waters and now want others to
  share their misery.
  passing through the dreaded Svalich Pass to link
  Borca to the distant Vaasi Plateau. To the north,
  the seldom-used Lech’s Road cuts west from
  Lechberg to join the Seelewald Road in Falkovnia,
  where its name has been spitefully corrupted into
  the “Lecher’s Road.”
  The Borcan militia stamps out banditry on the
  highways by hiring out mercenary escorts for mer-
  chant caravans, but lone travelers can seldom
  afford such protection. The corrupt militia inevita-
  bly collects its due, caring little whether it does so
  as guardians or brigands.
  Borcan architects are widely and deservedly
  praised for their artistry, skill and discretion. Many
  Borcan homes contain one or more secret passages,
  ranging from long escape tunnels to concealed
  doors that open to reveal a privy or servants’
  staircase. Borca’s architects occasionally accept
  commissions in neighboring lands; one can safely
  assume that all such structures contain at least one
  secret their owners did not want revealed to local
  builders.
  Most homes and businesses are broad, massive
  buildings of whitewashed brick, with gabled, steeply
  sloped rooftops shingled in thin wood of charcoal
  gray and topped with slender, knobby spires. Most
  are two stories high, but a few reach three or four.
  Interior walls are plastered smooth, often painted
  in lush colors. Arching wooden trim of dark green
  or blue graces the doors and windows, usually
  carved with stylized vines and toadstools. Most
  large townhouses center around an open-air atrium
  overlooked by balconies supported by distinctive,
  rounded arches. These courtyards sometimes house
  a private garden or mineral bath and are tradition-
  ally where the master of the house first greets
  visitors (perhaps with a phalanx of crossbowmen
  watching from the balconies). Country manors are
  sprawling affairs, with an extended family, guests
  and servants living in separate, connected wings.
  The surrounding grounds divide into numerous,
  lovingly organized gardens. Many of the herbs,
  vegetables and flowers grown here are known for
  their medicinal properties.
  Borcan settlements follow the same basic prin-
  ciples as individual buildings. Narrow, winding
  streets covered in smooth flagstones seldom see
  daylight, cast into shadow by the buildings’ over-
  hanging upper floors. These dark mazes connect
  the great town squares, which emerge as islands of
  light and warmth in contrast. Depending on their
  placement and purpose, these plazas may be home
  Hellspouts
  Cauldrons are always dangerous, but
  geysers present a threat only when they
  erupt. Some geysers erupt on a regular, pre-
  dictable schedule, while others erupt once
  every 1d20 minutes. Once it erupts, a geyser
  continues to billow boiling water for 1d6
  rounds. Its steam offers concealment as the
  spell obscuring mist, to a radius equal to half
  the geyser’s height.
  Boiling water inflicts 1d6 points of heat
  damage if it splashes a victim. If a victim is
  standing in the same 5-foot area as a geyser
  when it erupts, she suffers 5d6 points of heat
  damage per round of exposure. In either
  case, the victim can make a DC 18 Reflex
  save for half damage. If a victim is com-
  pletely submerged in boiling water, such as
  a cauldron, she suffers 10d6 points of heat
  damage per round of exposure and does not
  receive a saving throw. Fire resistance is
  effective against scalding damage, but crea-
  tures of elemental water are immune. If a
  water elemental is conjured from a boiling
  water source, it temporarily retains that
  heat, inflicting an extra +1d6 points of heat
  damage with each of its natural attacks for
  1d10 rounds.
  Borca sports numerous winding country roads
  and a pair of true highways, which the Borcans
  keep passable and in good repair throughout the
  year. The Scythe Highway crosses south from
  Falkovnia into central Borca, gradually twisting to
  the northeast, following the course of the Vasha
  and connecting Sturben, Ilvin and Lechberg be-
  fore reaching the gates of Degravo, Ivan Dilisnya’s
  private estate. The Crimson Highway, Borca’s most
  vital and heavily traveled trade route, enters from
  Barovia to the south, passing through the city of
  Levkarest before terminating at Sturben. In addi-
  tion to these interior highways, the Old Svalich
  Road emerges from Levkarest on an easterly route,
  
  13
  Borca
  to marketplaces, fountains, monuments, or scaf-
  folds for public announcements and executions.
  Any Borcan community worth mention also has at
  least one public bathhouse. Anyone can come to
  these elegant and airy — but often crowded —
  structures to avail themselves of the hellspouts’
  recuperative sulfur waters.
  Most settlements are walled, as are most coun-
  try estates. The cities’ fortifications all date back at
  least to the Terg Invasion, but are still maintained
  today due to widespread unease concerning aggres-
  sive neighbors. The walls of country estates are
  built to delineate property lines and dissuade casual
  trespassers. Shards of broken glass are often sealed
  in the mortar atop these walls, but they present a
  minor obstacle to the dedicated intruder.
  Flora
  Hardwoods (beech, oak, cherry, hazelnut,
  chestnut) predominate in the hill country of west-
  ern Borca, while evergreens dot higher elevations.
  Throughout warmer months, the forests produce a
  myriad of fruits and nuts and countless varieties of
  wildflower blanket grassy dales. A blight of blue-
  gray lichen afflicts most Borcan trees. While
  harmless to most forms of life, the lichen slowly
  chokes tree roots, stifling their growth. Should a
  tree reach its hundredth year, its stunted roots can
  usually no longer support its weight or supply it
  with nutrients. Such trees usually collapse to rot on
  the forest floor. The lack of ancient, immense trees
  allows sunlight to pierce the canopy much more
  effectively, dispelling the most ominous shadows
  and fostering a dense, thorny undergrowth of tangled
  brambles and ivy. Intriguingly, the blight shows no
  sign of spreading beyond Borca. Even though the
  House of the Sages and the Blightwood stretch into
  neighboring lands, the blight can provide the ob-
  servant traveler with a telltale clue that he has
  crossed the border.
  The rich soil and rotting tree trunks provide a
  fertile perch for countless spongy mushrooms and
  toadstools. The sheer diversity of poisonous plant
  life is astounding. Borca’s plants lack the truly
  predatory nature of Forlorn’s flora, but they are no
  less dangerous. Fortunately, most poisonous Borcan
  foodstuffs are marked by a telltale purplish tinge.
  The correlation is useful as a general guideline, but
  not all that is violet is deadly and not all that is
  deadly is violet.
  Borcans are skilled herbalists, well schooled in
  the specific properties of individual plants and
  fungi, but a few odd cultural traits have emerged.
  Purple, not black, is considered the color of mourn-
  ing here, and people with violet eyes are often
  assumed to be untrustworthy. Plums are considered
  lethal, a reputation arising from dew plums, a
  dangerous look-alike that grows wild. Connois-
  seurs rightfully laud the quality of wines pressed
  from Borca’s vineyards, yet even grapes are not
  above suspicion. On rare occasions, Borcan wines
  may spontaneously spoil, becoming deadly toxins,
  particularly if transported out of the country.
  Two plants are of particular interest for their
  frequent appearance as symbolic motifs in the
  Borcan arts. The exquisitely sweet passionflesh
  fruit resembles an eggplant but is marked by deep
  purple and crimson striations. Regarded as an aph-
  rodisiac, its pulp is addictive and mildly toxic. One
  slice does no real harm, but folk with uncontrolled
  appetites have died for its lethal pleasures.
  Passionflesh fruit is thus used to symbolize illicit
  love. In some circles, particularly among the darkly
  attractive courtiers of Lady Ivana Boritsi, erstwhile
  lovers who must remain chaste sometimes feed
  each other passionflesh fruit sections to sate their
  longings.
  Caldura roses, notable for their long thorns
  and pink-tinged blooms of white, exhibit a delicate
  aroma that reputedly drives out disease and similar
  bodily taints. If a caldura rose is severed from its
  roots, however, its violet sap spoils, subtly subvert-
  ing the aroma’s properties. Cut caldura roses
  apparently drain the vitality of those who linger
  nearby. Caldura roses often symbolize marriage
  when intact, but adultery when cut.
  Fauna
  Borca’s wildlife is less dangerous than its toad-
  stools. As a heavily settled region, large predators
  are rare. Wolves are known to creep into the
  Blightwood from Verbrek, and the occasional bear
  wanders through the woodlands. The bats of Mt.
  Gries darken the nocturnal skies of eastern Borca,
  but their nefarious reputation exceeds the actual
  damage they cause. Borca’s hills and forests are
  home to countless varieties of crawling insects and
  reptiles, some nearly as long as a human. Travelers
  should beware of any creature with luridly colored
  natural markings.
  Borcans have little fear of the natural world,
  but they do have an avid appetite for the monstrous
  legends of neighboring realms. Superstitions often
  simmer beneath the surface until some disturbing
  
  14
  Report One
  event brings their sleeping terrors gushing forth.
  When Borcans work themselves into a panic, they
  speak of shapeshifters living in their cities, goblins
  roaming the west, evil fey from the Shadow Rift,
  and hideous, man-eating ogres out of Invidia. When
  calm is restored, few Borcans worry about such
  “legions of the night” — the Church of Ezra’s term
  for the forces of evil in the world. They have more
  pressing concerns. A musician in Lechberg ex-
  plained the true focus of the typical Borcan’s dread:
  “There is no demon so cruel, no dragon so rich, no
  wolf so ravenous as a Dilisnya.”
  Although few Borcans admit to fearing mon-
  sters, they hold strong beliefs concerning the spirit
  world. Many old homes and lonesome places here
  are said to be haunted by unhappy spirits. I suspect
  a hint of Mordentish cultural influence, though
  the Borcan tradition of ghost stories exhibits little
  of the elemental dread found in Mordentish folk-
  lore. Borcans, perhaps through ignorance, view the
  incorporeal undead as harmless oddities or amus-
  ing curiosities, not true threats. Borcans, however,
  do warn that the restless dead have been excluded
  from Ezra’s grace and are considered potentially
  dangerous. Borcans believe that all spirits arise
  from sudden or violent deaths. Such ghosts obses-
  sively seek vengeance for the betrayals that ended
  their days, but are unable to affect the physical
  world. When an angry spirit demonstrates that it
  can lash out at the living, this jaded dismissal of the
  dead quickly evaporates. I collected numerous out-
  landish ghost stories, such as those of the Pale Hog,
  the Headless Horseman, and the Scalded Waif.
  The most notorious was that of the House of
  Lament in the Blightwood. This grim manor, per-
  manently held in the grip of autumn, allegedly
  appeared from nowhere eleven years ago and claims
  the lives of almost all who enter.
  History
  orca’s history is deeply entwined with
  that of its neighbor, Barovia, and records
  I studied in Barovia’s Teodorus Archives
  provide invaluable insights on Borcans’
  commonly accepted truisms. Most in-
  triguingly, records predating 351 BC usually refer
  to Barovia’s neighbor as Borcha or Borjia. “Borca” is
  a Barovian distortion and likely indicative of the
  pronunciation used by the Dilisnyas after their
  centuries of Barovian exile.
  Local Animals and Native Horrors
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  Wildlife: CR 1/10 — bat; toad; CR 1/8  
  CR 1/8  
  CR 1/8  
  CR 1/8  
  CR 1/8  — rat; CR 1/6 
  CR 1/6 
  CR 1/6 
  CR 1/6 
  CR 1/6 —
  donkey; raven; CR 1/4 
  CR 1/4 
  CR 1/4 
  CR 1/4 
  CR 1/4 — cat; owl; pony; weasel; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  3 3 3 3 3 — dog; hawk; snake, Tiny viper; CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 —badger;
  eagle; snake, Small viper; CR 1 
  CR 1 
  CR 1 
  CR 1 
  CR 1 — dog, riding; horse,
  heavy; horse, light; horse, light war; hound, mastiff*;
  mule; snake, Medium viper; wolf; CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 —bear, black;
  boar; CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 — bear, brown.
  Monsters: CR 1/8 
  Monsters: CR 1/8 
  Monsters: CR 1/8 
  Monsters: CR 1/8 
  Monsters: CR 1/8 — monstrous centipede, Tiny; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  4 4 4 4 4 — goblin; kobold; monstrous centipede, Small; mon-
  strous scorpion, Tiny; monstrous spider, Tiny; CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 —
  geist*; monstrous centipede, Medium; spider, hairy†; CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  1 1 1 1 1 —bakhna rakhna*; bat, carrion*; homunculus; CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 
  CR 2 —
  dire bat; CR 3 
  CR 3 
  CR 3 
  CR 3 
  CR 3 — drownling*; fungus, violet; remnant,
  aquatic*; CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 — gargoyle; lycanthrope, werebat†; CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  5 5 5 5 5  Arak, shee*; odem*; wraith; CR 6 
  CR 6 
  CR 6 
  CR 6 
  CR 6 — corpse candle*;
  ermordenung*; red widow*; will-o’-wisp; CR 7 
  CR 7 
  CR 7 
  CR 7 
  CR 7 — ghost;
  spectre; CR 8 
  CR 8 
  CR 8 
  CR 8 
  CR 8 — treant, dread*; CR 9 
  CR 9 
  CR 9 
  CR 9 
  CR 9 — valpurleiche*.
  † See Monsters of Faerûn., published by Wizards of the
  Coast.
  Borca in the Spirit World
  Most spirits haunting Borca’s Near Ethe-
  real died in agony, the victims of venomous
  duplicity or scalding hellspouts. These ghosts
  may choose the following as one of their special
  attacks:
  Death Rattle (Su): With a successful melee
  touch attack, the spirit can affect a single living
  creature with the symptoms of the attack that
  took its life. The specific attack varies. For
  example, a ghost that died by poison inflicts a
  single dose of that poison; a ghost killed with a
  weapon rolls the same amount of damage used
  in the fatal strike (such as 1d10 for a halberd
  attack); a ghost submerged in boiling water
  inflicts 10d6 points of heat damage. The victim
  is entitled to a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 the
  spirit’s Hit Dice + the spirit’s Charisma modi-
  fier); if successful, the death rattle has no effect.
  If the save fails, the wound seems entirely real
  to the victim, though other creatures cannot
  sense it. The death rattle remains an illusion,
  and cannot truly harm the victim. All hit point
  damage is automatically converted to nonle-
  thal damage, and all other effects (such as
  ability damage) vanish after a number of min-
  utes equal to the ghost’s rank. If a death rattle
  reduces a victim’s Constitution score to 0 or
  below, she falls unconscious for the effect’s
  duration. A ghost can use its death rattle attack
  a number of times per day equal to its rank.
  
  15
  Borca
  Having already presented my patron with an
  account of Borca and Barovia’s mutual false history
  in my initial report last year, here I revisit a few
  crucial events from the Borcan perspective. The
  oldest extant records of Borjia depict it as a collec-
  tion of independent city-states. A rising class of
  merchant guilds increasingly controlled the coffers
  and the true reins of power. When the nation of
  Barovia was founded in 1 BC, the city-states were
  united under the von Zarovich banner, and several
  mercantile families used their wealth and influ-
  ence to obtain hereditary, aristocratic titles. Among
  these houses were names such as Cosco, Boritsi and
  Olszanik. The Dilisnya family of bankers rose to
  power at this time, though centuries would pass
  before their treachery distinguished them from
  their peers. The history of Borca is the tale of this
  infamous clan.
  The portrait of modern Borca emerges in the
  War of Silver Knives. A century of bickering and
  perceived insults between the competing Dilisnya,
  Katsky and Petrovna families eventually coalesced
  into a heated dispute over the rights to the then
  thriving silver mines of Mt. Gries. In 314 BC, an
  unknown party murdered Izabela Dilisnya, the
  aged matriarch of her line, and her son Pidlwik
  swore bloody vengeance on his family’s rivals. For
  the next two years, the noble courts of Barovia were
  beset by a vicious, escalating cycle of revenge
  killings. This was a war fought with assassins.
  Count Barov von Zarovich commanded an end to
  the strife in 316 BC, soothing the feuding families
  by granting them new lands.
  The conflict left Barovia ill prepared to face
  the Terg onslaught that soon came and left Pidlwik
  Dilisnya nursing a private grudge against Barov,
  believing his mother’s murder demanded much
  greater recompense. Pidlwik’s resentment and
  power-lust infected his children as well, including
  his youngest, Leo, born in 320 BC, the year of the
  Terg invasion.
  Then as now, Borjia lay west of the Barovian
  Balinoks, and the Tergs invaded from the east. The
  barbarian hordes conquered the entire nation with
  terrifying speed, shattering its power, but Barovian
  armies pressed the Tergs back from the Borjia
  region by 325 BC. While Borjia sat behind the
  battle lines in relative safety and rebuilt, war con-
  tinued to rage throughout the Balinoks for two
  more decades. Borjian craftsmen supplied the
  Barovian armies with all their needs and grew rich
  in the bargain. Petre Raluca’s account of the war in
  The Exile and the Return reads:
  Resentment pecked at living hearts as ravens
  worried at the dead. Old women complained, “If your
  sons have spilled their blood, you are of Barovia. If
  your coffers have spilled their silver, you are of Borca.”
  In 347 BC, Strahd drove out the last of the
  Tergs and claimed the Balinoks for himself. Borjia
  prospered as the rest of the nation struggled to
  rebuild. Pidlwik Dilisnya died in his bed, his dreams
  of vengeance unrealized, but his son Leo — now a
  man with a wealth of ambition and a paucity of pity
  — set forth on a murderous plot to ensure that the
  von Zaroviches never regained their dominance.
  In the summer of 351 BC, the aristocratic
  families of Borjia left their estates to converge on
  Castle Ravenloft for the wedding of Count Strahd’s
  youngest brother. The nobles were expected to
  return within a matter of weeks — they would be
  absent for centuries. Included in Leo Dilisnya’s
  entourage were a score of disguised assassins con-
  cealing poison-tipped crossbows. Leo’s killers came
  to the wedding intending to wipe out Strahd’s kin
  and all of the Dilisnyas’ rivals to the last, cementing
  his own family’s power.
  The resulting massacre is the stuff of legend, a
  nightmarish tale told throughout the Core. Mists
  swept across the land, cutting off Barovia from the
  rest of the world and engulfing the country in a haze
  that would not lift for centuries. A mere handful of
  guests escaped Castle Ravenloft, fleeing in terror
  with tales of butchery and rampaging monsters.
  Leo himself feigned illness and excused himself
  from the festivities before the ambush began, but
  he left all his relatives behind, unwitting sacrifices
  to cover his tracks. A paltry number of Leo’s kin
  lived to see another dawn. Today, all Dilisnyas can
  trace their ancestry back to Leo himself or his
  eldest brother Reinhold, whose wife escaped with
  their children. All other branches of the family tree
  were sheared away.
  Although Leo Dilisnya is reviled as a villain in
  Barovia, few Borcan commoners know of his role in
  the massacre. The Dilisnyas themselves consider
  him a source of shame, a man destroyed by over-
  reaching ambition; they rarely speak of him. Rumors
  Distortion? Bah. More taunting lies from the
  tormentors that built this wretched prison. No
  doubt the true “Borjia” still lies beyond the
  Mists, untouched and pristine.
  
  16
  Report One
  have arisen that Leo was a bastard, possessing no
  true Dilisnya blood. Of course, these dire accusa-
  tions are more common on the side of the family
  that is not directly descended from him.
  Like many of the deaths that plague this historical
  account, the murders were unsolved at the time but
  are now open secrets.
  Camille’s parents shipped her off to distant kin
  in Invidia to evade the Mordentish authorities.
  Her coach lost its way in a thick fog as it rumbled
  across the countryside. Camille emerged from the
  Mists in an unfamiliar land, which the locals called
  “Borca.” Camille Grymig’s rediscovery of her an-
  cestral homeland is the seminal event that marks
  Borca’s appearance in the Core. The Borcans ac-
  knowledge this date as well, believing that the
  same curse that fell on Barovia doomed their na-
  tion to 333 years of bondage within the Mists,
  completely isolated from the outside world. As the
  legend goes, only a drop of true Dilisnya blood upon
  Borcan soil could once again win their freedom.
  Records of the years 351-684 BC are suspiciously
  spotty, but indicate that this so-called “Vacancy of
  Power” passed remarkably quietly. In essence, Borca
  simply waited for the Dilisnyas to return.
  Word of Camille’s entourage quickly spread.
  A group of bankers and guildsmen soon presented
  themselves as the regents of the Dilisnya holdings,
  the descendants of the original seneschals ap-
  pointed to watch over the departed nobles’ estates.
  The regents had faithfully executed their duties
  during the Vacancy, craftily protecting — even
  expanding — their masters’ properties. If Camille
  were indeed a blooded Dilisnya, she would now
  inherit all. Camille thus submitted herself to a long
  series of painful tests to prove her identity.
  One regent, however, had developed a taste
  for power and sought to cheat Camille. She discov-
  ered the banker’s plan to falsify the tests and sent a
  basket of ripe fruit to his home. The delectable gifts
  contained a slow, lethal poison, taking the lives of
  the traitorous banker and his entire family. Duly
  warned, the remaining regents confirmed Camille’s
  identity and handed over the deeds. Camille Grymig
  had indeed inherited everything: she now owned
  Borca in its entirety.
  Ruling as the sole, uncontested aristocrat in
  Borca, Lady Camille invited her scattered family to
  join her. Most Dilisnyas jumped at the invitation.
  As they converged, the Dilisnyas brought with
  them cultural traits and economic ties from half
  the Core. Within a decade of its emergence, Borca
  had firmly established its reputation as a cosmo-
  politan — even decadent — center of trade.
  Lady Camille proved to be a competent ruler,
  frequently relying on her family’s counsel. Her
  A pity for the usurper’s sake that he was
  unable to mold his reputation from the grave,
  unlike his vainglorious Barovian rival.
  The few surviving Dilisnyas fled from the
  wrath of the von Zaroviches. Leo coordinated the
  diaspora of his kin, helping them establish new
  identities in remote mountain villages. This done,
  he faded into obscurity, his final fate unknown.
  The Dilisnyas’ eccentric reputation arose from the
  generations of seclusion that followed. Family
  records indicate that the false names and secrecy
  resulted in occasional, unintentional inbreeding,
  thinning the bloodline. Madness did not dull the
  Dilisnyas’ keen minds or ruthless natures, however,
  and they slowly rebuilt a small measure of their
  former fortunes.
  The Dilisnyas continued to spread to new
  lands as the Core expanded. Once safely beyond
  Barovia’s borders, they reestablished their true
  identities and connections. Leo’s descendants mi-
  grated west, primarily settling in rural Mordent,
  where the local gentry viewed them with much
  suspicion. One such scion was Lev Dilisnya, born
  300 years after his infamous ancestor. Today, Lev is
  significant primarily for two of his six progeny: a
  son, Yakov, born in 641 BC, and a daughter,
  Camille, born in 662 BC.
  At the age of twenty-five, Yakov suffered a
  seizure while out riding. Feverish and raving when
  found, upon regaining his wits he insisted that he
  was the chosen messenger of a goddess named Ezra.
  Yakov wrote what is today called the First Book of
  Ezra from his sickbed, then spent years unsuccess-
  fully trying to attract worshippers to his private
  cult. His family considered him deranged but harm-
  less, hoping he would prove the most eccentric
  member of his generation. Camille would prove
  them wrong. She was lovely and cultured, but
  jealous and prone to bouts of rage. In 681 BC,
  Camille married Siegfried Grymig, a minor Barovian
  boyar. Three years later, she caught him in an affair.
  Poison had been a subtle tool in the Dilisnyan
  repertoire since the War of Silver Knives, and
  Camille was an eager student. She murdered the
  lovers with a gruesome poison of her own design.
  
  17
  Borca
  closest advisor, her half-brother Yakov, still
  scrabbled to establish a following for his goddess.
  Yakov proposed the Church of Ezra as a tool to
  control the hearts of the masses, but cunningly
  manipulated Camille toward his own ends. He
  persuaded Camille to sponsor the construction of a
  grandiose temple despite her utter lack of faith.
  Ground was broken for the Great Cathedral in 685
  BC. Yakov ministered to the workers as they laid
  the temple’s foundations, and although he failed to
  find an audience in Mordent, the downtrodden
  peasants of Borca responded to his teachings.
  Within a decade, the religion had spread through-
  out the country. The anchorites started holding
  services in the Great Cathedral’s rising shell in 695
  BC, and by the time the final stone was set in place
  just twelve years ago, the Church of Ezra had
  become a major power.
  Due to her lethal temper, Camille was never
  popular among the members of her court. Forced to
  fend off numerous minor coups and infidelities
  during her reign, she particularly resented Yakov’s
  growing popularity, eventually seeing his divine
  delusion as a challenge to her power. She married
  three more times during her life; all three unions
  ended in death and recrimination. She took her
  second husband, Klaus Boritsi, in 688 BC and bore
  him three children before she learned that he had
  taken a commoner mistress. She poisoned them
  both in 697 BC, then married Stephan Taroyan
  within the year. He too took a mistress and soon
  fled the country. In 698 BC, Camille entered into
  her fourth and final marriage, to Oleh Fortich.
  Soon after the wedding, Fortich attempted to mur-
  der Camille, but she turned the tables. In a desperate
  bid to save his life, Oleh confessed that he was a
  pawn and that her entire family had conspired to
  kill her. Whether this accusation was actually true
  is moot.
  Camille poisoned Oleh. Then she poisoned
  everyone at his funeral. The killing spree nearly
  wiped out her entire branch of the family. The most
  significant victim was undoubtedly Yakov Dilisnya,
  by now the first Praetorius of the Church of Ezra.
  Rumors of Camille’s guilt spread like wildfire, and
  Ezra’s followers rioted in the streets. Camille’s
  remaining advisors warned her that she must make
  amends to prevent a full peasant revolt; the murder
  had transformed the politically neutral Church of
  Ezra into the threat Camille had feared.
  Camille publicly disassociated herself from
  Yakov’s death, donated enormous sums for the
  cathedral’s construction, and offered to erect a
  memorial statue of Yakov on the steps of the Great
  Cathedral. Church records I examined in Mor-
  dent, however, indicate that the gifts came with
  strings attached. Camille privately warned the
  anchorites to do nothing to stir insurrection and
  that refusing her gifts would wreak dire punish-
  ments. Her public acts of contrition and mourning
  assuaged the commoners just enough to end the
  riots, but the statue would have entirely unex-
  pected results, exposing a brewing rift among the
  clergy.
  In the ecclesiastic debates now known as the
  First Schism, the majority argued that the Church’s
  very survival depended on keeping Lady Camille
  and her ilk appeased, even arguing that Camille
  played some part in Ezra’s Grand Scheme. The
  minority faction, led by Sentire Felix Wachter of
  Sturben, insisted that erecting a monument to
  Praetorius Yakov, a mortal man, before Ezra’s own
  cathedral was complete blasphemy — a clear indi-
  cation that the Church of Ezra had become too
  embroiled in materialistic concerns. In a momen-
  tous decision, Wachter’s faction broke from the
  Home Faith and retreated to safer shores in Mor-
  dent, where Bastion Sarlota Otrava, a Borcan
  expatriate, today oversees the flock. The rift be-
  tween Ezra’s first two sects would take a decade to
  heal.
  Any additional Borcan thoughts of revolt were
  stifled by Falkovnia’s massive — if futile — inva-
  sion of Darkon two years later, marking the
  beginning of the Dead Man’s Campaign. Borcan
  eyes fearfully turned to their northern neighbor,
  wondering if and when Drakov’s aggression would
  turn to them. Borca had not seen battle since the
  Tergs, but the landholders now raced to repair
  town battlements. Drakov sent a small force into
  Borca in the fall of 706 BC, presumably expecting
  little resistance. A single soldier managed to stumble
  back to Falkovnia, his flesh bloated with toxins.
  From the Borcan point of view, the Widow’s
  Massacre was over before it began. While Drakov
  disparaged Borca’s militia and female ruler as weak,
  he never concerned himself at all with the Borcan
  merchants operating in Falkovnia. Merchant, dip-
  lomat, spy — these words are interchangeable in
  the Borcan purview. As the Falkovnian troops
  stormed across the border, their food supplies had
  already been poisoned. Falkovnia would not in-
  trude on Borca again.
  
  18
  Report One
  Borcans spent the next decade in a state of
  dread, likely the root cause of an alarming number
  of monster panics that claimed the lives of numer-
  ous scapegoats. The elite lived in fear of Camille’s
  lethal outbursts, while Drakov’s shadow loomed
  over all. Borca’s economy remained steady, but
  Lady Camille’s reign was still undermined by a
  string of unorganized attempted coups and assassi-
  nations. More sensible landholders bided their
  time, awaiting the day when Camille finally fell.
  Ivana Boritsi, Camille’s eldest child and heir,
  was considered a lovely girl, but starry-eyed and
  starved for affection. Her family’s advisors ex-
  pected her to be easily manipulated once she rose
  to power. Ivana’s dreamy demeanor changed starkly
  in 706 BC, following the death of a paramour.
  Ivana threw herself into Camille’s lessons on
  herbalism, alchemy and poison craft. Five years
  later, it is widely believed, Ivana used those skills to
  take her mother’s life.
  Ivana Boritsi inherited her mother’s holdings
  and powers without incident. Rumors of the girl’s
  complicity in her mother’s murder were bandied
  about, but the elite landholders were glad to be
  done with Lady Camille. The attempted coups
  stopped. Young Lady Ivana fulfilled her courtiers’
  expectations, showing little interest in the daily
  responsibilities of rule. Her advisors were happy to
  assume greater responsibilities. Ivana’s most sig-
  nificant change to her mother’s rule was the creation
  of a Borcan aristocracy from whole cloth, a decid-
  edly eclectic class system. Although this appeased
  the elite, she also raised taxes significantly to
  support her lavish lifestyle. Borca’s government
  had stabilized, yet its new ruler was sapping the
  strength of its economy.
  If any of Borca’s new nobles feared for their
  safety under Camille’s heir, they had only to look
  to Lady Ivana’s distant cousin, Ivan Dilisnya, to
  know that their lot could have been much worse.
  Ivan and Ivana were both born under the same new
  moon in 689 BC. Many folk still consider them soul
  mates, calling them the “Dark Twins.” Ivan was
  unlikely to inherit anything of significance, but
  many courtiers mused that he was heir to Camille’s
  madness. Even as a child, Ivan was surrounded by
  suspicious deaths and was unnaturally fond of his
  older sister Kristina.
  When Ivan murdered Kristina and her hus-
  band in 709 BC, his own family pursued him into
  the foggy night. As dawn burned the mists away the
  next morning, a new realm had reshaped the Core.
  Ivan Dilisnya’s flight from justice shares intriguing
  parallels with that of Camille before him. Some-
  The tactics of the War of Silver Knives have
  not changed, it seems. Borcans always aim
  for the back.
  Former Darklord: Camille Boritsi
  Camille Boritsi ruled Borca from 684711 BC. Like her daughter, Camille was the Borcan
  epitome of feminine beauty, but she aged normally. She earned her domain for fatally poisoning
  her first husband and his lover. The Dark Powers gifted Camille with the ability to create any poison
  she could imagine, even those with supernatural effects, but Camille was not herself immune to
  poison. The Dark Powers cursed Camille to be betrayed by every man who gained her trust. Her
  life was punctuated by an endless string of cheating lovers and backstabbing courtiers. Ironically,
  because she always suspected the motivations of her half-brother Yakov, he remained true to her
  to the day she killed him.
  Camille had been jealous from childhood. She mocked the concept of romantic love, yet any
  hint of adultery would launch her into murderous rages. When Camille secretly discovered that her
  second husband — and father of her three children — was dallying with her handmaiden, Camille
  gave her servant a gift of aromatic body oils. When the lovers next fell into each other’s embrace
  and used Camille’s present, the oils caused their flesh to meld together. After a subsequent flurry
  of ruinous, politically motivated marriages, Camille reverted to the Boritsi surname and swore off
  all further unions entirely, poisoning any man who dared to appeal to her heart. So intensely did
  Camille despise the men in her life (even her sons), that she never suspected her daughter’s
  resentment would bear deadly fruit.
  
  19
  Borca
  how, his presence revealed more of ancient Borjia,
  this time the lands surrounding historic Mt. Gries.
  Ivan claimed the deeds to the entire demesne,
  which he then renamed “Dorvinia” after a distant
  ancestor. In an intriguing wrinkle to Dorvinia’s
  false history, Dorvinians claim that their lands had
  lain next to Borca all along. To this day, old
  Dorvinians obstinately insist that their land
  emerged from the Mists in 684 BC. On this issue,
  Borcans find Dorvinians a bit odd, and vice versa.
  Ivan ruled as he saw fit, demanding punitive
  bribes and actively turning his courtiers against
  each other for his own petty amusement. The
  combination of Dorvinia’s wealth and Ivan’s mer-
  curial demands ensured that his court filled with
  the greediest and cruelest of Borjia’s ancient fami-
  lies. This drew Falkovnia’s attention. In 727 BC,
  late in the Dead Man’s Campaign, Drakov’s Talons
  launched a surprise attack on Lechberg, catching
  its corrupt and callous militia entirely off-guard.
  The raid seems to have been an impulsive, spiteful
  decision on Drakov’s part, giving Borca and
  Dorvinia’s spies no time to send warning. In the
  attack, now known as the Gold Claw Massacre,
  Talons butchered hundreds of Lechberg’s men,
  women and children. No sooner had the raiders
  loaded their wagons full of pillaged goods than they
  started vomiting black blood and dropping dead.
  Supposedly, the corpses were so toxic several people
  died merely from touching their armor. They had
  to be burned where they lay. Ivan Dilisnya claims
  that he disguised himself in Talon armor and
  moved unseen among the enemy, personally poi-
  soning them, but having met the man, I’d say his
  boasts are bluster.
  the League of Five Nations until the Great Up-
  heaval.
  I can find no record that Lord Ivan and Lady
  Ivana ever visited each other, but they remained
  on good terms and their lands were closely allied.
  When the Great Upheaval struck in 740 BC, the
  cousins reputedly fled to each other’s arms in
  terror. When the tremors ended, the cousins de-
  cided to merge their realms peacefully under the
  Borcan banner. Weeks of intense bargaining fol-
  lowed, in which Ivan and Ivana — frequently
  overruling their advisors — traded deeds and in-
  dentures until they reached a new, integrated
  balance of power.
  The years following the merger have not been
  kind to Borca. The bonds between the long-sepa-
  rated cousins quickly spoiled; they appear to have
  liked the idea of each other more than the reality.
  Elder Borcans whisper that their homeland now
  suffers under two Lady Camilles: Ivana has inher-
  ited her mother’s misanthropy, while Ivan acquired
  her unpredictable rage. Borcan politics have de-
  graded into gamesmanship and corruption as the
  two branches of the Dilisnya lineage struggle for
  supremacy.
  Populace
  orcans are a diverse ethnic group, united
  by culture and bound by indentures: a
  system of legal contracts central to
  Borcan life (see “Government”). Borca
  is also home to a significant halfling
  population, one of the largest outside Darkon.
  Despite their numbers, halflings have a negligible
  voice in Borcan affairs. They crave personal free-
  dom, so few are willing to bind themselves to
  Borca’s indentures. As such, they have disenfran-
  chised themselves from Borcan society. Most drift
  from one community to the next, settling in ghet-
  tos within human towns for a few weeks or months
  before moving on. Without indentures, they sub-
  sist on menial jobs and frequently turn to criminal
  trades. Halfling pickpockets posing as human street
  urchins often plague Borca’s towns. Unlike the
  human Borcans, however, these creatures of wan-
  derlust are often well traveled. Those who respect
  the law hire out as guides and translators for trav-
  elers from distant lands.
  Appearance
  Human Borcans have average, athletic builds,
  though both sexes tend to be slightly tall. Many are
  The fop’s madness merely disguises his cunning,
  my little scholar. Do not underestimate the mouse
  that thrives among serpents.
  Ironically, prior to the massacre, Dorvinia had
  secretly considered proposing an alliance with
  Falkovnia. Dorvinia would have traded iron, weap-
  ons and even gunpowder in return for Falkovnian
  grain, gold and promises of peace. The plans were
  scrapped following the attack and two years later
  Ivan and Ivana eagerly signed the Treaty of Four
  Towers. As a note, only in Borca did I learn that the
  symbolic “Four Towers” refer to the ruling families
  who signed the pact — Guignol, Weathermay,
  Renier and Dilisnya — not the five countries they
  represented. The resulting alliance was known as
  
  20
  Report One
  graced with long, delicate hands, which they boast
  indicates an artistic nature. Borcans begin life with
  smooth complexions, ranging from fair to creamy
  tan. Their skin often ages with unseemly haste. A
  few healers blame this weathering on overindul-
  gence in the mineral baths. I disagree. The wrinkles
  and liver spots are faintest among the rich recluses
  of the west and most prominent among the peas-
  antry. Borca’s underclasses work themselves to the
  bone to fill the nobles’ coffers, while those nobles
  endlessly maneuver through the courts to protect
  their wealth. Exhaustion is the culprit here. Indi-
  viduals are grist for the mill, fodder to maintain the
  nation’s wealth. Borcans are resigned to lives of toil
  and trouble, with countless expressions of fatalism,
  such as the local folksong “My Bones Will Rest for
  Me.”
  Borcan hair and eye color varies widely, with
  dark brown most common for both. Men grow their
  hair roguishly long, letting it hang wild and loose to
  their shoulders, and typically go clean-shaven.
  Facial hair is seen as a sign that a man has gone to
  seed. Borcan women take great pride in their tresses,
  regardless of social class. They grow their hair
  extremely long, often below the waist, and adorn it
  with whatever they can afford, from painted wooden
  pins to thin ribbons to tortoiseshell combs and
  clasps to fresh flowers during the summer.
  The aesthetic ideal for both sexes is a statu-
  esque figure, with smooth porcelain skin contrasted
  against inky black eyes and hair. This aptly de-
  scribes both Lady Ivana and Church iconography
  of the goddess Ezra, but this is not why I note it.
  Simply put: in Borca, beauty can kill.
  Lady Ivana has a keen eye for beauty, but few
  of the lusty young men who enter her parlor live to
  kiss and tell. Borcans dub her the “Black Widow.”
  Those suitors who survive the Black Widow’s web
  often win lives of idle luxury in Ivana’s circle of
  courtiers and confidantes.
  While many Borcan women use herbal cos-
  metics, Ivana is widely rumored to have derived an
  alchemical method of subtly and permanently per-
  fecting beauty. Lady Ivana and a significant
  percentage of her entourage have not visibly aged
  a day in decades, leading to widespread gossip that
  Ivana possesses a mysterious elixir of life. This
  elixir would be invaluable if it exists, and numerous
  aging patrons in Borca and beyond have reportedly
  hired adventuring mercenaries to steal Ivana’s se-
  crets. I have heard of no successes.
  
  21
  Borca
  Ivana’s hangers-on supposedly repay her gifts
  of vigor, beauty and wealth by obeying her orders
  without question. In their roles as spies and assas-
  sins, the members of this select society are called
  ermordenung, a term incorporated from the
  Falkovnian that refers, intriguingly enough, to the
  act of murder rather than a murderer. Many Borcans
  darkly muse that their mistress is literally “followed
  by her murders.”
  When I learned of the existence of these pale,
  ageless aristocrats, I first suspected that Borca suf-
  fers from an infestation of nosferatu, a strain of
  vampire that has no fear of daylight. Yet when I
  studied likely suspects from a discreet distance, I
  discerned no taint of undeath. My spells indicate
  Secret Society: The Ermordenung
  Most Borcans believe the ermordenung are a secret cabal of poisoners reliably identified by their dark
  beauty and their loyalty to Ivana Boritsi. In fact, the ermordenung are a loose social clique of individuals who
  are no longer entirely human. Ivana poisons most of the young men and women who catch her eye, but over
  the decades a few have impressed her both with their charm and grace and by their skill in negotiating her
  seductive overtures. When Ivana chooses to share her empty existence with these “worthy” folk, she infuses
  their bodies with a horrific mixture of deadly toxins. Most subjects die thrashing in agony, but a few survive
  (requiring a successful DC 18 Fortitude save) and lapse into a coma that lasts 1d4 weeks. The subject
  awakens permanently transformed into an ermordenung, the embodiment of venom.
  The ermordenung template is found in the forthcoming Denizens of Dread. Ivana chooses subjects
  based on aesthetic appeal, always selecting attractive and charming humans. She may have inadvertently
  transformed one or more living subjects that merely appeared human over the years, however. Most
  ermordenung focus on the skills of etiquette and seduction, with high ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy. Artistic
  talents, such as Craft (painting) and Perform skills, are also common.
  Ivana Boritsi infused her own body with unnatural toxins in 706 BC. In 711, as part of a plan to avenge
  herself on Camille, Ivana attempted to refine those same poisons to give the carrier a lethal touch at will.
  Ivana’s closest friend and confidante, Nostalia Romaine, volunteered to be her first test subject. Nostalia
  became the first ermordenung, the living weapon with which Ivana took her mother’s life. The ermordenung’s
  ranks have since swelled into dozens. Doomed to kill all they touch, they share the intense loneliness of their
  creator. Ivana can survive an ermordenung’s embrace, but her venomous kiss remains lethal to them. Ivana
  encourages her creations to drown their sorrows in hedonistic pursuits, further alienating them from society
  and deepening their loyalty to her.
  Nostalia Romaine (female human ermordenung Ari4/Wiz4/Rog2, LE) is still devoted to Ivana. She is
  the informal leader of the ermordenung, relaying orders and helping new members adjust to their changed
  lives. Decades of murder and solitude have petrified Nostalia’s passions. She feels only the empty husks of
  love and remorse and draws her only satisfaction from the suffering she inflicts. Nostalia is still haunted by
  the sensation of Camille’s lips upon her own and finds the touch of other women loathsome. She will not
  use her toxic touch attacks against female foes, instead relying on her dagger of venom, the only weapon she
  carries.
  Although she is actually 66 years old, Nostalia appears to be in her early twenties. After becoming an
  ermordenung, Nostalia turned to the dark arts of alchemy. With Ivana’s aid, she created venom of life (see
  the Attached Notes) and shares its formula with any ermordenung willing to collect the needed ingredients.
  The ermordenung try to be subtle in their harvests, typically selecting prisoners, paupers, or foreigners as their
  victims.
  that these ermordenung are living humans, but I did
  invariably detect poison on their persons; their
  reputation as Ivana’s assassins thus seems war-
  ranted. Sadly, I was unable to indulge in more
  intensive analysis. Unlike the Kargat, Ivana’s court-
  iers are prominently positioned in society, and
  disappearances would be noticed.
  Fashion
  As with much of Borcan culture, fashion rep-
  resents a mix of east and west. Commoners often
  barely own the shirts on their backs and dress for
  practicality. Men wear loose shirts, usually left
  hanging open during the warm summer months,
  and loose britches tucked into tight stockings at
  
  22
  Report One
  the knee. Here and there the traditional Barovian
  sheepskin vest makes an appearance, particularly
  in the uplands. Women wear loose, modest blouses
  under tight bodices and loose, knee-length layered
  skirts over stockings. Working women also don the
  cusma, a tight leather bonnet that protects their
  precious hair. Commoners prefer drab, earthen
  shades such as black, gray and various shades of
  brown, a good match for their dour demeanors.
  Their clothing is often heavily patched.
  Landholders are expected to engage in osten-
  tatious displays of wealth. They borrow their
  fashions from the west, particularly Dementlieu,
  though Borcan styles typically lag at least a year
  behind the trends in Port-a-Lucine. Borcans have
  their own stylistic flourishes. They eschew the
  bright colors of the Dementlieuse gentry for strik-
  ingly stark garb of black on white and traditionally
  don long, fine gloves of satin or silk. The elite adorn
  themselves with copious amounts of jewelry, usu-
  ally crafted from silver or precious stones, and their
  finest garb is often delicately embroidered with
  silver thread. The Borcans’ cultural ties to silver
  date back to the War of Silver Knives; while gold
  is perfectly acceptable as adornment for one’s manor,
  to wear gold is seen as laughably gauche. As a note,
  courtesans — regardless of gender — are legally
  forbidden from wearing jewelry of any kind, to
  distinguish wealthy concubines from the true no-
  bility.
  Ezra’s congregations traditionally dress all in
  white during worship ceremonies, while nobles
  reserve their colorful coats and gowns for the most
  prestigious festivals and banquets, favoring vibrant
  hues and patterns inspired by insect or reptile
  markings.
  During the frigid winters, Borcans don thick
  felt caps and wrap themselves in long cloaks of
  leather or wool. The elite typically line their cloaks
  with fine furs such as ermine or rabbit and warm
  their hands with matching muffs. Some hunters
  and guards prefer the pardesiu, a sheepskin coat that
  hangs to the ground. Like the Barovian vests that
  inspired them, these coats are woolen within and
  exquisitely embroidered without.
  Language
  Historically, Balok is Borca’s native tongue.
  When the Dilisnyas returned at the end of the
  Vacancy, however, they also brought Mordentish
  with them; the two languages are now thoroughly
  intermingled here. High Mordentish is the lan-
  guage of court, while Balok largely replaces the
  Low dialect for common talk and daily trade.
  Nearly all Borcans are at least functionally fluent in
  both tongues, and they casually switch between
  them to best express themselves. Borcan mer-
  chants typically have rudimentary familiarity with
  one or more foreign tongues. The Borcan accent is
  easily distinguished by its soft consonants. On
  Borcan lips, guttural Balok is very nearly pleasant.
  Tellingly, the Halfling tongue has become some-
  thing akin to the language of crime.
  Lifestyle & Education
  Borca is home to a highly baroque society,
  intricately structured yet capable of grandiose emo-
  tional gestures. Many aspects of Borcan life seem
  inherently contradictory to outsiders; these are
  people who have knowingly constrained intense
  passions within a rigid web of allegiances and
  obligations.
  Borcan Language Primer
  Mordentish Dialects
  English
    Balok
  Low
  High
  man
    om, oamensc
  carl, mann, rinc
  homme
  woman
    femeie
  fæmne, wif, (married) æwe
  femme
  child
    copil
  bearn
  enfant
  life
    viata
  feorh, gast, lif
  vie
  death
    moarte
  feorhgedal, swylt, (murder) cwealm mort, (murder) meurtre
  love
    iubire
  lufræden
  amour
  poison (n.)   méreg
  ator, lybb
  poison, toxine, venin
  conspire
    comploia
  reonian
  comploter
  money
    bani
  mynet, sceatt
  argent
  
  23
  Borca
  Technically, all Borcans are born as freemen,
  but lest they spend their entire lives begging from
  the gutters, they must enter into indentures. All
  Borcans of any means are indentured servants,
  voluntary slaves more tightly bound to their mas-
  ters and peers than any true serf. The indenture
  system’s impact on Borcan culture is vast. Borcans
  place great significance on the written word, dis-
  daining oral agreements as vaguely illicit. It is said
  that Borcans demand to know the rules that shape
  their lives — if only to learn how to cheat. They
  know countless ways of subverting their own moral
  and ethical tenets; the “subtle slumber” of poison,
  for instance, often solves what debate cannot.
  The vast majority of Borcans spend their lives
  trapped in crushing poverty. Despite the preten-
  sions of its elite, Borca has no true aristocracy; its
  nobles are merchants playing at being princes. All
  power rests in the hands of Borca’s two owners, who
  grant and retract it at their whim. A pauper who
  impresses Lord Ivan with cunning or Lady Ivana
  with charm may be elevated into the gentry over-
  night. The fall from grace comes with equal speed,
  often arriving in a bottle of tainted wine. Thus, any
  ambitious Borcan must be a master schemer. This
  inherent instability of power stresses the impor-
  tance of family. A supporting family stabilizes the
  social status of the individual; the more relatives
  one can call upon for aid, the greater the odds that
  all family members will be able to meet their
  responsibilities. In a sense, each great house is a
  nation unto itself, and its members grant their
  allegiances accordingly.
  Borcans have a wildly romantic view of love,
  but never confuse it with marriage. Wedlock is
  seen as an inviolate legal contract, politically and
  economically strengthening two houses by uniting
  them on a common foundation. Both rich and poor
  observe arranged marriages and often marry young.
  Legally, they can wed as soon as they learn to sign
  their names, but few marry before the age of four-
  teen; marrying off a child bride or groom is seen as
  a sign of desperation. Borcans never marry outside
  their social class; only fools would bind themselves
  to debtors. Details of the marriage contract are
  determined through lengthy negotiations between
  the two families. All such contracts include the
  expected oaths of fealty between the spouses, but
  many include dowry demands, mutual assistance
  pacts, or even additional stipulations such as the
  husband maintaining a minimum income or the
  wife producing a certain number or gender of heirs
  within a set number of years. Technically, Borcans
  do not divorce; they simply annul their marriage
  contracts if either spouse fails to meet his or her
  obligations. Annulments are just as involved as
  marriage negotiations, with a focus on finding
  fault; the spouse guilty of reneging on the contract
  typically faces steep monetary repercussions and
  has difficulty remarrying.
  One wonders how many errant spouses have
  been saved from their indiscretions by
  lethal happenstance. Better to be widowed
  than ruined, no doubt.
  Married Borcans who desire true love often
  turn to illicit affairs. Unfettered by economic con-
  cerns, romantic affairs frequently cross class
  boundaries. Some folk manage to elevate their
  social station by becoming the “kept” lovers of
  wealthy patrons, while courtesans make it a true
  profession. Adultery seems to be far more common
  than the Borcans will admit; Borcan spouses are
  not so much jealous as extremely possessive. In a
  sense, spouses are each other’s property, and adul-
  tery is seen as a form of trespass.
  Borcan herbalism is quite advanced, with lo-
  cal healers diluting numerous lethal poisons to
  create natural medicines. Borcans also regularly
  indulge in mild stimulants, narcotics and aphrodi-
  siacs, but overuse is disdained as weakness.
  Thanks to Borca’s herbs, women need not bear
  unwanted children, and childbirth itself is rela-
  tively safe. Infant mortality remains high, however.
  Borca has no orphanages, so unwanted babes are
  often smothered. Numerous toddlers succumb to
  Borca’s enticing but deadly flora, while many oth-
  ers starve or fall to disease. Children are the legal
  property of their parents until they learn their
  letters, usually at the age of six, at which point they
  can sign their first indentures. Families typically
  groom their children to fill specific roles from birth;
  indeed, producing a child without a clear niche for
  it to fill is considered as reprehensible as bastardy.
  Peasant families require laborers, while more pow-
  erful houses require scholars, scribes, accountants,
  healers and other specialized roles. Lesser children
  exist simply to be married off.
  Borca’s formalized schooling is no match for
  that found in the lands to the west. Elite families
  utilize private tutors; older children may be sent to
  expensive finishing schools in Levkarest, where
  
  24
  Report One
  providing a classical education takes sec-
  ond place to lessons in poise and etiquette.
  The most promising heirs of wealthy fami-
  lies often complete their education in
  Richemulot or Dementlieu. By no coinci-
  dence, this practice also removes such ripe
  young men and women from the Black
  Widow’s view. Commoners rely on appren-
  ticeships to teach their children basic trades.
  Peasants strive to provide their children
  with the basics of arithmetic and — above
  all else — literacy. Those folk who cannot
  or will not enter into indentures are non-
  persons in the eye of the law. These nothings
  hold no legal rights. Beyond the fundamen-
  tals, Borcan commoners are wretchedly
  ignorant, often spreading pseudo-scholarly
  blather as trusted wisdom.
  Away from the hellspouts, Borca’s low-
  lands are fertile but underutilized;
  shortsighted landholders refuse to pay the
  considerable costs of clearing their lands to
  create arable fields, and most food is chan-
  neled directly to the tables of the elite.
  Thus, despite Borca’s respectable yields,
  most peasants still go hungry, requiring
  Falkovnian grain to survive each winter.
  Commoners subsist largely on grains, pota-
  toes and beans, occasionally supplemented
  by eggs, poultry, hard-crusted breads, goat’s
  milk, butter, or cheeses. Mutton is a rare
  treat usually saved for feast days. Most com-
  moners sup on ciorba as their daily meal, a
  charmless buckwheat porridge mixed with
  lentil beans. Commoners of all ages drink
  heady, dark barley beer from local brewer-
  ies.
  Borca’s elite enjoy countless delicacies
  from across the Core. Affluent Borcans
  partake of three meals a day, each served in
  several courses. These meals are heavily
  spiced and frequently include tender cuts of
  beef, veal, or mutton as the main course. A
  popular dish is foie divisé en beurre: thinly
  sliced liver and diced onions cooked in
  olive oil and butter. The main course is
  accompanied by dishes of chicken, duck,
  goose, or freshwater fish, as well as mixed
  fruits or vegetables such as corn, apricots
  and peppers. The meal concludes with small
  cakes, nuts, or similar treats; honeyed al-
  monds are particularly popular. Breakfasts
  
  25
  Borca
  are simpler affairs, usually consisting of omelets.
  The Borcan elite accompany their luxurious
  meals with fine wine and apricot brandy, produced
  in their own vineyards. Many folk carry small flasks
  in their coat pockets. Taking a sip from the flask
  before offering it to a companion is a sign of trust
  and confidence. Borcans are also notably fond of
  coffee, an exotic beverage imported all the way
  from the Amber Wastes. Coffee is a status symbol,
  rare even among the elite.
  Rich or poor, families use mealtimes to com-
  mune or discuss business. Borcans take great pleasure
  in their cuisine and in observing strict etiquette.
  Meals are traditionally served in common bowls
  and platters, from which everyone at the table
  takes their own portion. The head of the household
  or host is expected to take the first bite of each dish
  or provide a taster to do so. In the case of inns and
  eateries, the server fills this role.
  Ingrained by their indentures, Borcans inter-
  pret the written word entirely too literally. Literature
  has little audience here. Local written works are
  generally restricted to contracts, holy texts and the
  boastful memoirs of successful merchants. Other
  forms of art — portraiture, sculpture, music and
  theatre — fare better. Borcan chamber music fo-
  cuses on strings and woodwinds, featuring elaborate,
  baroque sonatas. She may be a dilettante, but many
  artists live or die by Lady Ivana’s patronage. In-
  deed, many of Levkarest’s resident artists are
  rumored to be ermordenung.
  Lord Ivan has long supported the theatrical
  arts. Ivan pays acting troupes exorbitant fees to
  perform at his manor, but few accept the invitation
  twice. Ivan considers himself a master thespian and
  is a notorious meddler. When viewing a new work,
  he often shouts out “improvements” from the audi-
  ence. When he is familiar with the play, he is prone
  to storming onto the stage, mid-performance, to
  replace actors who displease him. Troupes who
  cannot or will not comply with his demands often
  pay for their perceived lack of talent with their
  lives. Lord Ivan’s tastes have shaped a distinctly
  Borcan style of opera, focusing on grandiose tales of
  passion, treachery, justice and revenge.
  On the rare occasions that Borcans relax, they
  prefer intellectual pursuits over the physical. Gam-
  bling is endemic, with commoners often
  squandering their few coppers on cockfights.
  Borcans prefer tests of skill to games of chance, so
  cards and chess are favored over dice. Particularly
  popular among the elite is a complex board game
  known as Debts and Favors in which four players
  move their pieces around a checkered board. Pieces
  may be traded between players after being cap-
  tured, as players try to rebuild their positions on the
  board. Players can even trade opponents’ pieces if
  it nets them a better bargaining position to recover
  one of their own tokens. Some jaded aristocrats are
  rumored to make private wagers about how skill-
  fully they can manipulate their peers or lessers,
  often ruining lives for nothing more than their own
  jaundiced amusement.
  Attitudes Toward Magic
  Borcans have little experience with or talent
  for arcane magic, but most are familiar with al-
  chemy and elixirs both wondrous and foul. No
  Borcan expects ever to see a display of arcane
  might, and none hope to; however, I sensed a subtle
  yet pervasive fear that supernatural forces lurked
  unseen within their society. In times of unrest, this
  suspicion can curdle into dread, producing panics.
  Culturally, Borcans associate mages with poison-
  ers, but this connection is not as nefarious as it may
  seem. Both poison and magic are seen as means of
  circumventing standard rules.
  While the price of poison is the risk of discov-
  ery, the supernatural world demands its own costs.
  Parents teach their children countless tales about
  spellcasters — arcane and divine — bargaining
  with dark faeries or signing pacts of blood with
  gloating devils. These contracts all offer power in
  return for dreadful sacrifices — lives, souls, happi-
  ness, beauty. Such tales are commonplace across
  the Core, of course, but many stories here have a
  distinctively Borcan twist: the mortal sorcerer of-
  ten successfully pays the price or in some way twists
  the wording of the contract to his advantage,
  winning power without inviting doom. Every new
  pact carries new risks, however,  meaning new
  occult forces with which the mage must bargain.
  Mages who meet their diabolic match are ushered
  into the so-called “Legions of the Night.” Cor-
  rupted in life, the Legions cannot join Ezra beyond
  the Mists in death and thus must wander the world
  as spirits or worse. Ezra herself is viewed as one of
  these supernatural patrons, though she is consid-
  ered unique in her benevolence.
  The moral of such tales is clear: supernatural
  boons demand steep costs, but all is well if the bill
  is paid. Corruption is by no means certain for the
  skillful.
  
  26
  Report One
  Religion
  Surviving ruins indicate that the ancient
  Barovian sun god Andral was once worshipped in
  Borca, but the religion faded during the Vacancy,
  replaced by centuries of distinct apathy toward
  divine meddling. The explosive growth of the
  Church of Ezra over the past century represents a
  remarkable cultural shift.
  Today, Borcan veneration of the goddess Ezra
  is nigh unavoidable. Most manors feature private
  shrines, and small, white marble statues of Ezra
  grace the main entrance of many homes. The icons
  act as spiritual wards, symbolically placing those
  that enter the home under Ezra’s gaze. Ezra’s fol-
  lowers are dismissive of other creeds, but seldom
  hostile. Not all faiths are tolerated, with worship-
  pers of the rival Lawgiver faith particularly loathed.
  Borca’s temples are grandiose affairs, but its
  graveyards pale in comparison. The morbid gran-
  deur of Darkon and Mordent’s memorials are here
  replaced by rows of bland, numbered posts. The
  reason is simple: Borca’s graveyards belong to the
  Dark Twins. To remain in the earth, one must have
  descendants willing and able to pay rent on the
  grave. Most Borcan dead remain interred for only
  five years, after which the bones are exhumed and
  cleaned, the skull labeled with the deceased’s name
  and date of death, and the lot stacked in catacombs
  beneath the local temple. Only the most stable and
  affluent families bother to honor their ancestors’
  corpses with ornate headstones or mausoleums,
  usually erected on their private estates.
  Borcans celebrate many of the same seasonal
  festival days found throughout the Core, including
  the Feast of the First Epiphany, held by each temple
  of Ezra on its first worship day in May. A com-
  memoration of Ezra’s visitation to Yakov Dilisnya,
  this joyous celebration is the most enlivening holi-
  day for Borca’s masses and a popular day for
  marriages. December brings Winter Festival, an
  event of great political significance. Privately known
  to many as Night of the Dead Moon’s Get, this
  event marks the Dark Twins’ mutual birthday.
  Nobles await Winter Festival with a growing sense
  of dread. Since the unification of Borca, both
  cousins have taken to inviting all of Borca’s land-
  holders to their separate galas, using the respective
  attendance as a petty contest of allegiances. Ivan
  and Ivana also use these gatherings to tally harvest
  incomes, settle year-end payments, and reallocate
  titles. Fortunes — even lives — can ride on whose
  party an individual attends. The great houses al-
  ways divide their most prominent members be-
  tween both galas, wisely playing both sides against
  the middle.
  Ezra: At long last, after studying each of the
  three breakaway sects, I have arrived at the well-
  spring of the Church of Ezra, known as the “Home
  Faith” by the faithful. As elsewhere, anchorites of
  the Home Faith steadfastly seek to protect Ezra’s
  faithful from the monstrous Legions of the Night.
  Unlike the Nevuchar Springs sect, however, the
  Home Faith is content to clearly separate the
  blessed from the damned, trusting their ultimate
  fates to Ezra.
  The heart of the Church lies within the Great
  Cathedral, which towers over the rooftops of
  Levkarest. With its last stone set in place just
  twelve years ago, the Great Cathedral remains a
  gleaming monument to Ezra’s glory — and less
  overtly, to the wealth and power of her church.
  The Great Cathedral is a fortress of white marble
  and stained glass, employing its own phalanx of
  guards. With such extensive material holdings, the
  clergy is deeply embroiled in courtly politics. The
  anchorites under Levin Postoya, Ezra’s fifth
  Praesidius (high priest), tend toward pragmatism
  in politics, remaining neutral whenever possible,
  but holding frequent meetings behind closed doors
  to appease prickly nobles and appeal to them for
  donations. The Home Faith also serves as a hub
  between the Church’s splinter sects. Envoys from
  The Church of Ezra Revisited
  Ezra (EZ-ra)
  Symbol: A silver longsword superim-
  posed on an alabaster kite shield and adorned
  with a sprig of belladonna.
  Alignment: Lawful neutral.
  Domains: Destruction, Healing, Law,
  Mists, Protection. The Mists domain is unique
  to anchorites; see the Ravenloft Player’s
  Handbook for details. Anchorites of the
  Home Faith typically select the Mists and
  Law cleric domains.
  Favored Weapon: Ezra’s blade
  (longsword).
  More extensive details on the Home
  Faith can be found in Ravenloft Gazetteer
  III.
  
  27
  Borca
  each sect can always be found at the Great Cathe-
  dral, though few choose to stay longer than a year
  before being transferred back to their homelands.
  Ezra is the only true source of refuge for Borca’s
  downtrodden commoners. Worship ceremonies are
  held every five days, measured from the founding of
  each temple, but scores of people pass through the
  Great Cathedral’s cavernous worship hall each day
  to offer thanks or to pray for aid. The Church of
  Ezra has become the opiate of the masses that
  Yakov Dilisnya promised.
  Hala: Hala’s witches maintain several small
  hospices in Borca, particularly in the rural west, but
  keep a low, wary profile. Their unease stems from
  701 BC, when Praesidia Donella Borovsky issued
  an edict bluntly calling witchcraft hag magic, de-
  claring that it invariably produced physical and
  spiritual corruption. The Home Faith never ac-
  tively persecuted witches, but Borcans grew cold
  toward Hala’s followers. Ironically, common Ha-
  lite myth holds that the mortal Ezra was herself one
  of Hala’s priestesses, a legend the Home Faith
  declares as heresy. Praesidia Kristyn Stoyista,
  Borovsky’s successor, rescinded the edict in 732
  BC, but to this day, Hala’s witches often become
  scapegoats when “panics” arise.
  The Borcan Hero
  This section presents information potentially useful in creating PCs native to Borca. They can
  choose either Balok or Mordentish as their native language; whichever they pick, nearly all Borcans
  take the other as their first bonus language.
  Races: Humans are the overwhelmingly dominant race in Borca; halflings hold no true power.
  Other races are extremely rare, and Borcans generally see them as freaks and curiosities, reacting with
  disdain rather than superstitious fear.
  Classes: Bards, clerics, fighters and rogues are the most common classes here. Bards are seldom
  traveling minstrels; instead, they appear as actors, composers, or musicians who channel their
  tortured imaginations into arcane artistry. Many Borcans are devout followers of the Church of Ezra
  and hold anchorites in high regard, but reactions toward druids and clerics of other faiths range from
  indifference to mild hostility. Fighters can easily find employment as enforcers, but are usually
  dismissed as mindless thugs; they are paid to fight, not think. Rogues are common, but depending on
  their role in society may be respected or despised; Borcans admire cunning as much as they loathe
  thievery. A few rangers monitor undeveloped estates in the western lowlands for absentee landhold-
  ers. Borca has few talented sorcerers or wizards. Those who do emerge typically conceal their abilities,
  hoarding their gifts as a valuable commodity. A tiny handful of folk have been popularly labeled as
  paladins of Ezra over the years, but these holy warriors remain largely the stuff of legend. Other classes
  are virtually unknown.
  Recommended Skills: Bluff, Craft (alchemy, leatherworking, painting, poison-making, sculp-
  ture, stonemasonry), Diplomacy, Forgery, Intimidate, Knowledge (architecture and engineering,
  local, nature, nobility and royalty), Profession (apothecary, bookkeeper, brewer, farmer, herbalist,
  herdsman, miner, scribe), Sense Motive.
  Recommended Feats: Dodge (plus derivatives), Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms), Jaded,
  Skill Focus (Craft [alchemy, poisonmaking], Profession [herbalist]), Sympathetic Spell (see At-
  tached Notes), Voice of Wrath, Weapon Focus (dagger, musket, pistol).
  Borcan Male Names: Arturo, Cheslav, Edik, Fredrik, Kiryl, Lorenz, Raphael, Rodrigo, Salvatore,
  Stepka, Zivon.
  Borcan Female Names: Acquilina, Charlotta, Duscha, Irena, Katarina, Lubmilla, Miranda,
  Natasha, Oleska, Urola, Zinerva.
  Outcast Ratings in Borca
  If an ermordenung’s true nature is revealed, her OR increases by +2.
  
  28
  Report One
  The Realm
  he Borcan insignia depicts a black and
  silver serpent on a burgundy field, its
  coils severed into nine parts and flanked
  by nine silver stars. Officially, it symbol-
  izes the nine original city-states of Borjia,
  though cynics muse that it now aptly represents the
  foundations of Borcan culture: wine, wealth and
  treachery. Money and power are inextricably inter-
  twined here. Despite its pretensions at a traditional
  feudal society, at heart Borca is a crass plutocracy.
  All power flows from wealth, all wealth flows from
  property, and ultimately all property belongs to just
  two landowners. Lord Ivan still retains a few prop-
  erties in the Doldak Heights, including his estate
  and the city of Lechberg, but the rest of Borca is
  wholly Lady Ivana’s. Since the Unification, Ivana
  and her advisors have primarily focused their con-
  trol on Borca’s trade guilds and other economic
  matters. To the horror of many, Ivan now oversees
  Borca’s law enforcement and military defense.
  The Dark Twins are highly public figures,
  frequently touring the country to cordially intimi-
  date their elite tenants. Ivana’s entourage is often
  seen in Borca’s more luxurious establishments,
  while Ivan inspects his militia on an erratic sched-
  ule. Despite their visibility, the cousins are
  remarkably unpopular; many folk consider them
  dangerously mad. Ivana, of course, is the notorious
  Black Widow of Levkarest, a temptress whose past
  is littered with poisoned paramours. Ivan is par-
  ticularly volatile, prone to ordering executions at a
  whim and possessed of unseemly appetites. He
  adopts new “roles” as the muse strikes him, don-
  ning one of his many theatrical costumes. Ivan may
  spend a given day posing as anything from a prince
  to a pauper, but demands the respect due a king.
  In truth, most folk reserve the brunt of their
  hatred for the Dilisnya clan as a whole. They
  believe that the cousins’ advisors are Borca’s true
  rulers, using their demented kin as scapegoats to
  distract the populace from their own excesses. In
  my brief dealings with the cousins, I observed keen,
  tactical minds hiding behind eccentricity. The
  Dark Twins are their own masters, and I posit that
  one of them is Borca’s true dread lord. Ivana is my
  prime suspect, due to her political dominance and
  prolonged youth, but I cannot fully dismiss Ivan’s
  infamy.
  Most Borcans would gladly see their rulers
  dead, but few think that coups or killers stand a
  chance. The only assassins that concern the cous-
  ins are those they throw at each other. Rumored
  reasons for the collapse of their relationship abound,
  but most folk blame Ivan’s jealousy toward Ivana,
  be it due to his reduced holdings, a thwarted desire
  to share her vital elixir, or even a rejected marriage
  proposal.
  Neither cousin is ever seen without a phalanx
  of private bodyguards and trusted courtiers. Ivan’s
  closest protectors are informally known as his “Bor-
  rowed Men” — borrowed from death, that is. Ivan
  has reputedly assured their allegiance by addicting
  them all to a narcotic only he can create. Subjects
  addicted to Ivan’s elixir cannot survive without it.
  Fortunately, Ivan can create only so much elixir;
  otherwise, he would doubtlessly attempt to addict
  the entire populace.
  Ivana has a high turnover rate among her
  guards, but does boast two stalwart companions.
  The first is her lifelong friend and aide Nostalia
  Romaine. A classic Borcan beauty, if chillingly
  passionless, Romaine oversees most of Ivana’s daily
  affairs. Ivana’s primary guardian is a lithe mute
  called the “Jongleur” for his colorful, concealing
  garb and the bells and ribbons he ties to his double-
  bladed sword. As much a dancer as a duelist, the
  Jongleur has served Boritsi for nearly a decade —
  remarkable tenure for any man in her company.
  The puckered scars that mar what little of his skin
  is visible lend credence to the theory that the
  Jongleur is too hideously burned ever to catch
  Ivana’s eye. Rumor holds that the Jongleur is of
  Vistani blood; supposedly, his gypsy parents cast
  him into their campfire when he was born, but the
  infant crawled to safety. The Jongleur is no less
  tenacious today.
  Intriguing. Is power drawn to power?
  Despite the claims of wagging tongues, neither
  of the Dark Twins has produced a legal, surviving
  heir. Should both die, the Dilisnyas will likely
  collapse into bitter, internal squabbles for power —
  a revisited War of Silver Knives.
  Government
  I hesitate to call Borca’s system of rule corrupt,
  for corruption is the system. Borca does possess a
  codified set of laws, built up over time from the
  original trade agreements that united the city-
  states of Borjia.
  
  29
  Borca
  The foundation of Borcan law — and the only
  element still considered sacrosanct — is the inden-
  ture, a binding legal contract detailing the duties,
  entitlements and duration of an agreement be-
  tween two parties. The contract is written and
  signed in duplicate on two halves of a single sheet,
  which are then carefully torn apart along a unique,
  jagged line. Each party keeps his half of the inden-
  ture, using it as proof of the agreement during
  further negotiations. As the most basic defense
  against forgery, the jagged edges (called teeth)
  must match.
  Indentures are used for every conceivable so-
  cial contract, from inheritance to employment,
  from property leases to the guestbooks I signed at
  inns. Signers who fail to uphold their end of the
  contract face steep repercussions. A typical peas-
  ant has only a few indentures (binding him to his
  work, his home and perhaps a spouse), but typical
  stapans (landlords) fill their safes with employee
  and tenant contracts. Borcans consider these scraps
  of parchment more precious than any coin. To call
  a Borcan “toothless” is a dire insult, indicating he
  does not honor his contracts. Even the Dilisnyas
  find such folk contemptible. Of course, they craft
  their indentures so that fault can always be found
  under the right circumstances.
  Property leases give Borca’s government its
  structure. Ivan and Ivana rent large properties to
  their favored landlords, who then sublet their lands
  to their own tenants, and so on. In a large town, two
  or three tiers may separate a commoner from his
  landowner. A seamstress rents a room from her
  employer, a fabric guildsman who rents a workshop
  from his stapan, an idle landlord who rents several
  city blocks from his stapan, who is the baron renting
  the entire town from Lady Ivana. Indentures usu-
  ally express rent as both a percentage of tenant
  earnings and a minimum based on population; the
  tenant must pay the higher of the two. The Dark
  Twins typically demand 20% of all earnings made
  on their properties, with each successive stapan
  raising the rent on his own tenants to support
  himself; many commoners pay fully half their mea-
  ger wages to their landlords. Most stapans employ
  tolleres — a sort of investigating accountant — to
  scrutinize suspicious bookkeeping practices.
  Aristocratic titles are based on the amount of
  annual tribute a stapan pays to his landowner. A
  few hundred gold earns one the title of baron or
  baroneasa, while more than a thousand buys a conte
  or conteasa before one’s name. These lofty titles are
  purely honorary. A Borcan conte has no more true
  power than a Barovian boyar. The result is a grossly
  bloated pseudo-aristocracy: more than a score of
  “noble” houses, most of which exist solely to leech
  off the peasantry while providing Lady Ivana with
  fashionable companions and playthings. Titles are
  not hereditary and can fluctuate each year as rent
  payments are tallied. Ivan and Ivana reserve the
  title of sef and sefeasa for themselves, respectively,
  a generic honorific meaning leader. Etiquette per-
  mits a simple Lord or Lady to suffice when addressing
  any noble.
  Stapans are largely free to rule their properties
  as they see fit. The revenue they draw from their
  land is limited only by their own greed. Stapans
  facing a shortfall often invent or inflate fees to
  preserve their station, but landlords who consis-
  tently overtax their tenants eventually see their
  income collapse with their population. Failed
  stapans are stripped of their holdings and replaced,
  but this is little comfort to those tenants who have
  been worked to death in the meantime. Most
  stapans bleed their tenants for no more — and no
  less — tribute than they can sustain. In my time in
  Borca, I crossed not one bridge, entered not one
  town, and followed not one road or river without
  having to scoop a copper from my purse for the
  privilege.
  Leases also require stapans to hire enforcers to
  collect fees and keep the peace. Prior to the Unifi-
  cation, stapans employed small, individual units of
  bodyguards to oversee their lands. None of the
  mercenaries in this ungainly patchwork held any
  power beyond their employer’s lands, but were
  largely honest in their dealings. Ivan expanded his
  power by consolidating these private armies into a
  unified militia, and stapans are pressured to sign
  indentures adding their enforcers to his troops.
  Militiamen can sew the Borca insignia onto their
  uniforms, and their jurisdiction extends to the
  estates of every stapan in the coalition, giving them
  the ability to coordinate their efforts. In larger
  communities, guard captains in Ivan’s direct em-
  ploy further organize the militia. The Church of
  Ezra has not joined the coalition, so the militia has
  no jurisdiction within the Great Cathedral.
  Borcan law reveals the true corruption in its
  execution: Ivan’s militia is a grandiose extortion
  scheme. In addition to the rent and tolls they
  collect for their stapans, the militia demand bribes
  for the smallest basic services — investigating
  crimes, dispensing justice, providing information,
  
  30
  Report One
  or just leaving folk unaccosted as they travel, work
  their fields, or operate their businesses. As such,
  the modern militia is a haven for Borca’s greediest
  thugs. Their employment indentures brazenly stipu-
  late that Ivan receive a percentage of every sundry
  bribe and protection payment they collect.
  Accused criminals and feuding parties go be-
  fore their stapan for trials. Such trials are almost
  invariably decided in favor of whoever throws the
  most money at their case. Parties can appeal rulings
  to their stapan’s stapan (and so on up to their sef),
  but a noble’s time is bought, not borrowed. A
  landlord can confirm or overrule any of his tenants’
  rulings, at his whim.
  Criminal sentences focus on restitution. The
  guilty party must repay all damages suffered by the
  wronged party, with tolleres on each side debating
  the exact amount owed. This is normal in cases of
  theft, fraud and vandalism, but Borcan law goes so
  far as to codify the monetary value of human life: a
  murderer must pay the next of kin a sum equal to
  twice the victim’s annual net income. A noble’s
  life can thus be worth thousands, but the price to
  kill a peasant is exactly 73 gold coins.
  Criminals who cannot promptly pay restitu-
  tion are imprisoned in wretched, privately owned
  workhouses. There they toil until their debt is
  repaid, with all earnings going to the wronged party
  after the workhouse’s operator takes his cut. Natu-
  rally, skilled craftsmen can repay their debts much
  more quickly than untrained laborers. If the court
  decides that a debt is utterly beyond a criminal’s
  ability to repay, then it invokes the dreaded death
  debt: the condemned loses his life.
  In this debased and biased system, it is no
  surprise that many Borcans take the law into their
  own hands. Vigilante justice is common, be it mobs
  chasing suspects through the streets or more afflu-
  ent folk hiring adventurous mercenaries to conduct
  private investigations. When tempers flare, many
  individuals invoke the death debt and settle griev-
  ances through duels. So long as both duelists are
  willing participants and provide witnesses, such
  duels are legal and socially acceptable. Even here,
  justice favors the rich; duelists are entitled to hire
  “seconds” to take up a blade or pistol in their place.
  
  31
  Borca
  Economy
  The Borcan economy operates on two distinct
  tiers. At its base, commoners labor at agrarian
  tasks, providing basic necessities. Farmers raise
  poultry and harvest numerous crops, with wheat,
  rye, corn and potatoes most dominant. Others tend
  orchards of succulent fruits, such as apricots, cher-
  ries and peaches, or a wide variety of nuts. In the
  western woods, folk set traps for small game, fell
  trees for timber, or gather valuable herbs and exotic
  fungi, either through their own skill or with prized,
  trained hogs. Herdsmen tend their cattle and sheep
  in the grassy hills of the Steading, the region of
  Borca’s finest vineyards. The silver mines of the
  Doldak Heights are exhausted, but the region re-
  mains rich in lesser mineral resources. Miners still
  toil beneath the earth to produce iron, copper,
  lead, salt and finely veined marble.
  Most workers are destitute. Stapans claim the
  goods produced, then pay them a pittance. Com-
  moners receive most of their wages as meager meals
  and cramped lodgings provided on their employer’s
  property. Employees cannot legally quit their job.
  Those that try lose both their income and their
  home.
  Most stapans are bankers, craftsmen, or arti-
  sans. Borca’s craftsmen take the raw materials
  produced by their tenants or import it from foreign
  lands, then their workshops transform it into ex-
  quisite luxury items. Livestock and trappers’ pelts
  become fine fur rugs and leather goods. River mud
  and sand is baked and blown into fine ceramics,
  mirrors and glassware. Herbs are used to create
  medicines, cosmetics and perfumes, while timber
  becomes furniture and housing fixtures. Ores are
  forged into everything from weapons to delicate
  birdcages. Still others create artwork and baubles.
  They cater to an exclusive market, as wealthy as it
  is small: the nobility of the Core.
  Borca’s most significant industry is usury, the
  trading of money itself. Borca’s banking families
  possess wealth to rival some countries, and they
  wield their assets with all due power. The vaults
  beneath Borca’s banks could keep a dragon’s hoard
  secure, while a signed Borcan promissory note can
  bankroll the creation of a vast manor or a merce-
  nary army. So long as the money’s usage will not
  threaten the bankers’ personal interests, they have
  little interest in the borrower’s intent. Bankers,
  however, are not so foolish as to hand their riches
  to itinerant adventurers. To qualify for a loan, a
  borrower must prove that he can repay the debt.
  This comes in the form of collateral: property that,
  once appraised by the bank’s tolleres, is signed over
  to the bank until the debt is repaid (with interest).
  Should the borrower miss even a single payment,
  the bank swoops in to claim the collateral for itself.
  Obviously, bankers prefer collateral that cannot be
  hidden should the borrower default. Land is most
  favored, but banks accept valuables so long as they
  remain in their physical property.
  Borcans sneer at barter; even commoners pre-
  fer hard currency. Each Borcan coin displays a
  valued herb on its tails side: the foxglove is the
  copper piece, the hemlock is the silver and the
  Law Enforcement
  The enforcer below can represent any
  typical bodyguard or militia member. The vet-
  eran enforcer represents an older, more
  experienced guard. Veteran enforcers usually
  appear as elite bodyguards or guard captains.
  Borcan Enforcer:
  Borcan Enforcer:
  Borcan Enforcer:
  Borcan Enforcer:
  Borcan Enforcer: Human War1; CR 1/2; Medium human-
  oid (human); HD 1d8, hp 4; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 12,
  touch 10, flat-footed 12; Base Atk +1; Grp +1; Atk +2
  melee (1d10/x3, halberd) or +1 melee (1d6 nonlethal,
  sap) or +1 ranged (1d8/19–20, light crossbow); Full Atk
  +2 melee (1d10/x3, halberd) or +1 melee (1d6 nonlethal,
  sap) or +1 ranged (1d8/19–20, light crossbow); AL NE;
  SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10,
  Wis 10, Cha 10.
  Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +2, In-
  timidate +4, Listen +2, Ride (horse) +2, Spot
  +2; Alertness, Weapon Focus (halberd).
  Possessions: Halberd, sap, light crossbow,
  20 bolts, leather armor.
  Veteran Borcan Enforcer:
  Veteran Borcan Enforcer:
  Veteran Borcan Enforcer:
  Veteran Borcan Enforcer:
  Veteran Borcan Enforcer: Human War4; CR 3; Medium
  humanoid (human); HD 4d8, hp 18; Init +0; Spd 20 ft.;
  AC 15, touch 10, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +4; Grp +5;
  Atk +6 melee (1d10+1/x3, halberd) or +5 melee (1d4+1,
  bayonet) or +4 ranged (1d12/x3, musket); Full Atk +6
  melee (1d10+1/x3, halberd) or +5 melee (1d4+1, bayo-
  net) or +4 ranged (1d12/x3, musket); AL NE; SV Fort +4,
  Ref +1, Will +1; Str 12, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha
  10.
  Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +3, In-
  timidate +7, Listen +3, Ride (horse) +2, Sense
  Motive +2, Spot +3; Alertness, Exotic Weapon
  Proficiency (firearms), Weapon Focus
  (halberd).
  Possessions: Masterwork halberd, musket
  with bayonet, 20 bullets, chainmail, gunpow-
  der horn.
  
  32
  Report One
  nightshade the gold. Heads sides feature the profiles
  of significant historical Dilisnyas, ringed by the
  phrase “Laws Are Written In Silver” in Mordentish.
  Specific portraits depend on the identity and mood
  of the sef who had the coin struck. Note that
  Borcan merchants often devalue foreign currency,
  while moneychangers are ubiquitous in even the
  smallest communities. Both options are opportuni-
  ties for the local stapan to skim a tithe from foreign
  pockets for the dubious honor of access to Borca’s
  markets.
  Diplomacy
  By necessity, Borca is one of the Core’s most
  diplomatically active countries. Flanked by expan-
  sionist tyrants and no-man’s lands, yet dependent
  on steady trade for its economic survival, Borca’s
  continued existence stands as testament to the skill
  of its foreign merchant-envoys. Most operate un-
  der the guidance of Lord Ivan, whose tactics follow
  the adage, “Stab the hand that hides the blade.”
  These emissaries quietly seek out and smother
  smoldering threats before they ignite, always by the
  most expedient means. The untimely deaths of
  many prominent folk in surrounding realms have
  been blamed on Ivan’s poisoners over the years —
  so many, in fact, that I believe Ivan’s neighbors use
  him as a convenient scapegoat for their own machi-
  nations.
  Barovia: Many Borcans have distant kin in
  Barovia, Borca’s gateway to the south and the
  Vaasi Plateau. Still, Borca keeps its neighbor at
  arm’s length. The ancestral rivalry of the Dilisnyas
  and von Zaroviches has long since faded into
  history, yet some of Borca’s elite remain wary. Most
  Borcans have heard the rumors that Count Strahd
  XI is a vampire, though few admit to believing
  them. Overall, the countries’ relationship parallels
  that of Dementlieu to Mordent: most Borcans see
  the Barovians as their simple cousins, stifled by
  rulers with no taste for progress. Borcans were
  unnerved when Barovia first invaded Gundarak,
  but a generation later, no trader would dream of
  trading Count Strahd’s steady fist for Duke Gundar’s
  mad fits.
  Falkovnia: Borcans live in fear of Drakov’s
  bellicose whims and deeply resent the suspected
  intrusion of his troops as they cross the western
  lowlands. Falkovnia remains Borca’s link to the
  economic titan of Darkon, however, and Borca’s
  larger towns depend on Falkovnian grain each
  winter. Thus, like the rest of the League of Four
  Nations, Borca still trades with Falkovnia out of
  cruel necessity.
  Invidia: Borca engages in little direct trade
  with Invidia, and their relationship has deterio-
  rated since the rise of the warlord Malocchio Aderre
  a decade ago. Aderre frequently sends his merce-
  naries across the border to engage in clandestine
  Vistani hunts. This flagrant violation of Borcan
  sovereignty rankles Lord Ivan. For years, his threats
  of armed retaliation accomplished nothing, so
  Dilisnya has hired his own squads of killers to play
  cat-and-mouse with the Invidians in the increas-
  ingly bloody borderlands. Lord Ivan reportedly
  wants to place an open bounty on Aderre’s head,
  but the Invidian tyrant hides behind his alliance
  with Drakov. Should Ivan overplay his hand, he
  may well provoke Falkovnia and Invidia into clos-
  ing their jaws around Borca, an assuredly brutal
  conflict.
  Richemulot: Richemulot is the gateway to the
  west and the Musarde and is Borca’s one true ally.
  The two share cultural and ethnic ties and are
  bound by the Treaty of Four Towers, but most
  Borcans are confounded by the Richemuloise re-
  jection of Borca’s stringent social and legal
  commitments. Borcans find the fact that vast por-
  tions of Richemulot’s cities are legally unclaimed
  nigh inconceivable. Even as Borcans eagerly im-
  port Richemulot’s arts and fashions, they consider
  Richemuloise soft, irresponsible and directionless.
  Most Borcan commoners who could comprehend
  Richemulot’s freedoms fled there generations ago.
  Now, the Borcan elite spread exaggerated warnings
  that Richemulot’s lax property laws and lack of a
  strong, centralized leadership leaves it vulnerable
  to hostile forces and even contributes to the disease
  and vermin that supposedly overrun its cities.
  The Shadow Rift: Borcans shun the Shadow
  Rift as an unnatural wound in the earth. Ivan
  Dilisnya is an exception. His estate once looked
  out over the arid valley of G’Henna, but since the
  Great Upheaval he has enjoyed a prime view of the
  void. Something in this bottomless abyss seems to
  inspire Ivan, and he has recently had a large bal-
  cony constructed at the (literal) edge of his estate,
  to better take in the scenery.
  Verbrek: Beyond fireside tales about fearless
  wolves that slink into the Blightwood, Borcans
  know little about Verbrek and care less. As far as
  they are concerned, Verbrek is nothing but wasted
  space flanking the invaluable Musarde River.
  
  33
  Borca
  Sites of Interest
  y journey through Borca truly began as I
  stepped onto the docks in Sturben. With
  summer coming to a gentle end, I chose
  to focus first on the densely populated
  eastern uplands.
  Sturben
  Sturben sits in central Borca, hugging the
  northern banks of the Vasha River near the
  Falkovnian border. Its fortifications are well manned
  and still scarred from the Widow’s Massacre. Sev-
  eral stapans’ expansive estates overlook the southern
  banks, protected by the Vasha itself. The Scythe
  Highway enters Sturben from Falkovnia through
  Commerce Hall, where merchant cargo is inspected
  and transit papers issued. Commerce Hall provides
  offices for Sturben’s various guildmasters, includ-
  ing Baroneasa Ritter, the meticulously attentive
  head of the trade guild and stapan of Sturben. The
  Scythe Highway turns to exit Sturben through the
  east gate on its way to Ilvin. The Crimson Highway
  approaches from the south, crossing the Vasha via
  ferry before meeting the Scythe in Sturben’s large
  central plaza.
  Sturben operates primarily as a trade cross-
  roads. Goods are collected here before being shipped
  north, so workshops and long rows of warehouses
  line its main thoroughfares. These lanes slice
  Sturben into three “quarters,” tucking its residen-
  tial areas out of sight. Western Sturben, a
  crime-ridden slum, teems with cramped tenements
  and gambling halls. The northeast quarter is home
  to the townhouses of the middle class and the
  elegant stone House of Grace, wellspring of the
  First Schism. This edifice is the oldest standing
  temple of Ezra (disregarding the debate surround-
  ing Ste. Mere des Larmes in Port-a-Lucine), its
  construction started after but completed well be-
  fore the Great Cathedral.
  The southeast quarter houses marketplaces,
  hot springs, Sturben’s bathhouse, and its most
  notorious landmark, the Wyrmsbreath. This loom-
  ing marble fountain depicts a legendary two-headed
  dragon hunched over a large iron cage. Condemned
  prisoners are locked in this cage to meet their
  doom; once every three hours, the geyser inge-
  niously incorporated into the sculpture blasts a
  torrent of scalding water from the dragon’s maws,
  dousing the cage’s contents. I witnessed the execu-
  tion of a smuggler, and I can attest that the end was
  quick, if not painless; however, I observed a few
  folk in the eager crowd wagering whether the man
  would survive the first gout, only to have to wait for
  the next.
  Where to Stay in Sturben
  Sturben’s finest inn is the Green Mirror (good
  quality rooms, good quality meals), just off the
  central plaza. Rooms are warm and finely fur-
  nished, and the inn claims a private mineral bath
  for the use of its guests. Lesser folk can turn to the
  Plum Truffle (common quality rooms, common
  quality meals), which sits on the northern docks by
  the ferry. It caters primarily to boatmen, but the
  sparse décor of its rooms also draws a fair amount of
  Falkovnian emissaries, should they travel openly
  through the country. A few townhouses in the
  northeast quarter are also kept vacant, rented out
  to visiting nobles on the occasions that they con-
  verge on Sturben’s central location to debate policy.
  Sturben (large town):
  Sturben (large town):
  Sturben (large town):
  Sturben (large town):
  Sturben (large town): Conventional; AL NE; 3,000
  gp limit; Assets 303,000 gp; Population 2,020;
  Isolated (human 94%, halfling 5%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Baroneasa Beatrice Ritter, fe-
  male human Ari5; Captain Marcu Nutretta, male
  human Ftr8.
  Important Characters: Sentire Geofri Solda (an-
  chorite), male human Clr6; Samuel Iacomo
  (merchant guildmaster), male human ermordenung
  Exp7.
  Lechberg
  Another cab coach bore me north to the city
  of Lechberg, Dorvinia’s former capital. Lech’s Road
  and the Scythe Highway merge on the sluggish
  Vasha’s west banks before crossing the Raudraci
  Bridge, so named for the hellspouts around its
  foundations. East of the Vasha, Lechberg’s heart
  rises nearly 800 feet above the river on a broad,
  rocky tor. Lechberg’s main thoroughfares gradually
  coil their way up the hillsides, which the residents’
  ancestors worked into wide terraces onto which
  they built their homes. Numerous steep staircases
  provide shortcuts for foot traffic.
  Originally, this hill was home to a remote
  monastery dedicated to the Barovian sun god
  Andral. Roughly 600 years ago, the Borjian mer-
  chant-prince Lech Cosco seized the tor, dubbing it
  Lech’s Mountain. Under his reign, the monastery
  was expanded into a fortress, and its support build-
  
  34
  Report One
  ings gradually spread down the slopes. The vertical
  city’s natural defenses proved invaluable during
  the Terg Invasion, and although the sprawl sur-
  rounding the tor is unfortified, central Lechberg is
  considered a natural stronghold. Lech’s small,
  weatherworn fortress is now incongruously called
  the Golden Palace, housing both the headquarters
  of Lechberg’s militia and Ivan Dilisnya during his
  visits.
  Lechberg lies off the major trade routes, so it
  relies on industry and bloody lucre to support itself.
  Miners in the Doldak Heights cart their ores to
  refineries along the city’s eastern edge, while the
  tor itself is home to Borca’s largest currency mints
  and banking houses. Complex subterranean vaults
  carve deep into the tor, storing treasures most of
  Lechberg’s inhabitants can scarcely imagine. These
  vaults are fearsomely guarded via methods both
  mundane and arcane.
  Lechberg is home to a thriving theater com-
  munity, thanks largely to Ivan’s patronage and the
  popularity of Cezar Vercezzo, resident composer for
  the cavernous Sommet Theater. When the weather
  cooperates, the rear wall of the stage can be opened
  to use the stunning Balinok Mountains for a back-
  drop.
  Lord Ivan divides power between two stapans,
  Conteasa Buchvold and Conte Dilisnya (a cousin
  to Ivan), who are the heads of the two largest
  banks. Neither has held a noble title for long, and
  considering Ivan’s erratic habits, neither is likely to
  do so.
  Where to Stay in Lechberg
  The first inn most travelers encounter is the
  Tarnished Cup (common quality rooms, poor qual-
  ity meals), which rests at the base of the tor, just
  past the bridge. The rooms are bland but agreeably
  warm, not unlike the nightly specialty, cheese and
  onion soup. The clientele leaves much to be de-
  sired, however: a seedy throng of gamblers and
  likely criminals. More affluent visitors should con-
  tinue uphill to the Outlook (good quality rooms,
  common quality meals), a stout little inn sitting
  halfway up the tor. The Outlook’s rooms are quiet,
  secure and provide commanding views of Mt. Gries.
  Degravo
  I knew enough of Borca’s sefs to see that their
  vanity could become my skeleton key. I wrote to
  Lord Ivan, presenting myself as a travelogue writer
  and claiming readers would be fascinated by Sef
  Dilisnya’s exploits. A week later, I received an
  invitation and proceeded to Degravo in the com-
  pany of a small troupe of Dementlieuse actors
  invited to perform there.
  North of Lechberg, the Crimson Highway
  narrows to a hilly road leading directly to the
  wrought iron gates of Ivan’s manor. The walled
  estate chokes with overgrown gardens and brambles.
  Most are poisonous and dead or black with rot, with
  only the kitchen and medicinal gardens tended.
  A dozen bodyguards met us at the gates, con-
  fiscating our weapons and anything they thought
  suspicious. Ivan presented himself once we were
  disarmed, “idly” carrying a few pages of an operetta
  he claimed to be writing and offered us the grand
  tour.
  Degravo is built in a variation on the classic
  Borcan style. Numerous interconnected branches
  coil around a massive central hall like a maelstrom
  — or a viper poised to strike. Ivan calls the central
  hall his “Laughing House.” Our tour through its
  twisting corridors passed lofty ballrooms and din-
  ing halls; Ivan’s private theater; display chambers
  for toys, weapons, clothes and all manner of esoteria;
  and opulent lounges thick with the aroma of in-
  cense and exotic narcotics. We soon had dinner,
  the first social obstacle course Ivan subjected us to
  throughout our stay. The opening dishes were
  exquisite, but were soon followed by courses of live
  worms, rancid horseflesh and worse. My Darkonian
  palate served to mask my distaste well; Ivan par-
  took of both opulence and offal with the same
  jaded discontent, reacting to his guests’ pleased
  sighs and stifled gags with the same sneers of
  contempt. After the feast, we moved to the theater,
  where the troupe attempted to perform despite
  Ivan’s obtrusive and bizarre advice.
  The wings surrounding the Laughing House
  are separated by use. The help live and work in the
  servants’ wing, while Ivan and his few kin dwell in
  Lechberg (small city):
  Lechberg (small city):
  Lechberg (small city):
  Lechberg (small city):
  Lechberg (small city): Conventional; AL NE; 15,000
  gp limit; Assets 4,125,000 gp; Population 5,500;
  Isolated (human 94%, halfling 5%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Conte Edmondo Dilisnya, male
  human Ari8; Conteasa Sofia Buchvold, female hu-
  man Ari9; Captain Zivon Doritor, male human Ftr12.
  (All are addicted to Borrowed Time.)
  Important Characters: Sentire Benci Cochetari (an-
  chorite), male human Clr8; Cezar Vercezzo
  (composer), male human Brd10; Ambrosia Hillstride
  (city guide), female halfling Com10.
  
  35
  Borca
  the family wing. The latter is divided into numer-
  ous separate suites, most of which go vacant. Our
  guestrooms shared yet another wing with the gar-
  rison for Ivan’s enforcers. Ivan moves his own
  living quarters from wing to wing with the chang-
  ing of the seasons, displacing other residents at his
  whim.
  One last major wing stands at the rear of the
  manor. Ivan calls this hall his “Playroom.” Ser-
  vants murmured that no one is allowed inside the
  Playroom without Ivan’s invitation; none of them
  had ever seen its interior. One of the actors, how-
  ever, earned just such an invitation after he finally
  broke down and railed against Ivan from the stage.
  With a wave of Ivan’s hand, guards swarmed the
  fool and escorted him through the Playroom’s
  doors. I strongly doubt he will ever emerge.
  Levkarest
  I turned south to the bustling capital. Levkarest
  is a roughly heart-shaped city that straddles a low
  rise along the western banks of the Luna, just
  upriver from where the great river’s twin heads
  merge. Its marble fortifications are well maintained
  but sparsely patrolled. The Crimson Highway cuts
  a winding path through the city’s heart, bookended
  by two gatehouses: towering Sunset Gate to the
  west and smaller Sunrise Gate to the southeast. Just
  beyond Sunrise Gate, the long, low Fen Bridge
  spans the marshy outlet of one of many rivulets in
  the region. The Old Svalich Road comes in from
  the northeast, terminating at Caina, a small satel-
  lite community that largely acts as a fortified landing
  for the Luna ferry.
  Levkarest is a major trade center; the shops
  and eateries offer goods from throughout the world,
  for the right price. What the merchant guilds do
  not have, the trade guilds can obtain. Locals also
  see their city as a cultural center to rival Port-a-
  Lucine, but most foreigners would call this
  overstated. Levkarest is home to the Academy of
  Style, a respected finishing school, and numerous
  art galleries and music halls. Friends of Lady Ivana
  operate many of these establishments; some folk
  whisper that she sponsors the arts solely to ensure
  Levkarest does not lack for entertainment.
  Levkarest is undeniably scenic, surrounded for
  miles by the rolling farms and estates of Ivana’s
  favorite stapans. The city houses several stunning
  monuments to the artistry of Borca’s architects,
  most notably Marsav Hall and the Great Cathe-
  dral.
  
  36
  Report One
  Marsav Hall is a true palace, hidden behind
  high walls at the northern edge of town. Marsav is
  the official seat of Borcan government; its expan-
  sive grounds include record halls, militia barracks
  and private quarters for the family of Levkarest’s
  stapan, Conte Sulo Boritsi. Boritsi is Lady Ivana’s
  brother, though at 63 he more closely resembles
  her grandfather. He is also her closest advisor.
  The Great Cathedral looms a few blocks away.
  Its cavernous worship hall’s ceiling is covered in
  marble gargoyles that represent the Legions of the
  Night, all shying away from the serenity of the huge
  icon of Ezra above the altar. I was more intrigued by
  the Cathedral’s ecclesiastic library, which is open
  to scholars only by appointment and under strict
  supervision. These quiet halls are a literary treasure
  hoard, storing supposed religious relics, holy texts
  of countless religions, the original copies of each
  Book of Ezra, and scores of heretical works col-
  lected over the years.
  Levkarest’s main thoroughfares are broad, col-
  orful and remarkably clean, kept so by the dictates
  of Lady Ivana and with the aid of several aqueducts
  supplying water to the city’s fountains and water-
  works. The true cleaners, however, are a ragged
  army of peasants sent out each day from work-
  houses, and once I wound my way into the narrow
  side streets, I quickly encountered squalid slums.
  Sludge oozing from the city sewers has rendered the
  marshes beneath the Fen Bridge toxic, perhaps
  even producing the huge vermin supposedly some-
  times seen squirming through the muck. Levkarest
  is not a pristine city; it merely sweeps its wretches
  beneath the proverbial rug.
  Where to Stay in Levkarest
  Affluent visitors should turn to the Rosebud’s
  Thorn (common quality rooms, good quality meals)
  at Sunset Gate; the inn boasts an extensive selec-
  tion of liquors. Desfraya Manor (good quality rooms,
  good quality food) is an aristocratic townhouse
  turned boarding house. Camille Boritsi favored the
  Desfraya family, but their fortunes fell with her.
  Debts shriveled their holdings to this manor, but
  the eccentric ex-aristocrats seem to enjoy their
  lesser station. Staying here is as close as most folk
  will come to staying as the guests of nobility.
  Patrons of lesser means can stay in the old servants’
  quarters, or they can cross the Luna to the Sun’s
  Peak in Caina (common quality rooms, common
  quality meals), which caters to Barovian tastes in
  both décor and cuisine. Last and least is the Dark
  Maiden (poor quality rooms, poor quality meals), a
  squalid gambling den near Sunrise Gate that ap-
  parently adopted its current name (and lurid sign)
  in a cynical — yet successful — bid to attract Lady
  Ivana’s patronage when she and her entourage go
  slumming.
  Levkarest (small city):
  Levkarest (small city):
  Levkarest (small city):
  Levkarest (small city):
  Levkarest (small city): Conventional; AL NE; 15,000
  gp limit; Assets 6,375,000 gp; Population 8,500;
  Isolated (human 94%, halfling 5%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Conte Sulo Boritsi, male human
  Ari6/Exp4; Captain Victor Momeala, male human
  War13.
  Important Characters: Praesidius Levin Postoya;
  Clotilda Taroyan (tollere), female human
  ermordenung Wiz8; Garret Tallgallows (burglar),
  male halfling Rog12.
  Misericordia
  While in Levkarest, a repeat of the tactics I
  had used in Lechberg earned me an invitation to a
  social gathering at Misericordia, home to the Black
  Widow. Misericordia means “loving kindness,” but
  many Borcans secretly call it Miseria Corpa: the
  “body of misery.” The sprawling estate covers a
  high hill southeast of Levkarest, overlooking the
  Old Svalich Road.
  The manor boasts several “widow’s walks” that
  stand atop the steeply sloping roofs, accessed by
  trapdoors. Ivana reputedly haunts these walkways
  whenever one of her lovers dies.
  Most of the party guests were as lovely and
  shallow as panes of stained glass. I quickly tired of
  pale young things offering me advice on how to
  make my face less “harsh.” Misericordia’s interior is
  ostentatious, a collection of spacious chambers
  linked by narrow passageways. Vaulted ceilings
  soar above floors of polished marble or inlaid hard-
  woods. Fine, soft carpets mingle with heavy, faded
  tapestries. Ornately carved furniture and tasteful
  statues and paintings fill the galleries.
  By all accounts, Misericordia is riddled with
  secret passages. I found three while wandering the
  halls, but all of these proved to be innocuous routes
  for servants. According to rumor, escape tunnels
  run the length of the estate, and Ivana’s private
  suite can be accessed only through a series of
  concealed corridors.
  
  37
  Borca
  I eventually found Ivana herself, gossiping amid
  a circle of overly eager young men while the Jongleur
  looked on from a discreet distance. I introduced
  myself, and Ivana graciously turned all of her atten-
  tion to me, granting me an interview as we strolled
  through the party. During our conversation, Ivana
  struck me as charming, if vapid; most of her questions
  to me focused on my knowledge of the latest fashions
  in Dementlieu, Hazlani cuisine and other such trifles.
  I was almost convinced she was the wounded, naïve
  innocent many suitors believe her to be. Only as I
  reviewed my notes during my trip back to Levkarest
  did I realize that Ivana’s “vacuous” questions had
  drawn travel details of my entire itinerary for this past
  year and a half.
  Final Thoughts
  Borca possesses vast wealth, its purse strings
  clutched by corrupt and unpopular rulers. It would
  be a great prize for the conqueror who can claim it,
  even more so if its guilds and trade routes remain
  intact. Yet a steady stream of erstwhile usurpers
  have lost their lives in pursuit of that prize, learning
  too late that the glittering jewels of Borca lie at the
  heart of a nest of vipers. Not even Borca’s feuding
  sefs have succeeded in their schemes to eliminate
  each other, despite their best attempts.
  Assassins aiming for one of Borca’s sefs should
  choose their target carefully. If Ivan Dilisnya dies,
  laws would stabilize and commoners’ lives would
  likely improve, strengthening Ivana Boritsi’s rule.
  Without Ivan’s treacherous diplomacy, however,
  Borca’s borders would be far more vulnerable to its
  foes. Were Ivana to die, Ivan’s militia would likely
  expand its corrupt control even as society spiraled
  into total collapse. Ultimately, the choice is whether
  Borca would rot from the inside out or vice versa.
  
  38
  Report Two
  When lovely woman stoops to folly,
  And finds too late that men betray,
  What charm can soothe her melancholy?
  What art can wash her guilt away?
  — Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield
  ’Twixt kings and tyrants there’s this difference known:
  Kings seek their subjects’ good; tyrants their own.
  — Robert Herrick, Kings and Tyrants
  Report Two:
  Invidia
  Report Two:
  Invidia
  
  39
  Invidia
  referring to risk a seldom-used road be-
  tween Borca and Invidia rather than the
  highways (and rapidly lengthening au-
  tumn nights) in Barovia, I set out on
  foot from Levkarest to my next destina-
  tion. It was a dark day when I crossed the frontier
  into the sad realm of Invidia. The land’s bright
  leaves had only recently fallen, leaving behind
  trees like twisted skeletal hands reaching desper-
  ately toward the slate gray sky. Cold winds blew,
  chilling me to the bone despite my heavy woolen
  cloak and setting the trees into ominous motion.
  On occasion, icy rain rattled against the coach’s
  glass windows. My thoughts turned inward, for
  Invidia seemed likely to hold some of the darkest
  secrets of all the Core.
  suspicious than normal. Had I been suspected of
  dealing with the Borcans, Gundarakites, or —
  worse in the view of the realm’s ruler — the
  Vistani, my fate might have been grim indeed. It
  was with this most unpleasant incident that I
  began my sojourn in Invidia, a realm of hatred,
  violence and betrayal.
  Landscape
  nvidia is a wild, sparsely populated realm,
  with vast stretches of dark and forbid-
  ding forest; rounded hills; broad, slow
  rivers; no real mountain ranges; and no
  major settlements outside of Curriculo
  and the capital, Karina. Civilization is limited
  to isolated farms, vineyards and hamlets with popu-
  lations of fifty or less. Invidia’s inhabitants are a
  suspicious and insular lot.
  The realm’s frontiers stretch from the
  Bonesliver River along the northern frontier with
  Borca to the meandering, somewhat arbitrary west-
  ern border with Verbrek, and the southern border
  with Sithicus, cutting through the thick, fey-
  haunted reaches of the Breadth Forest. Invidia’s
  eastern border is likewise arbitrary, a straight north-
  south line drawn when Invidia and Barovia divided
  Gundarak’s territory between them in 740 BC.
  Between these borders lie vast forests of oak,
  redwood and maple rising from tangled undergrowth,
  More than you or anyone can possibly imagine, my
  little scholar. The secrets you uncover may yet
  shake this wretched prison to its foundations.
  My unease was made greater by the fact that
  my visit to Invidia was to take place incognito, for
  the land’s ruler, the tyrant Malocchio Aderre, is
  infamous for his brutality and suspicion of strang-
  ers. His hatred of the Vistani is well known, but of
  more personal concern was his sensitivity to criti-
  cism and outside “troublemakers” who might expose
  his excesses to the rest of the world. Additionally,
  his military allegiance with Vlad Drakov, whose
  personal hatred toward my patron need not be
  recounted, meant that this visit would be scarcely
  less risky than my survey of Drakov’s own demesne,
  Falkovnia.
  After I trudged across the Borcan frontier, the
  tyrant’s hand made itself evident in the form of a
  squad of Invidian soldiers, who confronted me with
  spanned crossbows, then searched my person and
  packs. I was then subjected to harsh questions
  about my intentions and business in the realm. I
  presented myself as Chantal Leroix, a Dementlieuse
  author visiting relatives in Karina. The guards took
  particular interest in a few items — notably my
  dissection kit, encoded notebooks and the strange
  vambrace given me by my patron, but the Invidians
  eventually allowed me to go about my business.
  At the time, I suspected that the soldiers’ main
  concern was determining whether or not I was a spy
  sent by the house of Dilisnya. Later I learned that
  the presence of Gundarakite rebels, based at Castle
  Hunadora to the south, were making Invidian
  patrols in the region even more watchful and
  Invidia at a Glance
  Cultural Level: Chivalric (8)
  Ecology: Full
  Climate/Terrain: Temperate forests and hills
  Year of Formation: 603 BC
  Population: 6,900
  Races: Humans 99%, other 1%
  Human Ethnic Groups: Mixed (primarily
  Barovian/Kartakan)
  Languages:  Balok*, Mordentish,
  Falkovnian, Luktar, Vaasi
  Religions: Ezra, Hala
  Government: Formerly independent villages
  shifting to despotism
  Ruler: Malocchio Aderre
  Darklord: Gabrielle Aderre
  
  40
  Report Two
  and the deep, rich Musarde River Valley, which
  harbors most of Invidia’s villages and farms. In the
  north, the ancient oaks and firs of the Padure Duce —
  or Ducal Forest, so named because they were origi-
  nally the exclusive territory of Gundarak’s ruler,
  Duke Gundar — harbor the Gundarakite rebels,
  Vistani refugees, outlaws and other undesirables,
  including rumors of wolfweres. Lord Malocchio wishes
  to pacify these woods and drive out their inhabitants,
  but so far the renegades, as well as the woods’ wild
  animals and monstrous residents, have frustrated the
  tyrant’s plans. Among eastern Invidians, the Ducal
  Forest has been synonymous with danger and death
  since the day Duke Gundar claimed it, and few go
  there willingly.
  The black, forbidding trees of the Dreadwood
  dominate the central highlands of the nation.
  Growing along the slopes of the Crucible Hills, the
  Dreadwood is aptly named and largely avoided by
  Invidian commoners, who believe it to be haunted
  both by spirits and by more substantial horrors such
  as wolves (both of the natural and unnatural sort),
  trolls and gremishka. This ancient, tangled wilder-
  ness of oak and maple contains only a handful of
  human settlements, most clustered along its south-
  ern edges.
  The realm’s capital city Karina lies at the south
  end of the Padure Lup, also called the Wolfwood or
  the Vulpwood. The forest’s proximity to Invidia’s
  largest settlement makes the Vulpwood reasonably
  safe for travel and settlement despite its ominous
  name, and a majority of the land’s villages and farms
  are located within a day’s ride of Karina. The woods
  are sometimes troubled by wolves — lycanthropes,
  according to some peasants — and undead, but Lord
  Malocchio’s troops are quick to respond to such
  immediate threats.
  The dense and intimidating Breadth Forest
  covers the southern portion of the country along
  the frontier with Sithicus. The Breadth’s towering
  redwoods and hardy pines stand like guardians, and
  in their shadows live some of the strangest crea-
  tures in the realm. A few human outlaws and rebels
  inhabit the Breadth, but various forces — both
  natural and arcane —keep civilization from en-
  croaching too closely.
  Between the Gundar and Narov Rivers lie the
  Mantie Padure or Mantle Woods, another tangled
  and inhospitable wilderness, shunned and almost
  entirely unsettled, save for the occasional brave
  hunter or foolhardy traveler. Once part of
  Gundarak, the Mantle Woods are a great mystery
  
  41
  Invidia
  to the Invidians and the subject of many legends.
  One such tale claims that it is secretly controlled by
  a powerful hag or sorceress, who can offer suppli-
  cants a glimpse of the future through her scrying
  crystal but almost always demands a fearful price for
  the service.
  Invidia is a rolling, hilly land, though few of
  these hills rise high enough to be considered moun-
  tains. Exceptions are the Bleak Sisters, which taper
  off into Borca’s Blightwood, and the low and rug-
  ged Prestige Mountains, which form part of Invidia’s
  northern frontier. Travelers entering the realm
  from Borca pass between these two ranges, skirting
  the edge of the Ducal Forest before turning south to
  Curriculo.
  In the central part of the country, a small range
  of hills rises into granite slopes called the Creuzet,
  or Crucible. Cold, lonely, and mostly uninhabited,
  they serve primarily as a barrier between Lord
  Malocchio’s troops and the Gundarakite rebels to
  the north. The Crimson Hills — or Rosudeal —
  surround Castle Hunadora itself and help provide
  the rebel stronghold with additional defenses. These
  hills are also called the Sangerosdeal, or Bloody
  Hills, since they were the scene of a fearful incident
  in which Duke Boldiszar Gundar crucified and
  dismembered hundreds of rebellious nobles and
  their followers after the Third Unwise Rebellion. It
  is said that the spirits of the tormented rebels haunt
  these hills.
  Many Invidians consider their homeland to be
  at its most scenic when viewed from the deck of a
  riverboat. Invidia’s rivers are broad, sluggish and
  dark, but they are important to travel, trade and the
  economy of common citizens. Most Invidian settle-
  ments are small thorps clustered along the rivers,
  connected to each other by rough, often impassible
  roads. The two major rivers are the mighty Musarde,
  which has carved a fertile valley through the realm’s
  central portion, and the Gundar, which links Invidia
  to its uneasy neighbor, Barovia. Most Invidian
  towns and villages are clustered along the Musarde’s
  banks. The settlements of Curriculo and Karina
  depend upon the trade carried along the region’s
  rivers, as they provide the major travel routes to
  lands beyond her borders.
  Though relations between Invidia and Barovia
  are increasingly strained, traffic continues to flour-
  ish along the rivers, and the docks of Karina are
  crowded with Barovian trade vessels, many of which
  
  42
  Report Two
  continue on to Verbrek and points north. The
  route back to Barovia is a bit more problematic, as
  vessels must be rowed or poled against the current,
  but the value of trade between realms ensures its
  continuation.
  Boats and barges from other lands throughout
  the western Core also pass through Invidia, and
  tariffs on goods are an important source of income
  for Lord Malocchio. Recently, the tyrant has in-
  creased these fees, prompting grumbling among
  merchants, some of whom consider bypassing this
  troubled realm altogether.
  A small tributary of the Musarde, the
  Limbasarpe — or “Serpent’s Tongue” — flows north
  from the rugged Barské Hills, then abruptly turns
  south to join the Musarde. The Limb_sarpe begins
  with two forks that join as they leave the hills. An
  unusually clear and fresh river, it harbors several
  species of fish and sports bustling villages along its
  banks.
  The capital Karina sits along the northern
  bank of the small Noisette River. Well patrolled
  and settled, the Karina Valley to the north of the
  city is probably the richest and safest region in the
  realm.
  The Nharov River flows in from Barovia be-
  fore joining the Gundar. As it passes unsettled
  wilderness, however, the Nharov is not well trav-
  eled. Only a few tiny thorps cling desperately to its
  banks. Beyond these, grim and forbidding forests
  rise.
  Invidia has only two significant roads, neither
  of which is well maintained. The Duke’s Road
  winds its way from Borca, passing between the
  Bleak Sisters and skirting the western edge of the
  Ducal Forest before reaching Curriculo. Bandits
  and rebels often prey on travelers here. It then
  turns southwest, crossing the Musarde River via
  ferry before reaching Karina. Few travelers con-
  tinue on the Duke’s Road after it leaves Karina,
  where it crosses the Noisette via another ferry,
  then plunges into the Breadth Forest, eventually
  entering Sithicus.
  The other major road, the Gundar Road, ex-
  tends from Curriculo to the Barovian border, across
  what was once Gundarakite territory, eventually
  reaching Zeidenburg. Normally, this road would be
  an important trade route, but the rebels of Castle
  Hunadora control it, seizing goods or levying heavy
  tariffs. With such problems, most commerce with
  Barovia takes place via the Gundar River.
  Invidia’s climate is temperate, with long, pleas-
  ant summers, wet springs and cold, rainy winters.
  In the fall, the vast forests burst into color. Harvest
  time is a joyful occasion, with many raucous cel-
  ebrations and much drinking and singing.
  Regrettably, my journey took place soon after
  harvest, when the autumn winds began to blow.
  The bright leaves turned brown and gray, falling
  from trees and choking the rivers or lying in stag-
  nant ponds surrounded by tangled blackberry
  thickets. During these days, greenish moss grows
  from tree trunks or waves in the wind among high
  branches, and black balls of mistletoe cluster in the
  branches of ancient oaks. When cold rain does not
  lash the land, chill fog clings to hills like a gray
  shawl or blankets the wet, muddy farmlands. The
  people stay indoors during late fall and winter,
  emerging only out of necessity, spending most of
  their time huddled around fires, desperately trying
  to hold the cold at bay.
  Invidian architecture varies depending on the
  size and wealth of the individual village. In small,
  rural settlements, stone- or wood-and-plaster huts
  with wooden or thatch roofs dominate. In Curriculo,
  Karina and some larger villages, buildings are remi-
  niscent of the Barovian style, with steep gabled
  roofs covered in black wooden shingles. These
  buildings are either wood or brick, usually covered
  with dun-colored plaster. They tend to be tall and
  narrow, with three or more small floors, and are
  often in poor repair, their façades crumbling, their
  weak foundations causing them to lean at alarming
  angles, especially in poor neighborhoods. Cupolas,
  gables, towers and other architectural flourishes
  are common, most often on the mansions and villas
  of the wealthy. When night-fogs creep through the
  streets of Karina, the sight is grim and forbidding
  indeed, as the chill seeps through doors and win-
  dows and causes occupants to shiver and draw
  blankets closer.
  Flora
  In the north, mixed forests of evergreen fir,
  pine and redwood with deciduous oak and maple
  predominate. Undergrowth is thick here, with
  salal, blackberry, rhododendron, trefoil and nu-
  merous species of ferns making travel difficult.
  Fallen timber disintegrates quickly on the moist
  forest floor, sprouting with mushrooms and other
  fungi. Several types of shelf fungi sprout from the
  trees; some are quite colorful, with rich browns,
  yellows and oranges. Most notable of these fungi is
  
  43
  Invidia
  a nondescript gray polypore called hermitshawl,
  which can be turned into a potent sleeping potion
  and — in higher concentrations — a poison that
  causes a death-like coma that can last for days or
  weeks. Hermitshawl is said to be used to simulate
  death in those who wish to disappear or escape
  their foes, but there are many tales of such schemes
  backfiring and ending with the victim returning to
  awareness only to find himself buried alive. A
  number of malign plant species are found through-
  out Invidia as well, though they do not pose a major
  threat.
  Central Invidia boasts deciduous forests con-
  sisting primarily of oak, birch and ash, with
  occasional stands of fir and cedar. Undergrowth
  here is also thick, with many species of edible
  berries and roots. Some Invidians keep orchards of
  apple and pear trees; a few of these orchards still
  exist in the hills near Curriculo, but since the Great
  Upheaval, many have been abandoned. These old
  orchards are slowly returning to their natural state
  and lie choked with brush, their fences rotting
  away, their barns and farmhouses collapsing.
  South of the Musarde River, the grim spirit of
  Sithicus has spread to the Breadth Forest, where
  the trees are thick and seem intent on actively
  preventing intruders from entering. Here, nettles,
  blackberries, ivy and unhealthy looking ferns crowd
  together in the trees’ shadows, and club moss,
  mushrooms and fungi grow in great profusion.
  Mobile, carnivorous trees are said to inhabit this
  region as well, causing most Invidians to avoid the
  forest, though travel is possible along the Duke’s
  Road.
  Fauna
  Even the mundane creatures of Invidia repre-
  sent a challenge to lone travelers. Great packs of
  wolves roam the realm’s forests and hills, and many
  accounts speak of travelers being stalked by the
  beasts, which keep pace but never attack unless an
  animal or party member falls behind. Unlike the
  beasts roaming many of Invidia’s neighbors, these
  wolves do not seem to carry a malign taint, but are
  simply influenced by hunger and an instinctive
  drive to hunt. The humans of Invidia are not
  numerous enough to drive out or otherwise damage
  the wolf populations, and so the creatures have
  little fear of humanity.
  Elsewhere, the forests harbor deer, elk, fox,
  badger and wolverine, as well as small rodents and
  flocks of birds including ravens, crows, starlings
  and many species of thrush. Besides the wolf, the
  largest significant predator is the cougar or moun-
  tain lion, found in substantial numbers in the
  realm’s northern portion.
  Hawks and eagles are less common, but can
  sometimes be seen. Invidia harbors several species
  of snakes, but non-venomous and lethal, and the
  rivers and ponds are home to countless salamanders
  and frogs, whose loud songs are known to keep
  travelers awake during the springtime.
  Most of these creatures represent a minimal
  threat. Not so the realm’s unnatural beasts, which
  hold the wilderness with a ferocity that sometimes
  implies malign intelligence and hatred of civiliza-
  tion. Huge breeds of the region’s animals — most
  prominently wolves, foxes and mountain lions —
  stalk prey with great cunning and tenacity, and
  draw no distinction between ordinary animals and
  humans.
  Hermitshawl
  Travelers occasionally encounter hermitshawl spores in the wild. When five doses of
  these spores are combined and distilled by a skilled herbalist or poisoner, they can be used
  to create hermitshawl elixir.
  Hermitshawl spores: Inhaled, Fortitude DC 12, initial and secondary damage drowsi-
  ness. A victim who fails one saving throw is fatigued for 2d4 minutes; a victim who fails both
  saving throws falls asleep for 2d4 minutes. If the sleeping victim is awakened, she remains
  fatigued for the remainder of the spores’ duration. Market Price per Dose: 30 gp.
  Hermitshawl elixir: Ingested, Fortitude DC 17, initial and secondary damage 1d6
  Wisdom; Craft (herbalism or poison-making) DC 15. Market Price per Dose: 150 gp.
  
  44
  Report Two
  Invidian legend is rife with lycanthropes and
  other shapechanging monsters. Some wolf packs
  initially appear natural, but prove to be led by (or
  worse, consist entirely of) deadly wolfweres, while
  Invidian legends often speak of werewolves who
  live as normal humans by day and then stalk the
  land as beasts when the moon grows full. Outbreaks
  of lycanthropy have been known to devastate
  entire hamlets, and other settlements — particu-
  larly those located far from main roads or larger
  villages — have been completely wiped out by
  savage shapechangers. Fortunately for the Invidians,
  many of these creatures seem to despise each other
  as intruders on their territory. Vicious infighting
  appears to keep Invidia’s shapechanging popula-
  tion in check.
  The southern portions, particularly the Breadth
  Forest bordering on Sithicus, are said to draw
  outsiders such as shadow fiends and fenhounds, as
  well as various hostile fey such as baobhan sith,
  drownling and teg. More exotic shapechangers
  such as wereravens and werefoxes dwell in the deep
  forests of southern Invidia as well. Tales also speak
  of shadow unicorns, dread hounds and deadly fiends,
  but none of these has ever been conclusively proven.
  History
  nvidia has always been a violent realm,
  governed by the passions of its people
  and the ruthless brutality of its rulers. Its
  false history chronicles a series of deca-
  dent, bloodthirsty rulers more intent on
  their own personal vendettas than on the welfare
  of their subjects. This sad tradition continues to
  this day, though now the unfettered passions of the
  Invidians may bring them all to ruin.
  Local Animals and Native
  Horrors
  Wildlife:  CR 1/10
  Wildlife:  CR 1/10
  Wildlife:  CR 1/10
  Wildlife:  CR 1/10
  Wildlife:  CR 1/10 — bat; toad; CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8 — rat; CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  1/6
  1/6
  1/6
  1/6
  1/6 — raven; CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4 — cat; owl; weasel; CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  — hawk; snake, Tiny viper; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — badger;
  eagle; snake, Small viper; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — razorback*;
  snake, Medium viper; wolf; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — bear, brown;
  boar; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4 — bear, black.
  Monsters: CR 1/3
  Monsters: CR 1/3
  Monsters: CR 1/3
  Monsters: CR 1/3
  Monsters: CR 1/3 — dire rat; gremishka*; skel-
  eton, Medium; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — stirge; zombie, Medium;
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — bakhna rakhna*; dire raven (see Ravenloft
  Ravenloft
  Ravenloft
  Ravenloft
  Ravenloft
  Gazetteer I
  Gazetteer I
  Gazetteer I
  Gazetteer I
  Gazetteer I); hound, mastiff*; dryad; ghoul; plant,
  bloodrose*; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — dire badger; dire bat; lycan-
  thrope, wererat; plant, crawling ivy*; worg; CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  — ankheg; baoban sith*; dire wolf; drownling*;
  lycanthrope, wereboar; lycanthrope, werewolf;
  shadow; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4 — dire boar; dire wolverine;
  ettercap; owlbear; plant, lashweed*; unicorn,
  shadow*; CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5 — ettin; lycanthrope, loup garou*;
  lycanthrope, werebear; troll; winter wolf; CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6 —
  troll, dread*; will o’ wisp; CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7 — dire bear;
  vampire; CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8 — mohrg; treant; CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9 — plant,
  death’s head tree*; plant, undead treant*; CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  — plant, quickwood*; roper; CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11 — fomorian.
  Once again, my little scholar, your observations
  are at the same time insightful and naïve.
  Roughly three centuries ago, a nobleman
  named Treholan rose to power by his merciless
  willingness to use more violence than any of his
  rivals. The region was divided then, with petty
  local dukes controlling their own minor domains
  and fighting incessantly with their neighbors.
  Treholan invited several powerful nobles to his
  estate, saying that he wished to hold a grand
  council whereby the land could be united under a
  single ruler. Not all nobles responded, but enough
  did so that when Treholan ordered his soldiers to
  slay his guests and their escorts, he was left as the
  most powerful warlord in the land. Claiming the
  crown of Invidia, Duke Treholan proceeded to
  exterminate all his rivals, hunting down and de-
  stroying the remaining lords and their families. He
  then erected the now-infamous Castle Loupet as a
  symbol of his power and sired a long line of treach-
  erous heirs.
  This terrible crime, involving not only murder
  but the betrayal of guests by a supposedly honorable
  nobleman, was apparently not the seminal event
  that brought Invidia from the Mists. That came in
  603 BC, the year Treholan’s direct descendant
  Bakholis, known to history as the Traitor King,
  came to power. Bakholis savagely suppressed dis-
  sent, murdering suspected rivals and ruling entirely
  by terror and intimidation. In addition to levying
  crushing taxes on his peasantry, Bakholis consid-
  ered them his personal labor pool, abducting young
  men from their farms to build his palaces and young
  women from their beds to serve his perverse plea-
  sures.
  One such young woman was the peasant girl
  Marta, to whom Bakholis took a fancy when his
  hunting party passed through the village of Grûnlan.
  As he had done dozens of times in the past, Bakholis
  
  45
  Invidia
  ordered his soldiers to seize the girl, but when they
  arrived, Marta’s lover Karlus as well as her father
  and brothers resisted, killing an Invidian soldier. In
  retaliation, Bakholis ordered the entire village
  razed and its citizens crucified. Marta’s father sac-
  rificed himself to allow Karlus to escape, and from
  a nearby hill, the young man saw his village burned
  and watched as his friends and family died in agony.
  That night, Karlus swore vengeance against
  Bakholis and set off on a career of banditry, gath-
  ering an army of outlaws and eventually attacking
  Bakholis’ castle north of Karina.
  Karlus’ act proved reckless, however, for
  Bakholis was ready for him. The outlaws were put
  to flight and Karlus was captured. Bakholis dragged
  both the young rebel and Marta to his dungeon,
  where he showed them a bloody pit filled with
  ravenous, rabid wolves. His torturers then chained
  Karlus’ arms and suspended him above the pit,
  slowly lowering him to the maddened beasts as
  Marta was repeatedly ravished and brutalized by
  Invidian soldiers. When at last Karlus was torn
  apart, and the wolves fought over his bones, Bakholis
  smiled and told Marta that she would now join her
  lover.
  As her broken body was carried toward the pit,
  Marta fixed Bakholis with a hate-filled stare and, as
  famously told in Invidian legend, uttered a dying
  curse:
  As a traitor were you born, as a beast did you live,
  and as a monster did you kill. Let all know that you are
  a beast without as you are a beast within, and let your
  foul jaws never be free of the blood of your loved ones.
  Bakholis laughed loudly at this and watched
  with pleasure as the wolves dismembered his vic-
  tim. After a hearty feast, Bakholis retired to his bed.
  That night, a strange mist descended upon the
  land, taking the entire kingdom in its cold em-
  brace. The next morning, the sun rose above a
  realm that was changed forever.
  As far as the local commoners are concerned,
  the land of Invidia has always been part of the
  Core, but it was at this point that neighboring
  Gundarak first noted the appearance of a new land,
  and pondered whether it would prove a rival or an
  ally.
  Here I should note an especially troubling
  historical contradiction, of which I have already
  spoken in my report on Kartakass. The Kartakans
  claim that they were once conquered by a neigh-
  boring realm also called Invidia, which brutally
  occupied the land for many years until they were at
  last expelled by a rebellion led by the bard Harkon
  Lukas. As I wrote in my earlier report, I do not
  believe the Invidians of Kartakan history to be the
  same as the Invidians that we know today. Yet, the
  powers of darkness are indeed subtle and devious,
  and there may be an answer to this riddle that no
  one has yet guessed.
  For his part, Lord Bakholis continued on as
  normal, oppressing and exploiting his suspects and
  brutally killing any who even contemplated plot-
  ting against him. Not until the next full moon rose
  did the peasant girl’s curse made itself known.
  That night, Bakholis took to his bed with a
  blinding headache. The next morning, he awoke
  alone to find his entire castle awash in blood, with
  the ravaged corpses of his servants and councilors
  strewn about the halls, rooms and stairs. Horrified,
  Bakholis rushed through the castle, searching for
  the bedchamber of his son and heir, Rukhen.
  When he saw the boy’s sundered remains, so it is
  said, Bakholis suddenly remembered Marta’s curse
  and touched his own face, only to find his fingers
  red with congealed blood. The tyrant wandered
  the halls in a daze, finding his wife and daughter
  also savagely slain, and realized that he himself had
  committed these terrible murders. Soon, it became
  obvious what had happened: Marta’s curse had
  transformed Bakholis into a bloodthirsty werewolf
  and very likely the first dread lord at Invidia’s heart.
  From that day forward, Bakholis’ rule grew
  harsher. He employed new guards and councilors
  and bade them bring peasants to him to feed his
  insatiable bloodlust. Those he drafted for slave
  labor often suffered foul deaths at his hands; the few
  who escaped spread lycanthropy across the land.
  Within a few years, pleasure and violence became
  indistinguishable to the cursed lord.
  In time, Bakholis learned to live with — and
  even revel in — his cursed condition. He forged
  trade alliances with Arkandale (modern Verbrek)
  and Gundarak and maintained polite relations
  with the von Zaroviches of Barovia, though the
  rulers kept each other at arm’s length. Bakholis’
  curse soaked the land in blood, and the true nature
  of their ruler became apparent to the common folk
  within a few years, though no one spoke of it
  openly.
  Bakholis’ rule continued for a century and a
  quarter, ending abruptly at the hands of the most
  unlikely of saviors — a peasant girl named Gabrielle
  Aderre.
  
  46
  Report Two
  Born around 710 BC, Gabrielle was the daugh-
  ter of Isabella Aderre, a half-Vistani woman, and a
  Falkovnian nobleman who kept her mother as a
  captive and cruelly used her for his pleasure. Escap-
  ing with her daughter, Isabella wandered the realms,
  making a living by fortune telling, petty larceny
  and begging. Gabrielle grew into a beautiful young
  woman, only her dark eyes and lustrous hair betray-
  ing her Vistani heritage. After Isabella was slain by
  a murderous werewolf in 729 BC, Gabrielle was
  transported to Invidia, where Lord Bakholis’ troops
  found her. After a brief pursuit, the Invidians
  captured Gabrielle and dragged her to Bakholis’
  castle for his pleasure.
  The act proved Bakholis’ undoing, for when
  he approached Gabrielle, she realized that he was
  a lycanthrope like the one that had killed her
  mother. As the monster approached, Gabrielle
  fixed him with a fearful gaze, and Bakholis froze in
  terror, seeing the same look of hatred that Marta
  had given him years before. As her foe stood
  transfixed, Gabrielle drew a hidden silver dagger
  and plunged it into Bakholis’ throat. The tyrant
  staggered back, gaping in horror, then collapsed in
  a pool of black blood, his reign of terror at an end.
  It is said that every wolf in Invidia uttered a
  fearsome howl at Bakholis’ death and that his soul
  still wanders the land, pursued by the ghosts of
  those he slew.
  Within days, the flames of rebellion had spread
  across the land, and Bakholis’ toadies — a sadistic
  lot never terribly loyal to begin with — were utterly
  overthrown. As symbols of the tyrant’s bloody
  reign, Castle Loupet and the keeps of many of his
  vassals were set to the torch, leaving most as gutted
  shells; in some cases, the land beneath was sown
  with salt. Many of the sites remain cursed and
  haunted places to this day.
  Proclaimed queen by the grateful rebels,
  Gabrielle claimed the still-smoldering Castle
  Loupet for herself and settled into rulership, but
  soon grew as lax and uncaring as Bakholis had been
  brutal and repressive. She amused herself with
  lavish entertainment and took many lovers, while
  the peasants were abandoned to go their own way,
  degenerating into independence, free of the iron
  hand of their rulers. Of course, they were also free
  of their rulers’ protection as well, and bandits or
  what remained of Bakholis’ lycanthropes soon over-
  ran many settlements. Within a decade of Bakholis’
  demise, Invidia had degenerated into an anarchic
  realm with little, if any, central authority. In 730
  BC, Falkovnian merchants established a trading
  colony in Karina. Under the watchful eye of
  Drakov’s soldiers, they slowly expanded their power
  until several city blocks were effectively under
  Falkovnian rule. Thus was created the first, and to
  date only, Falkovnian “trading enclave” to survive
  and succeed.
  Gabrielle was driven by boredom, anger at the
  failures of her past life, frustration at her mother’s
  cursed legacy, and hatred of the Vistani who had
  rejected Isabella and condemned them to a life of
  misery. In those days, the first persecutions began
  as Gabrielle seized and imprisoned Vistani, pun-
  ishing them harshly for the most minor of crimes
  and allowing her followers to spread foul legends
  about Vistani treachery and wickedness. Though
  brutal, Gabrielle’s persecutions were nothing com-
  pared to what was to come. She was a queen who
  ruled not through proclamations, but by whispers
  in the ear and, so it is said, incantation. “Queen
  Gabrielle” was soon forgotten, all but replaced in
  the commoners’ minds by “the witch Aderre.”
  Gabrielle’s tastes grew more lavish and jaded,
  and she diverted huge amounts from the treasury to
  pay for her amusements. She took on more and
  more unusual lovers, among them a Kartakan bard
  named Matton, and treated each of them with
  increasing cruelty. Though a thoroughly malevo-
  lent individual, Matton nevertheless felt affection
  for Gabrielle and was heartbroken when she aban-
  doned him. He never stopped loving her and later
  proved a valuable ally.
  In 736 BC, Duke Gundar of Gundarak was
  assassinated by Dr. Henrik Dominiani, warden of
  an asylum near Teufeldorf. Gundarak plunged into
  chaos, and in 740 Strahd XI of Barovia ordered his
  boyars to annex the realm. As Barovian armies
  struck deep into Gundarak, Aderre went from
  village to village, advising the militia captains to
  take advantage of the situation. Soon Invidia had
  occupied Gundarak’s western regions, facing sur-
  prisingly little resistance from the Gundarakites,
  and had taken Castle Hunadora. Invidia barely
  possessed the means to occupy western Gundarak,
  much less stave off the incoming Barovian forces,
  but the expected clash of arms never occurred. The
  Barovians simply ceased their westward march
  after claiming Gundarak’s cities, never making any
  serious attempt to seize Hunadora.
  
  47
  Invidia
  Remnants of the Gundarak population re-
  sisted, and low-level uprisings continued for several
  years thereafter, but they never amounted to the
  level of the revolution Strahd now faces. The light
  touch of the Invidians is no doubt at play here; for
  several years, the Invidians were entirely content
  to leave their new lands to Gundarakite rebels and
  their anti-Barovian plotting.
  The end of Gabrielle’s reign began inauspi-
  ciously enough late in 746 BC, when a handsome,
  dark-eyed gentleman caller appeared at the gates of
  Castle Loupet and immediately swept Gabrielle off
  her feet, despite all reason. The two spent a torrid
  night together, after which the stranger vanished,
  and Gabrielle discovered that she was pregnant.
  Aderre’s son, Malocchio, was born the next
  spring, seemingly normal save for a sixth finger on
  each hand. Gabrielle was overjoyed, but within
  days, the baby learned to walk and talk, attaining
  the stature of a young boy within weeks of his birth.
  Gabrielle’s divinatory gifts revealed that her prog-
  eny was actually a Dukkar, a legendary anti-messiah
  destined to bring death and despair to the Vistani.
  Gabrielle was at first happy with this turn of
  events, for her hatred of her mother’s people had
  grown even blacker and more ferocious over time.
  Malocchio proved a truly miraculous child, grow-
  ing into adolescence in mere months, reading and
  absorbing every book in the castle and showing
  himself to be a talented and intelligent politician
  and schemer. He also possessed occult gifts, com-
  manding the lesser creatures of the forest at his
  whim. Gabrielle began to plan a future for her son
  — a future that would see the final destruction of
  the Vistani at his hands.
  Her son had no intention of serving as her
  puppet. Slowly, he turned the tables on his mother,
  corrupting her servants, buying her lovers, restrict-
  ing her movements about the land, and eventually
  imprisoning her in her own manse.
  Events came to a head during Karina’s Harvest
  Carnival in 747. Malocchio had now reached adult-
  hood, and his mother was no longer useful to him.
  Having come into his full power, Malocchio in-
  tended to discard his mother and spread his evil
  across the world. The emergence of a new Dukkar
  had not gone unnoticed by the Vistani, however,
  who wove a powerful incantation to forever bind
  Malocchio’s evil to his homeland. His plans
  thwarted, Malocchio vented his rage upon his
  mother, fraying her sanity and leading her into the
  hands of her enemies. Gabrielle’s life was spared
  only through the direct intervention of Gabrielle’s
  spurned lover Matton, who found her body aban-
  doned in the Dreadwood, battered and near death.
  Matton retreated into the Invidian wilderness
  with his lover. While Malocchio Aderre announced
  his emergence to the world and used his mother’s
  resources to seize control of Invidia, Matton spent
  months in hiding, slowly nursing Gabrielle’s mind
  and body back to health. Together, the pair plotted
  Malocchio’s downfall. Matton journeyed to
  Kartakass, where he began to recruit woodsmen —
  wolfweres, by some accounts — to his cause. Mean-
  while, Gabrielle found her way to the Ducal Forest
  and made contact with the Gundarakite rebels. As
  the Gundarakites in Invidia had generally been
  well treated, the rebels accepted her as a figurehead
  leader, and by mid-750 BC they were strong enough
  to storm and hold Castle Hunadora.
  Alarmed, Malocchio sent a small army to take
  back the fortress, but they were driven off with
  heavy losses, and Gabrielle’s position as the rebels’
  patron was set in stone. For the moment, Malocchio
  turned his attention from the rebels, consolidating
  his rule throughout the rest of the nation and
  launching murderous pogroms against the Vistani
  with even greater zest and hatred than his mother.
  Throughout the land, Malocchio’s mercenar-
  ies pursued, arrested, robbed, tortured and executed
  Former Darklord:
  Duke Nharov Gundar
  Duke Gundar ruled Gundarak from
  its creation in 593 BC to his apparent
  assassination in 736 BC. Gundar was a
  vampire and ruled for centuries by mas-
  querading as his own descendents. Older
  and more physically powerful than
  Strahd, Gundar was already an ancient
  vampire when granted his domain, but
  he was not equal to Strahd in spirit. A
  hero in his long-distant life, Duke Gundar
  became deranged in undeath, a rampag-
  ing sadist who delighted in crushing
  throats with his bare hands. He ruled
  through the power of fear alone, and
  when word came of his death, he was not
  missed. Neither were his children, when
  they in turn perished.
  
  48
  Report Two
  Vistani with the full force of law. Where Gabrielle’s
  persecution had been random and impulsive,
  Malocchio’s campaign was systematic, official and
  institutionalized. Anti-Vistani laws were posted in
  every town and village. Rewards were offered for
  anyone who provided the authorities with the
  location of Vistani, and harsh punishments were
  imposed on those who offered them refuge. One
  strange facet of the anti-Vistani pogrom stands out.
  Other than the magic that binds him, Malocchio
  seems neither afraid of nor affected by the wrath of
  the Vistani, despite the many dying or wronged
  gypsies who cursed his name with all the venom
  they could muster. Vistani curses, feared through-
  out the Land of Mists, appear to be totally powerless
  against the Dukkar, and the Vistani have suffered
  all the more for it.
  Hunadora and its environs. Some rebels began to
  talk openly of replacing her with a true Gundarakite
  who would fight openly for the cause.
  In 748 BC, the Gundarakites of Barovia came
  under the leadership of the young and charismatic
  separatist Ardonk Szerieza. A master strategist and
  talented propagandist, he wove tales of an ancient,
  idealized Gundarak that never existed. The blood-
  thirsty, corrupt rulers were recast as patriots, their
  excesses conveniently ignored. Slowly, the
  Gundarakites of Barovia rallied to Ardonk’s ban-
  ner, and the rebels of Invidia, seeing in Ardonk the
  leader they so desperately needed, talked of joining
  with him in a grand alliance for Gundarakite
  independence.
  Were you not so intent on your own agenda,
  my little scholar, you might now see exactly
  how this demonspawn fits into my plans. But
  you will see someday, little one. You will
  indeed.
  To bolster his forces, Malocchio spent much of
  his resources to draw mercenaries from across the
  Core and soon thereafter brokered an alliance with
  Vlad Drakov. The alliance brought an influx of
  Falkovnian soldiers, bolstering Invidia’s army and
  providing Malocchio with sufficient troops to con-
  template action against the Gundarakite rebels
  and disliked neighbors. The details of this pact
  remain unknown; in fact, I could find no written
  records of any official treaty. The relationship
  between Malocchio Aderre and Drakov seems to
  be personal, if distant. They are, simply, two men
  bound by the common desire to grind the world
  beneath their heel.
  Meanwhile, all was not well with Gabrielle
  and the Gundarakites. After several years, the
  rebels began to grumble that their leader was more
  interested in her vendetta against her traitorous
  son than in the cause of Gundarakite indepen-
  dence. After all, they said, she had seized huge
  portions of their realm for herself and claimed their
  ruler’s castle as her own. She had not been as
  merciless as the Barovians, true, but still she only
  endorsed the Gundarakite cause when the rebels
  seemed useful to her. Though Matton’s wolfwere
  allies were kept secret from the Gundarakites,
  rumors of its existence circulated throughout Castle
  Secret Society:
  The Sons of Gundar
  Most Invidian Gundarakites live in the
  northeast, the heart of their old country.
  Not all are rebels —the militant wing of the
  Gundarakite independence movement con-
  sists of only two or three hundred dedicated
  members. The remainder of the region’s
  populace either maintains neutrality, hop-
  ing not to attract too much negative
  attention from Malocchio’s soldiers or po-
  lice, or secretly supports Invidian
  independence through a hidden brother-
  hood called the Sons of Gundar.
  Though not as blatantly violent as the
  rebels, the Sons of Gundar are nevertheless
  a potent threat to Malocchio’s rule. Mem-
  bers of this society give aid and comfort to
  the rebels, observe Invidian activities and
  troop movements, help with rebel commu-
  nications by a series of secret signs and code
  words, sabotage Invidian supplies, and gen-
  erally harass and delay Malocchio’s forces
  wherever they can.
  Malocchio has met with little success
  at infiltrating the Sons of Gundar or learn-
  ing the true extent of their conspiracy, for
  most are unwilling to betray their comrades.
  Clearly, this was a situation that Gabrielle
  would have to nip in the bud, lest her army of
  retribution be taken away from her, along with her
  best chance at a return to power. She presented
  
  49
  Invidia
  herself to Ardonk Szerieza when the great liberator
  visited Castle Hunadora, and within a few days the
  Gundarakite messiah openly endorsed her leader-
  ship of the Invidian rebel forces. Several rebels,
  who still resent Gabrielle’s presence and wisely
  insist on remaining anonymous, offered their sus-
  picions that Ardonk and “the Invidian witch” were
  secretly involved in a passionate affair and that she
  had gained his allegiance by placing him under her
  spell.
  Should this be the case, Gabrielle maintained
  a delicate balancing act for several years, continu-
  ing beneath the noses of her two oblivious lovers.
  Befuddled by emotion, Ardonk remained ignorant
  of Matton and his wolfwere allies, while Gabrielle
  assured Matton that Ardonk was nothing more
  than a political ally. Gabrielle knew that one day
  the gambit could explode in her face, yet she likely
  had no choice but to continue her deceptions.
  Both Aderres have recently suffered setbacks.
  After years of saber rattling and escalating tempers,
  Malocchio sensed frailty in Sithicus’ ruler and
  amassed a mercenary army in 752 BC. Intriguingly,
  none of the Falkovnian troops participated —
  apparently, their Talon leaders received orders
  from the north that this folly should be left to
  Malocchio alone. This bodes ill for Invidia’s other
  neighbors, indicating that the Falkovnians wished
  to keep their forces strong for some conflict not yet
  come. Regardless, Malocchio ordered his motley
  army across the Sithican border that autumn, with
  orders to seize Castle Nedragaard and put its ruler
  to the sword. What occurred at the castle remains
  poorly understood in these lands; all that is widely
  known is that this battle somehow sparked the
  infamous Night of Screaming Shadows. The Black
  Rose of Sithicus was slain, his castle shattered, and
  not a single Invidian soldier present at the siege was
  left to tell the tale.
  The troubles that befell Gabrielle in 753 BC
  were less epic, though they may prove scarcely less
  catastrophic. Gabrielle discovered herself to be
  pregnant again, and her daughter Lucita was born
  later in the year. Gabrielle has never spoken pub-
  licly about the father of this child, though
  disgruntled rebels say she has told both Matton and
  Ardonk that they fathered the child. Apparently,
  she may not know the truth herself. Gabrielle must
  know that she is only delaying the inevitable.
  Blood will have blood, and eventually the child
  will show her heritage. When that day comes, she
  will lose one of her lovers and the allegiance of that
  man’s forces will be so much dust.
  Today, Invidia hangs in a precarious state of
  balance. Malocchio’s persecution of the Vistani
  has reached new heights of cruelty and fanaticism.
  His troops pursue fleeing Vistani across the fron-
  tiers into foreign lands. In Barovia, Count Strahd’s
  own forces have intervened, enforcing the count’s
  edict that no Vistani in his realm be harmed.
  Likewise, Malocchio has enraged Ivan Dilisnya,
  who recently decreed that Invidian troops on his
  soil will be attacked and demanded that the pur-
  suits cease. So far, Malocchio has responded to the
  demands with icy silence, and relations between
  the two realms have deteriorated.
  Gabrielle’s rebellion hangs by a thread. She
  supposedly considered sending Matton, Ardonk,
  or both in a direct assault against Malocchio, a fight
  in which they will certainly perish. Other rumors
  claim that she has toyed with telling one that the
  other violently forced himself on her, a falsehood
  that would surely bring the rivals rushing at each
  other’s throats. Some claim she has considered
  taking her daughter and fleeing, traveling the realms
  as her mother did, passing the pain and tragedy of
  her past onto another generation.
  Populace
  nvidia is a place of unbridled passions,
  where love and anger are frequently
  indistinguishable and where hard work
  leads to equally hard play. Though their
  faults are well known (and in many
  places infamous), the Invidians have many better
  qualities as well.
  Appearance
  The Invidians are primarily descended from
  Barovian and  Kartakan root stocks, with mixed
  heritage being common. They greatly vary in ap-
  pearance, with hair ranging from black to blonde
  and complexions from swarthy to deathly pale. Eye
  color is similarly varied. Most men wear their hair
  above the shoulder, women below, but styles range
  across a wide spectrum. Describing a definitive
  Invidian phenotype is impossible, but it is fair to say
  that they tend to exhibit the best physical traits of
  their ancestors.
  In the north, the ethnic Gundarakites have
  olive or swarthy complexions, stocky builds and
  dark hair usually worn shoulder-length by both
  sexes. Unmarried men tend to have thick beards,
  
  50
  Report Two
  while older men shave theirs off, ostensibly as a sign
  of their married status. Others believe that this is
  simply a sign of how well the Gundarakite women
  have cowed their men, but suggesting this in north-
  ern Invidia is tantamount to an invitation to fight.
  Ethnic Falkovnians also have a visible presence,
  though they seldom intermingle with the larger
  populace.
  Fashion
  Invidians consider excessive decoration to be
  foppish and decadent, suitable only for festivals.
  Men wear tunics, breeches and boots or soft leather
  shoes, while women dress in loose blouses and
  layered skirts. Usually these clothes are of neutral
  colors — white, gray, tan or pale yellow, with
  occasional flashes of color in the form of scarves,
  belts, or undertunics. Jewelry is worn by both sexes,
  usually in the form of single earrings. Women have
  more options and can wear more jewelry before
  being accused of excess — rings, necklaces and
  bracelets in moderation.
  Nobles and wealthy individuals wear the same
  styles of clothing as commoners, though they are
  made from finer cloth and are more carefully tai-
  lored and crafted. As with the peasants, the nobles
  are conscious not to wear too much jewelry or dress
  in inappropriately fancy clothing.
  The only exceptions to this austerity in dress
  come during celebrations. At weddings, brides and
  grooms are expected to wear their best, most color-
  ful and elaborate clothing. Guests also wear their
  finest attire, but purposely trying to outshine the
  newlyweds is considered poor taste. Wedding
  clothes are never worn again, but are kept in the
  married couple’s home as a reminder of their vows
  and the happiness of their wedding day. Festival
  garb is nothing short of outlandish, as the Invidians
  clothe themselves in garish colors, twirling beads,
  and ribbons for their merry-making. Such cos-
  tumes are often completed with brightly colored
  wooden masks, carved in elaborate, animalistic
  shapes and adorned with found materials such as
  polished stones and feathers. Those Invidians who
  can afford festival garb often wear it year after year.
  In the north, the Gundarakites stubbornly
  maintain their own individuality even as Lord
  Malocchio’s troops try to transform them into
  good, law-abiding Invidians. Breeches and loose
  shirts are the rule for men, usually worn with
  embroidered woolen vests. Women wear long skirts,
  blouses and shawls. Unmarried women typically
  
  51
  Invidia
  wear colorful head scarves. Gundarakite clothing
  is more colorful than that of the Invidians, usually
  in muted shades of gray, blue, green or red.
  Falkovnians, for their part, are rarely seen out of
  their military uniforms.
  Language
  Balok is the land’s official language, spoken by
  almost all native inhabitants. Those descended
  from the Kartakans sometimes speak Vaasi as a
  second language or speak it in the home, reserving
  Balok for public discussion. The Gundarakites stub-
  bornly stick to their melodious native tongue Luktar,
  though most have learned Balok out of necessity.
  Some nobles speak Mordentish, but knowledge of
  this scholarly tongue sometimes causes difficulty,
  with other Invidians considering it snooty and
  suspiciously intellectual. Falkovnian soldiers serv-
  ing in Invidia continue to speak their native
  language, though most know a smattering of Balok.
  Curriculos, I saw no fewer than six fights, two of
  which involved a half-dozen combatants on each
  side. I must admit that at times, I felt as if I had
  wandered into a Borcan opera.
  Given the Invidians’ passionate natures and
  the fact that they tend to marry young, usually
  impulsively, it is not surprising that marital infidel-
  ity is common, as are duels and fights resulting from
  adulterous liaisons. At an inn one night, a mer-
  chant said he never dealt with Invidians, for a man
  who agreed to a deal one day might be slain the
  next. When I asked why he didn’t deal with the
  women, he informed me they were worse than the
  men, with stabbings, poisonings and murder by
  proxy (such as persuading a lover to kill on their
  behalf) favorite weapons of Invidian females.
  I do not mean that the Invidians are devoid of
  good qualities, though the heat of their passions
  colors all reference to them by the outside world.
  To have an “Invidian heart” is a terrible insult
  elsewhere, implying that one is ruled by his pas-
  sions and acts without thinking. Yet when they are
  not trying to kill one another, the Invidians are an
  industrious, hard-working folk, who love as fiercely
  as they hate. They are well adapted to the outdoors
  and skilled in the ways of the farmer, the vintner,
  the herdsman and the woodsman. Despite their
  relatively small population and the fact that many
  farms exist in a virtual state of siege, assailed on all
  sides by bandits, beasts, and the soldiers and tax
  collectors of the tyrant Malocchio, the Invidians
  produce far more food than they need. They are
  able to export some produce outside their borders.
  The Invidians are — surprisingly — not terri-
  bly warlike. In the past, local nobles maintained
  their own small retinues and fought in feuds that
  were almost comical in their ineptitude and size.
  Bakholis expanded the Invidian military, but
  Gabrielle Aderre allowed it to collapse entirely
  once more. It was her soldiers who occupied west-
  ern Gundarak, but this is one of only a handful of
  Invidian military adventures. For the most part,
  the typical Invidian prefers to fight his kinsmen far
  more than his distant neighbors.
  As in most places, the rich tend to look down
  upon the poor, while the commoners consider the
  nobles to be stuffy and decadent. There is some
  truth to this, for Invidian nobles (whose titles are
  either hereditary or rewarded to valuable servants
  by Lord Malocchio) are notoriously ineffectual,
  and commoners tend to be fairly obstinate and
  ignorant. There is little real distinction among the
  Language Primer
  Once again, I expand on the vocabulary
  established in earlier reports.
  English Balok
  English Luktar
  day
  zi
  man
  bábu
  night
  noapte
  woman no
  sun
  soare
  child
  gyermek
  moon
  luna
  life
  élet
  town
  oras
  death
  halál
  inn
  han
  love
  szerelem
  betrayal tradare
  betrayal elárulás
  jealousy gelozie
  jealousy féltékenység
  Lifestyle & Education
  Among Invidians, appearance is less defining
  than character, for they are known throughout the
  Core for their passionate, hot-tempered nature.
  Bitter, brooding and given to sudden explosions of
  temper, Invidians never forget a slight and bear
  grudges for generations. Long-standing feuds over
  forgotten insults have claimed hundreds of lives
  over the years, and duels (or brawls) of honor are
  commonplace. An evening at an Invidian tavern is
  considered dull if only one fight occurs.
  My own experiences bear out the popular
  image of these tempestuous, fiery people. As I
  wandered through the small settlements north of
  
  52
  Report Two
  classes, and until recently, Invidian society tended
  to be fairly open, with opportunities for all to better
  their lives through work and determination.
  Malocchio’s iron-fisted rule has changed this some-
  what.
  Education is a rare — and distrusted — com-
  modity. Anyone who reads too much or owns more
  books than a religious text or a farming manual is
  treated with suspicion. Spells come out of books,
  and spells are dangerous (see below), and those
  who read too many books inevitably come up with
  wild, disruptive ideas that bring sorrow and pain to
  those around them. Reading is uncommon among
  the peasants and only slightly more widespread
  among the nobility. Most education takes place in
  the fields, where sons and daughters learn the ways
  of the farm, vineyard or herd from their parents.
  When it comes to outsiders, the Invidian’s
  darker nature once more asserts itself. Foreigners
  are distrusted, nonhumans feared, and the no-
  madic Vistani hated with unbridled ferocity.
  Both Gabrielle and her son take great pains to
  exploit the common folks’ prejudices, engaging in
  extensive, slanderous campaigns against the Vistani,
  spreading black and ugly rumors about their secret
  practices and blaming the nomads for almost every
  ill that plagues Invidian society. Some even be-
  lieve that Vistani witches are responsible for the
  violence of common Invidian life, claiming their
  sorceresses drive men and women to assault and
  murder through magic.
  areas prefer rabbit and venison. Spicy sausage called
  karntzlach is standard fare for all three meals at
  Invidian inns and taverns.
  Meats are mildly spiced with parsley, peppers,
  onions, or juniper berries, though occasionally
  more daring spices such as cumin, anise and even
  saffron are used (this last is reserved for the wealthi-
  est families, for it is quite rare in the Core). Barovian
  pastries such as placinte turnovers are sometimes
  served for dessert, but considered an expensive and
  unnecessary luxury by most Invidians, who feel
  that a nice apple or pear is treat enough.
  Drink is simple and plentiful, with black beer
  and ale as the realm’s most popular intoxicants.
  Barovian plum brandy is a common export, but
  most Invidians prefer wines from local vineyards,
  which produce a wide variety of grapes, yielding
  wines ranging from crisp, pale white to dark bloody
  red.
  Attitudes Toward Magic
   Invidians tend to be superstitious and fearful
  of magic. Most believe magic an evil, dark force.
  The Invidians make a distinction between
  “miracles” (their name for divine magic) and
  “ensorcelments” (arcane magic). Mages must be
  careful about casting spells where they can be seen,
  lest local militia or guards arrive with swords drawn,
  demanding explanations.
  In a few villages, hedge wizards or wise women
  practice their art, so long as their spells are all
  helpful and they never charge too much for their
  services. Elsewhere, spellcasting crones or ancient
  wizards live in isolated, wild regions, secretly vis-
  ited by commoners seeking potions, divinations, or
  magical vengeance against rivals. Though the
  Invidians claim that only a handful of these
  spellcasters exist, they all do brisk business, never
  lacking for clients.
  Druidic magic holds an unusual and precarious
  position among the Invidians. Neither miracle nor
  ensorcelment, druidic spellcasting has elements of
  both, some of which are considered beneficial
  (aiding crops, enhancing growth, calling upon
  friendly animals, and so forth), while others are
  clearly harmful (causing damage, summoning dan-
  gerous animals, turning natural forces and elements
  against enemies). In general, druids are tolerated
  by common unspoken agreement unless they are
  known to cast destructive spells, in which case they
  are driven from their community, assaulted, or
  even killed.
  How foolish. One does not need to waste
  valuable magic in order to make peasants
  kill one another…. They will do it readily
  enough without arcane intervention.
  Invidians enjoy relaxing with a mug of ale and
  a fine joint of beef. Their bounty of inns and
  taverns are usually brightly lit, joyful centers of
  community activity. Loud and frequently ribald
  songs and exuberant dances are common, espe-
  cially during festival times at harvest, planting and
  midsummer. Invidians have little tolerance for
  those who cannot hold their liquor.
  Even the food of the peasantry is satisfying, if
  somewhat plain. Soups such as sour chicken, sour
  mutton, cauliflower, or egg soup usually start the
  meal, followed by a main dish, often a stew or roast
  of pork, beef or chicken. Fish stew is served season-
  ally in river villages. Hunters and those in rural
  
  53
  Invidia
  Of course, necromancy is feared even more
  than ordinary magic, for the farms and villages of
  Invidia sometimes must deal with the shambling
  results of death magic, and Invidian folklore is
  filled with stories of vampires, ghouls, ghosts and
  other undead monstrosities. Necromancy is offi-
  cially illegal, but those caught practicing it rarely
  make it to Karina for trial. Usually, they are dis-
  patched by mob justice and hanged from trees,
  their remains cremated and scattered on the winds
  lest they return demanding vengeance. In some
  villages, simply accusing another of necromancy is
  tantamount to a death sentence and is a well-
  known way of disposing of a rival or enemy.
  Religion
  Though most Invidians claim to be devout,
  most also say that they have little time for religion
  and do not worry too much about the afterlife. We
  are all going to the same place, they say, and if one
  lives a good life and does as little harm as possible,
  there is little to fear after death (save of course
  reanimation as one of the undead, but that is a
  common fear everywhere).
  The Invidian Hero
  This section presents information potentially useful in creating PCs native to Invidia.
  Races: Invidians are almost exclusively human, of mixed Barovian and Kartakan heritage.
  Nonhumans make up less than 1% of the total population and are regarded with superstition and
  distrust by commoners. Half-Vistani risk their lives by entering the domain. In the north, the
  Gundarakites descend from the same root stock as the Barovians, but stick doggedly to their own
  culture.
  Classes: Most Invidian heroes are either fighters or rogues. Bards are fairly common, some
  of whom learned their craft from the famous Kartakans. Sorcerers are not uncommon, but usually
  practice their craft only in the larger towns. Magic in rural areas is a delicate matter, as spellcasters
  must carefully avoid displaying any destructive magic. Wizards fill the same role, but are far less
  common. Clerics are rare and usually serve Ezra as wandering healers and priests, but are generally
  trusted. Druids lie somewhere between sorcerers and clerics and must be careful what kinds of
  spells they cast lest they trigger an angry response from the common folk. Paladins, barbarians
  and monks are all but unknown.
  Recommended Skills: Bluff, Gather Information, Intimidate, Profession (brewer, herbal-
  ist), Sense Motive, Survival.
  Recommended Feats: Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms), Improved
  Initiative, Lunatic, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus (dagger, musket).
  Invidian male names: Adi, Adrian, Badun, Costine, Dimitru, Gogu, Haslav, Horatu, Mikal,
  Petre, Radu, Vasili, Vaslav.
  Invidian female names: Ameli, Antoaneta, Celestina, Diona, Elena, Florenta, Gabrielle,
  Ileana, Ivona, Ligia, Lizuça, Marilena, Nicoleta, Ridiçea, Teadora, Zina.
  As well it should be.
  The majority of Invidians profess belief and
  faith in Ezra, and many practice the Home Faith of
  Borca. Some  Invidians adhere to the Mordentish
  See, while a few embrace the apocalyptic faith of
  distant Nevuchar Springs.
  Religion is only a minor part of daily life. The
  few true clerics who follow Ezra are usually itiner-
  ants, moving from village to village in a pre-ordained
  route. Traveling anchorites spend a few days in
  each settlement, curing wounds, helping the sick,
  and casting beneficial spells for those who ask. A
  small tithe is expected in exchange, but few turn
  away a destitute peasant.
  A single Ezran temple exists in Invidia; lo-
  cated on the road between Karina and Beltis, it is
  under the authority of Sentire Gudrescu, the high-
  est-ranking anchorite in the land. She is served by
  
  54
  Report Two
  ten acolytes and provides worship services, mon-
  etary assistance, and accommodations to the Ezran
  anchorites who wander the realm.
  Though Ezra is the predominant faith, an-
  other, hidden in the shadows and rarely spoken of,
  remains potent and influential. The worship of the
  goddess Hala has always existed in the region and
  continues to be practiced, despite popular dislike
  and fear of its practitioners. Witchcraft has been
  officially forbidden since the days of Bakholis.
  Those openly practicing witchcraft risk arrest, trial
  and imprisonment, for common wisdom declares
  that witches are dark, malevolent beings intent
  only on inflicting pain and suffering. Recently, as
  Malocchio’s grip on the nation grows tighter, those
  found guilty of multiple instances of witchcraft
  have been executed, many by burning or hanging.
  Still, worship of Hala continues in secret, with
  parents passing down wisdom and religious faith to
  their children, and Hala’s witches learning their
  spells in dark glades, isolated clearings, or ancient
  ruins. Of course, the secretive nature of the faith
  only enflames common superstition and is seized
  upon as proof positive of the witches’ malevolent
  nature.
  The Realm
  ever the strongest or most wisely-ruled
  of realms, Invidia remains a divided
  land in the ever-closing grip of tyranny.
  The excesses of its rulers polarize the
  populace, though besides the northern
  Gundarakites, few have been driven to open rebel-
  lion. This may change as the conflict between
  Malocchio and his mother moves to the boiling
  point or if a powerful neighbor chooses to retaliate
  over Malocchio’s persecution of the Vistani.
  The realm’s lord and master is Malocchio
  Aderre, self-proclaimed Dukkar and also called (in
  the manner of his forebears) the Traitor King and
  Scourge of the Vistani. Malocchio’s strange origins
  have led to endless speculation among the masses
  over his true nature. None of the tales are flatter-
  ing. I find it difficult to identify a specific dread lord
  in Invidia; the country’s soil is red with the blood
  of former rulers. Although evidence indicates that
  Gabrielle Aderre may have claimed the mantle
  from Bakholis, Malocchio is now rapidly eclipsing
  her in both power and infamy. If Malocchio is not
  the dread lord, it may well be his goal to become so.
  Gabrielle remains leader of the fractured and
  scattered Gundarakite rebels. Professing to a change
  of heart and offering the rebels valuable informa-
  tion about their foes, Gabrielle maintains her power
  through the sly manipulation of fact and emotion
  and by keeping the rebel leader Ardonk Szerieza
  wrapped around her finger. In this way, Gabrielle
  now holds the strings of independence movements
  in both Invidia and Barovia, though her control
  may be slipping.
  Initially defeated by the rebels, Malocchio has
  since turned his attention to the Vistani, whom he
  has sworn to destroy utterly. No one knows why
  Malocchio hates the Vistani so; a hatred of this
  intensity can scarcely be measured by sane minds.
  Some speculate that he inherited his passionate
  abhorrence for the gypsies from his mother, who
  blamed the Vistani for her mother’s exile and
  poverty, but I am of the belief that something far
  darker is at work here. The Vistani roam wherever
  they wish, scoffing even the dictates of the dread
  lords — but this land, they avoid like a plague.
  Aside from the pogrom against the gypsies,
  Malocchio has set himself to unite Invidia, forging
  it into the mold of Falkovnia, Barovia and Darkon.
  He expanded the realm’s military, training his
  soldiers in mass tactics, bolstered with Falkovnian
  troops. Large portions of the kingdom’s treasury
  fund weapon and armor production, and much of
  the nation’s harvest surplus is requisitioned to feed
  Malocchio’s mercenaries.
  Government
  Invidia has long been a realm with inconstant
  rulers; even when united under a single banner, a
  ruler’s authority never extended much beyond the
  larger settlements. Recently, Lord Malocchio en-
  trenched hired swords and established a far stronger
  central authority.
  Expanded authority means that Malocchio
  can no longer afford to rule alone, exclusively by
  decree. He has established the King’s Chamber, an
  Unlikely, little scholar. I know his kind, with much
  thanks to you. He chafes enough under the chains
  he already bears; killing his mother would simply
  add another. The answer required here is how to
  give him that which he does seek.
  
  55
  Invidia
  assembly of nobles and wealthy Invidians tasked to
  advise and counsel the king in all of his decisions.
  Currently, the Chamber has sixteen members,
  ranging from the elderly duce, Ciudaru of Tancos,
  to the youthful Sir Stefan of Curriculo, who was
  knighted at the tender age of fifteen when he
  helped save a merchant caravan from Gundarakite
  bandits.
  In reality, the Chamber serves little purpose
  other than to endorse Malocchio’s decisions. It
  mollifies the populace, who feel that their nobles
  and prominent citizens have a say in national
  affairs. This is important, as Malocchio is expand-
  ing Invidian authority beyond larger settlements
  — indeed, beyond Invidia’s borders.
  He cannot do this without troops, and in a
  land with fewer than 7,000 inhabitants, a large
  army is hard to come by and even harder to main-
  tain once assembled. Despite the laxity of her rule,
  Gabrielle left her son a small but well-trained
  militia, numbering a few hundred among the vari-
  ous settlements. Malocchio expanded this army to
  nearly a thousand, though not enough to fulfill his
  ambitions. He hired foreign mercenaries and al-
  lows Vlad Drakov, whom Malocchio greatly
  admires, to send a regiment of his best soldiers.
  Malocchio’s army has swollen to nearly 1,700, an
  enormous force given the size of the populace.
  Most Invidian units are armed with swords
  and crossbows, but a small number of troops are
  being trained to use muskets. So far, this impressive
  force has been employed to suppress banditry,
  secure the borders, and keep smaller villages in
  line. Malocchio hopes soon to unleash his forces on
  the Gundarakite rebels of the northeast.
  The villages of Invidia, once largely indepen-
  dent, have been drawn under Malocchio’s control.
  Small garrisons have been placed in settlements of
  more than 50 individuals, and others are regularly
  patrolled. Taxes, once collected sporadically or not
  at all, are now demanded on a regular basis and
  have been increasing of late. Malocchio’s tax col-
  lectors are among the most feared individuals in
  the kingdom, for they have almost limitless power
  to enforce the tyrant’s decrees.
  Malocchio does not tolerate dissent. He has
  spies and informants in many settlements and
  recruits wandering merchants and clerics to report
  back to Karina with information on dissent, rebel-
  lion or subversive activities.
  Recently, Malocchio has begun to recruit
  agents into his secret police, the Lord‘s Men. This
  Law Enforcement
  Invidian mercenaries are well trained and
  equipped, and Malocchio gives them consider-
  able authority within the nation. Still, their
  numbers are not sufficient to patrol or govern
  the entire realm, so much local defense falls to
  ill-equipped militias. The Lord’s Men are
  Malocchio’s elite agents. Though few in num-
  ber, they are charged with keeping the peace and
  maintaining security at all costs and with virtu-
  ally unlimited powers.
  Invidian Mercenary:
  Invidian Mercenary:
  Invidian Mercenary:
  Invidian Mercenary:
  Invidian Mercenary: Human War2; CR 1; Medium human-
  oid (human); HD 2d8, hp 9; Init +0; Spd 20 ft.; AC 17, touch
  10, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +2; Grp +2; Atk +3 melee
  (1d8/19–20, longsword) or +2 ranged (1d8/19–20, light
  crossbow); Full Atk +3 melee (1d8/19–20, longsword) or
  +2 ranged (1d8/19–20, light crossbow); AL LN; SV Fort
  +3, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha
  10.
  Skills and Feats: Intimidate +4, Listen +2,
  Sense Motive +2, Spot +2; Power Attack,
  Weapon Focus (longsword).
  Possessions: Longsword, breastplate, light
  crossbow, 10 bolts, large steel shield.
  Invidian Militia:
  Invidian Militia:
  Invidian Militia:
  Invidian Militia:
  Invidian Militia: Human War1; CR 1/2; Medium humanoid
  (human); HD 1d8, hp 4; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 14, touch 10,
  flat-footed 14; Base Atk +1; Grp +1; Atk +1 melee (1d8/19–
  20, longsword) or +1 ranged (1d6/x3, shortbow); Full Atk
  +1 melee (1d8/19–20, longsword) or +1 ranged (1d6/x3,
  shortbow); AL LN; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 11, Dex
  11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 10.
  Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +3, Intimi-
  date +3, Listen +1, Spot +2; Dodge, Endurance.
  Possessions: Longsword, short bow, 20 ar-
  rows, studded leather armor, small wooden shield.
  Lord’s Man: 
  Lord’s Man: 
  Lord’s Man: 
  Lord’s Man: 
  Lord’s Man: Human Ftr5; CR 5; Medium humanoid (hu-
  man); HD 5d10+10, hp 35; Init +2; Spd 20 ft.; AC 19, touch
  12, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +5; Grp +8; Atk +10 melee
  (1d8+3/19–20, longsword) or +8 ranged (1d8+3/x3, com-
  posite longbow [+3 Str bonus]); Full Atk +10 melee (1d8+3/
  19–20, longsword) or +8 ranged (1d8+3/x3, composite
  longbow [+3 Str bonus]); AL LE; SV Fort +6, Ref +3, Will
  +3; Str 16, Dex 14, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10.
  Skills and Feats: Climb +5, Gather Informa-
  tion +2, Intimidate +4, Ride (horse) +6, Sense
  Motive +2, Swim +4; Cleave, Dodge, Iron Will,
  Power Attack, Quick Draw, Weapon Focus
  (longsword).
  Possessions: Masterwork longsword, master-
  work composite longbow (+3 Str bonus), 20
  arrows, masterwork chainmail, masterwork large
  steel shield.
  
  56
  Report Two
  select group is even more feared than the tax
  collectors, for no one truly knows who they are.
  Any stranger could be one of the tyrant’s secret
  agents, making the insular Invidian peasantry even
  less friendly toward outsiders than they were before
  Malocchio came to power.
  These deadly individuals are all living blades,
  dedicated utterly to their ruler and ready to root out
  even the slightest hint of disloyalty in his subjects.
  Empowered to arrest, try and execute on the spot,
  they seize luckless dissidents and carry them off for
  interrogation (which usually ends with the victim
  dead or hopelessly crippled). All are trained in
  combat and skilled in surreptitious observation,
  entry, intuition and the finding of the truth. The
  Lord’s Men are utterly incorruptible, and no amount
  of gold will stay them from following their
  Malocchio’s edicts to the letter. Bribing a Lord’s
  Man to arrest or prosecute falsely an innocent
  subject is even worse in their eyes, and anyone so
  foolish as to attempt such a thing will find his life
  ending swiftly and very painfully. Commoners usu-
  ally ascribe this unwavering loyalty to one of two
  reasons: either Malocchio has recruited them by
  granting them the ability to enact their most sadis-
  tic fantasies, or he has simply bewitched them.
  Away from the larger towns, beyond the view
  of most of his populace, the Dukkar is said to
  command even stranger minions. Supposedly, the
  beasts of the forests and the birds of the air are his
  to command, and he has even found some way to
  recruit — however temporarily — the monstrous,
  man-flesh eating ogres and other lumbering hulks
  said to roam the southwest wilds.
  Economy
  The Invidian economy was never well central-
  ized, with each individual village an independent
  economic unit. Since Malocchio chose to unite
  the country under his bloody banner, Invidia’s
  economy has become more sophisticated and inte-
  grated.
  Invidia’s farms are notably productive, bring-
  ing in more food than the nation needs in all save
  the most desperate famine years. Barley, rye, wheat
  and oats are most common; hops are also grown for
  the brewing industry. Potatoes and cabbages raised
  in poorer soil have been known to succumb to
  blight. Fortunately, other food crops took up the
  slack and there has rarely been any starvation.
  Vintners and brewers take the grapes and
  grains and transform them into wines, beers, ales
  and other intoxicants. These beverages are prob-
  ably Invidia’s most profitable export and are actually
  well known outside the realm. Today, Invidian
  wines and beers are popular in Falkovnia, Barovia,
  Borca and Kartakass.
  Mining is rare, but what little there is provides
  sulfur and salt. Sulfur is used to bleach dried fruit for
  export and is sent to other nations for use in the
  production of gunpowder. Salt also provides a
  small but important source of income.
  Finished goods — tools, armor, weapons, cloth-
  ing and utensils — are imported from other realms.
  Malocchio has started building armories and forges
  around Karina, but so far only a trickle of native-
  produced weapons and armor has emerged.
  Invidia maintains strong trade relationships.
  Trade with Barovia, most of which takes place
  along the Gundar River, is heavy even as Count
  Strahd calls for an end to cross-border raids. Borca
  and Falkovnia remain important partners, though
  once more tensions may disrupt trade as Borca’s
  rulers grow impatient with Malocchio’s pogroms.
  Much of the Invidian economy operates infor-
  mally by the barter system. National currency
  exists as nondescript coins known as the bitterbit
  (copper), which features a stylized bear’s head on
  one face and a symbolic heart on the other; the
  sweetpiece (silver), a silver coin with crossed swords
  and a man’s hand on either side; and the drymark
  (gold). One face of the drymark bears a trout,
  considered a symbol of luck and prosperity, while
  the other features the image of the land’s ruler
  when the coin was struck. Currently, most drymarks
  have Malocchio’s face, but some have Gabrielle’s,
  and a few can still be found bearing the hated image
  of Bakholis.
  Diplomacy
  Initially, Lord Malocchio seemed ready to
  make diplomatic inroads in the Core, replacing his
  mother’s lackadaisical governance with strong rule
  and active relations with other nations. Within a
  few years, his true nature emerged. Though he was
  indeed the strong ruler that Invidia watchers ex-
  pected, his firm rule quickly transformed into
  steel-booted tyranny as his soldiers occupied towns,
  savagely suppressed dissent, and set out on a bloody
  pogroms.
  For the most part, the rulers of the Core have
  little care for how other nations are ruled. So long
  as nothing crosses the frontier to unsettle a ruler’s
  own peasantry and nobles, a monarch or darklord
  
  57
  Invidia
  can spill oceans of blood and persecute the com-
  mon folk to his heart’s content. Yet Malocchio’s
  hatred of the Vistani extends beyond his own
  borders, as his troops pursue fleeing Vistani into
  Borca, Barovia, Verbrek, and even Sithicus. Neigh-
  boring realms have complained, but their
  increasingly angry responses have fallen on deaf
  ears and the incursions continue.
  In spite of growing tensions, its position as a
  nexus for river travel allows Invidia to maintain
  strong trade relations with its neighbors, and its
  increasingly affluent merchant class secretly wishes
  that the tyrant would keep within his own frontiers
  and stop antagonizing potential customers.
  Barovia: Relations with Barovia are tense and
  problematic, even though wealth flows between
  both realms. Until Malocchio’s ascension, the
  realms maintained a friendly if somewhat distant
  relationship and were united by their mutual occu-
  pation of Gundarak. Though interaction between
  Invidia and Barovia got off to a promising start,
  Malocchio’s hatred of the Vistani — who dwell in
  Barovia under the official protection of its ruler,
  Strahd — has since brought the two nations to the
  brink of open conflict. Invidian forces pursuing
  Vistani across the border have entered Barovia on
  several occasions, triggering a strong response from
  Strahd’s army. After several dozen Invidian sol-
  diers perished under Barovian swords, Malocchio
  reconsidered his policies and has since forbidden
  his troops from crossing the border — openly.
  Despite his public retraction, the Barovians claim
  that the pursuits continue and have even produced
  some Invidian prisoners to back up their claims.
  Exacerbating the situation is Castle Hunadora,
  haven to many of the rebels who plague Strahd’s
  forces in western Barovia.
  Even though he has strengthened and united
  his chaotic realm, the tyrant would be hopelessly
  outmatched in a conflict with his most powerful
  neighbor. Barovia can field an army that outnum-
  bers Invidia’s entire population, and Strahd’s armed
  conquest of eastern Gundarak stands as bloody
  evidence of the count’s willingness to employ force
  when necessary.
  his borders. There have been no major incursions
  since Dilisnya’s declaration, though a few minor
  incidents occurred, involving squads of Invidian
  mercenaries who were quickly driven across the
  border by angry Borcan troops. Malocchio may
  have told his soldiers to be more discreet in their
  pursuits, but no one believes that the crisis will
  abate any time soon.
  Falkovnia: Invidia has few contacts beyond
  its immediate neighbors, the prime exception be-
  ing Falkovnia, whose ruler Vlad Drakov sees in
  Malocchio a younger version of himself and an
  invaluable military ally. Falkovnian troops patrol
  the roads, guard the borders, escort tax collectors
  and from time to time burn down the farmsteads of
  uncooperative peasants. This duty grates on the
  normally bellicose Falkovnian troops, most of whom
  wait with bloodthirsty anticipation for Lord
  Malocchio to unleash them upon the recalcitrant
  Gundarakite rebels. About 600 Falkovnians serve
  in the Invidian military, and more are expected
  soon, though Ivana Boritsi has forbidden Falkovnian
  troops to cross her territory.
  Kartakass: Kartakan history claims that the
  Invidians once occupied their realm. This ancient
  enmity made relations between the two lands rocky
  and distrustful, at least until the overthrow of the
  werewolf-lord Bakholis, when the Kartakans threw
  off their dislike of their northern neighbor and
  embarked on more friendly relations. Trade routes
  sprang up, via Sithicus and Barovia, and Kartakan
  bards roamed the land, singing and entertaining
  the Invidian peasants. As with most other nations,
  Malocchio’s excesses have alienated the Kartakans
  as well; since the tyrant’s rise, trade between the
  realms has fallen off, and Kartakan minstrels are
  not so welcome as they once were.
  Sithicus: To the south lies Sithicus, another
  realm with a weak central authority. The Invidians
  fear the unknown reaches of the elven forest,
  particularly after the nightmarish failure of the
  Night of Screaming Shadows. Several secret paths
  lead through the Breadth Forest into Sithicus, but
  these are known only to the Vistani, who use them
  to flee the realm if pressed by Malocchio’s troops.
  For their part, Invidians are reluctant to follow,
  and the few units that have done so — mostly
  foreign mercenaries restless for real bloodshed —
  have not returned.
  A single precarious trade route cuts through
  the northeastern corner of Sithicus, linking Invidia
  with Kartakass. The Sithican Passage is reasonably
  This might be used.
  Borca: Trade with the sullen Borcans has
  declined in recent years as tensions between the
  two states increase. Ivan Dilisnya has sworn armed
  retaliation against any Invidian troops found within
  
  58
  Report Two
  safe, though travelers often speak of mysterious
  lights, strange sounds in the forest, and annoyance
  by fey and other sylvan creatures. Most trade be-
  tween Kartakass and Invidia takes the longer but
  more reliable river route through Barovia.
  Verbrek: Invidia maintains no formal rela-
  tions with its wild neighbor, for there is no real
  government to be found. Sparsely populated and
  haunted by monstrous wolves and other creatures,
  Verbrek has proved a frequent refuge for the Vistani;
  they alone can travel those unbroken woods with-
  out fear. Invidian troops have no qualms and suffer
  no real consequences for pursuing the Vistani into
  Verbrek. Verbrek’s masters take little notice of
  Invidian activity, save when their precious wolves
  are endangered. Woe unto any Invidians who
  harm the region’s wolves, for they invariably find
  themselves pursued, lucky to escape the realm with
  their lives.
  Little if any trade exists between Invidia and
  Verbrek, for the fearful peasants of the latter realm
  have little money to spare, and the Invidians have
  no real motivation to brave the wolf-haunted depths
  of the forests. The Musarde remains a vital trade
  route, however, so Invidia cannot afford to put the
  Verbrekers too far out of their minds.
  Sites of Interest
  nvidia is not terribly civilized — less
  than half its small population live in its
  two major towns, with the remainder
  living in tiny settlements. Most villages
  cluster along the river, with a few iso-
  lated farms, vineyards and ranches sprinkled nearby.
  Few live more than an hour’s ride from a town or
  village.
  Karina
  The realm’s capital lies on the northern bank
  of the Noisette River. A decaying town, Karina is
  kept alive with trade from Barovia, Falkovnia and
  Borca. Its docks crowd with small merchant vessels
  taking on cargoes of grain, wine, beer and produce,
  and unloading finished goods such as textiles, tools,
  weapons, clothing and leather items. Although the
  town looks and feels deserted throughout most of
  the year, its population swells to as much as 7,000
  during its Harvest Carnival, a weeklong festival
  that ends with the first full moon of each October.
  So famed is this revelry, that it draws affluent
  celebrants from across the western Core. The locked
  and empty taverns and inns one sees during the rest
  of the year exist simply to handle this annual
  overflow.
  Karina’s stone walls are low and in poor repair,
  but rigorously patrolled by Malocchio’s guards.
  Generally, these guards are native Invidians. Not
  even Malocchio is willing to risk popular disap-
  proval by giving such sensitive duties to foreigners.
  Architecture is typical of the realm: tall, nar-
  row buildings with steep gabled roofs packed
  together in seemingly random order. Karina’s streets
  are a confusing labyrinth, and outsiders may wan-
  der for hours before finding their way out — or,
  worse, into the thieves’ quarter, from which they
  are lucky to emerge with only their purses missing.
  Foreigners usually stay in the areas around the
  docks or the bridges, where most of the town’s inns
  and taverns are located. Law enforcement in these
  areas is reasonably lax, as merchants are still wel-
  come and encouraged. Flagrant abuse of the law
  will bring a quick response from the city watch or,
  in especially violent situations, squads of Falkovnian
  soldiers detailed to keep the peace in these areas.
  The Falkovnians are billeted in a small neighbor-
  hood on the west side of town, once the site of the
  Falkovnian trade enclave. Talon Commander
  Anton Regess, a veteran of the Dead Man’s Cam-
  paign, leads them.
  Divided in two by the north-south Tower
  Road, Karina’s wealthy eastern half is inhabited by
  nobles, merchants and more prosperous members
  of the middle class. West Karina is more jumbled,
  dirty and dangerous, crowded with dilapidated
  buildings, slums and burned-out ruins. This side of
  town is home to criminals, madmen and worse.
  Towering above the twisted streets is the Cita-
  del, the city’s administrative center. An
  ancient-looking fortress of black stone, the Citadel
  has grown in recent years, and the main structure
  is now surrounded by a tangle of wooden structures.
  Some sections of the structure have fallen into
  disrepair or show signs of having been gutted by
  fire, but Malocchio has better things to do than
  renovate and abandons older sections as they fall
  out of use. It is said that much of the place is
  haunted, especially by the ghosts of those who
  perished when Bakholis was overthrown. The best
  known of these spirits is named Manfred Taige:
  once chief steward, he was slain when the fortress’
  garrison rose up after Bakholis’ death.
  Constantly guarded by Malocchio’s best na-
  tive Invidians (service here is open only to those
  soldiers who are utterly above suspicion), the Cita-
  
  59
  Invidia
  del headquarters the Lord’s Men, while the realm’s
  tax collectors are housed in one of the fortress’
  subterranean chambers. The city treasury is close
  by, constantly monitored by Malocchio’s scribes
  and accountants.
  At one corner of the Citadel is the dreaded
  black tower, where Malocchio’s enemies disappear
  and rarely, if ever, return. The tyrant is known to
  employ a squad of especially accomplished tortur-
  ers, several of whom were trained in the dungeons
  of Vlad Drakov. Passersby claim that the screams of
  Malocchio’s captives can be heard from the street.
  Adjacent to the black tower is the prison
  tower. Ordinary criminals, bandits, beggars and
  other undesirables are kept here, and although
  they are not tormented as systematically as the
  prisoners in the black pits, their lives are not
  appreciably better. The prison’s warden is Captain
  Johnannes van Deusen, who does double duty as
  captain in charge of the city’s defense. He is known
  to be corrupt and easily bribed, but so far he has not
  been caught in the act.
  The city’s other best-known landmark is the
  tall yellow granite clock tower known as the
  Goldfinger. Built by and home to a cantankerous
  old hermit known only as the Engineer, the tower
  has a large clock on each of its four faces and is
  invaluable when negotiating the city’s winding,
  twisted streets. The Engineer is an expert
  clockmaker, responsible for building all of the
  clocks presently in the city. Years have passed since
  he last left the tower, and the place is now patrolled
  by Malocchio’s guards.
  Nobles and wealthy Invidians live on the east
  side of town, where one also finds the Art_ Colegiu,
  a small but exclusive art school that has drawn
  students from as far north as Darkon. The poverty
  and danger of the city increases the further west
  one goes from Tower Road. The westernmost slums
  are the worst; here, the city’s small but efficient
  thieves’ guild holds sway. Bribes and blackmail
  keep local guards and meddling noblemen quiet,
  while local merchants operate only if they keep up
  their protection payments. The Vistani outcast
  known as Scar Tabor controls the Karina thieves’
  guild, ruling through violence and ruthlessness.
  The city’s leading citizen is Mayor Zachary
  Beauchamps, a fussy and officious man who lives in
  a tidy mansion near the Citadel. Despite his annoy-
  ing demeanor, he is an efficient and intelligent
  politician who survived the rise of Malocchio and
  who keeps the city running despite its disorganized,
  wild nature.
  Karina’s most infamous resident is also its most
  mysterious. The fearsome Midnight Slasher has
  plagued the poorer sections of Karina for nearly
  twenty years. Rumored to be a cloaked madman
  who wishes bloody vengeance upon all who would
  harm children — and Gabrielle Aderre — the
  Slasher appears to have committed a rash of mur-
  ders and senseless crimes in Karina and elsewhere.
  Where to Stay in Karina
  Visitors can choose from a wide variety of inns
  and hostels, with prices for almost any budget;
  many of the better inns and taverns are associated
  with their own small vineyards or breweries. The
  most luxurious and expensive of these is the Silver
  Wolf (good quality meals, good quality rooms),
  located not far from the Citadel, with a fine view of
  the rest of the city. Elsewhere, the Traveler (good
  quality meals, common quality rooms) is one of the
  best inns on the east side, while the Platter and
  Candle (common quality meals, common quality
  rooms) is probably Karina’s most popular inn. Lower
  class establishments such as the Crimson Dagger
  (low quality meals, common quality rooms) and
  the Wild Boar (low quality meals, low quality
  rooms) function on the west side of town.
  Karina (large town): 
  Karina (large town): 
  Karina (large town): 
  Karina (large town): 
  Karina (large town): Conventional, AL N; 3,000 gp
  limit; Assets 345,000 gp; Population 2,315; Isolated
  (human 99%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Mayor Zachary Beauchamps, male
  human Ari5; Captain Johannes Van Deusen (wall cap-
  tain, prison warden), male human Ftr3; Commander
  Anton Regess (Falkovnian leader), male human Ftr5.
  Important Characters: “Scar” Tabor (leader of thieves’
  guild), male Vistani darkling Rog10; “the Engineer”
  (reclusive clockmaker and mechanist), male human
  Wiz9; the Midnight Slasher (signature killer), female
  human Rog4/Avn*4.
  *See Van Richten’s Arsenal for more
  information on the avenger prestige class.
  Curriculo
  The only other Invidian town worthy of the
  name lies northeast of Karina, along a great curve
  of the Musarde. Its docks are nowhere near as
  extensive as Karina’s, but they are just as busy.
  Little more than a roadside inn and a single dock at
  
  60
  Report Two
  the time of Bakholis’ demise, it has grown as the
  town fathers present their young, prosperous com-
  munity as an economic alternative to the expensive,
  decaying Karina. Curriculo has steadily grown in
  importance and prosperity, and numerous new
  warehouses have been built to house the trade
  goods unloaded from its docks. The rivalry be-
  tween Karina and its upstart neighbor grew
  increasingly bitter during Gabrielle’s inattentive
  reign, with many accidents blamed on sabotage.
  Malocchio has repressed the violence, but not the
  underlying sentiments.
  Curriculo’s timber walls are in better repair
  than Karina’s, and Mayor Raduz Sczeçti takes pains
  to keep them in good condition. Raduz suspects
  that dark days are coming and so hired his own
  mercenaries, independent of the Invidian military,
  to keep order in the town.
  The core of the town is much like its larger
  neighbor to the south. Tall buildings crowd to-
  gether in picturesque chaos, narrow cobbled streets
  wind in seemingly random directions, and numer-
  ous shops offer a wide range of goods. Beyond the
  central part of town, Curriculo is less claustropho-
  bic, with wider and straighter streets, as well as
  smaller wood-and-plaster buildings, usually no
  higher than two floors.
  A central marketplace provides Curriculo’s
  inhabitants with a common area for daily interac-
  tion, commerce and gossip. Here, produce and
  grains can be obtained, along with beer and wine,
  livestock, horses, clothing and leather goods.
  Where to Stay in Curriculo
  Curriculo boasts two inns of note: the Lady’s
  Veil (good quality meals, common quality rooms)
  and the Plowshare (common quality meals, com-
  mon quality rooms). Both are small and comfortable,
  if plain. Non-merchants who stay longer than two
  or three days are likely to attract suspicion, for the
  townsfolk are distrustful of strangers and usually
  imagine the worst.
  Castle Hunadora
  Once the center of Gundarakite strength and
  national unity, this old and decaying fortress has
  since become the rallying point for the increasingly
  militant Gundarakite separatists. Once scattered
  and divided, the Gundarakites rallied under
  Gabrielle Aderre’s banner and stormed Hunadora
  in 750 BC, driving out the token Invidian garrison
  holding it.
  Since then, Hunadora continues to plague
  Malocchio, festering like a sore in the north of his
  nation, defying his mighty army and serving as a
  constant reminder of the tyrant’s failure to dispose
  of his detested mother. About 200 Gundarakite
  rebels actually occupy the place, and the surround-
  ing woods and countryside are dotted with the
  concealed camps of sympathizers and refugees of all
  sorts, including select Vistani who have declared
  common cause with the Gundarakites.
  The castle sits atop a constructed mound of
  earth, its dark stone keep surrounded by a square
  curtain wall and a wide moat filled with dark,
  stagnant water. Slithering things occasionally ripple
  the moat’s oily surface. Supposedly these spawn are
  experiments that escaped from Medraut’s arcane
  laboratories decades back. Although Gundar al-
  lowed the tangled forest of the Crimson Hills to
  grow right up to the moat’s edge, the rebels have
  taken pains to clear the trees. They have also
  reinforced many of its crumbling defenses, but
  despite having held the castle for more than seven
  years, the rebels have yet to explore many of
  Hunadora’s dungeons, sewers and hidden passages.
  Numerous devious traps and pitfalls remain
  untriggered throughout the castle, a remnant of its
  former masters. The rebels disarm these deathtraps
  as they find them, but more than a few lives have
  been lost in the process.
  Gabrielle Aderre resides here and has appro-
  priated the entire keep for her personal use. Since
  her seduction of the Gundarakite leader Ardonk
  Szerieza, the Gundarakites have grown more con-
  fident about her leadership — or at least have kept
  their complaints to themselves.
  Matton’s wolfweres occupy the woods to the
  north of the castle, and he has given them strict
  orders not to prey on the Gundarakites or Vistani.
  Instead, they periodically emerge to raid farms and
  settlements, carrying off captives and supplies for
  the army. So far, neither the Gundarakites nor
  Malocchio suspects the wolfwere force’s existence,
  but this may change should open warfare break out.
  Curriculo (small town): 
  Curriculo (small town): 
  Curriculo (small town): 
  Curriculo (small town): 
  Curriculo (small town): Conventional; AL N; 800 gp
  limit; Assets 45,200 gp; Population 1,135; Isolated
  (human 99%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Mayor Raduz Sczeçti, human male
  Com6; Vaslav Credzû (militia commander), human
  male War6.
  Important Characters: Bela Ghuitau (merchant’s guild
  leader), Exp 5; Commander Rubeus Wahrmer
  (Falkovnian trade colony commander), Ftr6; Shythe
  the Bonepyre (saboteur/arsonist), Nec3.
  
  61
  Invidia
  Final Thoughts
  hankfully, my identity was never chal-
  lenged as I traveled through Invidia,
  and I was able to observe much without
  attracting suspicion. I saw great poten-
  tial for cultural richness and prosperity
  wasted by a mad ruler whose irrational hatred leads
  his nation headlong toward disaster.
  In the two months that I traveled the realm, I
  never saw the tyrant himself or his infamous mother.
  I did observe the grim packs of hungry wolves that
  kept pace with me mile after mile, waiting for a sign
  of weakness, a single mistake, or a luckless laggard.
  Naturally, I offered none. Invidia and her neigh-
  bors are like those wolves, I mused — ever pacing,
  ever waiting, ever patient. And should any of its
  neighbors fall behind or show an instance of weak-
  ness, that realm will be awash in blood.
  As I set out from Karina and hiked up the
  banks of the Musarde, I suppressed a shudder at the
  thought of the lonely forests of Verbrek, yet in my
  heart I was glad to leave this divided, unhappy land
  behind. Though the passions of Invidia’s people
  are rich and their commendable qualities many,
  there is a dark undercurrent of hatred, boiling just
  beneath the surface of their wild, wooded land. I
  hope not to be there to see the results when this
  hatred finally boils over.
  Bah. Let the witch and the demonspawn have their
  little wars. Let them taunt the vampire; let them
  crush the rats and bankers between their jaws.
  Let these realms drown themselves in blood, so
  long as this Dukkar remains.
  
  62
  Report Three
  Report Three:
  Verbrek
  Wolves which batten upon lambs, lambs
  consumed by wolves, the strong who immolate
  the weak, the weak victims of the strong: there
  you have Nature….
  — Marquis de Sade, Justine, ou les
  Malheurs de la Vertu
  Report Three:
  Verbrek
  
  63
  Verbrek
  s I entered the trackless forests of
  Verbrek, a prick of panic crept into my
  mind and lingered as I pushed deeper
  into the wilds. I could not place its
  source immediately, but after less than a
  league I caught a flicker of creatures lurking just
  beyond the foliage along either side. These, I
  surmised, were the notorious wolves of Verbrek,
  perhaps even werewolves plotting a most unpleas-
  ant demise for me. If they were lycanthropes, I
  thought it wise to stand my ground and assert my
  authority. I was not unprepared; my pistols held
  silver bullets, and I stood ready to unleash a devas-
  tating arcane attack if necessary. The wolves drew
  near, never taking their glacial eyes from mine.
  They did not growl and bristle, but studied me with
  guarded hunger. Then, suddenly, they turned and
  withdrew, as if they had reached some conclusion.
  I did not take my hand from my pistol until the last
  of the creatures bounded out of sight. The bestial
  eyes that had met mine were not those of animals
  sizing up potential prey. They seemed more akin to
  the eyes of murderous and sadistic men, bent on
  proving their strength through cruelty.
  Landscape
  he wild, forested land of Verbrek, largely
  untamed by axe or scythe, sprawls in a
  low region of the southwestern Core,
  where the Arden and Musarde Rivers
  skirt and slice through vast, cyclopean
  woods. The touch of humanity is nearly absent
  here. Verbrek has no ancient constructions from a
  glorious history, no well-worn roads that testify to
  generations of commerce and conquest. Nothing
  here suggests that Verbrek has ever or will ever be
  the dominion of humankind.
  The woodlands grow heavy with age and mal-
  ice as one crosses into Verbrek. Sites of breathtaking
  beauty and natural serenity are scarce. Alternately
  marshy and stony, the ground turns ankles and
  renders travel arduous. The dense canopy of trees
  casts the forest floor in thick shadow; even those
  folk who travel by day must bring lanterns to light
  their way. Thick snarls of undergrowth entwine
  the legs and sketch bloody scratches on exposed
  flesh. Wildfires are rare here, and dead wood chokes
  the forests. The best fortune that the traveler can
  hope for is to stumble upon a narrow deer run of
  muddy, flattened vegetation.
  Few outsiders regard Verbrek as possessing any
  kind of noteworthy geography, often ambiguously
  referring to the whole region as the “forests of
  Verbrek.” My initial travels in the realm confirmed
  this impression. The endless landscape of dense
  thickets, eerie hollows, and forest bogs quickly
  grows wearisome and strangely featureless. Even on
  short journeys, I found myself overcome with a
  sensation of being utterly lost, as if I were walking
  in circles. As the natives were quick to point out,
  however, Verbrek reveals a diverse landscape to
  those who know the ways of the wilds.
  Though a single, unbroken forest covers the
  whole of Verbrek, the rivers that flow through the
  realm divide the landscape into several distinct
  regions. At the northeastern edge lies a rugged
  upland, thrust up against the noxious Borcan
  Blightwood. Known as the Bleedingbarrow, the
  region drops away as perilous limestone bluffs over-
  looking the Musarde and Bonesliver Rivers. The
  Bleedingbarrow derives its name from the rust-
  colored mineral streaks that mar the pale bluff
  faces. Occasionally, river travelers encounter curi-
  ous petroglyphs carved into the bluffs or paintings
  of strange hybrid beasts rendered in earthen pig-
  ments. Verbrekers rarely venture into the arid
  evergreen woodlands atop the Bleedingbarrow.
  Some whisper that the ridge is a haven for other
  werebeasts that dare not stand against the realm’s
  werewolves.
  Verbrek at a Glance
  Cultural Level: Medieval (7)
  Ecology: Full
  Climate/Terrain: Temperate forest, hills
  and swamp
  Year of Formation: 730 BC
  Population: 830, and 1,140 werewolves
  Races: Humans 97%, half-elves 1%, half-
  Vistani 1%, other 1%
  Human Ethnic Groups: Verbrekers 98%,
  other 2%
  Languages: Mordentish*, Balok, Vaasi,
  Sithican
  Religions: The Wolf God*, Hala, Ezra
  Government: Independent gerontocratic
  settlements and farms
  Ruler: None
  Darklord: Alfred Timothy
  
  64
  Report Three
  South of the Bonesliver River and east of the
  Musarde valley are the Carrion Downs, a region of
  rolling hills shrouded in dense forests. The Downs
  have a reputation for dooming foolish travelers,
  who often stumble into the region’s treacherous
  sinkholes. In these steep pits of rotten, slimy leaves,
  such trapped souls become easy prey for wolves.
  Dead trees are also ubiquitous here, their ashen,
  twisted trunks toppling to the ground with no
  warning. Verbreker legends say that the restless
  victims of wolf attacks haunt the Downs, blighting
  the forest out of hatred for nature and all her
  creatures.
  Northern Verbrek rises to a gentle summit at
  the Winterfang Crests, an upland area where the
  Quivermoon and Rarung rivers arise as artesian
  springs. Here, mossy boughs press even closer, roots
  rise from the ground in gnarled arches, and creep-
  ing ivy mantles every surface. The rugged terrain
  pitches up and down over twisting saddlebacks and
  misty ravines. Boulders and cobbles of rosy sand-
  stone peer through the undergrowth, often grouped
  and stacked together in strange arrangements or
  marked with smudged paw prints. The Winterfangs
  are the most hostile region in all of Verbrek to the
  typical humanoid traveler, for here the werewolves
  watch over their most sacred sites. Those who do
  not understand the severity of their trespass on
  such unholy ground do not live to commit the same
  transgression twice.
  South of the Winterfangs lies a gentle valley
  that carves out a shallow scoop in central Verbrek.
  Known as the Vale of Memory, it is a testament to
  the unforgiving nature of life in this realm. Natives
  speak of a time when the forests of the Vale were
  safe to travel, and a fertile tributary of the Musarde
  River flowed through the valley. In this era, nu-
  merous tiny settlements took root in the Vale.
  Emboldened by the ease of life here, the Verbrekers
  began to cut back the forest for their farmsteads. In
  retribution, the Wolf God that stalks Verbrek
  unleashed the fury of nature. The waters of the
  river dried up, packs of ravenous wolves devoured
  babes in their cradles, and the trees of the forest
  swallowed hamlets overnight. Today, the Vale of
  Memory is a misty valley choked with dense forest
  and fetid pockets of marsh. Evidence of the lost
  hamlets litters the former riverbanks. I stumbled
  upon skeletal farmhouses long cloaked in moss and
  creepers, and glades where countless human bones
  and corroded tools lay among the ferns.
  Beyond the southernmost crest that borders
  the Vale of Memory are the Ghostflame Bottoms,
  a foul swampland of black mud hidden under the
  forest canopy. Nestled between the uplands that
  give rise to the Noisette and Ulvflod rivers, the
  Bottoms are riddled with gloomy hollows that
  collect the spring rains. Throughout the remainder
  of the year, the forest floor remains a treacherous
  morass of mud and rotting vegetation. The stench
  of decay is overpowering, and during the summer
  voracious mosquitoes fill the air.
  The southern tip of Verbrek ends at the Mourn-
  ing Ridge, a jagged spine of wooded hills that rises
  from the Ghostflame Bottoms to the Sithican
  border. From here, one can see all the way to the
  summit of the Winterfang Crests to the north and
  southward into the valley that clutches the Sithican
  village of Mal-Erek. Perhaps owing to their prox-
  imity to eldritch elven magic, the trees here are
  Dread Possibility:
  The Brood of the Purple Moon
  It is often said that evil does not cooperate
  save in the face of a common, hated enemy. Even
  then, alliances are tenuous, disintegrating into
  treachery the moment the mutual foe has been
  destroyed. Such is the case with the Brood of the
  Purple Moon, a loose clan of outcast lycanthropes
  who wage a futile territorial war with Verbrek’s
  werewolves. Named for the lunar eclipses they
  regard as particularly auspicious, the Brood lairs
  in the forest atop the Bleedingbarrow. Drawn
  from evil lycanthropes that consider temperate,
  forested lands such as Verbrek their rightful
  hunting grounds, the members of the Brood
  share little but an undying hatred for the
  werewolves. The Brood werebeasts run in small
  gaggles of their own kind rather than as a united
  group and constantly maneuver for dominance.
  The numbers of the Brood shift, as members join
  up, die in battle, or lose interest in the conflict.
  No one creature has been able to stand as a
  leader for the disparate Brood, though Broderic
  the Bonecracker (male caliban werebear Bbn7,
  CE), has emerged as a bully of chilling ambition.
  Although the Brood would be a powerful ally
  against the werewolves, heroes should question
  whether Verbrek would be better off terrorized
  by a single race of werebeasts or half a dozen
  warring tribes.
  
  65
  Verbrek
  soaring and massive, while florid toadstools and
  lichens encrust their bark. The name of the region
  stems from the ghostly wailing that echoes over the
  hills at night. Some Verbrekers believe that this is
  the sound of those claimed by lycanthropy, la-
  menting their lost humanity in moments of lucidity.
  Others whisper that the elves of Sithicus wander
  into the Verbrekan wilds when their time in the
  mortal world ends and that the wailing portends
  the forest claiming their souls.
  Rivers serve as the primary conduits linking
  the people of Verbrek with the outside world. The
  realm’s scattered hamlets are always built along
  riverbanks,  a stone’s throw up a nearby ridge to
  stave off flooding. The only significant infrastruc-
  ture in Verbrek is the string of massive, sturdy
  docks that the natives have built up and down the
  rivers. These docks allow the Verbrekers to reach
  neighboring settlements and farms via their mod-
  est river launches without undertaking a treacherous
  forest journey. They also permit vessels from neigh-
  boring realms to moor safely to conduct trade with
  the natives.
  Verbrek’s tiny, wretched settlements seem one
  bitter winter from starvation. Constructed for safety
  rather than tidiness or aesthetics, a Verbreker
  hamlet is a desperate, ramshackle place. Muddy
  paths serve as village streets, while trenches and
  crude wooden palisades surround the community.
  These protections also serve to guard the natives’
  small livestock pens from wolves, though the preda-
  tors exhibit remarkable cunning in circumventing
  them.
  Folk have learned to rely on the resources of
  the forest for their building materials. Anything
  that cannot be constructed with timber, cobbles, or
  clay is probably not worth constructing. The locals
  utilize imported iron, glass, and hewn stone only
  when absolutely essential. Verbrekers build square,
  squat structures from roughly cut logs fitted to-
  gether without nails and sealed with pitch. The
  thatched, gabled rooftops are green with moss,
  while chimneys of smooth river stones puff smoke
  into the misty air. Both within and without, build-
  ings are bereft of ornamentation or creature
  comforts. Single room structures are the norm.
  Luxuries such as wood stoves and window glass are
  rare.
  Verbrek’s climate follows a temperate pattern,
  characterized by hot, humid summers and bitter
  winters. Violent thunderstorms descend without
  fail the first week of May each year to bring torren-
  
  66
  Report Three
  tial rains. Flash floods transform the ravines that
  wind through the hollows into roaring streams. Just
  as quickly as they appear, the rains depart by the
  second week of June.
  Flora
  Verbrek’s forests are a prime example of an-
  cient, virgin woods, untouched by humanity since
  the dawn of time. Only at the fringes of rivers do
  the Verbrekers dare to carve back the forest for
  their own purposes. Some Mordentish naturalists
  speculate that Verbrek represents that ancient
  state of Mordent’s open coastal plains and heath
  before they were cleared for agriculture and pasto-
  ral use.
  The domain’s forests are predominantly broa-
  dleaf, though hardier stands of evergreens cling to
  the rocky ridges and saddlebacks. Alder, ash, hazel-
  nut, sessile oak, rowan, and willow are the primary
  trees, though one can also find rarer downy birch,
  crab apple, juniper, wild privet, whitebeam, and
  yew. Beneath the forest canopy lie an abundance of
  gorse, wild marigold, saxifrage,  sedges, and ferns in
  every possible shade of green. Lichens and lugworts
  blanket the tree bark and stones in the darkest
  thickets.
  Carnivorous plant life is a constant hazard in
  the wilds, where the forests seem  possessed of an
  unnatural vitality. Many trespassers have fallen
  victim to bloodroot, lashweed, quickwood, and
  stranger things while preoccupied with the threat
  from lurking werewolves.
  Countless useful botanicals grow amid such
  lush surroundings, and most Verbrekers have at
  least a practical knowledge of herbalism. One plant
  in particular prompts even outsiders to brave the
  forests. The moonflower boasts a delicate silver
  blossom that opens only under the light of a full
  moon. Endemic to the Winterfang Crests, patches
  of the flower spring up near stone cairns and other
  suspected werewolf holy sites. Essential oils from
  the blossoms are reputed to calm a bestial mind,
  and many souls afflicted with lycanthropy seek the
  flower in a desperate attempt to control the change.
  Fauna
  Verbrek’s vast forests shelter wild boars, fallow
  deer, roe deer, elk, river otters, weasels, and smaller
  animals such as dormice, hares, moles, red squir-
  rels, and voles. Significant predators include
  badgers, brown bears, wild cats, red foxes and the
  gray wolves for which Verbrek is notorious. Goblin
  scavengers are notably absent, said to shun Verbrek
  for fear of these wolves.
  Following an encounter with Verbrekan
  wolves, even an outsider must confess to the un-
  natural size, strength, and cunning that characterizes
  the beasts — provided, of course, that he lives
  through said encounter. Though realms such as
  Barovia and Kartakass boast equally robust wolf
  populations, Verbrek stands apart due to the ex-
  traordinarily vicious, tenacious temperament of its
  native man-eaters. Wolves relentlessly shadow trav-
  elers in the Verbrekan wilderness, waiting for their
  prey to let their guard down or for a straggler to fall
  behind the group.
  Verbrekers fear and loathe wolves. They at-
  tribute demonic qualities to the beasts, regarding
  them as evil to their very core. Wolves slaughter
  livestock, snatch babes from their mothers’ breasts,
  and drag the old and the infirm screaming into the
  night. Even more significantly in the minds of the
  Verbrekers, however, any wolf that they encounter
  could be a werewolf in its natural guise. Unlike
  their mundane kin, lycanthropes attack armed
  adults without fear and are known to capture their
  victims for ritual hunts and sacrifices. Of course,
  most feared of all, werewolves carry the dread
  disease that allows them to swell their ranks.
  Though werewolves are foremost on the minds
  of natives and outsiders alike, other unnatural
  creatures stalk the wilds. The forest is home to
  enormous forms of mundane animals, including
  badgers, bats, bears, boars, weasels and wolves.
  Thankfully, such giants are usually solitary, though
  as a rule they are voracious and unafraid of humans.
  Some travelers have reported gigantic vermin,
  such as ants, stag beetles, spiders, and wasps.
  Moonflowers
  A single moonflower plant produces
  1d4 blossoms each lunar cycle from spring
  to fall. An afflicted lycanthrope that con-
  sumes a moonflower blossom receives a
  +10 circumstance bonus to her Control
  Shape checks for 8 hours. Moonflower
  blossoms can be pressed and dried once
  picked, potentially preserving their ben-
  efits for years if properly stored, but live
  plants have a 50% chance of withering if
  transplanted to soil beyond the shadows of
  the Wolf God’s standing stones.
  
  67
  Verbrek
  Encounters with incorporeal undead are not
  unusual. Perhaps this is because so many foolish
  souls meet their end in the forests, far from their
  homes. One also finds other “phenotypes” of
  lycanthropes here (to borrow an awkward term
  from van Richten), though they remain rare. No-
  tably, wererats have never been sighted within
  Verbrek. The natives believe that the werewolves
  despise the creatures and ruthlessly hunt down
  those that enter their territory.
  to share their folktales. They warmed to an audi-
  ence quickly, as if keen to share the truth of things
  as their grandparents had told them.
  According to legend, the tale of Verbrek be-
  gins ages ago with the birth of the Wolf God, an
  entity that sprang fully formed from the Mists
  themselves. My patron may ponder certain simi-
  larities between the Verbrekers’ Wolf God and the
  Kartakans’ Grandfather Wolf, but rest assured the
  Verbrekers view their primal god with none of the
  whimsy of their foppish counterparts. The Wolf
  God’s coming was no gentle dawn, for it tore itself
  from the womb of the Mists — bloody, ravenous,
  and howling at the agony of life. Some Verbrekers
  say that the Wolf God arose out of necessity, a
  raging counterpoint to the cold enigma of the
  Mists. While the Mists react, the Wolf God acts.
  While the Mists watch and wait, the Wolf God
  hunts and devours.
  The Wolf God wandered the Mists for untold
  ages, slaking his hunger on weaker creatures that
  crossed its path. None of the faceless spirits roam-
  ing the Mists dared to challenge the god-beast, for
  they saw that he was a herald for all the terrors of
  the flesh. Eventually, the Wolf God grew weary in
  his solitude. Like all wolves, he longed for a pack.
  Remembering his own violent birth, he inhaled
  deeply, taking in the Mists that surrounded him.
  Within him, the fell vapors mingled with his bone,
  flesh, blood, and bile. Wracked by pain, he dis-
  gorged a brood of children formed in his own
  image. These became the first wolves.
  As the Wolf God led his new pack forth, the
  Mists opened before them, revealing lands covered
  in vast, ancient forests. In these plentiful lands,
  rich in prey, the Wolf God taught his children the
  ways of beasts — how to hunt to sustain themselves
  and the harsh truth of death, but also how to cheat
  death by mating and birthing pups. The wolves
  learned to take pleasure in the squeal of frightened
  prey and the taste of blood on their tongues.
  Eventually, the wolves encountered creatures
  they had never seen before. These seemed weak,
  for their fangs had fallen off and they were forced to
  carry them. Unlike all other prey, however, they
  had the power to change the face of the world as
  they saw fit. In this, they were not unlike the gods.
  When these humans began to destroy the forests
  with axe and flame, the wolves sent their strongest
  hunters to devour them. The beasts struck a vicious
  blow, but the humans routed them and pursued
  them into the forests, their hatred stoked. The
  Local Animals and Native
  Horrors
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10 — bat; toad; CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8 — rat; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  66666 — lizard; raven; CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4 — cat; owl; weasel; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  33333 — hawk; snake, Tiny viper; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — badger;
  eagle; snake, Small viper; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — wolf; snake,
  Medium viper; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — boar; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4 — bear, brown.
  Monsters:
  Monsters:
  Monsters:
  Monsters:
  Monsters: Any Large or smaller giant or monstrous
  vermin; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — geist*; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — fungus, shrieker;
  plant, fearweed*; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — dire badger; dire bat; dire
  weasel; plant, crawling ivy*; worg; CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3 — assassin
  vine; dire toad; dire wolf; fungus, violet; lycan-
  thrope, wereboar; lycanthrope, werewolf; plant,
  bloodroot*; remnant, aquatic*; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4 — dire boar;
  lycanthrope, werebat (see Monsters of Faerûn); CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  55555 — lycanthrope, loup-garou*; lycanthrope,
  werebear; plant, lashweed; winter wolf; wraith; CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  — shambling mound; tendriculos; will-o’-wisp; CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  CR
  77777 — dire bear; ghost; legendary wolf; spectre; CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  — plant, dread treant*; CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9 — plant, undead
  treant*; CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10 — plant, quickwood*.
  History
  robing the history of Verbrek has proven
  a challenge, to say the least. While I
  have encountered unnatural obstacles
  to my historical research in other realms,
  never have I been hindered by the
  stunted culture of the realm in question. Lacking
  royal or academic libraries, Verbrek is virtually
  bereft of archival evidence. It offers no noteworthy
  ruins to wander, no crumbling murals to tell the
  tale of the land’s past, however fictitious it might
  be. The handful of books and parchments I discov-
  ered were usually the tattered works of neighboring
  realms.
  To uncover the origins of Verbrek, I was forced
  to turn to the oral history of its people, a notori-
  ously unreliable source. Though a touch scornful of
  prying outsiders, Verbrekers were generally eager
  
  68
  Report Three
  wolves struck again with newfound bloodlust, rav-
  aging human cubs in their dens. Then the forests
  burned while howls of carnage and sorrow echoed
  across the hills.
  The conflict degenerated into a bloody stale-
  mate, as the strength of wolf and human waxed and
  waned. One night, when the moon was full, a small
  band of humans slipped unseen into the heart of
  the wolves’ territory. These men fearlessly ap-
  proached the den of the Wolf God himself and
  hailed their enemy to show himself. Alerted to the
  trespass, countless wolves prepared to descend on
  the intruders, but the Wolf God emerged from his
  lair and commanded his children to stand down.
  Perplexed and amused at such suicidal foolishness,
  the god bade the humans to speak. To the utter
  shock of the assembled wolves, the humans re-
  sponded by sinking to their knees and bowing
  before the Wolf God.
  The humans explained that they had seen the
  strength of the Wolf God and his children, in
  contrast to the pitiful softness of humanity. Civili-
  zation, they claimed, had made humanity weak,
  and their tenure as masters of the world had lasted
  too long. The humans offered the Wolf God a
  monstrous covenant. They and their families would
  call the god master and would secretly aid the
  wolves in their war against humanity. They would
  reveal traps hidden in the forests, sabotage village
  defenses, and draw their kin away from wolf dens
  and into ambushes. In return, the humans asked
  not only to be spared the wrath of the Wolf God,
  but that he would bless them with his strength.
  The wolves growled their disapproval of this
  alliance, but the Wolf God pondered the words of
  the traitorous humans. He knew that his children
  would never be able to destroy them utterly. He
  secretly feared the cleverness of humans, and he
  suspected it was only a matter of time before they
  created some terrible machine that would turn the
  tide against his children. The Wolf God’s gaze fell
  upon a brown toad hidden among the dead leaves
  on the forest floor, and a dreadful scheme came to
  him. He agreed to the deal that the humans offered,
  and then suddenly seized them in his jaws, tearing
  a bit of flesh from each man in turn. He then sank
  his fangs into his own flesh and allowed his steam-
  ing blood to wash over the wounds of each man.
  Through his blood, the traitors discovered the
  strength of wolves and the power to pass on this
  boon through their bite. Their flesh became a cloak
  worn to fool their weaker human kin, for under-
  neath they bore the shape of wolves. The Wolf God
  commanded his bastard children to honor the
  moon, who had witnessed their birth, and to fear
  her sacred metal, silver, as it bore knowledge of
  their secret. He ordered them to lead his firstborn
  children in a final battle, to drive the humans from
  wolf lands and return his children to their place as
  masters of the wilds.
  The werewolves did so, laying claim to a vast,
  untouched forest at the borders of a human king-
  dom. Though they slaughtered countless men,
  women, and children, the werewolves could not
  bring themselves to chase the humans from their
  lands utterly. Though they dared not admit such
  things to the Wolf God, many of the werewolves
  grew to believe that they were favored creatures,
  greater even than the wolves themselves. They
  reasoned that since they bore the strengths of both
  humans and wolves, they were superior to either
  race. Other werewolves simply grew accustomed to
  the taste of human flesh and did not wish to chase
  away their favored prey for good. Regardless, the
  werewolves allowed a handful of humans to remain
  in their new homeland, but took pains to keep
  them in their proper place. The forests that the
  werewolves claimed they called Rrrv-brehk, which
  in the primitive language of wolves means “Unwel-
  come Place.” Uttered by the tongue of a human
  form, it became Verbrek.
  The myth of the Wolf God holds a vital clue
  regarding the seminal event that marks the emer-
  gence of Verbrek. The creation of the werewolves
  and the subsequent subjugation of humankind
  signals the beginning of Verbrek as it exists today.
  From this point on, the werewolves rule Verbrek,
  while humans cower in fear. Even if one rejects this
  folktale as peasant superstition, one is naturally led
  to conclude that the seminal event is related to a
  shift within the culture of werewolves, a shift
  toward more violent savagery and even deeper
  hatred toward humanity. If the dread lord of Verbrek
  is a werewolf — as I have come to suspect — then
  he was probably the first among his kin to act upon
  these fanatical beliefs. Given the emphasis placed
  on the Wolf God in the origin myth, it is likely that
  the werewolf master of Verbrek views himself as an
  emissary or avatar of this god-beast. As Low
  Mordentish is Verbrek’s language, this werewolf,
  or at least its ancestors, were probably of Mordentish
  blood.
  Although tales of a land to the south of
  Richemulot first surfaced around 708 BC, this
  
  69
  Verbrek
  realm was not known as Verbrek, but “Arkandale.”
  I discovered a brief description of Arkandale in the
  Catalogue of the World Entire, a shoddy work com-
  missioned by Camille Boritsi of Borca shortly before
  her death. It hints at a land not unlike Verbrek,
  where “wolves that walk like men” stalked along
  muddy riverbanks and through vast, untouched
  forests. Meanwhile, Mordentish anchorites first
  note a realm called “Verbrek” in the early 730’s,
  observing that wolves attacked any lumberjacks
  who took axes to its forests. I have not been able to
  determine whether Arkandale and Verbrek were
  distinct realms during this period. It may be that
  the residents of neighboring realms applied differ-
  ing names to the region, or perhaps they were
  simply confused.
  Following the Great Upheaval, however,
  Arkandale seems to have vanished from memory,
  and the lands south of Richemulot have since been
  called Verbrek by natives and outsiders alike. Much
  to the horror of those who live on the edges of
  Verbrek’s forests, the werewolf population of the
  realm has expanded significantly since then. This
  is evidenced not only by the testimony of Verbrekers
  themselves, but by the rising number of unusually
  brazen and cunning wolf attacks beyond Verbrek’s
  borders. Over the past decade, neighboring realms
  have spread tales of marauding werewolf packs
  ravaging their frontiers in search of victims for
  their unholy rites or simply reveling in bloodshed
  for its own sake.
  If the history of Verbrek seems long on specu-
  lation, my patron should rest assured that this is by
  necessity. I can offer no names or dates from the
  Verbrekan past. The Verbrekers never speak of
  revolutions or battles, scandals or assassinations.
  They teach their children grim myths and fables, or
  anecdotes of devastating famines or blizzards in
  years past. Apparently, fear is the only truth worth
  remembering in this land.
  You seem equally confused, my little
  scholar. You should know better by now.
  The most petty, ordinary conflicts —
  even, say, a son rebelling against his
  father — can shape these realms of
  darkness in profound ways.
  
  70
  Report Three
  Populace
  erbrek is sparsely populated, its human-
  oid inhabitants numbering less than
  2,000 by my estimation. The vast ma-
  jority of these natives are humans — or
  appear to be — but one also finds a
  growing population of half-breeds and outcasts
  such as half-elves, half-Vistani, and even calibans.
  These folk tend to be recent arrivals, often refugees
  and fugitives who feel safer in the wild forests than
  the wider world beyond.
  Appearance
  Verbrekers are sturdy, hardened by life on the
  fringes of civilization. Generally shorter in stature
  than folk from neighboring lands, they possess a
  rugged comeliness with lean, athletic builds. Hard
  labor and meager food ensure that they never grow
  portly, while frailer children rarely survive to adult-
  hood. They tend toward sharp cheekbones,
  handsome brows, and full lips. Verbreker skin is
  fair, ranging from pale and freckled to softly tanned.
  The harshness of the forest weathers even the
  young and toughens their hands with calluses.
  Verbrekers have a reputation for wide, arresting
  eyes, usually a bold shade of blue or green. Hair
  color runs from honey blond to rich brown, though
  auburns are not uncommon.
  Verbreker hair is naturally straight or slightly
  wavy, but neither men nor women are bothered
  with style. They allow their hair to grow wild and
  unkempt, men cutting it savagely just above the
  shoulder and women growing it throughout their
  lives. The result is a snarled and matted mess, often
  filthy with leaf detritus or even — in the elderly —
  green with moss. Full mustaches and beards are the
  norm among men, who consider them symbols of
  respect toward the wild. The clean-shaven out-
  sider stands out as one who arrogantly challenges
  nature.
  Fashion
  The challenges and threats of wilderness life
  dictate that Verbreker attire be simple and func-
  tional, while allowing for comfortable movement.
  Men wear snug jerkins over their shirts, with trou-
  sers and a sash wrapped comfortably about the
  waist. Women don loose blouses and long skirts,
  slit up the thigh a touch too far for conservative
  outsiders. Loose clothing is designed for quick
  removal with a tug at a slipknot or two; in these
  woods, time spent to unlace a snagged cloak could
  cost the wearer his throat. Both men and women
  wear heavy woolen socks and simple shoes of soft
  leather. The natives exploit the resources that
  surround them whenever possible, reducing their
  dependence on outside goods. Rather than slaugh-
  ter their milk cows, they use buckskin for leather.
  Dyes are expensive and unnecessary, so fabrics are
  almost always natural hues of cream, grey, tan, and
  earthen brown.
  Former Darklord: Nathan Timothy
  The truth of Verbrek’s history is tightly entwined with the whims, ambitions and hatreds of
  the Timothys, a family of natural werewolves originally from Mordent. Modern Verbrek arose from
  the wanderlust of Nathan Timothy, a shrewd young werewolf. Nathan felt compelled to seek out
  new lands, convinced he could uncover an egress from the Realm of Dread. In 708 BC, the Dark
  Powers saw fit to grant Nathan the domain of Arkandale, encompassing lands that are now
  northern Verbrek. Arkandale was quite similar to modern Verbrek in its landscape and culture, but
  home to far fewer werewolves.
  Nathan was aloof and unusually content. He was generally satisfied with life on the River
  Musarde aboard his paddleboat, the Virago. Nathan’s son Alfred, however, was a creature of
  profound hatred and bloodlust, who felt his father was too tolerant of humankind. When he
  betrayed and murdered a generous Vistana in 730 BC, Alfred became darklord of Verbrek, a
  wilderness of savage werewolves to the south of Arkandale. During the Grand Conjunction in 740
  BC, Arkandale and Verbrek merged into a single domain bearing the name of the latter. Nathan
  was released to wander the rivers of the Core, while Alfred found himself sole master of his newly
  expanded realm. To this day, Nathan continues to traverse the Core aboard the Virago, posing as
  a genial and enterprising river captain.
  
  71
  Verbrek
  One exception is the hooded wool cloak ubiq-
  uitous among male and female Verbrekers alike.
  These heavy garments protect the natives from the
  elements and are the most valued possessions that
  most Verbrekers own. Dyed dappled green and
  brown on one side, and white and brown on the
  other, they are reversible according to the season,
  camouflaging the wearer when he moves through
  the forest. Every Verbreker also carries a hand
  hatchet and hunting knife at all times, strapping
  them on the moment they arise in the morning.
  Though these items provide some minimal protec-
  tion against predators, they actually serve a far
  more practical purpose: Verbrekers detest being
  caught without the proper tool.
  Language
  Verbrekers speak their own curious dialect of
  Low Mordentish. Its characteristics include pro-
  tracted vowels and the hissing of air over the teeth.
  Few other tongues are spoken widely; even High
  Mordentish sounds stilted and unfamiliar on
  Verbreker tongues. The trickle of desperate outsid-
  ers who seek refuge here, however, ensures that
  there is always an unexpected voice or two to be
  found.
  Low Mordentish Primer
  English
  Low Mordentish
  forest
  weald
  river
  éa
  moon
  móna
  hunter
  hunta
  wolf
  ulph
  werewolf
  worulph
  dangerous, unwise
  bealu
  fool, outsider,
  civilized person
  ceasterbuend
  Lifestyle & Education
  To say that Verbrekers “make a living” at
  anything is misleading. Verbrekers concern them-
  selves first and foremost with survival. They
  
  72
  Report Three
  steadfastly pursue any task that aids them in their
  ceaseless struggle against nature.
  Some Verbrekers lead lives not unlike other
  peasants of the Core, farming and herding along
  the riverbanks. These folk usually raise a single
  crop or stock, selling whatever surplus they pro-
  duce to the river merchants. Having bound
  themselves so tightly to river commerce, such
  natives nurture close relationships with traders,
  who return to the same Verbreker farmsteads on a
  reliable schedule.
  Other Verbrekers follow a pattern closer to
  raw subsistence, raising plots of several grains and
  vegetables for their own needs, perhaps with chick-
  ens and a cow or two. The plants and creatures of
  the wild provide almost everything else they re-
  quire. Rarer are the Verbrekers who forsake the
  plow, hunting for game and gathering the fruits,
  nuts, and roots of the forest. These “wild men”
  dwell in wretched shelters or grottos deep in the
  wilderness, or they live an entirely nomadic exist-
  ence, sleeping high in the trees beyond the reach of
  the wolves.
  The harsh realties of daily life in Verbrek forge
  families with tight bonds. A strong, almost desper-
  ate sense of solidarity forms among kin; survival
  depends on each member of the family contribut-
  ing to the grueling struggle of everyday life. Many
  Verbreker children grow up in a single-room cot-
  tage in a remote hollow, rarely coming into contact
  with anyone outside their families.
  When a young Verbreker man reaches the age
  of fourteen or so, he leaves his home for a time and
  sets out alone into the forest in search of a wife.
  Verbrekers refer to this tradition as Thæt Lang Fær
  — the Long Walk. Parents do not lightly send their
  adolescent boys out among the wolves. The Long
  Walk is a serious affair, and the natives regard it as
  a test of courage, resolve, and resourcefulness. As
  he journeys, the youth sings uneasy prayers to the
  Wolf God, asking him to stay his hunger and allow
  “his prey” to find a mate, thereby ensuring a plen-
  tiful herd. Usually, the youth courts the first lass of
  similar age he stumbles upon, obtains the blessing
  of her family, and returns home within a fortnight.
  Nearly all marriages in Verbrek are arranged for
  convenience. Rarely, a boy may wander for months
  or even years, his familiarity with the forest grow-
  ing and the appeal of  settled life waning.
  Envisioning sentimental romance thriving
  among people who think of themselves primarily as
  wolf fodder is difficult. Married couples cling to one
  another more out of a sense of survival than marital
  fidelity. Nonetheless, Verbrekers exhibit strong
  devotion to their spouses, protecting one another
  fiercely until death. Verbrekan couples have ex-
  actly two children, no more, no less, controlling
  such matters through ancient herbal secrets. There
  is deeply rooted belief — not entirely unfounded
  — that the survival of the race depends on this
  standard. With a smaller population come defor-
  mities and vulnerability to catastrophe. Greater
  numbers risk culling by the fangs of the realm’s
  werewolves; I collected numerous anecdotes of the
  beasts carrying off the third child born into a
  family. Such anecdotes promote the superstition
  that a third child is always cursed with lycanthropy
  and that such attacks merely restore the child to its
  rightful kin.
  Parents teach their children the fundamentals
  of forest survival at an early age. Before they learn
  to read or write — if they learn at all — youngsters
  learn to shoot a bow, snare a rabbit, gather edible
  plants, navigate a river raft, and build a snow
  shelter. This emphasis on practical skills domi-
  nates Verbreker culture. The natives see little need
  for book learning and other “civilized” pursuits.
  They have nothing but contempt for the “soft-
  bellied” privileged folk who waste their lives in
  pursuit of science, politics, or philosophy.
  Though fortunate Verbrekers keep draft horses
  as beasts of burden, these creatures are unfeasible as
  mounts in the dense forests. Travel on foot is
  preferred. Racing home before packs of pursuing
  wolves has bred stamina and fleetness into the
  Verbrekers’ blood. Light on their feet, Verbrekers
  dash over rugged terrain with a deftness to make an
  elf envious. Natives also boast skill in navigating
  the modest river launches that carry them up and
  down the realm’s waterways. They pilot these craft
  with simple pole oars, slipping between treacher-
  ous eddies, gravel bars, and logjams.
  Verbrekers subsist on simple fare, preparing
  meals from the forest’s bounty. Though some supple-
  ment this with grains and vegetables from gardens,
  the wilds provide the bulk of their sustenance.
  There are no signature Verbreker recipes, per se.
  The natives eat whatever is at hand, prepared in
  the simplest manner possible. Game such as veni-
  son, rabbit, squirrel, and quail are staples. Natives
  roast meat without spices over an open flame,
  consuming it on the bone,  then preserve uneaten
  portions as a jerky, mixing it with sweet berries.
  River trout and salmon are prominent food sources,
  
  73
  Verbrek
  frequently salted and dried for the harsh winters.
  Stewed cabbage and potatoes from tiny gardens
  accompany edible grasses, roots, mushrooms, nuts,
  and fruits from the forest. Despite their normally
  simple tastes, Verbrekers are fond of fine beer,
  brewing with careful attention to flavor and body.
  Their golden lagers carry the distinct bitterness of
  local hops and an array of subtle flavors derived
  from forest wildflowers.
  Verbrekers are at home in the wilderness. The
  untamed forest is a familiar landscape to them.
  Nature and humankind coexist under an uneasy
  truce, and humanity is clearly the weaker faction,
  surviving through deference and passivity.
  Verbrekers readily admit to a healthy respect for
  the natural world, but their respect is tempered
  with fear. They witness the savagery of nature
  every day and feel its hot, cruel breath on their
  necks at night. They accept that they are doomed
  to be food for either wolves or worms, yet they
  harbor a passionate pride for their miserable way of
  life. They believe that to live close to the rhythms
  of the forest is to live honestly, nobly, and with
  honor — traits they see in short supply in the world
  beyond.
  Verbrekers live according to the patterns they
  see around them. They note that all their survival
  strategies came from watching the creatures of the
  forest and mimicking or adapting their tricks. Fol-
  lowing the lead of all prey creatures, Verbrekers
  prefer to flee or work around difficulties rather than
  confront them. Observation, patience, and wis-
  dom are their virtues. Verbrekers say outsiders who
  speak of “instinct” are missing the tapestry of
  sights, sounds, and smells that creatures absorb and
  act upon. Accordingly, Verbrekers are as edgy as
  any forest deer, vigilant for the slightest changes in
  their surroundings.
  Concerned with the fundamentals of survival,
  they devote little time to life’s pleasures. They seize
  upon moments of delight and amusement, usually
  in the slow hours of the night. Folk whittle tiny
  woodcarvings or play mumblety-peg when they
  have free moments. They find music in the sound
  of clapping hands and the buzz of flutes crafted from
  green shoots. Storytelling is the only enduring
  tradition, with the elderly as keepers of the folktales.
  Grandparents retell their favorite stories as the
  children in a household drift asleep to the sound of
  wolf howls. The only characters these legends
  feature are wolves, men, and beasts that merely
  walk like men. The eternally malicious wolves
  speak in such legends, yet the humans outwit them
  with amusing frequency.
  Charming. I would wager that the werewolf
  masters of this wretched land tell similar
  legends, albeit featuring greedy, gibbering
  apes wielding axe and flame, and the noble
  beasts that challenge them.
  Verbrekers are generally rough and churlish in
  their demeanor, especially with genteel outsiders.
  Though my attire, speech, and manner did not
  endear me to the locals, most recognized that a
  foreigner who had obviously been traveling alone
  through the Verbrekan wilds for weeks was not to
  be underestimated. Complete strangers often
  mocked and browbeat me at our first encounter,
  advising me to hasten my own death by offering
  myself to the wolves. This, I discovered, is as close
  as Verbrekers come to complimenting outsiders.
  To those they judge as lackwits, they cheerfully
  offer fabricated advice on wilderness survival —
  advice that is likely to weed the hapless soul out of
  the herd, so to speak.
  Attitudes Toward Magic
  Verbrekers respect and fear the might of
  spellcasters, despite exhibiting poor understanding
  of the arcane arts. Some Verbrekers go their whole
  lives without even meeting a spellcaster. To the
  natives, magic is merely another strategy for stay-
  ing ahead of the natural world, and like any strategy
  it has its advantages and drawbacks. The respect
  Verbrekers show spellcasters correlates to the na-
  ture of their magic. They treat sorcerers with
  reverence, believing their magic primordial and
  untainted by human meddling. Druids and rangers
  draw their power from nature itself and deserve awe
  and respect. Bards, clerics, paladins, and wizards
  are cast in a more suspicious light. To Verbrekers,
  studied magics are little different from science,
  philosophy, or any other useless discipline from the
  civilized world.
  Religion
  Verbrekers dwell in a twilight world of fear and
  scrabbling desperation, a world the prominent
  churches of the Core are generally unable to illu-
  minate. No cathedrals or temples adorn this realm;
  shrines in the homes of the faithful are the grandest
  places of worship. Most Verbrekers have little time
  
  74
  Report Three
  for faith, and they see few answers in the prayers
  and posturing of clergy. Under the crown of the
  ancient forests, the needs of the soul are ancillary
  to those of the body. Those Verbrekers who do turn
  to faith are usually seeking assurances in their daily
  lives rather than spiritual comfort. They do not
  want succor. They want a prolonged growing sea-
  son, true aim with their hunting bows, and swiftness
  and luck when wolves are at their heels.
  Ezra: Even the treacherous forests of Verbrek
  cannot bar the Church of Ezra, and today one finds
  a handful of Verbrekers who have accepted the
  grace of the Guardian. These rare souls follow not
  the teachings of the Mordentish See, but the Home
  Faith of Borca. I suspect the Mordentish doctrine
  of absolution and salvation for the wicked (includ-
  ing the legions of the night) is a touch too naïve for
  Verbrekers. Stoic guardianship and mercy for the
  wounded are easier commandments to swallow
  when howls fill the dark of night.
  Hala: Most religious Verbrekers count them-
  selves among the faithful of Hala. The goddess’
  message of harmony and wisdom appeals to the
  Verbreker sensibility, even if her mystical doctrine
  is sometimes lost on them. The Church of Hala is
  said to have arrived in Verbrek through a coura-
  geous warlock from Mordent, who came not to
  proselytize, but to protect the natives from the
  werewolf scourge. This warlock is thought to be
  responsible for the cossetung carr scattered through-
  out the Verbrekan forests. These tiny cairns, hidden
  among the ferns and bearing the symbol of the
  goddess, are rumored to conceal hunters from vo-
  racious predators when blessed with a kiss.
  The Wolf God: Despite the fact that the Wolf
  God is the most widely worshipped entity in
  Verbrek, few Verbrekers can speak with authority
  on the fundamentals of his faith. The Wolf God is
  the unholy patron of the werewolves, worshipped
  by no sane humanoid. Though he is a central figure
  in Verbreker myths, the Wolf God’s true followers
  are lycanthropes and a handful of deranged human
  cultists. He represents everything that the
  Verbrekers hate and fear about nature. They hold
  him in awe only insomuch as they live in terror of
  his children.
  This is not to say that the Verbrekers do not
  acknowledge the power of the Wolf God. They
  never speak his name aloud in Low Mordentish —
  Mæstealdulph — and take pains to avoid his wrath.
  No Verbreker would ever construct a shrine to the
  Wolf God or mark a possession with his holy
  symbol. They are not, however, above whispering
  prayers to the Enemy of Man in moments of fear.
  They flatter the Wolf God by extolling his strength
  and ferocity, beseeching him to show mercy to prey
  that is beneath his notice. They craft tiny effigies of
  forest creatures with twisted twigs, leaving them in
  the woods as sacrifices. Superstitious hunters offer
  the first animal they kill each autumn to the Wolf
  God, seeking to satiate him. Mothers swaddle their
  infants in cloth saturated with polecat musk, be-
  lieving that it conceals their scent from the Wolf
  God as he roams the forests at night.
  Once in a great while, Verbrekers whisper
  tentatively of humans who stand defiantly against
  the Wolf God and his children. Most Verbrekers
  chafe at the thought of these fools stoking the
  wrath of the werewolves. Members of the
  Woodcutter’s Axe, as they have been dubbed,
  believe the Wolf God hates humans because he
  fears them and covets the fruits of civilization.
  Members refuse to offer prayers or sacrifices to the
  Wolf God even out of fear. They seek to break the
  stranglehold of the werewolves in Verbrek and
  ultimately to topple the Wolf God himself. How
  they aim to accomplish this is unknown, as the Axe
  keeps close to the shadows and covers its tracks
  diligently, admittedly out of necessity. If I encoun-
  tered a member of the Woodcutter’s Axe during
  my travels in Verbrek, I was unaware of it at the
  time. Yet one old Verbreker woman assured me in
  low tones that there are prophecies in the oldest
  legends, legends told only on nights of the new
  moon. These speak of a third born child who will
  one day slay the Wolf God and drive the werewolves
  from the forests forever.
  Sadly, there exist aberrant individuals in every
  culture, and in Verbrek rumors persist of men who
  revere the Wolf God as master. These folk are
  solitary madmen rather than a cohesive cult or
  conspiracy, yet their sheer lunacy haunts the
  Verbreker consciousness, as exemplified in the
  myth of the Wolf God. It may be reverence for
  power, craven sycophancy, twisted attraction, or
  even grim fatalism that drives the rare Verbreker to
  betray his entire race. The realm’s werewolves
  supposedly claim as their own any humanoid who
  exalts the Wolf God; such zealots likely view lycan-
  thropy as an honor and a divine blessing. Personally,
  I suspect that most of these madmen are more likely
  to supplicate themselves right into the werewolves’
  gullets.
  
  75
  Verbrek
  The Wolf God Revisited
  This section expands upon the information presented in the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook.
  The Wolf God
  Symbol: A snarling wolf’s head or a single, bloody paw print.
  Alignment: Chaotic evil.
  Portfolio: Predators, the wilderness, hunting, savagery, blood, the moon, wolves, werewolves.
  Domains: Animal, Chaos, Slaughter (see Attached Notes), Strength, Trickery.
  Favored Weapon: Natural weapons.
  Nearly all of the Wolf God’s worshippers are werewolves, and only werewolves may become divine
  spellcasters in his clergy. The natural werewolves of Verbrek are the Wolf God’s most devoted followers,
  but scattered clans of lycanthropes throughout the southwestern Core also worship him. Those humanoid
  Verbrekers who choose to throw their lot in with the werewolves and their malicious deity are rare in the
  extreme. Elder priests among the Verbreker werewolves select only an honored few to join their ranks. Since
  they act as emissaries to the endlessly ravenous Wolf God, priests must follow strict taboos, lest their deity
  devour them. They must not be tainted with the scent of prey creatures, and any wounds on their bodies
  must be concealed at all times. The Wolf God has no holy text or orthodoxy; priests pass on the traditions
  of the faith to their successors through vicious, gruesome ordeals.
  Clerics of the Wolf God pray for their spells at sunset, when twilight shadows provide concealment to
  predators. Their worship bears little resemblance to the hymns and sermons of civilized faiths. Hunting is
  itself a sacred act, and the werewolves worship their god simply by following their natural inclinations.
  Priests engage in strange rites intended to prove their fanaticism and bestow terrifying visions. The Wolf
  God has a fondness for the sacrifice of powerful humanoids and other werebeasts, whose throats are torn
  out and bled to death.
  The Wolf God has no temples. Devout werewolves construct crude cairns of stone to honor him,
  adorned with bloody paw prints and the bones of slain victims. The Wolf God demands that his children
  respect and fear the moon, which is thought to hold power over fate. Rituals are coupled to the waxing and
  waning of the moon, and priests are always watchful for lunar omens, with eclipses considered particularly
  dire. The werewolves who serve the Wolf God are usually adepts, although clerics, druids, and even rangers
  are not unusual. Priests rarely pursue more than one class, as their duties demand vigilance and devotion.
  Dogma: Hunt. Kill. Feast. You are master of the forest and the nightmare of the civilized world. Do
  whatever it takes to survive, thrive, and breed. Slay the weak, even among your own kin, for they diminish
  your race. Revel in the crack of bone and the screams of prey. Follow your instincts. Do not let pity or remorse
  trouble you. Offer howls to the moon, for she knows your secrets and your fate. Honor wolves as your allies.
  All other creatures are prey to be eaten or rivals to be slain.
  
  76
  Report Three
  Secret Society: The Woodcutter’s Axe
  The legends most Verbrekers know comprise only half the tale. Though the children of the Wolf
  God have taken Verbrek from humanity, humanity is destined to take it back. The Woodcutter’s Axe
  has faith in the resolve and fortitude of humankind and in ancient tales that portend salvation from the
  werewolves’ jaws. Solitary avengers have hunted the lycanthropes since Verbrek first emerged from the
  Mists, but the Woodcutter’s Axe is the first organized plot against the werewolves’ supremacy. The Axe
  shuns those motivated by vengeance, preferring visionaries who are willing to risk their lives for a
  Verbrek free from fear.
  Secrecy is the foremost tenet of the Axe. Its members believe the werewolves’ eyes and ears are
  everywhere and spend considerable energy rooting out moles. Despite the lack of any formal organiza-
  tion or cell structure, the Woodcutter’s Axe maintains a remarkable network of mutual support among
  Verbrekers from all walks of life. Members provide safety and shelter to one another without question,
  recognizing their fellows by crude axe tattoos over the breastbone.
  Despite its noble rhetoric, the Woodcutter’s Axe is a ruthless gathering of rebels at heart. The
  prospect of a future free from werewolves justifies nearly anything in the minds of its members. They
  have burned swaths of forest, poisoned water supplies, and executed those who could not be released
  from the lycanthropic curse. The Axe lacks a commander, but the spiritual center of the organization
  is Noella Marshford (human female ex-Pal4/Rgr6, CG), a native Verbreker who entered the priesthood
  of the Church of Ezra in Borca, only to return to her homeland to liberate it from the werewolf menace.
  The Verbreker Hero
  Races: Most Verbrekers are humans, though the domain is home to a smattering of calibans,
  half-elves, and half-Vistani. Verbrekers generally accept these outcasts, provided they have dwelled
  among the native humans for some time. The Verbrekers reserve their suspicion for civilized
  outsiders, regardless of their race.
  Classes: Druids, fighters, rangers, and sorcerers are the most common classes in Verbrek. Druids
  and rangers act as emissaries between nature and humankind, promoting respect and caution toward
  the wilds. Fighters follow a less spiritual path, perfecting tactics that provide an edge in the forest
  landscape. Sorcerers are relatively common here, and many Verbrekers believe that the forests
  themselves touch these souls with eldritch power. Barbarians are uncommon, but not unheard of
  among the werewolves and toughened wanderers who dwell deep in the forests. Other classes are
  curiosities or outlanders far from civilization.
  Recommended Skills: Balance, Climb, Craft (bowmaking, carpentry, leatherworking), Heal,
  Hide, Jump, Knowledge (nature, shapechanger lore), Listen, Move Silently, Profession (boater,
  brewer, farmer, fisher, guide, herbalist, lumberjack, tanner), Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim.
  Recommended Feats: Alertness, Back to the Wall, Dodge (plus derivatives), Great Fortitude,
  Jaded, Lunatic, Point Blank Shot (plus derivatives), Run, Skill Focus (Knowledge [nature], Survival),
  Sworn Enemy*, Track, Warding Gesture*   Weapon Focus (battleaxe, dagger, handaxe, longbow,
  longsword, quarterstaff, shortspear, throwing axe).
  *See Van Richten’s Arsenal Volume I
  Verbreker Male Names: Agnan, Cadoc, Drenig, Ehoarn, Gilduin, Herveig, Jaoven, Kerrian,
  Maugan, Privael, Riwallan, Sklaer, Teyrn, Vonig, Youenn.
  Verbreker Female Names: Aven, Biganna, Enora, Flamenn, Goulvena, Joela, Kavanenn,
  Lennig, Maiwenn, Nevena, Paola, Rivanon, Sisilia, Vouga, Yuveot.
  
  77
  Verbrek
  Werewolves
  In Verbrek, the societies of humans and wolves
  blend at the edges, so establishing the exact pro-
  portion of werewolves within Verbrek’s total
  population is difficult at best. By some accounts,
  werewolves outnumber humans here by as much as
  three to one. The renowned werewolf slayer Patrick
  Conner advised me that the natives have exagger-
  ated this figure out of fear. Nonetheless, he estimates
  that the beasts number well over a thousand. All
  signs suggest that their population is burgeoning. I
  was fortunate to encounter Conner and his com-
  panion-in-arms Lynnet Tharel as I traveled through
  the Vale of Memory, and they provided me with
  fundamental details on werewolf society. Unfortu-
  nately, the pair obstinately refused to serve as
  guides through the Winterfang Crests. I gathered
  other facts from the anecdotes of numerous
  Verbreker commoners, as well as my own encoun-
  ters with the werewolves, which were fleeting but
  vivid.
  The natural werewolves of Verbrek generally
  follow one of two lifestyles, although the distinc-
  tion between the two is not always easy to draw.
  The creatures I shall term deceivers spend most of
  their lives in human form, masquerading as
  Verbreker commoners. These creatures dwell in
  river hamlets, leading seemingly normal lives as
  farmers, fishermen, or trappers. When night falls,
  however, they shed their peasant garments and
  human guise, loping through the forest in search of
  prey. They seem to thrive on this trickery, often
  maintaining the ruse for years or decades for their
  own perverse amusement. Deceivers tend to occur
  as lone wolves, if my patron will excuse the pun, or
  tight family groups. Yet Verbrekers often whisper
  fearfully of whole settlements of deceiver
  werewolves. Should an unlucky traveler stumble
  upon such a hamlet, he rarely leaves alive the next
  morning.
  Not all werewolves are content to live as
  humans, however. Those who reject this deception
  I call primitives, for they choose to exist as backward
  aboriginals. Dwelling in the wildest regions of the
  forests, they emerge to stage bloodthirsty raids on
  farmsteads. Primitives employ their shapeshifting
  ability only as an evasion or confusion tactic. They
  prefer their hybrid form, clothing themselves in
  little but savage regalia such as bones, feathers, and
  designs painted onto their hides with river mud or
  dried blood. Primitives worship the Wolf God
  openly, and their priests command terrifying di-
  Wolves at the Door
  The natural werewolves of Verbrek generally live in
  small family groups called packs, comprised of a mated pair
  of werewolves, their offspring, and perhaps a kinsman who
  is too young or old to lead his own pack. The pack’s survival
  rests on the strongest male, called the alpha. Packs maintain
  close ties with kin packs, with which they form a clan.
  Werewolves mate only with fellow clan members. In some
  clans, they earn the right to mate only after “blooded” by
  taking a human life. The status of the clan determines the
  hunting rights of affiliated packs. Accordingly, they fiercely
  defend the honor and territory of their clans, and any
  meeting between rival clans is likely to result in a bloody
  challenge between alphas. Clan names are derived from
  wolf-speak and are simplistic and fearsome — Sharptooth,
  Snowstalker, and Blackslayer Clans are typical examples.
  Clans follow one of three paths in their endless
  struggle for power. Clans that pursue similar strategies are
  not allied with one another by any means and tend to be
  bitter rivals. Clans living close to humanity are termed
  Sheepskinners. Sheepskinners are cunning and arrogant,
  delighting in trickery and violence in equal measure.
  They reason that shapeshifting is a blessing from the
  Wolf God, allowing them to hunt and observe humans
  with ease. Some Sheepskinner clans regularly venture
  outside Verbrek to forge alliances with other creatures or
  sample the pleasures of civilization. Other clans deride
  Sheepskinners as lazy, domesticated mongrels, hope-
  lessly consumed with the ways of humans.
  Stonebreakers are savages and ruthless advocates of
  werewolf supremacy. Stonebreaker clans believe they must
  forge their own society, free from the corrupting weakness
  of humanity. They raze human settlements and refuse to
  plunder, crafting their own crude tools and weapons from
  bone, wood, sinew, and stone. Stonebreakers are zealous
  followers of the Wolf God, believing that their race will one
  day rule the world. Other clans snicker at the ridiculous
  sight of Stonebreakers in feathers and war paint, dancing
  and chanting before a bonfire.
  Ghosthowlers are the most reclusive and vicious of all.
  Ghosthowler clans spend most of their lives in wolf form,
  running alongside wolves as their equals. They believe that
  the other clans have forgotten their roots and lurk in the
  wildest regions of the domain, rarely showing themselves to
  the Verbrekers. Ghosthowlers know that humans fear the
  unknown and contend that the other clans often forget
  this, foolishly exposing themselves to humans. They would
  rather abandon a woodsman’s maimed corpse in the forest
  for others to find than engage in raids and mass murder.
  Other clans regard howlers as dullards and backward beasts,
  little better than mundane wolves.
  
  78
  Report Three
  vine magic during hunts and raids. When
  Verbrekers speak of ghastly werewolf rites and
  blood sacrifices deep in the forest, they are referring
  to primitives. I suspect the crude stone monuments
  and strange glyphs in tree bark found throughout
  the realm are the handiwork of such.
  Witnesses have reported unmistakable hostil-
  ity between these two groups, but such conflicts
  seem territorial in nature. Practically speaking,
  human prey is limited in Verbrek, and werewolves
  compete ruthlessly for it. Patrick Conner described
  a revealing encounter, wherein he observed a raid-
  ing party of primitives who surrounded a solitary
  cottage to slaughter those within. A woodsman
  emerged from the hovel and began arguing venom-
  ously with the lycanthropes in the wolf-tongue.
  Much to the chagrin of the primitives, the woods-
  man was also a werewolf, a deceiver enraged that
  the primitives had encroached on his hunting
  territory.
  Despite this rift, common threads run through
  the entire werewolf population. All acknowledge
  the Wolf God as creator and patron. All are ruth-
  less predators, unable or unwilling to rise above
  their feral urges. To say that they have their own
  values, however monstrous, is erroneous. They
  value only survival, understand only strength and
  fear, and take pleasure only from their carnal pur-
  suits. While some exhibit remarkable cleverness
  and charisma, even the most elaborate werewolf
  scheme is limited in its aims. Werewolves rarely
  undertake anything that does not contribute to the
  survival and prosperity of their race or to their
  personal amusement. Even acts of malicious cru-
  elty ultimately serve to terrorize the humanoid
  populace, break its spirit and ensure its submission.
  The Realm
  erbrek has no centralized authority or
  government. The Vebrekers recognize
  no monarch as master, nor do they ap-
  point councilors to administer matters
  of state. In truth, there is no “state” to
  speak of in Verbrek. The Verbrekers live without
  the paternal watchfulness of a government; they
  have no army, no laws, and no courts. They are
  quite literally on their own.
  The sheer wildness of the realm’s landscape
  proves a hindrance to any authority that sought to
  assert its power throughout the land. The funda-
  mental actions of government, such as taxation
  and the raising of an army, are unfeasible when
  even the most primitive infrastructure is lacking.
  Kings cannot exercise their authority without roads
  on which to move soldiers and bureaucrats (it goes
  without saying that Falkovnian attempts to estab-
  lish enclaves along the Musarde have ended poorly).
  The character of the Verbrekers may be a more
  significant hindrance than the realm itself, how-
  ever. The natives do not seem the type to suffer the
  stifling hand of law and order. The presence of the
  merciless wilderness, so close to their doors, has
  lent a savagery to the Verbreker outlook. Just as any
  attempt to tame the wilds can only result in misery
  and death, the Verbrekers believe that any attempt
  to enforce laws and control folk is foolhardy and
  counterproductive.
  Verbrekers see the natural state of humanity as
  scattered thinly through the wild, living together
  in families or tiny communities. Each man is re-
  sponsible only to himself and his kin. His survival
  depends on his own resourcefulness and fortitude
  alone. Catastrophic changes would accompany the
  “civilizing” of Verbrek: slavery, plague, famine,
  fanaticism, oppression, and war. Such changes
  would be contrary to nature and would likely drive
  Verbrek’s werewolf masters to further acts of car-
  nage and cruelty.
  Government
  Each settlement and farmstead in Verbrek is a
  state unto itself. They answer to no one and have
  no one to turn to in times of hardship. Hamlets
  with more than five or six families usually organize
  a council of elders, or gemot, to resolve matters that
  affect the whole settlement. The eldest male from
  each household sits on the gemot, which assembles
  whenever there are pressing concerns to discuss.
  There are no formal rules governing how the gemot
  conducts itself. The gemot may meet spontane-
  ously, as discussion turns to serious local matters
  during a neighborly gathering. Elders take turns
  speaking, with each man offering his thoughts. The
  gemot attempts to reach a consensus when pos-
  sible, but matters that cannot be resolved are put to
  a simple majority vote. The elders do not conceal
  their proceedings from others; even women and
  outsiders may bring their concerns to the table.
  Verbreker hamlets have no laws. The gemot
  resolves any disputes between neighbors and pro-
  nounces punishments when necessary. This is a
  rare occurrence, as Verbrekers have little time for
  troublemaking. With every household teetering
  on the edge of survival, jealousy and resentment
  
  79
  Verbrek
  find no room to find root. Verbrekers see peace and
  unity as the essential feature that distinguishes
  them from beasts. Why waste energy on bloody
  struggles for resources and power, when simple
  respect and decency contribute to the survival of
  everyone? Such a naïve sentiment functions well
  here, even if it is folly in the world beyond.
  There is no need for law enforcement, but
  natives require protection from natural predators,
  marauding werewolves, and hostile outsiders.
  Verbrekers tutor all male children in wrestling,
  boxing, archery, and swordplay. Hunting sharpens
  their skills, and all youths are seasoned warriors by
  the time they enter manhood. Every male Verbreker
  defends his home at need. Hamlets have no stand-
  ing militias, but fathers encourage their oldest sons
  — and occasionally their daughters as well — to
  organize the settlement’s defenses. It is these bold
  youths, called hleo, who construct crude fortifica-
  tions and pore over evacuation plans. The hleo are
  the first defenders rampaging wolves and
  lycanthropes encounter should they assault a
  Verbreker hamlet.
  them. This is fortunate, for though its native folk
  would never admit as much, Verbrek’s fragile soci-
  ety would almost certainly wither away without the
  commerce flowing along the Musarde and Arden
  rivers. The Verbrekers wouldn’t starve without
  trade. Natives could survive on the bounty of the
  forest, but without steel, salt, horses, and wheat,
  Verbrek would revert to a primitive state of savage
  clans and beast cults.
  The soil of Verbrek’s forests is rich and black,
  the realm’s climate excellent for growing crops.
  When the gnarled undergrowth is cleared away, an
  array of grains and vegetables can flourish wher-
  ever rays of sunlight break through the canopy.
  Though wheat grows stunted on Verbrekan soil,
  oats, barely, and hops thrive. Massive ginger-col-
  ored local potatoes prosper in the damp earth along
  with cabbages, leeks, and parsnips. Mild green
  peppers, brought to the southwestern Core from a
  distant realm, also grow well.
  Most settled Verbrekers raise cattle and sheep
  for their own needs, but the lack of extensive
  grazing lands precludes broad commercial hus-
  bandry. Nonetheless, some natives have adopted
  fine cheesemaking techniques from Richemulot,
  enhancing the curd with forest lichens and wild-
  flower pollens. Hogs and chickens both fare well in
  crowded pens, growing fat on fodder mixed with
  native nuts and seeds.
  Domestic plants and animals provide a supple-
  ment to the abundant foods and resources the
  forest already holds. The natives gather a stagger-
  ing array of plants from the wilderness: wild cherries,
  acorns, hazelnuts, juniper berries, fern fiddleheads,
  and a plethora of mushrooms. Many Verbrekers are
  skilled herbalists, but their expertise tends to be
  limited to simple curatives and poisons.
  River merchants seek brown trout, salmon,
  and freshwater oysters from Verbrek. Unfortu-
  nately, Verbrekers still fish with modest nets and
  archaic methods, and cannot keep pace with the
  demand from beyond their borders. The hunters
  and trappers of the realm cull a wealth of game and
  furs from the forest. Nobles in other realms clamor
  for wolf pelts from Verbrek, attracted to their
  sinister mystique as much as their warmth. Indus-
  trious Verbrekers carve soft river clay from exposed
  ridges, selling it for use in fine ceramics in the
  workshops of Invidia and Richemulot.
  Timber is a sensitive matter in Verbrek. Gen-
  erally, the natives only believe in felling what they
  need to construct proper homes for themselves and
  Law Enforcement
  A Verbreker defender can be used to
  represent any native who takes up arms to
  protect her home and family.
  Verbreker Hleo:
  Verbreker Hleo:
  Verbreker Hleo:
  Verbreker Hleo:
  Verbreker Hleo: Human War1; CR 1/2; Medium human-
  oid (human); HD 1d8, hp 4; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 12,
  touch 10, flat-footed 12; Base Atk +1; Grp +2; Atk +2
  melee (1d8+1/19–20, longsword) or +2 melee (1d6+1/
  x3, handaxe) or +2 melee (1d4+1/19–20, dagger) or +2
  ranged (1d8/x3, longbow); Full Atk +2 melee (1d8+1/
  19–20, longsword) or +2 melee (1d6+1/x3, handaxe)
  or +2 melee (1d4+1/19–20, dagger) or +2 ranged (1d8/
  x3, longbow); AL N; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +0; Str 13,
  Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
  Skills and Feats: Climb +3, Jump +3,
  Sense Motive +1, Survival +2, Swim +3;
  Run, Weapon Focus (longbow).
  Possessions: Longsword, handaxe, silver
  dagger, longbow, 20 arrows, leather armor,
  Verbrekan cloak (+2 circumstance bonus to
  Hide checks).
  Economy
  For all its wildness, Verbrek possesses many
  valuable resources, and the kingdoms beyond its
  forests will go to considerable lengths to obtain
  
  80
  Report Three
  to produce essential weapons and tools. They gather
  dead wood for fuel in their hearths, steadfastly
  refusing to clear forest merely to civilize the land-
  scape. Rarely, the Verbrekers negotiate the
  harvesting of a solitary copse when there is a
  critical need for goods from outside realms. Such
  harvests have a sinister repute, as the lumberjacks
  often go missing or fall victim to strange accidents.
  Merchants who lay claim to timber without any
  cooperation or consent from the Verbrekers usu-
  ally suffer a far more gruesome fate at the hands of
  the werewolves.
  Verbrekers produce little of value beyond what
  they coax from their surroundings. One finds few
  forges or workshops, though a smattering of arti-
  sans produce simple goods in their homes to sell to
  the rivermen. Verbreker folk crafts tend toward
  simplicity and practicality, ranging from quilts, to
  dolls, to wooden chests, to (supposedly) protective
  amulets and talismans — all manner of moderately
  artistic but unspectacular trinkets. The principle
  workplace is the local brewhouse, a communal
  cottage in most hamlets of half a dozen families or
  more. Here, Verbreker men gather to develop
  distinctive brews with sour hops, their labors more
  a social pastime than a commercial endeavor.
  Verbrekers deal in barter rather than cur-
  rency, and exchanges between Verbrekers tend to
  be pragmatic and straightforward. A farmer may
  exchange several bushels of vegetables for a trapper’s
  pelts. Verbrekers are shrewder with outsiders, ne-
  gotiating with the skill of seasoned city shopkeeps.
  An unspoken perception of mutual dependence
  exists between the Verbrekers and foreign river
  merchants, however, and the natives are careful
  not to antagonize their patrons. Settlers along the
  riverbanks may occasionally consent to payment
  in Mordentish, Richemuloise, or Invidian coin,
  provided that there are forthcoming opportunities
  to dump the currency on river traders.
  Diplomacy
  If one were to ask the ruler of any neighboring
  realm about their “diplomatic relations” with
  Verbrek, the response would probably be either
  laughter or a grim scowl. Without exception, other
  lands regard Verbrek as a trackless backwater popu-
  lated by filthy peasants who spend most of their
  time fleeing from fearless beasts. Verbrekers have a
  low opinion of the world outside the forests. Civi-
  lization, as they see it, is a ruse promoted by nobles
  smitten with luxury.
  While few folk outside of Verbrek give the
  Verbrekers themselves a second thought, the
  werewolves are always on the minds of those who
  dwell close to the realm’s borders. Every year, more
  victims suffer encounters outside Verbrek with
  marauding primitives, who seem to slaughter and
  abduct hapless folk at random. Even more trou-
  bling, packs of deceivers have been found in villages
  as far-flung as Karina, Levkarest, and Mordentshire.
  These creatures may merely be wandering in search
  of twisted diversions, or they may be conducting
  reconnaissance and forging ties with other hostile
  groups.
  Borca: Situated upstream of Verbrek on the
  Luna River, Borca reaps scant wealth from trade
  along the Musarde, while still suffering from
  werewolf attacks. Nonetheless, Ivan Dilisnya has
  little interest in expending the realm’s energies on
  patrols for its southwestern border. For as long as
  the victims are limited to peasants from the rural
  fringes, Borca’s owners will likely remain apathetic
  to the werewolf threat.
  Invidia: Perhaps more than any other ruler
  whose lands border Verbrek, Malocchio Aderre
  has grown annoyed at the presence of the
  werewolves. Commerce between Verbrek and
  Invidia is extensive, but has encouraged the move-
  ment of werewolves across the border. In 748,
  Malocchio’s army rooted out an underground com-
  munity of werewolves in Karina, where they had
  been staging blood sports with a rogue Falkovnian
  merchant colony. Determined to ferret out
  Verbreker werewolves in his demesne, Malocchio
  has ruthlessly hunted down one pack after another.
  Being predators, the werewolves are unable to back
  away from the conflict and respond by venturing
  into Invidia in even greater numbers.
  Mordent: The Mordentish fear Verbrekan
  forests, which skulk beyond the southeastern tip of
  their homeland, seemingly steeped in shadow and
  fangs. They nonetheless feel a distant kinship with
  the Verbrekers, regarding them as unfortunate
  victims of a hostile landscape. The Verbrekers,
  however, do not necessarily welcome the paternal
  pity of the Mordentish.
  Richemulot: Richemulot profits from trade
  with the Verbrekers. Many commodities brought
  downstream find their way to Richemuloise plaza
  markets. Nonetheless, the lupine threat remains a
  wildcard. Escalating wolf attacks add to the unrest
  that already plagues rural western Richemulot.
  Eventually, the patience of Jacqueline Renier may
  
  81
  Verbrek
  reach the breaking point, and her elite soldiers will
  push into northern Verbrek in search of werewolf
  prey.
  Sithicus: Sithicans have little use for Verbrek,
  since there are few goods the Verbrekers produce
  that they cannot obtain themselves. Sithicans con-
  sider  Verbrekers beneath their notice, while
  Verbrekers regard Sithicus as the Sunset Lands,
  where civilizations older than humanity have with-
  drawn to molder. The elves cautiously patrol their
  northern border with Verbrek, watchful for
  werewolf marauders. These forces stand ready to
  strike should the need arise, but menaces often pass
  by the time the elven nobles resolve to act.
  Valachan: The Valachani harbor a lifestyle
  and an outlook similar to those of the Verbrekers,
  yet hold its neighbor at arm’s length. The Valachani
  are wary of the ravaging wolves and fear that more
  extensive contact might provoke further attacks.
  Verbrekers see this reluctance as a sign that they
  have no allies in their battle against nature. Inter-
  estingly, the enforcers of Baron von Kharkov,
  hated though they may be, do a commendable job
  of butchering any wolves they find wandering the
  borders.
  Sites of Interest
  y route through Verbrek was far more
  circuitous than those I followed in other
  realms, as I entered the forests with no
  notion of what landmarks lay ahead. I
  relied solely on my own judgment, fol-
  lowing the rivers and sparse signs of civilization.
  On more than one occasion, I wandered for days in
  the wilds without encountering a single soul. The
  hamlets scattered across Verbrek are wretched
  little way stations, and only two deserve note, for
  very different reasons.
  Fylfot
  The hamlet of Fylfot huddles northwest of the
  Vale of Memory, along the Rarung River. The folk
  survive by raising vegetables and gathering the
  bounty of the forest. Fylfot contends with persis-
  tent wolf and werewolf attacks. The hamlet’s hleo
  constructed the mightiest palisades I saw in the
  whole realm, complete with gates, traps, and primi-
  tive siege defenses.
  Where to Stay in Fylfot
  Fylfot offers no inns or spare housing of any
  kind. If one intends to spend the night under a dry
  roof, one must make arrangements with the owner
  of that home. I was able to acquire lodging in the
  hovel of Ivona Miller, Fylfot’s midwife, with the
  gift of a few rare Borcan herbs.
  Fylfot (thorp):
  Fylfot (thorp):
  Fylfot (thorp):
  Fylfot (thorp):
  Fylfot (thorp): Conventional; AL CN; 40 gp limit;
  Assets 134 gp; Population 67; Isolated (humans
  100%).
  Authority Figures: Tremeur Hallowmore, male hu-
  man Ftr2 (hleo watch commander).
  Important Characters: Ivona Miller, female human
  Exp3 (elderly midwife and herbalist).
  Alyssum
  At the eastern edge of the Ghostflame Bot-
  toms lies Alyssum, a hamlet that has prospered
  from trade with Karina along the Noisette River.
  The fur trade in particular is a strong component of
  village life, and most locals are trappers by trade.
  This struck me as odd, since when Verbrekers
  gather together, it is almost always in farming
  communities. Outwardly, Alyssum resembles any
  A Town Without Pity
  Every resident of Alyssum is a
  Sheepskinner werewolf, arising from three
  packs of the Whiteye clan, which, in a
  unusual move for their race, banded to-
  gether to exploit the brisk Invidian trade
  along the Noisette. The lycanthropes pre-
  sented a prosperous, open face to the traders
  that moved through their hamlet and re-
  mained discreet with respect to the wanton
  murder of strangers. They select only vic-
  tims who will not be missed. Most Verbreker
  werewolves regard the Alyssums as freaks,
  sneering that they have forgotten how to
  hunt, growing fat like swine living on the
  slop poured into their troughs.
  Alyssum (thorp):
  Alyssum (thorp):
  Alyssum (thorp):
  Alyssum (thorp):
  Alyssum (thorp): Monstrous; AL NE; 40 gp limit;
  Assets 124 gp; Population 62; Isolated (werewolves
  100%).
  Authority Figures: Meogon, male human werewolf
  Rgr3 (prominent Whiteye Clan alpha).
  Important Characters: Gwennael, female caliban
  werewolf Brd2 (mistress of the challenge);
  Catamanus, male human werewolf Adp3 (bonecaster
  and alchemist
  
  82
  Report Three
  other Verbreker hamlet — that is, plain, grubby,
  and rough around the edges. The villagers, how-
  ever, were exceedingly warm and pleasant, which
  at once raised my suspicions. They seemed too
  keen to learn who I was, where I had come from,
  and where I was headed. They offered food and
  lodging out of the goodness of their hearts, encour-
  aging me to spend the night. Having already dealt
  with the gruff, pushy, independent Verbrekers for
  several weeks, the demeanor of Alyssum seemed
  out of place. Fortunately, three riverboats were
  docked there, and with foreign merchants and
  laborers milling nearby, I did not feel quite so
  vulnerable. Still, tales of werewolf villages were
  fresh in my mind, and I elected to leave Alyssum
  and its unsettling civility well before sunset.
  Duskpeace Lodge
  Northwest of the Winterfang Crests, a day’s
  journey from the Valachan border, stands
  Duskpeace Lodge. I stumbled upon it quite acci-
  dentally. The Lodge is a massive stone structure, its
  construction more befitting a fortress or prison
  than an estate. Oddly enough, every one of the
  structure’s heavy steel doors and barred windows
  possess sturdy locks both within and without.
  The masters of Duskpeace Lodge, Argent and
  Celia Whitmoor, proved to be courteous hosts, but
  the strangeness of their home suggested that not all
  was as it appeared. The Whitmoors claimed to be
  recent Mordentish émigrés, having built the Lodge
  as a sanctuary for lost travelers and outcasts seeking
  refuge in Verbrek. They hosted at least a dozen guests
  beside me at the time. All had a haunted desperation
  about them; most huddled in their quarters as secure
  as any dungeon captive. The Whitmoors were pleas-
  ant but evasive; they served me a surprisingly
  appetizing meal, but despite their professed generos-
  ity would not permit me to spend the night.
  When I spoke over dinner of the Winterfang
  Crests and my failure to retain a guide who would
  venture into the region, a grizzled woodsman by the
  name of Gwalon offered his services. Though the
  Whitmoors voiced concern at my undertaking
  such a journey, I brushed aside their protests and
  departed at once with my newfound guide. Gwalon
  confided that he knew the location was the most
  significant werewolf site in all Verbrek. Even ap-
  proaching the area was exceedingly dangerous, but
  he acknowledged my uncommon courage and re-
  solve and consented to take me to this sacred site,
  which he called only the Circle.
  Secret Society:
  The Duskpeace Outcasts
   In Verbrek, natural werewolves rarely
  molest those they have already afflicted. Some
  afflicted werewolves live in awe of the crea-
  tures that cursed them and act as willing
  accomplices to their unholy deeds. Rare souls
  among the afflicted call for harmony between
  humans and werewolves, encouraging their
  natural kin to hunt humans only when hungry
  and to limit their quarry to the old and the frail.
  The majority, however, contend with the hun-
  ger alone and in secret. When they are far from
  settlements there is little risk of them harming
  fellow Verbrekers, and natural werewolves suf-
  fer them to live.
  Argent and Celia Whitmoor are afflicted
  lycanthropes from the same bloodline, prog-
  eny of a “Black Wolf” they could never find.
  They possess a strong degree of sympathy for
  those similarly cursed and believe that af-
  flicted lycanthropes can live peacefully if they
  withdraw from civilization. To that end,
  Duskpeace Lodge serves as a sort of halfway
  house for afflicted lycanthropes. Within, fugi-
  tives who struggle with their curse find a secure
  haven to spend their “bad nights.” The sturdy
  construction of the Lodge ensures that those
  who wish to remain within do so, while its
  remoteness ensures that those who wander
  when the curse takes holds pose no risk to
  innocents. Some guests apply themselves to
  the mastery of the beast within, as Argent and
  Celia have done, often pursuing the moonchild
  prestige class (see the Attached Notes).
  Over time, as more werewolves have been
  drawn to the Lodge, Argent (human afflicted
  werewolf ex-Pal7/MnC3, LG) and Celia (hu-
  man afflicted werewolf Ftr4/MnC4, LG) have
  gained some measure of fame beyond their
  home. Afflicted lycanthropes throughout
  Verbrek and surrounding domains have begun
  to carry word of Duskpeace Lodge and the
  succor that one can find there. Gradually, a
  network of support and sympathy for afflicted
  lycanthropes is growing throughout the south-
  western Core.
  
  83
  Verbrek
  The Circle and Final Thoughts
  Before I turn to my last destination in Verbrek,
  allow me to conclude my thoughts on the realm as
  a whole. Verbrek is a hostile wilderness with little
  to offer an ambitious ruler. Its resources can be
  obtained from other realms with far less effort and
  risk. Its sparse populace of coarse commoners is
  unlikely to bend to the will of any potentate. Its
  werewolves are numerous, and in their native for-
  ests they have a distinct advantage. Conquering
  Verbrek is not an appealing prospect. Annihilat-
  ing Verbrek would be equally challenging, requiring
  a mammoth effort of manpower or magic to clear
  and burn back the forest to the last tree.
  The Circle is the subject of much fearful leg-
  end among Verbrekers. Though a few natives spat
  that it is no more than a folktale, many assured me
  that it is the most holy of werewolf sacred sites.
  Here, werewolf primitives supposedly conduct blood
  sacrifices and other gruesome rites under the full
  moon. The Wolf God himself is whispered to
  appear to his fearsome followers on rare holy days,
  towering over the stones that ring the circle.
  The moon provided ample illumination as
  Gwalon and I carefully picked our way through the
  dense forests of the Winterfang Crests. Eventually,
  my guide wordlessly noted that we were close to our
  destination, and I took the opportunity to conceal
  ourselves from the sharp senses of any lycanthropes
  we might encounter. As we pressed forward, my
  eyes caught the baleful glow of a bonfire and the
  silhouettes of loping creatures. Through the trees I
  at last glimpsed a throng of lupine figures dancing,
  chanting, and howling amid a ring of dolmens.
  I stood transfixed, unable to look away from
  such a sight. An enormous circle of upright stones
  spread out before me in a forest clearing, each
  dolmen carved with crude glyphs and spattered
  with the blood of countless sacrifices. Humanoid
  bones were scattered everywhere, so thick in some
  places that I could not see the trampled earth
  beneath.
  Among the stones, over 200 werewolves in
  hybrid form capered like demons. Clad in bone
  trinkets and savage war paint, they chanted in a
  growling mishmash of Mordentish and wolf-speak.
  Some beat relentlessly on hollow logs, filling the
  
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  Report Three
  glade with a frantic heartbeat. Others writhed on
  the ground as though possessed or danced in unset-
  tling patterns. Fresh blood covered their maws, and
  many bore hideous scars — some recent battle
  wounds, others apparently the products of ritual
  scarification. The undead of Necropolis seemed
  like guttering flames compared to the raw rage and
  vitality in these creatures. Here was life, in all its
  hideous, unfeeling, brutal, frenzied majesty.
  My eyes settled on a werewolf who could only
  have been the high priest. It was a terrifying crea-
  ture with dense, silver hair, dressed in elaborate
  ceremonial garb that marked it as an emissary of
  the Wolf God. In contrast to its kin, the creature
  stood like a stony judge, surveying the bloody
  revelry with an unfeeling gaze.
  Unfortunately, a sudden shout brought my
  reverie to an end. To my shock and rage, I discov-
  ered that my guide had risen to his feet and was
  bellowing loudly in Mordentish, “Messenger of the
  God! I bring you a sacrifice! I bring a man-bitch
  that dares defile these stones! Her flesh is yours to
  feast upon!”
  The beasts suddenly ceased their vile festivi-
  ties and, as one, turned to glare where I was
  concealed in shadow. Bloodlust and frenzy glit-
  tered in their eyes, and in a heartbeat the entire
  pack was rushing toward me on all fours, while the
  high priest urged his faithful on with a hideous
  howl.
  Feeling only boundless fury, I lunged toward
  my traitorous guide. His flesh rippled as the
  lycanthropic change began, but he would have no
  chance to claim any glory from my death. If I was
  doomed, my betrayer would not taste another
  breath. I unsheathed my pistols, forced both muzzles
  savagely into his chest, and pulled the triggers. His
  wolf eyes opened wide as the hot silver ripped his
  heart asunder. I did not even linger to see him hit
  the ground, but as I turned to flee, the first werewolf
  in the onrushing pack struck me like a thunderbolt.
  It snatched me in crushing jaws, and, turning with
  its pack mates back toward the Circle, dragged me
  like a bloody rag doll before the high priest.
  Stunned, I was only vaguely aware as the
  creature pinned me beneath its massive paws. It
  sneered in garbled Low Mordentish, “You trespass,
  prey. Now you will feed the God.” The assembled
  werewolves then parted, revealing a gloomy deer
  trail that ran from the edge of the clearing deep into
  the forest. “You will run. Then we will chase. If you
  are strong, maybe you get away. If you are weak, we
  eat you while you still scream.” Mauled and bewil-
  dered, I at last gathered the creature’s meaning.
  They wished to make a game of my death — and
  “game” of me.
  No matter how remote my escape seemed, I
  could not reject a slim chance to reach safety, or,
  barring that, at least to die on my feet. Still dazed,
  I rose and stumbled out of the clearing, brushing
  aside thorny briars and slipping on damp leaves.
  Gradually, the surreal reality of my circumstance
  dawned on me, and I began to run as I have never
  run in my life.
  My recollection of my flight remains hazy and
  disjointed. Even as my chest burned with fire and
  my limbs pulled me down as if made of lead, the
  howls and rushing steps at my back drove me on. I
  ran blindly, heading what I assumed was west
  toward the Valachani border. Eventually, above
  the maddening howls, I heard the rush of a swiftly
  flowing river ahead of me. The trees parted, and I
  saw the glittering black waters of the Ulvflod
  before me. For a moment, I allowed myself a glim-
  mer of hope, as the river might offer an egress from
  this cursed realm.
  It was not to be. Within sight of the river, the
  jaws of one of my pursuers closed around my leg,
  tearing my hamstring and crushing my bones. I fell,
  the cold, damp carpet of leaves beneath me and the
  hot fur of a hulking beast above me. My final
  moments were a fading whirlwind of feral snarls, as
  the werewolves swarmed over me to feed. Black-
  ness and teeth enfolded me, and pain surrendered
  to sweet oblivion….
  
  85
  Valachan
  Report Four:
  Valachan
  Nothing but those terrible eyes was visible, but in the dreadful
  tumult of her feelings as the situation disclosed itself to her under-
  standing she somehow knew that the animal was standing on its
  hinder feet, supporting itself with its paws on the window-ledge.
  That signified a malign interest — not the mere gratification of an
  indolent curiosity. The consciousness of the attitude was an added
  horror, accentuating the menace of those awful eyes, in whose
  steadfast fire her strength and courage were alike consumed.
  — Ambrose Bierce, “The Eyes of the Panther”
  Report Four:
  Valachan
  
  86
  Report Four
   suspect that my escape from the Circle
  will come as no surprise to my patron,
  although the exact method of my doing
  so remains mysterious to me.
  I returned to my senses to find my-
  self far from Verbrek, draped over a luxurious
  woolen rug beside a merrily crackling fire. Disori-
  ented, not understanding how I had escaped from
  the werewolves, my first action was to check the
  back of my neck. The skin was unbroken; the fierce
  pressure had left no trace upon me. My clothes and
  gear, however, were oddly unsettling. To any stan-
  dard inspection they were unchanged, yet they
  felt… unfamiliar. Admittedly, my nebulous unease
  was based on nothing more than a misplaced stitch
  here, a missing scuff there, and likely the result of
  rattled nerves following my inexplicable escape.
  Only the bracer my patron had given me felt the
  same.
  The scent of fresh, hot food reached me from
  a bowl beside the fire. When I went to the door, I
  discovered that I was in a private home in Helbenik
  and there was fresh mud on the door jam. Whoever
  brought me here had left moments before I awoke,
  leaving me confused and feeling violated. Although
  I waited several hours, the householders never
  returned. I did find a spot of blood on one of the
  rugs. Later, I established that at least two weeks had
  passed since my last recollection.
  Does the key to my mysterious escape belong
  with you and your magical bracer, patron? Every
  instinct and scrap of evidence tells me that it does,
  but I also know you will never willingly reveal the
  truth to me. Once more, I am forced to play the
  simpleton while you toy with petty secrets.
  Such truths are worth discovering on your
  own, little scholar. All will become clear in
  time.
  
  87
  Valachan
  Landscape
  alachan’s most notable feature is the
  lush evergreen forests that cover almost
  the entire region. Ancient, massive trees
  shrouded by cool fog and a thick beard
  of moss host eerie hoots and growls that
  echo through the hollows. The chill air breathes
  heavy with the primeval scent of damp redwoods.
  Beneath this verdant canopy, the treacherously
  rugged ground winds in ridges and narrow canyons
  through the realm, providing shelter for predators,
  and preventing easy travel. Though temperate,
  Valachan is exceedingly wet, with frequent, heavy
  rainfall, which makes the ground near the lips of
  these canyons exceptionally unstable. Landslides
  and rock falls are frequent.
  Tiny thorps and hamlets cluster densely in
  Valachan, bustling pockets of industry in the
  eldritch wilderness. Most are only a few miles
  apart, but broken ground means travel takes far
  longer than linear distance would suggest. I found
  the trackless forest almost impossible to navigate;
  without sun or stars to guide you, the fog quickly
  becomes disorienting and you walk in circles. Some
  locals claim the forest spirits deliberately mislead
  travelers for their own amusement. Local guides
  are essential for all but those with a faultless sense
  of direction.
  One road crosses the country from north to
  south, linking Mordentshire and Ungrad via
  Helbenik and Rotwald. The road varies in quality
  from narrow, unmade tracks to sequoia trunks, split
  in half and buried longways in the mud to provide
  a flat, stable surface for wagons. Once across the
  Valachan border, the road from Mordentshire to
  Helbenik becomes known as the New Road, so
  called because it was hastily constructed after the
  Great Upheaval. Another road, more carefully
  made but now falling into disrepair, curves slowly
  east-northeast from Helbenik before stopping
  abruptly at the Verbrek border. This Old Road
  linked Helbenik to Hroth until Valachan’s violent
  relocation during the Great Upheaval.
  Heading south from Helbenik, the Broken
  Road stretches past Castle Pantara to Rotwald and
  then Ungrad. The latter takes its name from its
  frequent interruptions by rough terrain, prompting
  hair-raising descents into canyons, rickety bridge
  crossings and swift river fords. In truth, however,
  those roads with more inviting names are equally
  difficult to traverse, and the Broken Road has the
  advantage of being well-traveled and dotted with
  small settlements where one can stay the night.
  Finally, five miles south of Rotwald, the Broken
  Road spawns the Elf Road, which leads to Mal-
  Erek.
  Given the difficult nature of Valachan’s roads,
  most travelers unsurprisingly use the Arden River.
  Both Rotwald and Helbenik are built near the
  Arden’s tributaries. Helbenik is on the violent
  River of Salmon, which provides an obvious staple
  for the Helbeniki. Rotwald sits near the more
  sedate River of Gold, so named for the flecks and
  small nuggets of gold that appear in the water as it
  erodes the precious metal deposits below the river
  bed. The Arden’s other main tributary is the wide,
  slow Ulvflod (Wolf River), which flows from Verbrek
  and is closely guarded to protect Valachan from
  vicious beasts and raiding parties. All of these
  rivers and thousands of rocky streams across
  Valachan teem with salmon and trout.
  The Valachani have taken a characteristically
  pragmatic approach to naming their forests. The
  Broad Forest stretches from the Mordentish border
  to Ungrad and from the edge of the world to the
  Broken Road. Home to hundreds of tiny hamlets,
  it also holds vast tracts of forest where humanity
  rarely intrudes. These areas grow more frequent
  toward the Misty Border, where spirits and unnatu-
  ral occurrences are more common. The colder
  forested hills southeast of Ungrad are known as
  Bakkelande (Hill Country). Somewhere south of
  Ungrad in Bakkelande is the Path of Innocence, a
  Valachan at a Glance
  Cultural Level: Medieval (7)
  Ecology:  Full
  Climate/Terrain: Temperate forests and hills
  Year of Formation: 625 BC
  Population: 19,100
  Races: Human (97%), gnomes (2%), other
  (1%)
  Languages: Vaasi*, Mordentish, Gnome,
  Sithican
  Religions: Yutow*, Ezra, Hala
  Government: Aristocratic monarchy
  Ruler: Baron Urik von Kharkov
  Darklord: Baron Urik von Kharkov
  
  88
  Report Four
  poor quality one-way Mistway that Allandar’s Trav-
  elogue (the overly sensationalistic gazetteer for
  supernatural events) claims leads to a village in-
  habited only by children and a mad puppeteer.
  The long, thin forest east of the Broken Road
  and west of the Arden is the Forest That Watches,
  named for the uncanny sense one feels beneath its
  boughs. Although I had no problems passing
  through the forest, it is said to be home to unusually
  vicious panthers, which I suspect to be von
  Kharkov’s werepanther minions coming to or from
  Castle Pantara. Finally, east of the Arden is the
  northern Forest of Beasts and the more southerly
  Forest of Streams, separated by the Ulvflod River.
  Although both forests are rich in game and fish, few
  humans make their home here. The Black Leop-
  ards that constantly rove along the Verbrek border
  assume any travelers in this region are lycanthropes
  and attack on sight. Hunting in these forests is
  dangerous, but game is plentiful enough to reward
  those who try their luck.
  Temperatures are moderate all year round, but
  sweltering summers occur occasionally. Deep, wet
  snowfall blankets the countryside during winter
  months, rendering travel slow and laborious. My
  schedule did not allow me to dig in and wait for
  spring’s thaw, as the locals are wont to do.
  Valachani buildings are windowless lodges
  made of heavy logs or planks, with gabled roofs of
  black slate. Large, single-roomed houses are com-
  mon even among wealthy nobles, who take great
  pride in their cavernous abodes and encourage
  villagers and travelers alike to socialize within. The
  buildings are elaborately carved with stylized ani-
  mals, plants and fey, and proudly adorned with the
  heraldry of the lodge’s matriarch.
  A careful eye may note something slightly
  askew about many buildings and communities. In
  many lands, windows tend to face east or west, both
  to draw in daylight near dusk and dawn and to
  block chilling northern winds. In Valachan, how-
  ever, many openings face the north, admitting cold
  and darkness. The simple, if somewhat staggering,
  reason for this lies in the Great Upheaval. Today,
  a map would show Valachan running vertically
  along the southwestern corner of the Core; prior to
  that cataclysm, however, it stretched horizontally
  along the southern border of Sithicus. From the
  Valachani point of view, the Great Upheaval
  wrenched their sunrise and sunset nearly 90 de-
  grees from the norm.
  
  89
  Valachan
  Flora
  Valachan possesses rich, largely untapped plant
  resources. By far the most dominant species is the
  redwood, used across the country by builders, road
  workers, furniture makers and carpenters. Red-
  wood is remarkably pest resistant; I saw a fallen tree
  trunk, untouched by rot or insect pests, that my
  guide swore had been in that state since his grand-
  father was young. An undergrowth of ferns thrives
  beneath their boughs. Cherry, willow, oak, yew
  and beech are not uncommon in the north, but the
  area around Ungrad is known for its vast variety of
  fungal life. These fungi range from common field
  mushrooms and toadstools to dangerous species
  such as brown and yellow molds, violet fungus and
  striped toadstools that are zealously destroyed when-
  ever an infestation is discovered. Truffles are rare
  but highly valued.
  Barley, hops, peas, apples and flower bulbs are
  both widely cultivated and grow wild. Wheat was
  introduced from Mordent soon after Valachan
  emerged from the Mists decades ago and has since
  proved extremely successful.
  Valachan has one unique plant, the lily of
  eternal slumber, also called Yutow’s blood. Though
  extremely rare, the flower potentially grows any-
  where in Valachan. It strongly resembles a normal
  lily, but opens nocturnally and is splashed with
  crimson inside. According to legend, the lily only
  grows where Yutow’s blood fell during the Pacifica-
  tion. I can attest that my efforts to transplant it
  failed. The lily is reputedly a powerful weapon
  against vampires, keeping them at bay and burning
  their flesh like sunlight or holy water. The flower
  remains fresh for seven days after being picked.
  Fauna
  The forests of Valachan teem with life, both
  natural and unnatural. Boar and deer are common,
  while moose roam the south and wild sheep thrive
  in the canyons. Wolves are common only in
  Bakkelande; elsewhere, dire weasels, dire badgers
  and dire wolverines have displaced them and filled
  their niche. Black and brown bears are also often
  sighted. Of course, the top predator throughout
  Valachan is the mørkenkat, or panther, although
  the Valachani use that term in a frustratingly vague
  fashion to refer to any cat-like creature with a black
  pelt. The most common breeds are 4 feet long and
  weigh 120 pounds, but I discovered foot prints in
  the muddy banks of the Arden River that suggested
  a beast five times as large. Rotwald’s Singing Bone
  Inn has a claw hanging above the bar that must
  have come from an animal 35 feet long. Regardless,
  Valachan’s peasants obstinately refer to all these
  monstrosities as mere “panthers.”
  The Valachani also have a hopelessly muddled
  view of spirits that live in their forests. This multi-
  purpose term refers to fey, ghosts and
  personifications of forest creatures. Something
  about the Valachani forests does suggest alien eyes
  are watching. Several times I heard strange music
  on the wind or half-glimpsed a sudden movement.
  The very name “Valachan” is derived from the
  Vaasi word for “haunted.” The most popular stories
  feature shapeshifters. Legends are unclear whether
  the natural form of these creatures is humanoid or
  animal; the ability to change shape is far more
  important than what they originally looked like. In
  the two experiments I was able to perform on
  Lilies of Eternal Slumber
  Anyone holding a lily of eternal slumber gains a +4 sacred bonus to Will saves to resist a
  vampire’s domination. Those already dominated may make another save with no bonus to break
  free when they touch the flower, although they feel a strong aversion to doing so. The lily can
  be used as a lawful good holy symbol to keep vampires at bay and acts like holy water if used to
  strike a vampire, although this destroys the lily. If a wreath of four or more lilies is placed around
  a vampire’s neck, the vampire is affected as if by full sunlight until the wreath is removed. Thus,
  nosferatu lose their powers while the wreath is around their neck, and normal vampires are
  disoriented and then destroyed. If the vampire tries to remove the wreath, each flower inflicts
  damage as a vial of holy water before being removed. Finally, if a lily is placed on a vampire’s
  coffin while the vampire is inside, the vampire is trapped in a deathly slumber (effectively
  hibernating) until another creature removes the bloom. The vampire can regenerate normally
  while inside the coffin, but may eventually face starvation.
  
  90
  Report Four
  captured shapechangers, I discovered that both
  subjects were lycanthropes, susceptible to silver,
  not cold iron.
  Skogsra and elvsra are mercurial forest and
  river fey, respectively, that appear in a myriad of
  forms, although those in animal shape are suppos-
  edly far more common than humanoid fey. Their
  moods are notoriously volatile, and gift-giving is
  widely used to placate them. I often came across
  little treasures, their value largely sentimental,
  hidden near brooks and old trees for these spirits.
  The legendary king of the skogsra is konge skyggehest,
  a shadowy, horse-like creature that lives at the
  heart of the Bredskoven.
  Corporeal undead are almost unheard of in
  Valachan and usually represented in folktales as
  mindlessly destructive creatures filled with noth-
  ing but hatred. In the entire time I was in Valachan,
  I only heard one story about vampires, which were
  described as foul beasts that spread disease and
  cannot bear the touch of moonlight. Although
  such creatures do exist, I suspect the lack of legends
  concerning vampires is due to a conscious and
  subtle effort by von Kharkov to discourage their
  telling. I will discuss my theories on how he accom-
  plished this in The Realm, below.
  History
  lthough the two groups share no ethnic
  ties, Valachani have a few tenuous cul-
  tural threads in common with the
  Kartakans. Primarily, they make little
  distinction between myth and history.
  The Valachani’s suspicion of any kind of education
  means most possess only rudimentary literacy. Few
  people keep records beyond those necessary for tax
  purposes. Highly social people, the Valachani’s
  rich oral history is preserved in both immutable
  rituals and less rigidly preserved folktales. Although
  I checked my history against available tax records
  and those kept at the Hospice of Healing Hands,
  once again I am forced to rely on a weak foundation
  of rumor, gossip and legend.
  Deep in Valachan’s false history, a nameless
  race of dark-skinned barbarians inhabited the land,
  living as hunter-gatherers in the primeval forest,
  perfectly at one with nature. Yutow the Provider (a
  “green man”-like figure depicted as partway be-
  tween a human adept and a fey god) lived among
  them, maintaining the natural balance of the forest
  with his magic and fey servants.
  Sometime around 320 BC, a tan-skinned folk
  the Valachani call the Vaasi appeared out of the
  Mists and embarked on a terrible war called the
  Pacification. Intriguingly, these Vaasi share little
  in common with the modern inhabitants of Nova
  Vaasa, though their depiction is vaguely similar to
  the notorious invaders of Kartakan folk history. I
  look forward to examining this matter further
  when I survey Nova Vaasa, as I suspect I will once
  again discover that this mysterious race of invaders
  has no basis in objective reality.
  Over the next twenty years, the Vaasi slaugh-
  tered hundred of natives and enslaved hundreds
  more. The Vaasi also arrived carrying White Fever;
  this was a minor illness for their people, but with no
  resistance, countless natives lost their lives to the
  disease. The Vaasi felled trees, opened mines near
  Rotwald, founded villages and hunted game almost
  to extinction. The Arden flooded from the torrent
  of blood and tears flowing into it. Each act of
  devastation opened a new wound in Yutow’s body.
  The god was supposedly unable to stop the devas-
  tation because the Vaasi lived “outside nature,”
  where he had no power.
  Finally, the panther, most cunning of animals,
  discovered the only way Yutow could save his
  realm. Yutow sacrificed himself to bring both sides
  Local Animals and Native
  Horrors
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10 — bat; toad; CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8 — rat; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  66666 — raven; CR 1/4
   CR 1/4
   CR 1/4
   CR 1/4
   CR 1/4 — cat; owl; weasel; CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3 —
  hawk; snake, Tiny viper; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — badger; eagle;
  snake, Small viper; CR 1
   CR 1
   CR 1
   CR 1
   CR 1 — snake, Medium viper;
  wolf; CR 2
   CR 2
   CR 2
   CR 2
   CR 2 — bear, brown; boar; leopard; snake,
  constrictor, wolverine; CR 4
   CR 4
   CR 4
   CR 4
   CR 4 — bear, black; tiger.
  Monsters: 
  Monsters: 
  Monsters: 
  Monsters: 
  Monsters: Any Large or smaller giant or monstrous
  vermin; CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2
  CR 1/2 — geist*; plant, bloodrose*; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 —
  fungus, shrieker; plant, fearweed*; razorback*;
  sprite, grig; sprite, nixie; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — assassin bug,
  giant*; dire badger; dire weasel; plant, crawling ivy*;
  satyr; CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3 — allip; assassin vine; baobhan sith*;
  boowray*; drownling*; fungus, violet; lycanthrope,
  wereboar; midnight cat*; shadow; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4 — dire
  wolverine; dire boar; lycanthrope, werepanther (see
  Attached Notes); nosferatu spawn*; plant,
  lashweed*; unicorn, shadow*; vampire spawn; CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  — dire lion; hag, green; troll; werebear; weretiger;
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6 — hag, annis; nymph; CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7 — ghost;
  nosferatu*; spectre; vampire, vrykolaka; CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8 —
  dire tiger; dread treant; CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10 — plant, quickwood*.
  Nosferatu and nosferatu spawn are under von
  Kharkov’s control only if they are his progeny.
  
  91
  Valachan
  to harmony, merging the two races into one. The
  newly created Valachani possessed the indepen-
  dence and wilderness skills of the natives, and the
  language, complex society, and tendency toward
  tyrannical governments of the Vaasi. Valachan’s
  confused theology maintains that Yutow is indis-
  putably dead but still conscious and able to guide
  his followers. My attempts to probe this contradic-
  tion only solicited the vague explanation that
  “gods are not alike to men”; my comparison with
  undeath was not taken well, to phrase it mildly. In
  any event, because the dead have no place in the
  natural world, Yutow departed Valachan for the
  moon, and the Valachani were left as a scattering
  of city-states for more than two centuries.
  In 576 BC, Heinrich von Ostlin, the tyranni-
  cal mayor of Helbenik, united Valachan with a
  cunning mix of assassination, blackmail and politi-
  cal marriages, welding the independent villages
  into one nation. Von Ostlin declared himself baron
  and ruled with unyielding savagery for nearly 50
  years, publicly slaughtering any who spoke against
  him and imposing massive taxes to pay for the
  construction of a huge keep near Helbenik.
  In 625 BC, an unusually inquisitive Rotwaldi
  man named Urik von Kharkov returned from trav-
  els abroad (including Darkon, notably) and began
  to ferment dissent in his home town. This activity
  quickly attracted von Ostlin’s attention; von
  Kharkov was arrested, beaten and dragged before
  the baron. Common myth holds that von Kharkov
  stared his captor in the eye despite his injuries and
  swore to kill Ostlin for his crimes against Valachan.
  While von Ostlin laughed mockingly, the bonds
  inexplicably fell from von Kharkov’s arms. He
  immediately leapt forward and broke the ancient
  baron’s neck. Von Kharkov assumed the barony; in
  a sign of “divine approval,” the Mists parted to the
  north, revealing Valachan’s neighbors in those
  days: Invidia, Gundarak and Kartakass. I conclude,
  therefore, that von Kharkov’s ascendance marks
  the beginning of Valachan’s true history.
  The well-loved Urik I ruled for fifty-one years
  from von Ostlin’s old castle, which he converted
  with the help of a levy taken erratically from one of
  the three main towns into the shape of his heraldic
  animal and renamed Castle Pantara. During this
  period, he created a private army, the Black Leop-
  ards, and gave the mayors of Helbenik, Rotwald
  and Ungrad a seat on his council for them to air
  their grievances. Urik I was by no means an even-
  tempered or kind man, but compared to his
  predecessor he ruled lightly so long as his rule was
  respected, his taxes paid, and his privacy left invio-
  late. All this came to an end in 671 BC, when he
  was killed by the Cat of Felkovic, a magic statue
  created by a mad wizard. His son, Urik II, emerged
  from seclusion to gain the throne.
  Urik II ruled slightly more capriciously than
  his father, instituting a bridal lottery to find a wife.
  These women invariably died of White Fever, ran
  away, or simply disappeared within a year, prompt-
  ing an unloved tradition of near-annual lotteries.
  (Intriguingly, the few records I uncovered suggest
  the lottery already operated under Urik I, although
  everyone I spoke to swore Urik II created it.) Urik
  II’s biggest mistake was likely the appointment of
  Lady Adeline, a sadistic, foreign elf, as chief tax
  collector. Her vile behavior sparked several revolts
  between 680 and 730 BC, which quickly spiraled
  into protests over the work levies at Castle Pantara,
  the lottery and Urik II’s oppressive taxation. All
  uprisings were brutally stamped out and their lead-
  ers made into grisly examples.
  The most recent revolt occurred in 740 BC,
  notable because it almost succeeded. Urik II barely
  survived a magical assassination attempt. As he
  was struck down, terrible earthquakes shook
  Valachan. The country was physically wrenched
  away from its bed south of Sithicus and slammed
  into its current position. This event was taken as
  another sign from Yutow that the von Kharkov
  dynasty is divinely appointed to rule; I see it as
  clever propaganda used to explain the events of the
  Great Upheaval.
  Valachan has been relatively peaceful since
  the Great Upheaval, though White Fever remains
  an epidemic. Fortunately, the country has suffered
  few truly lethal outbreaks since the Great Epidemic
  of 736 BC, a terrible plague that nearly devastated
  Ungrad.
  Populace
  alachan is home to a single ethnic group,
  albeit one that is unusually heteroge-
  neous in appearance. Most Valachani
  live in tiny villages scattered across the
  heart of the realm, growing scarce near
  the borders with the Mists and Verbrek, and around
  Castle Pantara and the Scarlet Maze. Valachani
  are steadfast folk who greatly prize their unique
  culture. Although they are undeniably ignorant,
  superstitious and backward, something in their
  stern, quiet bearing makes them compelling.
  
  92
  Report Four
  Appearance
  Valachani are tall, muscular people, with broad
  shoulders and long, sturdy limbs. They lead rough
  lives — most subsist as hunters, furriers, fishermen,
  or farmers — shaped by necessity into hard, fit, no-
  nonsense folk completely at home in their wild
  environment. Predators and the often-dangerous
  terrain quickly weed out those who take to flights
  of fancy or laziness. Scars are frequent and often
  worn with pride; both sexes consider it advanta-
  geous to marry those who can support themselves
  and their families, and scarring is strong evidence
  that they have survived everything the forest can
  throw at them. Of course, too much scarring is a
  sign of foolhardiness and is avoided as strenuously
  as cowards who are scar-free.
  Most Valachani have dark skin the color of
  Borcan coffee, though colors ranging from a creamy
  tan to nearly charcoal black occur, relics of the
  imperfect melding of the Vaasi and the indigenous
  race in Valachan’s false history. Common lore
  holds that those with darker skin are more passive
  but better attuned to natural cycles, while pale skin
  implies a passionate nature. In my experience,
  however, this folk wisdom is simply unthinking
  stereotyping, and skin color suggests nothing of an
  individual’s talents or flaws.
  Despite the variation in skin color, hair color
  is inevitably glossy black, worn long and straight by
  both genders. Beards and moustaches are never
  worn (foreigners who do so can expect stares), but
  long sideburns are popular. Eye color is usually dark
  brown, but occasionally an individual is born with
  disturbing bile-yellow eyes. These rare folk are said
  to have panther spirits somewhere in their ancestry
  and are regarded with a mixture of fear and awe.
  These “cat’s-eyes” are said to be the (often unwit-
  ting) servants of Yutow and capable of controlling
  the god’s panthers. Less fancifully, they are remark-
  ably long-lived and gifted hunters. Conversely,
  they have a tendency to cruelty and narcissism and
  are doomed to tragedy in their personal lives.
  The paragon example of this curse is Urik II.
  He has ruled Valachan for nearly eighty years and
  still seems in his prime, but all of his marriages
  ended badly. Many see this trend as proof of the
  curse of bearing spirit blood. Others say these
  sinister facts show the baron’s heritage has made
  him truly inhuman, and his wives flee or are killed
  by his attentions.
  
  93
  Valachan
  This curse is also often applied to any mortal
  liaisons with the fey or fey-born. Legends of people
  damned to eternal misery for a single tryst with a
  half-elf or elf are common throughout Valachan.
  Fashion
  Valachani clothing is simple, durable and well
  suited to wilderness life. Both men and women
  prefer loose trousers and tunics made of leather or
  wool, occasionally trimmed with fur in the colder
  months. Thicker fabric and more fur are worn in
  Bakkelande, which is notably colder than the rest
  of Valachan. Faded black or white are favored,
  accented with bold reds, blues and greens and
  further decorated with fringes and animal teeth.
  The dyes used on these clothes are all prepared
  with a variety of plant products, and a quiet rivalry
  occurs among the young men of a village to prove
  themselves the most accomplished woodsmen by
  preparing the brightest and most unusual colors.
  Nobles import exotic dyes and so show the greatest
  variation and finest color of all. Long cloaks of
  waterproof leather are worn to keep out the rain,
  but more often the Valachani simply ignore rain
  until they can dry out by a fire. Valachani wear
  laced, knee-high boots of plain, soft leather through-
  out the year, even when not outdoors.
  Simple, naturalistic jewelry is common to both
  sexes. Leather necklaces and bracelets are most
  common, adorned with animal teeth, shaped cop-
  per, gold medallions and intricately knotted leather
  thongs. Nobles display their wealth by replacing
  their leather cords with gold chains, from which
  hang precious stones, minted coins, and their coats
  of arms.
  Lifestyle & Education
  The Valachani have a reputation as being
  stern, silent and proud. They are also considerate to
  travelers, respectful of women, and engage in a rich
  social life among themselves. Like the Verbrekers,
  they see themselves as struggling to survive against
  the forces of nature, but unlike their neighbors,
  they wear their hardship with pride. All Valachani,
  regardless of gender, are taught from a young age
  the basic principles of farming, fishing, hunting
  and survival in the wilderness. Woodsmanship is
  the only way to earn respect, so those who take up
  any profession that does not let one demonstrate
  wilderness lore is doomed to disgrace and dishonor.
  The Valachani reputation for arrogance in other
  lands stems from this attitude: they believe that
  most cultures have become lazy and fat with their
  settled lives and book learning. Education and
  literacy are symptoms of cultural decline from a
  fierce, honorable rustic society to a valueless, deca-
  dent cityscape. I have never encountered a populace
  so willfully ignorant. In the last century, less than a
  dozen books have been printed in Valachan, most
  of those the work of a single arcanist, Perseyus
  Lathenna. Despite my best efforts, I was unable to
  locate this mysterious scholar, but the rest of
  Valachani society is unanimously contemptuous of
  Lathenna’s work.
  Once one has proved one’s worth to the
  Valachani, their demeanor changes completely.
  They think nothing of inviting neighbors into
  their homes for meals — a far cry from the cautious
  natures of their Barovian or Verbreker counter-
  parts. Individualism is still evident. No customs
  require special treatment of guests, who are ex-
  pected to pull their own weight, and hosts frequently
  ignore or abandon guests who place demands on
  their independence. Families are close-knit, how-
  ever, knowing they have only each other to depend
  on. Each settlement is like a large family; indi-
  vidual families in each settlement may squabble
  and feud in times of plenty, but unhesitatingly pull
  together in emergencies. The folk of each village
  secretly consider themselves superior to neighbor-
  ing communities.
  Women are seen as the primary protectors and
  defenders of the home. The wife is responsible for
  the overall welfare of her family; any important
  decisions are hers to make, and as the head of the
  household, the matriarch commands the respect of
  those who live with her. During a marriage cer-
  emony, the groom places himself under his bride’s
  protection, taking her name and coat of arms and
  moving into her house. In return, she ritualistically
  swears to protect her family from everything from
  bad luck and spirits to predators and thieves to
  immorality and malnutrition. For example, in
  Ungrad, many poisonous species of mushroom look
  similar to edible species, so the wife must taste any
  food before the rest of her family, to ensure it is safe
  to eat. In cases where a wife fails to fulfill her duties,
  Valachani law permits the husband to divorce her
  if he can prove her negligence to an aristocratic
  court. Such divorces are rare and treated very
  seriously. Even when found negligent, the mother
  retains control of most of the family’s assets. Women
  can begin divorce proceedings for any number of
  reasons, although doing so is equally serious.
  
  94
  Report Four
  I suspect this respect for women is why von
  Kharkov’s long parade of abused wives so horrifies
  the baron’s opponents. They can live with his
  violent minions and the levy — when seemingly
  random numbers of people are conscripted from
  Helbenik, Rotwald or Ungrad for unpaid work at
  Castle Pantara for anything from a single night to
  a month. The bridal lottery, however, ferments
  distress like nothing else. Each year, von Kharkov
  forcefully takes a random woman as his bride; to
  date, each unfortunate soul has vanished within a
  matter of months. A few are said to have died from
  White Fever; others, to have fled Castle Pantara for
  distant lands. A journal from the Hospice of Shel-
  tered Grace near Castle Pantara records that in 696
  BC the baron’s bride of a few months fled to the
  Hospice for shelter, covered in bruises and cuts and
  begging the witches to protect her from her mon-
  strous husband. The poor woman was apparently
  killed when the building collapsed shortly after her
  arrival. Such brutality to Valachani women is
  otherwise unheard of, and von Kharkov is regarded
  with unbelieving horror whenever rumor brings
  his crimes to light.
  In addition to marriage, other milestones are
  celebrated with exceedingly complex rituals, the
  words of which are strictly preserved in an other-
  wise antiquated form of Vaasi. Births, coming of
  age, seasonal changes and deaths all have their own
  rituals and are accompanied by lengthy festivals in
  which handcrafted gifts are exchanged and mag-
  nificent feasts devoured. As an example, funerals
  are highly ritualized, including standardized words
  of mourning, particular hymns sung only at funer-
  als, and the requirement that the corpse be exposed
  to moonlight all night so the deceased’s spirit can
  find its way to Yutow. Even storytelling (a favorite
  Valachani past time) is preceded by a ritualistic
  “Listen to me!”
  Gift giving is another way to increase or dem-
  onstrate status. Giving an elaborate gift shows that
  one not only has the skill to create the gift, but is
  a talented enough woodsman to have the time to
  create it. Thus, gifts hold an important place in
  courtship, and many families silently jockey for
  position with the quality of their gifts. Each ex-
  travagant present means another rung up the social
  ladder; each gift not repaid in kind is a loss of status.
  These gifts are almost always impractical. Giving a
  weapon or tool implies that the recipients possess
  neither the talent to craft their own nor the wealth
  to buy it — a grievous insult.
  Valachani eat fruit, vegetables and roast meat,
  though stews and soups are also popular. Offal
  meats are marinated with herbs, baked over coals
  and served with baked apples in a delicious meal
  called deiligmat. Most meals are accompanied by
  sweet yogurts, custard and candied fruit. Mush-
  rooms provide a staple in many communities,
  particularly during the winter, when a village’s
  middens often provide important food reserves.
  Fungi are particularly popular in Ungrad, where
  they form the basis of every meal, but are eaten only
  occasionally elsewhere. The pickled and salted
  foods produced at Castle Pantara are a popular, if
  acquired, taste. Staple drinks among the Valachani
  include the heavy, dark stout brewed in Rotwald
  and the north, water, herbal teas and drikke, milk
  mixed with sheep or goat’s blood, which is used to
  aid recovery from White Fever. A small portion of
  each meal is usually left at the foot of a nearby tree
  or dumped into a stream to appease the spirits.
  White Fever is a disease of epidemic propor-
  tions in Valachan. Not to be confused with the
  deadly Sithican White Fever, the Valachani dis-
  ease is a mild cold-like illness causing lethargy,
  dizziness, weakness, listlessness and the pallor that
  gives the disease its name. In victims suffering from
  particularly lengthy bouts, the fingernails thin and
  then begin to bend upwards. Most cases recover
  fully, given bed rest and a diet rich in red meat, but
  some die, simply wasting away. It is said that
  victims killed by White Fever are tied to the places
  of their deaths as ghosts.
  Folklore maintains that White Fever is spread
  through insect bites or patches of fog tainted by the
  Misty Border. Although cases are commonly re-
  ported all over Valachan, the insects reputedly
  infesting Castle Pantara are apparently particu-
  larly virulent, as the disease strikes almost everyone
  who spends any time at the castle, including a
  significant number of the Baron’s wives. Although
  I claim no expertise in diseases, even to my un-
  trained eye these symptoms are remarkably similar
  to those of anemia, while the “insect bites” that
  spread the disease almost invariably appear in pairs
  near a major blood vessel. Wounds such as these do
  appear in other lands, though there they go by
  other names in which I am fully conversant: strigoi,
  nosferatu, vrykolaka. In my estimation, the White
  Fever epidemic is caused by nothing less than
  vampire feeding, though I shudder to consider the
  implications of such widespread predation.
  
  95
  Valachan
  Language
  Valachani speak a coarse dialect of Vaasi. As
  long as both parties speak slowly and carefully,
  Valachani can understand the dialects spoken in
  Kartakass, Hazlan and Nova Vaasa, and vice versa.
  In Valachani Vaasi, the “r” is rolled and vowels
  extended, giving the language a purring, relaxed
  lilt.
  equipped with control over animals, plants, hu-
  mans and spirits, but few Valachani would honestly
  say the rewards are worthwhile. Often, they respect
  the office, but not the priests themselves.
  In contrast, arcane magic is the worst form of
  blasphemy against the natural order. Somewhat
  incoherently, “unnatural” wizards and sorcerers are
  said to be in league with natural spirits and are
  regarded with terror. Arcane spellcasters who prac-
  tice their craft openly can expect to be reviled,
  driven from villages and almost certainly arrested
  by the Black Leopards.
  Religion
  Most Valachani are deeply religious and de-
  voted to their unique moon god, Yutow the
  Peacebringer. Their existence is precarious, sur-
  rounded by fierce predators, mercurial fey and an
  oppressive ruler, and religion grants the Valachani
  some feeling of control, however negligible. Typi-
  cally, Valachani see prayer as another tool to
  increase their odds of survival. Very few actually
  become ordained. Priests of any faith are expected
  to act as a foil of Valachani isolationism and devote
  themselves to their community as a whole. They
  arbitrate disputes among nobles, ensure taxes are
  paid, appease spirits and Black Leopards alike, and
  care for those unable to support themselves. These
  duties leave little time to hunt or farm, so priests
  instead rely on weekly tithes from each family in
  their village to survive. As discussed above, this
  “urban” lifestyle dissuades most Valachani from
  the priesthood. Most villages have only a single
  priest of Yutow (called a moarnekone, meaning
  “married to the moon”) and an acolyte, and in the
  largest communities a smattering of anchorites or
  witches as well.
  Shallow Feeding and White Fever
  Vampires must feed every night, typically by inflicting permanent Constitution drain. Given
  time, a vampire’s predation can decimate the population of its feeding grounds. A vampire who wants
  to preserve its feeding stock or simply keep a low profile can instead rely on “shallow” feeding,
  inflicting only temporary ability score damage rather than permanent drain. A vampire utilizing
  shallow feeding must consume twice as many points of the applicable ability score each night to slake
  its thirst, however. The typical vampire would thus need to inflict 8 points of temporary Constitution
  damage each night to sustain itself.
  Valachan’s White Fever epidemic is entirely the result of the widespread shallow feeding of Baron
  von Kharkov and his handful of nosferatu spawn. Von Kharkov prefers to take just a single point of
  Constitution from eight separate victims each night, giving him more dominated servants and
  indefinitely preserving his food supply.
  Vaasi Primer
  Having already examined
  Vaasi in my reports on Hazlan and
  Kartakass, here I expand on that
  vocabulary.
  English
  Vaasi
  day
  daag
  night
  natten
  sun
  solen
  moon
  moarne
  town
  byen, plads
  inn
  kroen
  thank you takk
  spirit
  spøkelse
  tax
  skatt
  Attitudes Toward Magic
  In many ways, Valachani have a contemptu-
  ous view of magic. To gain access to divine magic,
  clerics must devote themselves to their communi-
  ties, an occupation that does not allow them time
  for more honorable pursuits such as fishing and
  trapping. In return for their sacrifice, they are
  
  96
  Report Four
  The faithful of Yutow believe he watches over
  them constantly, protecting them, alert to any
  signs of immorality, and occasionally testing their
  faith. He is said to take priests who grow too strong
  in their faith (or draw too much attention to
  themselves) to serve him, either in their physical
  bodies or as spirits. A more analytical observer
  might conclude that most priests eventually disap-
  pear or are torn apart by panthers. Foreign faiths see
  this as a warning, and have learned to keep to
  themselves and not interfere in Valachan’s politi-
  cal machinery. Moarnekone, however, actively
  look forward to the day Yutow will take them.
  The Church of Yutow: Yutow was originally
  the god of Valachan’s indigenous folk, but he killed
  himself to end the Pacification. The Dead God
  now watches over Valachan from the moon, guid-
  ing and protecting his people via his clerics and fey
  servants. His special servants are panther spirits
  and those who bear their blood. The religion is
  monotheistic; although minor spirits abound,
  Yutow is the only one with the power over life and
  death and so the only one fit to be called a god.
  Other gods such as Hala and Ezra are spirit trickery
  or misinterpretations of Yutow caused by the sed-
  entary lifestyles and over-education of other lands.
  Although each moarnekone’s authority ends
  at the borders of the village he watch over, it is a
  social priesthood, with members frequently travel-
  ing to neighboring villages to meet their peers and
  discuss matters of faith. They also serve as diplo-
  mats: if two villages have a dispute over fishing or
  farming rights, the moarnekone will meet to work
  out a solution. Once a year, under a full moon, all
  moarnekone congregate at a sacred site near Castle
  Pantara to pray for Yutow’s blessings for Valachan
  as a whole.
  Valachani churches, which also act as homes
  for the moarnekone, have no roof over the nave,
  allowing moonlight to shine on the icon of Yutow
  each night. These icons depict Yutow just before
  he died: a green-skinned man with wild yellow
  eyes, his face creased with pain and his body cov-
  ered in bleeding wounds and bruises. His broken
  legs trail uselessly behind him as he supports him-
  self on one hand and raises the other to protect his
  charges. “That which is dead cannot suffer still” is
  carved onto the icon’s base. The Valachani sup-
  posedly find these statues both sorrowful and
  uplifting. I found them disturbing.
  Yutow the Peacebringer,
  the Dead God
  Symbol: A silver circle split by a ver-
  tical diamond, representing both the phases
  of the moon and a cat’s eye.
  Alignment: Lawful neutral.
  Portfolio: Law, obedience, fate, order,
  nature, fertility, protection, the moon, cats.
  Domains: Animal, Law, Plant, Pro-
  tection.
  Favored Weapon: Sickle.
  All clerics of Yutow, even evil ones,
  turn undead rather than command them.
  Clerics of Yutow pray for their spells when
  the moon reaches its zenith and hold ser-
  vices at moonrise. If they multiclass, it is
  often as druids.
  Dogma: The state of all things is man-
  dated from above and is not to be questioned.
  As Yutow himself suffered to protect his
  charges, so must his worshippers
  uncomplainingly undergo trials in this life
  to prove themselves worthy of his devo-
  tion. Those who do will be given
  immortality as a natural spirit; those who
  do not are reincarnated to suffer again until
  they learn their lesson. Those who live as
  rebels or lawbreakers will be annihilated,
  their spirits dispersed into the Mists. Those
  who worship Yutow will be protected from
  nature’s fury and granted good harvests and
  plentiful game. Those who do not will face
  nature in all its untamed splendor, red in
  tooth and claw. Unnatural things — ar-
  cane magic, corporeal undead and so forth
  — are the worst forms of blasphemy.
  Ezra: The Mordentish sect of the Church of
  Ezra has only limited success in Valachan, found-
  ing a moderately sized temple in Helbenik and a
  few smaller shrines in surrounding villages. The
  more compassionate teachings of this church ap-
  peal to a few Valachani, and the anchorites’ ability
  to take care of themselves improves their standing.
  Von Kharkov has done little to control the Church’s
  presence in his domain, although I suspect that
  
  97
  Valachan
  would change in an instant if it started seriously
  eroding the Church of Yutow’s influence or op-
  posed the baron.
  Hala: The unobtrusive Church of Hala seems
  to thrive in Valachan. They run small hospices just
  outside the boundaries of many villages, cleverly
  escaping any clashes that could arise with the
  Church of Yutow. (I remind my patron that a
  moarnekone’s authority traditionally halts at the
  borders of her village). The witches never prosely-
  tize, help only those who seek them out, and spend
  much of their time in research. Their naturalistic
  faith appeals to many Valachani, who allow them
  to lead lives relatively free of persecution.
  The Realm
  aron Urik von Kharkov rules in much
  the same way as his father — lightly
  while his word is respected, but tyranni-
  cally crushing any opposition or dissent.
  If my theory is correct, this similarity is
  because they are actually one person: Valachan’s
  true dread lord. Descriptions of father and son are
  uncannily similar: tall, muscular, handsome war-
  riors with yellow eyes and a commanding presence,
  who are known for their eccentric obsessions with
  privacy and obedience. Both always wear gloves in
  public and (according to written records, at least)
  draw the levy and the bridal lottery from each of
  Valachan’s three main towns in turn. I submit that
  von Kharkov is a nosferatu, a form of vampire that
  The Valachani Hero
  Races: Humans are by far the most common race in Valachan, but many gnomes have been tempted
  to settle the domain from Darkon, Hazlan and Nova Vaasa by the fierce demand for their skills. Calibans
  are frequently born, but are then abandoned to the elements.
  Classes: Valachan is a wild land, and rustic classes such as barbarians, druids, fighters, sorcerers and
  especially rangers are common. Rangers and barbarians are held in high regard as the defenders and
  providers for their villages; their ability to survive in Valachan’s eldritch forests is seen as particularly
  praiseworthy. Although bards’ tales are enjoyed, Valachani tend to regard the musicians as shiftless fops
  and layabouts, and keep close watch on them to ensure they pull their own weight. Of the spellcasters,
  clerics command some respect among the common folk, but those who proselytize too vigorously have
  a tendency to vanish. Druids are more common and are less likely to disappear than priests of more public
  churches. Sorcerers are relatively common but are vilified for their unnatural talents. Along with
  wizards, they are often arrested or executed by the Black Leopards.
  Recommended Skills: Climb, Craft (basketweaving, bowmaking, carpentry), Hide, Knowledge
  (nature), Move Silently, Profession (farmer, guide, herbalist, hunter, lumberjack), Spot, Survival.
  Recommended Feats: Alertness, Courage, Haunted, Improved Critical, Point Blank Shot (plus
  derivatives), Portents*, Reincarnated, Skill Focus (Survival), Track, Warding Gesture* (fey,
  shapechangers, undead), Weapon Focus (composite longbow
  * See Van Richten’s Arsenal.
  Male Names: Aksell, Arkin, Audun, Brand, Davin, Egil, Erik, Jens, Kristen, Mikkel, Mogens,
  Morten, Nils, Oleg, Ragnar, Rurik, Skjøld, Stefan, Trigue, Varik.
  Female Names: Aleksia, Andras, Birget, Dakin, Faiga, Falda, Grette, Katarine, Kristen, Liese,
  Magna, Nissa, Rakel, Reidun, Saffi, Semine, Sula, Unni, Vanja, Ylwa.
  Outcast Ratings in Valachan
  Gnomes and Vistani possess the virtues of self-sufficiency, practicality and an active communal life.
  As such, they enjoy a –1 bonus to their OR among Valachani. Elves, halflings and calibans are seen as
  fey creatures and suffer a +1 penalty to their OR, as do “bookish” characters from Chivalric and
  Renaissance cultures (CL 8+) and those unable to survive in the wild.
  
  98
  Report Four
  gains control over its victims by drinking their
  blood. White Fever infection is particularly likely
  to occur near the baron and certain of his servants.
  A magical charm would account for the love
  many Valachani hold for the baron despite his
  constant abuses, while the fact that nosferatu draw
  their power from moonlight could also explain the
  Valachani’s reverence for the moon and von
  Kharkov’s occasional appearances in daylight. To
  claim that one being could so influence a culture
  may seem absurd at first, but I remind my patron
  that von Kharkov has controlled the minds of his
  subjects through magical and mundane means for
  more than a century. This is easily sufficient time
  to remake a culture into something more beneficial
  to himself.
  of the Black Leopards; those that are not still act on
  the baron’s orders and operate as spies or assassins.
  Black Leopards are never stationed in villages
  where they grew up — or at least, those that do are
  no longer recognizable. I managed to capture a
  Black Leopard in Helbenik, and with gentle per-
  suasion she produced a most rewarding interview.
  I discovered werepanthers are susceptible to silver
  weapons, and utilizing such a device, I found that
  my subject’s facial muscles showed evidence of
  displacement. Muscles that were now slack had
  once been much tighter, and vice versa. I was
  fortunate to have a living subject to work with, as
  the clues were subtle and would have been lost in
  death. I believe that something about being in-
  fected with this strain of lycanthropy alters the
  facial structure of the victims, changing their ap-
  pearance enough to render them unrecognizable to
  those who used to know them, while still allowing
  them to use their local knowledge.
  I recall von Kharkov from his time in the
  Kargat’s service: a beast who dreamed of
  being a man. Such intelligent, sustained
  control would not be beyond him, especially
  given the spur of his paranoia.
  Government
  Baron Urik von Kharkov is the undisputed
  ruler of Valachan, having weathered several re-
  volts and a number of assassination attempts. On
  the rare occasions he gives an order, it is obeyed
  without question or severely punished. More fre-
  quently, the Veiled Mistress Lady Adeline, his
  chief tax collector, acts with his authority, dispers-
  ing the baron’s commands and edicts as she compiles
  the tithes. Even more frequently, the Black Leop-
  ards, the baron’s private army of expert woodsmen
  and soldiers, protect von Kharkov’s interests, col-
  lecting tariffs, enforcing the bridal lottery and
  rounding up anyone unfortunate enough to draw
  the baron’s ire. Monstrous sadists and zealously
  loyal to their lord to the last, when left to them-
  selves the Black Leopards amuse themselves by
  bullying, robbing and even murdering passers-by.
  They are quite literally a law unto themselves;
  Valachani have nowhere to complain about the
  soldiers’ behavior.
  My few experiments into the matter lead me to
  conclude that the Black Leopards are heavily infil-
  trated by, if not completely composed of,
  lycanthropes — specifically, werepanthers. Con-
  versely, werepanthers are almost always members
  How convenient for the panther. Our
  tormentors were most creative to
  grant my ex-slave such a boon.
  Black Leopards rely on fear to keep the
  Valachani in line, and those who refuse to be
  bullied are attacked. Luckily, most Leopards wear
  black chain shirts that hamper their ability to
  change form, so combatants are likely to retain
  whatever form they started with in a fight. The
  Black Leopards wield horrific magic weapons called
  baron’s arms, akin to a small, bladed whip attached
  to a heavy mace. Baron’s arms inflict terrible scars
  when wielded properly and are most often used to
  punish lawbreakers. The fear these weapons in-
  spire is grossly inflated from their ability to actually
  damage flesh. Although von Kharkov himself is
  loved by many and respected by all, the Black
  Leopards are only reviled.
  The baron is rumored to have another secret
  police force known as the Cat’s Claws, although I
  could uncover no real proof of their existence.
  Some say the Cat’s Claws are composed of spirits of
  air, who snatch secrets from conspirators’ lips and
  whisk them to the baron’s ear. The baron’s ability
  to uncover secrets is certainly unrivaled and has
  often let him move in time to solve problems before
  they could truly begin.
  
  99
  Valachan
  Taxes form the root of von Kharkov’s control
  over Valachan. Every border crossing, including
  those on rivers, has a customs house where Black
  Leopards assess the value of goods passing either
  way and extract a tax. They also note the names,
  professions, destinations and nationalities of trav-
  elers and confiscate any exotic weapons they carry.
  Folk who seem to be arcane magic users are closely
  questioned and, if unlucky, may be executed on the
  spot for unnatural acts. Each season, Lady Adeline
  leads a squad of Black Leopards to each village in
  turn to collect taxes — a flat rate based on the
  number of adults in the settlement, regardless of
  seasonal variations in productivity. Arrogant and
  extraordinarily vicious, Adeline can be bribed to
  forget the taxes if a handsome youth will accom-
  pany her into the forest. If the youth emerges at all,
  he is bearing scars within and without. Techni-
  cally, Adeline is head of the Black Leopards as well
  as chief tax collector, but Varik Dakk represents
  the Black Leopards in matters unrelated to taxa-
  tion, such as the defense of the realm.
  Generally, as long as taxes are paid, life in
  Valachan is peaceful. The most powerful noble
  families administer justice and arbitrate disputes as
  they see fit. When necessary, moarnekone arbi-
  trate disputes between nobles in which an
  aristocratic tribunal might be biased. Corruption is
  Secret Society: The Cat’s Claws
  There is no proof of the Cat’s Claws’
  existence because no such organization
  exists; the truth is far more insidious. In-
  stead, von Kharkov controls a huge network
  of charmed and dominated slaves across
  Valachan.
  Von Kharkov and his handful of
  nosferatu slaves feed shallowly on a number
  of victims each night. Thus, every night a
  score or so of Valachani are dominated.
  Whenever a controlled person discovers
  something he believes needs von Kharkov’s
  attention, he reports it to a moarnekone or
  Black Leopard, who passes it on until it
  reaches the baron himself, creating the
  largest network of unsuspecting informants
  in Ravenloft.
  
  100
  Report Four
  rare. Nobility is hereditary through the mother’s
  side.
  Tradition and the Church of Yutow dictate
  that nobles are respected and deferred to at all
  times, but commoners do not tolerate incompe-
  tence or weakness in their betters. Nobles who lack
  the guile to defend their positions are quickly
  eliminated and their assets divided among the
  remaining aristocrats. Although Yutow’s dogma
  claims that nobles are divinely appointed, a suc-
  cessful revolt indicates a noble is no longer favored;
  thus successful insurrection is not an immoral act.
  Each noble family has the right to raise a militia to
  protect its settlements. This is frequently a lucra-
  tive pursuit, as soldiers are rewarded with wealth,
  titles and arranged marriages. The most powerful
  noble, selected by majority vote from his or her
  peers, acts as mayor of the settlement. Mayors of
  smaller settlements report their concerns to those
  of one of the three main towns, who in turn are
  occasionally called to Castle Pantara to air their
  grievances. These irregular councils are called the
  Baron’s Table. Varik Dakk and Lady Adeline also
  have seats at the Table.
  Economy
  Most of Valachan’s economy is understand-
  ably tied to the realm’s thick forests. Due to the
  combined chance of accidents, panther attacks,
  and angering the skogsra, logging is too dangerous
  to appeal to many Valachani. Those who do be-
  come lumberjacks, however, can quickly make
  their fortunes. Redwood timber is unusually resis-
  tant to insect and fungal damage, and is prized
  along the Arden as a building material. Almost all
  Valachani buildings are made of redwood, making
  internal trade even more profitable than exporting
  the wood. A huge secondary industry of sawmills,
  bowyers, furniture makers and carpenters has arisen
  to make use of the logs, and these products are sold
  even further afield than the timber itself.
  Once cleared, the soil produces rich crops of
  wheat, barley, hops, cherries, apples, peas, flower
  bulbs and lucerne, most of which grow wild as well
  as in cultivated farms. Brewers use the hops and
  barley to prepare a heavy stout, which the Valachani
  and Verbrekers enjoy but is too dense for more
  refined palates. Herders also use cleared land to
  raise flocks of sheep, goats and pigs, their flocks
  tended by large groups of children and adolescents.
  Most earn their first scars this way. Meat from these
  animals is traded with Mordent and Verbrek, while
  Law Enforcement
  A typical Valachani militiaman serves a
  noble family, enforcing edicts and keeping the
  peace. Black Leopards are von Kharkov’s elite
  enforcers, collecting taxes, guarding the borders
  and serving as spies, assassins and executioners.
  Valachani militiaman:
  Valachani militiaman:
  Valachani militiaman:
  Valachani militiaman:
  Valachani militiaman: Human War1; CR 1/2; Medium hu-
  manoid (human); HD 1d8, hp 4; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.; AC 13,
  touch 10, flat-footed 13; Base Atk +1; Grp +1; Atk +1 melee
  (1d6/19–20, short sword) or +2 ranged (1d8/x3, com-
  posite longbow [+0 Str bonus]); Full Atk +1 melee (1d6/
  19–20, short sword) or +2 ranged (1d8/x3, composite
  longbow [+0 Str bonus]); AL LN; SV Fort +2, Ref +0, Will
  +0; Str 11, Dex 11, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
  Skills and Feats: Climb +1, Handle Animal
  +2, Listen +1, Spot +1, Survival +2, Swim +1;
  Track, Weapon Focus (composite longbow).
  Possessions: Short sword, composite longbow
  (+0 Str bonus), 20 arrows, studded leather ar-
  mor.
  Black Leopard:
  Black Leopard:
  Black Leopard:
  Black Leopard:
  Black Leopard: Human werepanther Rgr2/Rog1; CR 5;
  Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger); HD
  3d8+2d8+1d6+18, hp 44; Init +3 (+6 as hybrid or pan-
  ther); Spd 30 ft. (40 ft., climb 20 ft as hybrid or panther);
  AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (19, touch 16, flat-footed
  13 as hybrid or panther); Base Atk +4; Grp +7 (+9 as
  hybrid or panther); Atk +9 or +8 melee (1d8+4 or 1d8+3,
  baron’s arm) or +8 ranged (1d8/x3, composite longbow
  [+3 Str bonus]), or +9 melee (1d6+5, bite) or +9 melee
  (1d3+5, claw) as hybrid or panther; Full Atk +9 or +8 melee
  (1d8+4 or 1d8+3, baron’s arm) or +8 ranged (1d8/x3,
  composite longbow [+3 Str bonus]), or +9 melee (1d6+5,
  bite) and +4 melee (1d3+2, 2 claws) as hybrid or panther;
  SA favored enemy +2 (humanoid [elf]), sneak attack
  +1d6, pounce, improved grab, rake, hobble, curse of
  lycanthropy; SQ alternate form, panther empathy, dam-
  age reduction 5/silver (as hybrid or panther), Track, wild
  empathy, combat style (archery); AL LE; SV Fort +8, Ref
  +6, Will +4 (Ref +9, Will +5 as hybrid or panther); Str 16,
  Dex 17, Con 17, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8 (Str 20, Dex 23, Wis
  14 as hybrid or panther).
  Skills and Feats: Balance +3, Bluff +1, Climb
  +5, Gather Information +2, Hide +5, Intimi-
  date +4, Knowledge (local) +2, Listen +6, Move
  Silently +5, Search +6, Sense Motive +3, Spot
  +6, Survival +4 (Balance +14, Climb +13, Hide
  +12, Listen +11, Move Silently +12, Search
  +10, Spot +11 as hybrid or panther); Back to the
  Wall, Rapid ShotB, TrackB, Weapon Focus
  (baron’s arm), Weapon Focus (composite
  longbow).
  Possessions: Baron’s arm, composite longbow
  (+3 Str bonus), 20 arrows, 2 daggers, chain shirt.
  
  101
  Valachan
  cheese, wool and a small amount of milk is ex-
  ported to Mordent, Verbrek and Sithicus. Salmon
  and trout are plentiful and traded eagerly between
  Valachani villages, but rarely exported. Rod fish-
  ing is common. Further south, Ungrad forms the
  center of Valachan’s fur industry, where ermine
  and dire weasel pelts are particularly prized. Pan-
  thers accidentally captured by trappers are fearfully
  released and numerous gifts left beside the trap in
  apology.
  Valachan’s only exploited mineral resources
  are located around Rotwald, where minor amounts
  of gold and copper are mined. Rare seams of iron
  ore have been uncovered, but are quickly ex-
  hausted.
  Valachani frequently barter among themselves
  even in large towns, but taxes are paid in coin.
  Coins are minted in Rotwald and bear a sequoia on
  one side. The other side varies with the type of
  coin: the gold pantarlede bears a panther’s head, the
  silver kattøye a cat’s eye, and the copper klawe a cat’s
  paw with claws extended.
  Diplomacy
  Valachan prefers to keep its neighbors at arm’s
  length. Von Kharkov has little interest in estab-
  lishing alliances, but allegedly maintains spies in
  many nearby realms. Valachani pride in self-suffi-
  ciency means each merchant must forge his own,
  individual bonds with foreign traders, a tactic that
  often works against them. Beyond this limited
  trade, Valachani avoid entanglement in the affairs
  of other lands.
  Mordent: Valachani feel uncomfortable in
  the educated, settled lands of Mordent, claiming
  the pastoral realm’s inhabitants are lazy and overly
  concerned with trivialities. The open sky and roll-
  ing plains make them quite uncomfortable,
  accustomed as they are to claustrophobic forests.
  Still, Mordent’s tales of the Other Side align closely
  to Valachan’s spirit world, giving the two cultures
  some common ground, and Mordent is Valachan’s
  most reliable trading partner.
  Sithicus: The Sithicans are contemptuous of
  all humans, and the Valachani are no exception.
  For their part, Valachani see the elves as a more
  civilized form of skogsra and treat them with the
  restraint that entails. Few actually enjoy their trips
  to the politically disturbed realm and tend to pass
  through as quickly as possible. Rumor has it that
  Lady Adeline frequently travels to Sithicus to rally
  support and attack Azrael’s forces; von Kharkov
  appears to be maneuvering into position to annex
  the realm, supplanting Azrael with the loyal Lady
  Adeline.
  Intriguing. I wonder if they realize that
  stunted animal is not Sithicus’ true ruler?
  Would the true lord be troubled by a new
  pretender to her throne?
  Verbrek: As far as the Valachani are con-
  cerned, Verbrek is a realm of murderous beasts, and
  few folk are prepared to trade there, fearful of
  provoking the threatening wolves. Unnaturally
  fierce and cunning wolves frequently attack settle-
  ments on the Valachani side of the border, which
  the Black Leopards rigorously patrol in an effort to
  keep out such raiders. Any Verbrekers they dis-
  cover in the area are killed without question. It is
  no small irony that the same cultural trait — their
  backwoods ignorance — that unites the Valachani
  and Verbrekers helps to keep these neighbors di-
  vided.
  Sites of Interest
   awoke in Valachan just after the turn of
  the year, though the forest was remark-
  ably temperate (if wet) until I reached
  the higher country in Bakkelande. Fol-
  lowing my somewhat alarming
  experience in Verbrek, I lingered in Helbenik for a
  week to recuperate before winding south to Ungrad
  and then backtracking to the Scarlet Maze. At no
  point could I travel for more than a mile without
  crossing or plunging into some ford or ravine.
  Helbenik
  Helbenik (sometimes called Habelnik on for-
  eign maps) is centrally located in northern
  Valachan, making it a trade nexus for the score of
  thorps found within a day’s journey or so. This
  position has made the village wealthy, but those
  from more isolated thorps say the Helbeniki are not
  truly Valachani. Helbenik has become too reliant
  on making money from other people’s labor, so go
  the complaints; most of them wouldn’t know how
  to trap game or string a bow. The Helbeniki see
  themselves as having mastered survival in the
  civilized world (I managed to conceal my true
  thoughts on Helbenik’s “sophistication”) without
  dampening their ability to survive in the wilder-
  ness. Also, being chosen for work at Castle Pantara
  
  102
  Report Four
  and suffering frequent outbreaks of White Fever
  has made the Helbeniki a proud, stalwart and
  close-knit society. During my stay, the locals would
  frequently boast that “Helbenik would crush any
  but the Helbeniki.” As a result of these conflicting
  opinions, market day brawls between the Helbeniki
  and the backwoods Valachani are frequent. For
  whatever reason, backwoods Valachani do not
  hold Rotwald and Ungrad in the same contempt as
  Helbenik.
  Helbenik centers on its markets, which in turn
  center on the Gasttre. This colossal tree of un-
  known species never bears leaves, but produces
  scarlet flowers every autumn. The Helbeniki strew
  the tree with colored ribbons and place exquisitely
  worked handicrafts and sumptuous feasts at its base
  every season to please the spirit that allegedly lives
  in the tree. If she is pleased, she brings peace,
  prosperity and fertility for that season; if not, she
  blights crops and drives game away and may even
  murder a young man by hanging before she is
  satisfied.
  The only other site of interest in Helbenik is
  Felkovic’s Tower, a flame-blackened, decayed heap
  of stone once home to the creator of the Cat of
  Felkovic. A little under a century ago, Felkovic’s
  wife Nadia left him and the wizard went mad with
  grief. Baron Urik I took Felkovic back to Castle
  Pantara, but the wizard contracted White Fever
  and died. Nadia passed away from guilt at having
  driven her husband insane, and the Cat of Felkovic,
  a magical statuette he found in the tower, killed the
  Baron. The baron’s son declared the tower cursed
  and began a nation-wide hunt for the Cat, which
  eludes him to this day. Tales claim that the Cat is
  the one thing the Baron fears and that their desti-
  nies are irrevocably entwined.
  Where to Stay in Helbenik
  The Crispy Pickle (good quality rooms, poor
  quality meals) has the best rooms in Helbenik, but
  they serve almost nothing that has not been pick-
  led; the menu can quickly prove wearing. Better
  and more varied meals are available at the Leaping
  Trout opposite (common quality rooms, common
  quality meals). Both are frequented by locals and
  are a worthwhile stop for folk looking to hire
  guides.
  Dread Possibility:
  The Cat of Felkovic
  In reality, Felkovic created the Cat to
  avenge himself upon von Kharkov, who
  had turned Nadia into a nosferatu. The
  Cat, a unique, cursed figurine of wondrous
  power, is described in Van Richten’s Ar-
  senal. Because it was designed specifically
  to destroy von Kharkov, the Cat ignores
  von Kharkov’s damage reduction. Urik
  must heal any damage it inflicts by sleep-
  ing in his coffin; damage from the Cat
  cannot be regenerated. If von Kharkov is
  reduced to 0 hp by the Cat, he is destroyed
  and the Cat becomes permanently
  nonmagical. The Cat’s current location is
  unknown, but Black Leopards search the
  Core for it constantly.
  Felkovic himself (male human geist
  Wiz12, CN) was once a powerful ghost
  bound to the statuette, but his botched
  attempt to kill von Kharkov severed his
  link to the Cat. The mad wizard’s geist is
  now bound to his tower, cursing any who
  approach.
  Helbenik (large town):
  Helbenik (large town):
  Helbenik (large town):
  Helbenik (large town):
  Helbenik (large town): Conventional; AL LN; 3,000
  gp limit; Assets 525,000 gp; Population 3,500; Iso-
  lated (human 92%, gnome 6%, other 2%).
  Authority Figures: Katarine von Allor (mayor), fe-
  male human Ari10.
  Important Characters: Moarnekone Brand Avil, male
  human Clr6; Sentire Anna Johnson, female human
  Clr4; Gregor Molik (werebeast hunter), male human
  Rgr4/Avn*2; Linnaeus Beucephus (thief), male gnome
  Rog3.
  * See Van Richten’s Arsenal
  Van Richten’s Arsenal
  Van Richten’s Arsenal
  Van Richten’s Arsenal
  Van Richten’s Arsenal.
  Castle Pantara
  The seat of all authority in Valachan, Castle
  Pantara is a menacing fortress of charcoal-gray
  stone overlooking the Broken Road from a nearby
  hilltop. The castle is cunningly engineered to re-
  semble a crouching tiger. A trick of perspective
  makes it look like the castle is built on the road
  itself, when it is actually almost half a mile away.
  Instead, a large wooden blockhouse straddles the
  road to monitor traffic. The twenty Black Leopards
  permanently stationed here search all travelers for
  weapons and carefully note their names, nationali-
  
  103
  Valachan
  ties and destinations in a huge tome. They also
  rigorously patrol the forest around the blockhouse
  for people trying to slip past; I only narrowly
  avoided them by judicious magic and a lucky thrust
  with a silver knife.
  A winding path leads from the blockhouse to
  the castle, becoming the tail of the castle’s panther.
  Defenders can attack from the moment an intruder
  emerges from the forest, and each stage of the
  castle’s defenses is designed to provide cover from
  those closer to the outside but to be exposed to
  more central areas. The castle is big enough to hold
  a small army, and a similarly sized force would be
  required to take it.
  The castle is home to Baron von Kharkov,
  who is rarely encountered even by those with
  whom he shares the castle: his few servants, a
  garrison of Black Leopards and the peasant levy,
  who spend their time maintaining the castle and
  preserving food. The lattermost almost invariably
  contract White Fever; why no one notices the
  connection between the baron and the wasting
  disease escapes comprehension. In any event, the
  baron’s preserved food is traded all over the Core.
  These goods, however, are distributed from Rotwald
  and Helbenik; the baron has an almost pathologi-
  cal aversion to uninvited guests for any reason, and
  the castle is supposedly full of death traps and
  torture chambers to preserve his privacy.
  Rotwald
  Rotwald was founded early in the Pacification
  and quickly became a center of horrifying violence.
  Hundreds of natives were captured and put to work
  mining for gold and copper or felling trees for
  lumber. Many were put to the sword, their bodies
  used to fertilize the soil.
  Since then, almost every attempted revolt has
  originated in Rotwald. This is not to say Rotwald is
  a cauldron of discontent; like any Valachani, the
  Rotwaldi bear their trials with quiet fortitude. The
  large population and distance from Castle Pantara,
  however, seem to give the Rotwaldi a false sense of
  security. By some accounts, gold in the drinking
  water taken from the Gold River and the angry
  ghosts of Rotwald’s past drive the villagers to
  madness and revolution. For this reason, the baron
  maintains an oppressive number of Black Leopards
  here to keep the peace and protect the nation’s
  mint.
  Southwest of Rotwald, along the Broken Road,
  stands the Hospice of the Healing Hands, a large
  and impressive building home to a significant con-
  tingent of Hala’s witches. A vast library occupies
  Dread Possibility:
  Something in the Water
  Von Kharkov’s food preserving indus-
  try would be drastically out of character for
  the nosferatu were it not part of a terrible
  plan to control the Valachani. Every month
  or so, von Kharkov adds a considerable
  amount of his own blood to the preserving
  vats. Anyone who eats the tainted food
  must make a successful DC 10 Fortitude
  save or become one of the Baron’s charmed
  thralls (see Ravenloft Gazetteer II for de-
  tails on vampiric thralls). These thralls can
  be found throughout Valachan and some-
  times even in other domains, wherever the
  canned food is sold. The Crispy Pickle in
  Helbenik is especially likely to serve the
  corrupted food.
  Dread Possibility:
  The Tales of Ages
  Although Rotwald is home to numerous
  ghosts, the true cause of the revolts is the
  Tales of Ages and the witches who guard it.
  The Tales of Ages is a relic (see Van Richten’s
  Arsenal for general details about relics).
  Mediating on certain sections of the book
  can cure minor wounds twice a day, cure mod-
  erate wounds twice a week, and cure critical
  wounds twice a month. The book continu-
  ously radiates a magic aura over the Hospice,
  with the effect of a hallow spell and prevent-
  ing any lycanthropes from entering the
  building. Finally, if the leader of the Hospice
  reads aloud from the book, all within earshot
  are affected by break enchantment. This is a
  sonic, language-based effect. The witches
  have taken to doing just this in Rotwald on
  the spring equinox every year, freeing those
  listening from the baron’s domination. Many
  are soon charmed once more, but those who
  are not retain a dangerous degree of free will.
  All of the Tales of Ages’ properties take effect
  as if cast by a 15th-level cleric.
  
  104
  Report Four
  nearly nine-tenths of the building. The group’s
  leader, Mother Marena, told me that the prize of
  this collection is an ancient copy of the Tales of
  Ages, a history of the church of Hala written by one
  of the original twenty-six witches. This book sup-
  posedly protects the Hospice from hostile forces
  and “reveals the truth to those willing to listen,”
  though Marena did not explain her precise mean-
  ing. (I suspect the empty mysticism most religions
  rely on to intrigue potential converts).
  rusts, smuts and slimes. The large compost heaps
  kept under the floorboards of each house exacer-
  bate the problem, providing a staple diet of
  mushrooms as well as a convenient disposal for
  household wastes and deceased relatives. The air
  itself tasted rotten, and I felt unclean until I reached
  Sithicus.
  The Ungradi are friendly, if even more de-
  luded about the nature of their ruler than the rest
  of the Valachani. They consider von Kharkov to be
  a firm but benevolent ruler, sadly troubled by
  infidelity and illness among his wives, the chosen
  of Yutow and the kindest ruler since the Pacifica-
  tion — an attitude that requires them to ignore
  most of the events of his long reign. I suspect this
  is only possible due to the absence of the Black
  Leopards and Lady Adeline; the mayor, a
  Dementlieuse émigré and doctor named Antianetta
  Despini-Hoyer, collects taxes and determines the
  bridal lottery and levy herself.
  I managed to befriend the doctor and encour-
  aged her to show me her hospital. I think it was
  something of a relief for her to meet another
  educated woman in Ungrad. Despini-Hoyer has
  made it her life’s work to cure White Fever, which
  claimed her own husband. Her purple powder,
  Sloppy and prejudiced. If the text was not
  magical, how could the Hospice survive von
  Kharkov’s attentions?
  Where to Stay in Rotwald
  Rotwald is well known for its hospitality: vil-
  lagers frequently open their homes as boarding
  houses for a season or two at a time, and seeing
  people attracted by the scent of cooking, haggling
  with homeowners for a share of the meal, is rela-
  tively common. The only permanent inn is the
  Singing Bone (good quality rooms, good quality
  meals), run from the back of the brewery owned by
  Oleg Halffen, the town mayor. This jolly ex-ad-
  venturer is always keen to share a story over an
  excellent stew and plentiful stout. The rooms are
  large, but the walls are thin and Oleg is somewhat
  inquisitive. The inn takes its name from the mon-
  strous panther claw hanging above the bar, which
  has been carved into a flute.
  Rotwald (large town):
  Rotwald (large town):
  Rotwald (large town):
  Rotwald (large town):
  Rotwald (large town): Conventional (monstrous); AL
  N; 3,000 gp limit; Assets 660,000 gp; Population
  4,400; Isolated (human 93%, gnome 4%, half-elf
  1%, elf 1%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Oleg Halffen (mayor), male hu-
  man nosferatu Rgr4/Ari3.
  Important Characters: Mother Marena, female hu-
  man Clr4/Sor3/Hwi5; Moarnekone Rurik Talgar, male
  half-elf Adp3/Clr2; Ylwa Morlig (guard captain),
  female human werepanther Ftr5.
  Ungrad
  I have visited many unpleasant places in the
  course of this lengthy project, but few can compare
  to Ungrad for rural stupidity and vile surroundings.
  A cold snap blew through Valachan as I hiked to
  Ungrad, so I had to contend with snow and freezing
  winds to reach it. Once there, I discovered a
  backwater infested with moss, mold, toadstools,
  Dread Possibility:
  Curing White Fever
  Dr. Despini-Hoyer provides her powder
  only to victims of the disease who commit
  themselves to her hospital. Daily doses taken in
  a glass of wine allow a character to heal tempo-
  rary Constitution damage at twice the normal
  rate. The wine is used to dull the flavor of the
  powder; those using the powder without wine
  must make a DC 12 Constitution check to
  choke it down. If they fail, they do not gain the
  beneficial effects and actually suffer 1 point of
  temporary Constitution damage from vomiting
  and choking.
  A nosferatu, Dr. Despini was dispatched to
  Ungrad by von Kharkov years ago to temper the
  bloodlust of the town’s former mayor, Felix
  Hoyer. Hoyer’s recklessness eventually drew
  the attention of adventurers, but Dr. Despini-
  Hoyer was not so rash and escaped their stakes.
  So long as Ungrad’s status quo remains un-
  ruffled, the doctor is content to feed on the
  blood of her adoring patients.
  
  105
  Valachan
  predictably made from fungal spores, is mixed with
  wine and administered with a moderate amount of
  bloodletting (a standard remedy for most com-
  plaints) and greatly speeds recovery. I did notice
  that Despini-Hoyer carefully preserved the blood
  taken during bloodletting, and a few discreet in-
  quiries later revealed she was rarely seen during the
  day. Needless to say, I beat a hasty retreat and was
  careful to ward my room that night.
  Where to Stay in Ungrad
  Ungrad has only one eatery, Ambrick’s Mush-
  room House (common quality meals), which sells
  fungus-based foods. While the mushroom and on-
  ion soup is delicious, avoid the hot sugar noodles,
  which look and taste like candle wax. The sole inn
  is the Inn of Quiet Repose (good quality rooms,
  common quality meals). The deluded Richemuloise
  poseur who runs the inn uses her small degree of
  magical skill to play at being a vampire, yet was
  terrified of the sight of real blood. I suspect it is only
  a matter of time until some muscle-bound thug
  stakes her and closes the only inn in the world
  where one is waited on by unseen servants.
  The Scarlet Maze
  Lady Adeline’s private estate nestles between
  the Elf Road and the Little Arden River on the
  Sithican border. In the twenty years since Adeline
  settled here, she has planted thousands of briars
  and thorns in a vast labyrinth. The spiked hedge
  surrounding the maze is strewn with the rotting
  corpses of those who died within and smeared with
  blood, the obvious origin of the estate’s “scarlet”
  moniker. Those found guilty of treason and other
  serious crimes are delivered to the maze by Black
  Leopards and abandoned to Adeline’s pleasure. If
  the accused can reach the center of the maze, they
  are supposedly pardoned, but no one has ever
  succeeded. Common lore holds that the maze is
  filled with sadistic traps, bloodthirsty animals, gi-
  ant vermin and deadly plants.
  Final Thoughts
  alachan is clearly a willfully backward
  realm, whose isolated position and iso-
  lationist policies prevent it from ever
  becoming a key player in the broader
  world. Its only true resources are wood
  and its control of the trade route from Mordent to
  Sithicus along the Arden River. I cannot believe
  that the benefits of seizing this route would be
  worth the effort of ousting von Kharkov from his
  roost. The baron controls an army of werebeasts
  and a puppet church whose only purpose seems to
  be convincing peasants that their god wants them
  to follow the Baron obediently. As I ponder it,
  could it be that von Kharkov learned some of his
  tactics during his days in Darkon?
  Were one truly interested in conquering this
  backwater, the best method would doubtlessly be
  to encourage Adeline’s coup of Sithicus, then
  swoop in on both realms once they have butchered
  each others’ armies. One would do well to note
  those who whisper in her pointed ears.
  Ungrad (small town):
  Ungrad (small town):
  Ungrad (small town):
  Ungrad (small town):
  Ungrad (small town): Conventional (monstrous); AL
  LG; 800 gp limit; Assets 60,000 gp; Population
  1,500; Isolated (human 98%, other 2%).
  Authority Figures: Dr. Antianetta Despini-Hoyer
  (mayor), female human nosferatu Exp12.
  Important Characters: Beatrice Cargonne (inn-
  keeper), female human Wiz11; Ambrick the Grey
  (tavernkeeper), male dwarf Rog6.
  
  106
  Report Five
  Report Five:
  Sithicu<
  To the wicked, all things are wicked.
  — James Hogg, Confessions of a Justified Sinner
  Report Five:
  Sithicu<
  
  107
  Sithicus
  pon crossing the border from Valachan
  on the lonely, ill-kept road between
  Rotwald and Mal-Erek, I understood
  why so few travelers journey to this
  strange land. The place was instantly
  oppressive. True, an oppressive atmosphere is hardly
  noteworthy in the lands of the Core; rare is the
  place that does not groan beneath the weight of a
  nameless, looming dread. Yet the feeling of unease
  that took hold of me as I entered this realm was
  somehow different from any that had yet plagued
  me during my long, dangerous mission.
  I quickly came to understand the nature and
  source of that unease. In other lands, my disquiet
  upon arrival was an instinctual fear of some grim
  thing that had turned its attention to me. Here, the
  source of that oppression was neither hidden nor
  distant. It was my own sins that weighed so heavily
  upon me, and the bleak landscape inspired such
  brooding that each regrettable deed was amplified
  and augmented until I wept and could not look
  upon my reflection in a mirror for self-loathing.
  An hour was too long for me to linger there,
  though my mission required a much longer stay.
  With each passing day, as I came more and more to
  think of how my daughter had begged for death, I
  Sithicus at a Glance
  Cultural Level: Medieval (8); wild elves are
  Stone Age (1)
  Ecology: Full
  Climate/Terrain: Temperate forest, hills
  Year of Formation: 720 BC
  Population: 4,300
  Races: Elves 96%, half-elves 2%, humans
  1%, other 1%
  Elf Ethnic Groups: High elves 91%, wild
  elves 9%
  Human Ethnic Groups: Kartakan 35%,
  Gundarakite 30%, Invidian 25%, Sithican 5%,
  Barovian 4%, other 1%
  Languages: Sithican*, Vaasi, Balok,
  Mordentish
  Religions: Ezra, Hala
  Government: Despotic monarchy and aris-
  tocracy
  Ruler: Azrael Dak
  Darklord: Inza Magdova Kulchevich
  
  108
  Report Five
  found myself wondering if those I met could see my
  sins written upon my face — just as those strangers’
  tortured features suggested their unspoken mis-
  deeds to me. No wonder, then, that the native elves
  call their realm Sithicus: the “Land of Spectres.”
  Landscape
  ithicus is located in the southwestern
  region of the Core, bordered by
  Valachan, Verbrek, Invidia, Kartakass
  and, since the Great Upheaval, the Mists
  to the south. This shattered elven king-
  dom is the only country populated mostly by
  nonhumans. Damp fog and ancient trees shroud
  the countryside in perpetual gloom. Sunlight al-
  most never penetrates the thick boughs of the
  ancient forests, and the ground is slick with rotting
  leaves, moss and dew. The stench of decay and
  mold fills the heavy, wooded air. Except for a few
  cities and one major thoroughfare, most parts of
  the country have an untouched quality to them, for
  good reason.
  The country is sliced apart by the Musarde and
  its various tributaries and offshoots. The densely
  forested river valleys rise to rocky uplands where
  great russet eagles nest. The forest floor is covered
  with mottled ivy and gray ferns. Nasty snarls of
  thorns and nettles abound, almost eager to tear at
  any passer-by.
  From the moment I left Valachan and entered
  Sithicus, I was haunted by a strange feeling, a
  distinct sense of familiarity to the woods. Try as I
  might, I could not determine why these woods
  would seem like home to me. Scenes from my past
  that I would just as soon forget crowded my head
  until I could no longer make out the moss-covered
  trunks that surrounded me. Throughout my travels
  within the Sithican borders, I constantly had to
  force myself not to get lost in less-than-pleasant
  reveries.
  Most visitors through Sithicus stick to the
  main roads connecting the major cities. I decided
  if it was good enough for others, those routes would
  do for me as well.
  The western end of Sithicus is bracketed by
  the headwaters of the Arden River to the south and
  its tributary, the Little Arden, to the north. Two
  elven settlements, Mal-Erek and Hroth, sit near
  the Valachani border, linked by the Elf Road, or
  Esthithir, as it is called here. Just north of Mal-Erek,
  the Little Arden skirts along the dense forests of
  Verbrek; fortunately for the elves, the river seems
  The Guilt of Sithicus
  In 1d3 hours after entering Sithicus, new-
  comers experience a heightened sense of guilt
  (no saving throw). At first, this guilt mani-
  fests as a creeping unease, a certainty that
  something is wrong coupled with an inability
  to identify the root cause. Within the first 1d3
  days, the newcomer vividly recalls some past
  incident in which she acted very badly. Guilt
  over this incident becomes the focus of the
  newcomer’s unease, becoming a minor if per-
  sistent distraction. The newcomer suffers a –1
  morale penalty to initiative, Listen, Search,
  and Spot checks for as long as she remains in
  the domain. Newcomers commonly mistake
  the distraction of their companions for dis-
  comfort, as if they can see the newcomer’s
  guilty deeds in her face. In fact, they are
  caught up in their own guilty memories, though
  anyone who remains in Sithicus long enough
  will begin to wonder just what past sins are
  tormenting those around them.
  True natives of Sithicus also suffer from
  this heightened, nagging conscience, though
  they do not suffer from the morale penalty it
  evokes in newcomers. In fact, their forced
  acceptance of their own weaknesses makes
  native Sithicans less susceptible to illusions:
  they receive a +1 insight bonus to saves against
  illusions cast within the domain. Further-
  more, because the domain itself is unfriendly
  to deceptions of any sort, illusions last for only
  half their normal duration when cast within
  Sithicus’ borders.
  True Innocents are immune to the guilt.
  The effects of the guilt lift once a  character
  leaves Sithicus. Limitations on the duration
  of illusions and bonuses for native characters
  do not extend beyond the domain’s borders.
  to act as a natural barrier against intrusive wolves.
  South of the Arden, the Disappearing Hills rise
  into the Misty Border, still clinging to their snowy
  caps as spring encroached.
  Continuing east, the sparse woods give way to
  an awesome sight. Located between the respective
  headwaters of the Arden and Little Arden, the
  
  109
  Sithicus
  Great Chasm lay before me like a scar across the
  heart of Sithicus. Running north to south, it
  stretched for dozens of miles, taking me days to
  circumvent. At its widest, I estimate that it was
  roughly five miles wide, but it narrowed to about a
  mile wide at each end. Denuded of any forest, the
  area should have been bathed in sunlight, but such
  was not the case. The Chasm absorbed all light and
  was surrounded by only a few skeleton-like trees.
  Directly in the center, a black peak speared the sea
  of shadows that filled the Great Chasm. Atop this
  peak, I could see the ruins of what must have been
  Nedragaard Keep, home of the realm’s fallen ty-
  rant, with swarms of ravens circling overhead. All
  that remained of the castle were stone ruins resem-
  bling blackened, rotted teeth. Some of the elves in
  Mal-Erek swear to have seen keening spirits —
  banshees — swirling around the broken spires when
  the moon is full.
  West of the Great Chasm, the Endless River
  flows north from the Mists, cutting a winding path
  through southern Sithicus. The Krellin River
  emerges from artesian wells near the Little Arden’s
  own headwaters, then cuts a curving path south-
  east, past the central elven settlement of Har-
  Thelen before merging with the Endless River just
  before their waters bolster the Musarde as it turns
  north toward Invidia.
  Upriver from this confluence, the Musarde
  flows in a steady course from the Kartakan border,
  neatly bisecting eastern Sithicus. The valleys north-
  east of the Musarde — known collectively as the
  Fumewood, the densest forests in Sithicus — have
  an ill, haunted reputation. The sun has no chance
  of piercing the canopy of trees that cover the region
  like a dull, green shroud, and the woods are suppos-
  edly littered by a series of tunnels that crisscross
  and network the entire area. Pools of stagnant
  water harbor clouds of insects humming around
  them in the dank heat of summer. In addition,
  rumor has it that a pack of twisted, xenophobic
  halflings has built a large fort deep in the Fumewood,
  surrounded by horrible messages of warning to
  trespassers. No one has yet discovered their secret
  home, “Kendralind,” and returned to tell the tale.
  A well-maintained road runs in rough parallel
  to the Musarde’s northern banks, joining Har-
  Thelen with the distant settlement of Skald in
  
  110
  Report Five
  Kartakass. Still known as the Merchants’ Way
  among Kartakans for the number of traders who use
  this road, Sithicans have come to call it the Mer-
  chants’ Slash. Starting around 726 BC, the halflings
  made so many raids on travelers that a group of
  merchants united to slash and burn a buffer zone
  along the entire length of the trail. This zone has
  helped somewhat with the attacks by denying the
  raiders their cover, but the shrouded Fumewood is
  eager to reclaim it. Hungry shoots of ivy and nettles
  require constant attention, and caravans of mer-
  chants take turns maintaining the route. It is never
  an easy task, and one or two merchants will periodi-
  cally go missing during the routine cleanup.
  Northeast of the Fumewood sits a less ominous
  track of woods bordering Invidia and Barovia. The
  area harkens to the name of Sangiyeth, or the “Iron
  Hills.” Packs of wild elves roam free here, spending
  most of their time hunting and trapping high in the
  hills or foraging for berries and other wild, growing
  foods and roots. They too spend a fair bit of time
  raiding traveling merchants; unlike the halflings,
  they reputedly sneak across the border into Barovia
  to steal what they can. The region is treacherous
  even for these elves after the heavy, seasonal rains.
  Large tracts of the Iron Hills become muddy quag-
  mires to which even the sure-footed wild elves are
  not impervious. Spring is thus when they suffer the
  highest mortality rates, but their raiding is heaviest
  as well, as it is commonplace for the wheels of
  caravans to bog down and become trapped, making
  them extremely vulnerable to the wild elves’ at-
  tacks.
  South of the Musarde and east of the Endless
  River, the Sithican forests rise into the boulder-
  strewn Misttop Hills. Nestled northwest of the
  Misttops lies a pathetic shambles of a village the
  people still call Veidrava. I was told that at one
  point, the area was busy with the excavation of salt,
  a commodity that is still rare within these borders,
  with a miners’ village, storefront and engine house
  for the mine the humans worked. Almost all of the
  huts were situated near the foothills, ostensibly to
  make the dwellings easier to protect from invaders.
  The Engine House itself was a modern marvel, I
  hear, with a secret mechanism no one but Azrael
  was privy to. After the cataclysmic event of the
  Hour of Screaming Shadows, however, this bare
  village and the mine buildings were blasted into
  ruins. No one ever came back to open the mine,
  although I heard rumblings that some factions are
  considering it.
  The borders of Sithicus are surrounded by low
  shrubs and bushes that bear sickly blooms. It is said
  that at times, these shrubs can quickly shoot up
  over twelve feet and choke out the sky with the
  smoky black roses they bear, the floral growths
  effectively barring travel.
  Sithicus’ climate follows a temperate pattern,
  characterized by muggy, humid summers and bitter
  winters. The thunderstorms that strike the realm
  are violent, descending sporadically each May to
  bring torrential rains and flash floods. The rains
  start to taper off by the second week of June. The
  uplands and some of the most outer-lying areas
  receive a light blanket of snow in the depths of
  winter.
  In one of my interviews with the locals, I
  discovered an interesting history behind their un-
  usual moon. Apparently, Sithicus did not always
  share the same moon with the rest of the Core.
  Previously, their moon, which the elves call Nuitari,
  was completely black. The only way one could
  discover its location in the night sky was to look for
  the points of light it blocked out. The black moon
  radiated an ebony glow, visible only to those with
  similarly black hearts, which sucked up all light. In
  addition, Nuitari had a lunar cycle of just over a
  week; I can only wonder about Nuitari’s possible
  effects upon Verbrek’s werewolves. Sometime
  shortly before the Hour of Screaming Shadows, a
  second, pure white moon appeared next to Nuitari,
  briefly followed by a red companion. On the night
  of the earth-shattering events of the Hour of
  Screaming Shadows, the portentous moons com-
  bined to form the orb that fills the night sky today.
  Some say that the darkness that fell on Nedragaard
  was none other than Nuitari itself, displaced by this
  new orb. The entire story strikes me as outrageous.
  I would dismiss the tale outright, had Darkest
  Night in our own land of Darkon not taught me
  that the night sky can be untrustworthy.
  The elven cities feature a series of concentric
  stone walls separating the lofty towers of the vari-
  ous castes. Once glorious, the walls are slowly
  eroding, the  structures of elven wood and crystal
  now choked with ivy and moss or falling apart to
  the touch. Statues and other works of art are
  crumbling, and potholes pepper the cobbled streets
  within the cities. Weeds, mildew and brush choke
  the ornamental gardens. The outermost walls of
  each settlement are covered by brambles so thick
  and overgrown that they both offer a haphazard
  
  111
  Sithicus
  form of protection and often conceal the presence
  of the city itself from unobservant passers-by.
  As for the human minority, its settlements are
  sorry affairs, mere clusters of hovels built of avail-
  able materials and grouped together in proximity
  to a mine or logging stand.
  Flora
  Sithican forests are dense blocks of growth
  that few can maneuver through with any amount
  of ease or safety. These dark and haunted places
  never cease to evoke a sense of melancholy and
  dread. Some elven mages believe the trees and
  shrubs are the embodiment of souls that have died.
  Stands of evergreens cling precariously to the
  rocky ridges and saddlebacks and swarm across the
  rolling geography of Sithicus. Other broadleaf trees
  fight for a foothold in the woods: alder, ash, maple,
  oak, rowan and willow, though one can also find
  rarer downy birch, juniper, and yew. Beneath the
  forest canopy lies an abundance of gorse, wild
  marigold, saxifrage, sedges and rampant ivy beds, as
  well as ferns in every possible shade of green and
  gray. Lichens and lugworts shroud the tree bark and
  stones in the darkest thickets.
  Carnivorous plant life is also a danger to trav-
  elers in Sithicus, where the forests seem possessed
  of an unnatural vitality. Many trespassers have
  fallen victim to bloodroot, lashweed, quickwood
  and stranger things. More than one merchant told
  me of a type of mold that has the ability to infect
  and actually possess any traveler foolish enough to
  sleep on or too near it.
  wilder regions. The expansive forests shelter bad-
  gers, bats, wild boars, deer, elk, rats, weasels, as well
  as mice, hares, moles, red squirrels and voles. Sig-
  nificant predators include badgers, brown bears
  and red foxes. Intriguingly, neither the wolves of
  Verbrek nor the panthers of Valachan are often
  seen here. Some travelers have told me of gigantic
  ants, spiders and wasps. I never encountered such
  oddities myself, but the elven rangers who patrol
  the wilds have developed ways to breed and train a
  Trekking Through Sithicus
  The forests of Sithicus are notoriously
  difficult to navigate, even for natives. During
  the reign of the Black Rose, the landmarks
  never grew familiar to travelers, regardless of
  how often they were encountered. Under the
  reign of Inza Kulchevich, all of Sithicus seems
  strangely familiar, even to those who are com-
  pletely lost. In either case, travelers suffer a –2
  circumstance penalty to all Survival checks
  made to get their bearings.
  Fauna
  The primordial environment of Sithicus fos-
  ters a plethora of animals typical of the Core’s
  Local Animals and Native Horrors
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife:
  Wildlife: CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10
  CR 1/10 — bat; toad; CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8
  CR 1/8 — rat; CR 1/6
  CR 1/6
  CR 1/6
  CR 1/6
  CR 1/6 —
  lizard; raven; CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4 — cat; owl; weasel; CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3
  CR 1/3 — hawk;
  snake, Tiny viper; CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 
  CR 1/2 — badger; eagle; snake, Small
  viper; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — snake, Medium viper; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — boar; CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  CR 4
  — bear, brown.
   Monsters:
   Monsters:
   Monsters:
   Monsters:
   Monsters: CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4
  CR 1/4 — goblin; monstrous spider, Tiny;
  zombie, Small; 1/3
  1/3
  1/3
  1/3
  1/3 — gremishka*; skeleton, Medium; CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  CR 1/
  22222 — geist*; monstrous spider, Small; silver fox**; zombie,
  Medium; CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1
  CR 1 — bakhna rakhna*; fungus, shrieker; giant
  ant, worker; ghoul; monstrous spider, Medium; plant,
  bloodrose*; CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2
  CR 2 — assassin bug, giant*; dire badger;
  giant ant, queen; giant ant, soldier; plant, crawling ivy*;
  shadow asp*; CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3
  CR 3 — allip; dire wolf; ettercap; fungus,
  violet; ghast; giant wasp; impersonator*; ogre; plant, bloo-
  droot*; shadow; CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 
  CR 4 — gargoyle; giant beetle, stag;
  plant, lashweed*; vampire spawn; CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5
  CR 5 — odem*; reason
  stealer; wraith; CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6
  CR 6 — corpse candle*; vampire, halfling*;
  will-o’-wisp; CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7
  CR 7 — ghost; heucuva; salt shadow (see
  Attached Notes); spectre; vampire, elven*; CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8
  CR 8 —
  mohrg; plant, dread treant*; CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9
  CR 9 –plant, undead treant*;
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10
  CR 10 — plant, quickwood*; radiant spirit* CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11
  CR 11 —
  crimson death, lycanthrope, werefox**; CR 12
  CR 12
  CR 12
  CR 12
  CR 12 — roper;
  CR 17
  CR 17
  CR 17
  CR 17
  CR 17 — banshee†.
  ** See Ravenloft Gazetteer I.
  † Although the banshees of the Black Rose’s
  retinue are fearsome creatures, most elven spirits
  within Sithicus are simply ghosts with the fright-
  ful moan or wail special attack:
  Wail (Su): During the night, the ghost can
  loose a deadly wail. This attack can slay a number
  of living creatures equal to 1/2 the ghost’s HD +
  the ghost’s rank within a 30-foot spread centered
  on the ghost, or within a 60-foot cone extending
  from the ghost, at the spirit’s option. A successful
  Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 ghost’s HD + ghost’s
  Cha modifier) negates the effect. Once a ghost
  wails, it must wait 1d4 rounds before it can do so
  again, and it can wail a number of times per day
  equal to no more than half its rank (rounded
  down, 1/day minimum).
  
  112
  Report Five
  remarkable form of mount: huge stag beetles, easily
  the size of a horse. These chitinous monsters are
  hardly tame, however, and can pose a serious
  danger to anyone but their rider. For this reason,
  the beetles are seldom brought into populated
  areas.
  Encounters with incorporeal undead, particu-
  larly the banshees that followed the Black Rose, are
  infamous in Sithicus. More than one traveler has
  met his end in the forests, far from home; to hear
  most foreigners speak of them, Sithicus‘ woods are
  overrun with the moaning ghosts. In actuality,
  however, encounters with such spirits are unusual
  and appear to have grown even scarcer in the last
  few years. The banshees supposedly still haunt the
  ruins of Nedragaard Keep, however, occasionally
  venturing along the edges of the Great Chasm —
  travelers beware.
  History
  he chronicle of Sithicus does not reach
  as far back into the past as those of its
  neighbors. Despite its brevity, the realm’s
  history is an active one, filled with as
  much treachery and strife as that of any
  land in the Core.
  The details of that history are divided between
  the obvious and the utterly obscure; the two are
  intermixed with such regularity that my notes on
  the subject remain choppy, incomplete. The mark
  left upon the land and its people by the one-time
  ruler of Sithicus, now referred to only as the “Black
  Rose,” remains vivid. Yet the despot’s true name,
  even the exact nature of the curse that earned him
  his sobriquet — these have proved impossible to
  ascertain with any degree of certainty. The Sithicans
  demonstrate remarkable apathy toward their own
  distant past and a palpably active desire to forget
  recent events. It is a bitter irony, for given elves’
  extraordinary longevity, even living memory could
  stretch back centuries.
  Written records are scarce in Sithicus, though
  this was not always so. The larger elven communi-
  ties house extensive historical and arcane libraries,
  but the contents of those airy structures have fallen
  into decay. The elves rely upon oral tradition to
  pass along knowledge from generation to genera-
  tion. They seldom share their tales with outsiders,
  and with those not of elven blood even more rarely.
  As for the human minority, the inhabitants of
  those wretched communities usually lack the abil-
  ity to read or write. Like the more cultured elves,
  these humans show great reluctance to recount
  folktales or reveal what they recall of local history.
  Yet their reluctance is not born of social snobbery
  or outright racism, as with their elven countrymen.
  Simple and profound fear prevents most human
  Sithicans from discussing the past.
  From tales gathered throughout the Core,
  particularly in Barovia and Invidia, I came to
  Sithicus with some knowledge of its past. Oddly
  enough, the stories I had been told proved accu-
  rate, even if the facts underlying their narratives
  were sometimes deeply buried by local bias and
  “artistic” elaboration. Reciting a few of these facts
  had a uniform effect upon the average Sithican:
  where a moment before he had been grim and
  steadfast in denying any knowledge of events more
  ancient than yesterday’s dawn, after hearing a few
  pointed comments about the “Black Rose” or the
  “Hour of Screaming Shadows,” the local would slip
  into a mournful, trembling silence that confirmed
  the truth of what I had said.
  Bah. The silence of cowards is feeble proof
  of a tale’s veracity. I know the truth of these
  tales already. The “destruction” of the
  cursed knight is merely bait on a hook —
  but my tormentors will not distract me now.
  Of Sithicus’ distant past, the elves revealed
  only this: their kingdom began on a distant world
  in a land ruled by a human knight — the Black
  Rose —who waged a war against the gods, planning
  to topple them from power. The gods charged the
  elves with the task of stopping the Rose’s hubris,
  but they failed. Then the gods themselves struck
  down the Black Rose, casting him into a misty
  abyss — our own world, as the elves describe it —
  and for their failures, the elves and their kingdom
  were dragged down to share his fate.
  Note that even this brief account is a mere
  approximation of the false history of Sithicus.
  Every elf who deigned speak of history offered a
  differing version of the tale, the details often vary-
  ing widely.
  The Mists revealed the land of Sithicus in 720
  BC, and from this point on facts are somewhat
  easier to come by. Earlier in that spring, the Black
  Rose first appeared in the annals of Barovia. Ac-
  companied by a young, captive Vistana woman
  named Magda Ilyanova Kulchevich and a vicious
  dwarf and accused werebeast by the name of Azrael
  
  113
  Sithicus
  Dak, the Rose reportedly challenged Count Strahd
  X in his own castle and survived to tell of that
  foolhardy confrontation. Similar stories are told of
  the Rose battling Duke Gundar, late ruler of
  Gundarak. Through Vistani campfire tales I have
  learned that the brave young woman Magda es-
  caped the Rose and remained in Gundarak even as
  her former captor passed on to Sithicus, where he
  seized the throne and reigned from the ruined
  tower known as Nedragaard Keep.
  For nearly two decades, Sithicus served as
  battleground for a long, bloody, and ultimately
  pointless conflict between the Black Rose and the
  wild elves of the Iron Hills. Whereas the elven
  aristocrats of the cities passively resisted the Rose’s
  rulership, the denizens of the Iron Hills waged an
  open and active war. They attacked traders, burned
  human settlements, and killed anyone serving the
  Rose who fell into their hands. The enmity of the
  Iron Hills bands to non-elves forced the humans to
  side with the Rose, albeit reluctantly.
  The Black Rose and Azrael Dak, now sen-
  eschal of Nedragaard, treated their human subjects
  with contempt and distrust. Even being suspected
  of sympathizing with the rebel elves was grounds
  for immediate execution, with the seneschal’s newly
  formed secret police — the Politskarae — fostering
  paranoia and fear among the humans and the
  supposedly neutral elven aristocrats. Travelers fared
  little better, with Azrael’s press gangs grabbing
  captives by the score and whisking them off to the
  front lines.
  As the civil war dragged on, the Black Rose
  appeared less and less frequently. By the time of the
  Great Upheaval in 740 BC, he had become a
  veritable prisoner inside the crumbling, blackened
  walls of Nedragaard Keep. Some began to wonder
  if he had been destroyed. As is so common in
  Sithicus, the truth was less extreme, but far more
  bizarre. The Black Rose had become enthralled by
  a group of memory mirrors, enchanted glass that
  allowed the Rose to submerge his mind in illusory
  variations of his disastrous life. For days, then
  weeks, and then months at a time, the Rose re-
  mained in his throne room, unmoving, lost in this
  reverie of what might have been.
  Azrael Dak made the most of his master’s
  inattention. He moved from securing troops loyal
  to — or at least fearful of — the Rose to mustering
  soldiers that served him above all others. He nego-
  tiated secret deals with the wild elves, promising
  the overthrow of the hated Rose and offering them
  rewards for allowing him to appear victorious now
  and then. When one of the larger bands rejected
  Azrael’s offers, the seneschal turned the others
  against them, so that soon the wild elves were as
  much a threat to each other as to the merchants,
  travelers and homesteaders who had started re-
  turning to Sithicus. Azrael capitalized upon their
  return, directing almost all the tax revenue col-
  lected to his private coffers. It is during this time
  that he most actively earned an unpleasant title he
  still proudly claims: “the Sorrow of Sithicus.”
  Given his reportedly limited intelligence and
  his explosive temper, Azrael almost certainly em-
  ployed advisors who helped him accomplish these
  rather remarkable feats of cunning and diplomacy.
  Malocchio Aderre of Invidia is a likely candidate,
  though his alliance with the dwarf seems to have
  started some years after this period. More tantaliz-
  ing are the stories of shadowy figures — little more
  than voices, really — that spoke to Azrael at the
  Lake of Sounds, a strange subterranean lake he
  discovered at about this time in a cavern off the
  deepest levels of the Veidrava salt mine.
  By the spring of 743 BC, Azrael effectively
  ruled Sithicus. Several strange occurrences marked
  this transition. Early in the year, all the flowers in
  the kingdom turned black. With the exception of
  the white roses that continued to grow in the Iron
  Hills, and a brief time in early 744 when their
  normal hue returned, Sithican flowers would bloom
  black for the next nine years. At the same time, the
  land was ravaged by a sickness known as Ashen
  Fever — often mistranslated from Sithican as
  “White Fever,“ no doubt confusing it with the
  Valachani epidemic.
  For much of the next decade, Azrael main-
  tained his iron grip on the land. Yet he lacked the
  power to confront the Black Rose, who remained
  lost in his own mind, even after the memory mirrors
  were shattered in 744 BC. To gather the power to
  overthrow the Rose, the werebadger forged a twisted
  double alliance sometime after 750 BC — first with
  Malocchio Aderre of Invidia, then with a Vistana
  girl named Inza, daughter of his old nemesis, Magda
  Ilyanova Kulchevich.
  Madame Magda and her vardo, a group of
  outcast and orphaned Vistani known as the Wan-
  derers, entered Sithicus in 738 BC and remained
  under the protection of the Black Rose. They had
  made their way to the domain after the birth of
  Magda’s daughter Inza two years earlier, in the
  now-conquered land of Gundarak, on the very
  
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  Report Five
  night Duke Gundar met his end. How they secured
  the Rose’s protection is unclear. I suspect Madame
  Magda held some secrets the Rose wished hidden,
  something perhaps only the Vistani could accom-
  plish in this strange place.
  Whatever service it was that Magda performed
  for the Rose, Azrael surely wanted it terminated.
  His pacts with Malocchio and Inza meant the
  murder, in 752 BC, of Magda and almost her entire
  tribe. At almost the same moment, Invidian troops,
  bolstered by soldiers loyal to Azrael and the always-
  rebellious Sithican elves, laid siege to Nedragaard
  Keep. These appear to have been brilliantly or-
  chestrated distractions, for even as the siege started,
  the treacherous seneschal himself completed a
  ritual deep within the Veidrava mine, in a cavern
  known as the Black Chapel. The result of this
  sorcery was the catastrophe that would come to be
  called the Hour of Screaming Shadows.
  To hear Azrael’s loyalists tell it, and none too
  convincingly, the Hour of Screaming Shadows was
  not the seneschal’s doing, but dark and potent
  magic wrought by best-forgotten gods who wanted
  to destroy the Black Rose and clear the way for
  Azrael to take control of Sithicus. In fact, the
  Ashen Fever
  Sometime after 720 BC, a disease crept slowly across Sithicus. At first, many did not realize that
  an actual sickness was to blame, mistakenly thinking its victims had simply succumbed to the effects
  of age. Indeed, when the disease first appeared, it infected the elderly. Eventually, however, the Ashen
  Fever spread to younger victims by the tens, then hundreds, and finally, after two decades, the
  thousands.
  The disease manifests as a simple fever at first, but progresses to a second stage marked by pustules
  and other sores that can last for years, even in a resilient person. Other signs as the disease progresses
  include bulging eyes and a general whitening of the flesh and hair with an overall stooping of the body.
  These symptoms initially fooled the populace into believing the victim had simply succumbed to early
  senescence.
  Almost as mysteriously as the Ashen Fever started, it died out. No one knows why for sure, and
  the slightest hint of a flush on someone’s face is enough to strike fear into those around her. No one
  knows if the Ashen Fever will strike again, and even those whose scarred, pock-marked faces forever
  identify them as survivors are not sure if they would be immune a second time.
  Ashen Fever (Ex): Contact, Fortitude DC 15, incubation period 1 year, damage special. Victims
  infected by Ashen Fever make Fortitude saves to resist the disease only once per year. Each time a
  victim fails this saving throw, her physical ability scores are modified as if she has aged by one age
  category (youth, adult, middle age, old, venerable; see Table 6–5: Aging Effects in the D&D Player’s
  Handbook). A victim “aged” past “venerable” dies. Each time the victim succeeds at the Fortitude save,
  her ability scores revert by one category to her “true” age. Ashen Fever never affects mental ability
  scores and has run its course when the victim makes enough successful Fortitude saves to restore her
  original age category.
  seneschal had made an almost insanely risky at-
  tempt to gain control of every shadow in the
  domain, hoping to use the power to annihilate the
  Rose himself. Yet the rite was foiled by a hero
  named Ganelon, known as “the Blessed” to the
  many people he’s helped throughout Sithicus or as
  “the Doomed” to those who know that such good
  deeds seldom go unpunished.
  The gathered shadows, freed from Azrael’s
  control, smashed back upon the land, destroying
  Nedragaard, the armies besieging it, and presum-
  ably its armored master before reuniting with their
  owners. The failure of his plan nearly drove Azrael
  mad, and he spent some months after the Hour of
  Screaming Shadows tearing through Sithicus in
  his war chariot, a ghastly contraption built of the
  teeth and bones of his slain enemies. He searched
  in vain for the missing Black Rose, who was seen no
  more in Sithicus. The remains of the once-impos-
  ing spire of Nedragaard Keep huddled atop a spike
  of rock in the Great Chasm. All that remained of
  the Rose were whispered tales and a lingering dread
  that he might return, such that the people still
  refuse to speak his name for fear of summoning him.
  
  115
  Sithicus
  The apparent destruction of his former master
  in 752 BC has left Azrael far worse off than he was
  before his schemes all failed. The destruction of the
  Invidian forces at Nedragaard collapsed his alli-
  ance with Malocchio Aderre, putting a bitter enemy
  on his doorstep to the north, and his mistreatment
  of Madame Magda and her Wanderers earned him
  the enmity of the Vistani. The promises he made to
  the wild elves remain largely unfulfilled, and the
  threat of renewed rebellion grows greater with each
  passing day. Worse still, though Azrael claims the
  throne of Sithicus, he is by no means the real power
  in the land. Where once the dwarf had com-
  manded all but the title of Lord of Sithicus, he now
  commands the title alone. The secret ruler of the
  domain — the true dread lord at Sithicus’ heart —
  remains unseen, allowing this desperate little mad-
  man the limelight while he, she, or it schemes from
  the shadows.
  Like all secrets within Sithicus, this one is
  obvious, once one knows how to read the signs.
  Where the peasants’ hidden sins manifest upon
  their faces in their mournful expressions and bleak
  eyes, the hidden reign of the true dread lord of
  Sithicus is revealed in a disturbing trail of strangely
  savaged corpses and blasted, lifeless groves that hiss
  with awful whispering beneath the weird, tripartite
  moon.
  Former Darklord: The Black Rose
  The Black Rose (male human death knight ex-Pal9/Blk6, CE) ruled Sithicus from 720 to 753
  BC. Born on an outlander world wracked by wars between draconic armies and meddling gods of
  good and evil, he began life as a valiant member of a respected knightly order. Despite his noble
  origins, the Rose harbored a lustful and jealous heart. He murdered his wife to pursue an illicit affair
  with an elf maid, but his crime was uncovered. The Black Rose fell from grace.
  Even as the Black Rose fell, a cleric rose to power. This high priest turned to evil in the name
  of good and threatened to usurp the throne of the gods. The Rose was granted one chance to redeem
  himself: a holy quest to stop the priest before the gods were forced to erase his madness with a terrible
  cataclysm. The Black Rose set forth, but the envious, spiteful sisters of his elf maid bride stopped him
  along the way. The elves lied, claiming that the Rose was not the father of his bride’s newborn child.
  Given the choice of stopping the apocalypse and returning home to confront his wife, the Black Rose
  abandoned his quest. The world was scoured.
  Even as flames rained upon the Rose’s keep, he struck down his wife and refused to save their
  infant son. The fires consumed him, but the gods denied him death, cursing him to live one lifetime
  for each of the millions lost. The Rose became an undead horror — a death knight (see Monster
  Manual II) — and his insignia, the red rose enameled on his shining full plate, was scorched black.
  The Black Rose brooded in his shattered keep for centuries as civilization slowly rebuilt itself,
  the painful memory of his failures the only reminder that he still existed. Eventually, draconic armies
  clashed again, and an evil warlord — the Blue Lady — dared to recruit the Rose as her henchman.
  Lust once again pulsed in the Rose’s ashen heart, and he betrayed the Lady to her foes at the moment
  of her triumph. He carried her corpse back to his ruin, intent on adding her to his undead retinue,
  but the Mists added him to theirs instead.
  After a brief trek across the Core, the Rose was granted Sithicus, a domain filled with
  maddeningly distorted echoes of his past. He heard that his Blue Lady’s spirit also haunted his realm,
  but he could never claim her. Even the Rose’s precious memories of pain deserted him, and he
  eventually sank into unfeeling despair.
  No one knows what became of the Black Rose following the Night of Screaming Shadows.
  Perhaps he truly was destroyed. Perhaps the Dark Powers released him, disappointed by his utter
  surrender to their torment. Or perhaps he was reclaimed by a curse even more powerful than that
  which had held him here.
  
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  Report Five
  Populace
  he majority of the folk who live in
  Sithicus — and the only group to hold
  any positions of prominence — are elves,
  or esthi (“people”) as they call them-
  selves. A few Vistani pass through the
  country, either to barter with the locals or fleece
  them as is their way, while others are here on a holy
  pilgrimage to the Last (see below). The only Vistani
  exceptions are the Wanderers, a small band that
  constantly patrols the country, as if prevented from
  leaving the Sithican borders.
  A small population of displaced humans is
  present, mostly comprised of former workers from
  the Salt Mines of Veidrava. Either weakness or
  Azrael himself prevents them from returning to
  where the dwarf and his undead minions initially
  pressed them into his service. They are mostly a
  broken lot, forever damaged by their time in the
  darkness of the mines. A few have a twisted value
  to Azrael, though, as many will do anything for a
  few coins these days — things a saner person might
  avoid. The remaining humans tend to be mer-
  chants and craftsmen from Kartakass who have
  settled permanently within Sithicus due to mar-
  riage or some other type of entanglement with the
  Sithicans.
  With this mix, one finds a growing population
  of half-elves. Some of these children and young
  adults are the offspring of merchants who passed
  through the Sithican villages or of those who
  remain there today. Others are the result of cou-
  plings between the most destitute of the villagers
  who have clung to each other out of mutual des-
  peration.
  I collected many tales of a final group in
  Sithicus, though I found it almost impossible to
  corroborate. Many villagers have reported a group
  of small, humanoid creatures living deep in the
  Fumewood and the Iron Hills. They appear to be
  halflings, but are reportedly ghastly, nocturnal,
  and nearly feral creatures. The villagers refer to
  these creatures as the most dangerous and xeno-
  phobic they have ever come across, and folk avoid
  the areas the creatures have claimed like the Ashen
  Fever. I even heard tales of these infamous recluses
  in Invidia, where Falkovnian mercenaries fre-
  quently referred to them as the bitterkinder: the
  “bitter children.”
  The Bitterkinder
  Deep within the Fumewood, a pocket of
  vampiric halflings has taken root. Although no
  one knows for sure, many say that the Black Rose
  used foul rites in 725 BC to draw hundreds of
  once-kindly smallfolk — the entire village of
  Kendralind — into Sithicus from his home world,
  then experimented on them unspeakably.
  Most of the captives died outright in the
  experiments. A very few escaped with their lives,
  if not unscarred. The remainder, more than 100,
  were transformed into wretched undead. These
  vampiric bitterkinder have long, wild, unkempt
  hair and a pale, sickly complexion, with mesmer-
  izing red eyes devoid of any other color. The
  living and undead alike have a reputation for
  killing whoever crosses their path and have a
  deathly fear of strangers. The vampires despised
  the Black Rose, but they were forced to obey him.
  Inza holds no such power over them.
  While quite vicious and ruthless, the halflings
  do not mindlessly attack the populace, and they
  do warn trespassers not to approach their territory
  by setting up perimeters of poles around their
  encampment, topping each one with the head of
  a former victim. Oftentimes, a stranger can smell
  a camp of bitterkinder before she sees them, the
  stench of rotting flesh overwhelming the poten-
  tial trespasser.
  No one knows why they fear others so much
  or why they go to such obvious lengths to dissuade
  strangers from crossing their path. What they fear
  and what they may be hiding deep within their
  gray, dank forests are questions that go unan-
  swered, for anyone unwise enough to infiltrate
  their camp is never seen again. Except, perhaps,
  as a signpost.
  Sithican Vampires
  The halfling vampires created by the Black
  Rose are inextricably bound to Sithicus. Unlike
  the standard halfling vampire (see Denizens of
  Dread), these undead can rest anywhere in the
  domain, not just within a mile of their grave.
  They are instantly destroyed if they ever leave
  Sithicus, however, as if exposed to sunlight. So
  powerful is their bond, they suffer intense pain
  whenever they wander within a mile of the
  domain’s borders.
  
  117
  Sithicus
  Appearance
  Elven Sithicans share the traits of pointed
  ears, vulpine features and lithe frames with their
  Darkonian brethren. The civilized (or “high”) elves
  of Sithicus, however, are distinguished by the am-
  ber eyes and silvery hair most of them share. As
  with the elves of Darkon, Sithicans’ eyes reflect
  light like animals.
  The wild elves, I believe, are the closest to a
  true, primordial elven demeanor that one might
  find in these desolate lands. Although generally
  similar to their civilized kin, they let their hair grow
  long and mane-like. Their skin is somewhat darker
  than those who live in the cities. Their nature has
  become feral and twisted. They engage in ritual
  scarification, carving elaborate spiral designs into
  their flesh, and I have even heard rumors that they
  partake of cannibalism to make themselves purer
  and more elf-like.
  Fashion
  Both the domestic elves and the wild elves of
  the Iron Hills are a sad, pathetic lot. Their clothes
  and demeanor are shabby and worn. They favor
  drab colors, their jackets, tunics and leggings pre-
  dominantly white, beige, ash or dark green-gray.
  Their armor is dented and their cloaks are frayed
  and torn. Much like their buildings, their belong-
  ings are in desperate need of repair, even though
  they are fully capable of creating exotic, form-
  fitting fabrics.
  Fashion among the civilized elves is deter-
  mined by caste; a trained eye can often tell a
  Sithican’s place in society at a glance. Those of the
  artisan and ranger castes, for example, prefer utili-
  tarian garb, favoring loose tunics over tight leggings.
  Elves of the aristocratic caste prefer long, flowing
  robes, often spun from spider silk if tales are to be
  believed. Although seldom seen, elves of the ar-
  cane caste may be the most easily identified. Their
  black robes and tri-cornered headdresses are lined
  with silver and crimson trim, signifying the three
  
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  Report Five
  aspects of magic (see “Attitudes Toward Magic,”
  below).
  The wild elves dress like the primitives they
  are, covering themselves with however little tanned
  hide they require.
  Although they may differ in minor details of
  cut or hemline, the fashions of both cultures tend
  to be shared by both sexes.
  Language
  Sithicans speak Sithican, a dialect of the Elven
  tongue noted for its sibilants, which earns the
  Sithicans the derogatory nickname of the “hissing
  elves.” Speakers of the Darkonian and Sithican
  dialects of Elven can generally understand each
  other so long as both pay close attention, but
  Darkonian speakers may note pidgin elements
  within the Sithican dialect. To the learned ear,
  numerous Sithican words and phrases sound oddly
  dissonant, hinting that they may have been bor-
  rowed from languages otherwise unknown in these
  lands. Many elves also know enough Vaasi, Balok
  or Mordentish to deal with their neighbors, or a
  smattering of Kartakan to interact with those expa-
  triates making up the majority of their human
  population.
  aristocracy, those few families born to rule. Several
  houses serve the ruling caste, forming the middle
  tiers of society. Elves of the artisan caste become
  Sithicus’ trained craftsmen, creating and (theo-
  retically) maintaining all of the elves’ homes and
  goods. The greenshaper caste is tasked with over-
  seeing agricultural concerns, including the great
  brambles protecting their communities. The ranger
  caste consists of the elves’ protectors, maintaining
  order within the towns and patrolling the wilds for
  external threats. The smallest of these castes, though
  likely not the least powerful, is the arcane caste,
  those elves who follow wizardly pursuits.
  Beneath these houses kneels the servants’ caste,
  those multitudes fated to spend their centuries of
  life tending to the needs of their betters. Naturally,
  all those folk who are not born into a higher caste
  — including all foreigners and non-elves (nesethi)
  — are considered no better than servants.
  Like everything else constructed by the
  Sithicans, the caste system is fraying at the edges.
  The elves remain dourly steadfast in their tradi-
  tions, no longer sure why these customs were
  established. As Azrael’s power (and the Black
  Rose’s legacy) fades and the number of expatriates
  continues to grow, however, the younger genera-
  tion of elves has begun to question the old ways.
  Even the oldest of these elves — those in their
  twenties or thirties — are still considered mere
  children within Sithican society, but perhaps this
  is the beginning of a new direction for the country.
  If so, I expect change to come at a truly glacial pace.
  All marriages are arranged within castes. The
  true “love match” is almost unheard of among the
  pure-blooded elves and so couplings are generally
  pale, passionless affairs. Elven parents produce
  only a few children, who are then raised and
  educated by their families at a distinctly leisurely
  pace. Of course, the elves can afford to take their
  teachings in fits and spurts; their aging slows by the
  year. By the time an elf is fully accepted as an adult
  by his peers, a human born the same day would
  have long since turned gray and gone to his grave.
  Like many of the folk who inhabit the Core,
  most Sithicans are simple subsistence farmers, hunt-
  ers, or laborers. They eke out what they need to
  survive fairly handily on the land they have to work
  with. In fact, they are so competent in raising
  certain types of exotic vegetables that the produce
  has come into demand in some of the neighboring
  domains. The elves of Hroth have developed a
  growing vineyard whose wine, which they call the
  Sithican Primer
  English
  Sithican
  the sun rises
  (common greeting)
  e’roess
  the sun sets
  (common farewell)
  e’naess
  yes
  s
  no
  ust
  help!
  aos!
  go away!
  kelos!
  darkness
  loth
  stranger
  nelin
  forest
  sereon
  tyrant
  rothihir
  Lifestyle & Education
  The high elves living in the three main towns
  and surrounding areas adhere to a rigid caste system
  according to the family of one’s birth, which deter-
  mines one’s lot in life, with each family responsible
  for specific tasks and duties. The highest caste is the
  
  119
  Sithicus
  Tears of Lethe, is growing in popularity throughout
  the Core. Truth is in wine say the elves, and that
  was never so accurate as with this label. After
  consuming only a glass, I found myself overcome by
  sadness and the burning desire to confess my most
  horrible secrets to a nearby stranger.
  other cursed soul. Sithicus is not their true land,
  and they subconsciously reject it as the land rejects
  them. Like so many of the floral specimens I have
  handled during my travels, the Sithicans are not
  unlike plants that cannot be transplanted to unfa-
  miliar soil.
  While in Har-Thelen, I heard a remarkable
  tale. For years, the elves tried desperately to escape
  this “land of spectres.” When an opportunity fi-
  nally arose for them to reclaim their freedom,
  however, most of the “natives” were struck with
  the horribly truthful realization that there was
  nowhere for them to return to. The Sithicans
  believe wholeheartedly that the world from which
  they were banished no longer exists. Like the Black
  Rose himself, it may have been destroyed or drawn
  into a deeper hell.
  Yet while the elves appear beaten down by
  their lot in life, they manage to perk up, as it were,
  whenever non-elf foreigners are around. They as-
  sume a subtly haughty air and deride their visitors
  in other subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
  Most foreigners are horribly overcharged for
  the most basic supplies, and only a lucky visitor
  secures a room, to which I can testify. Food and
  drink go to the non-elf last, and a Sithican will
  sometimes empty out his slop bucket just as a
  foreigner walks by. I barely missed a drenching
  more than once as I made my way around the
  kingdom. I suppose I cannot take these elves to task
  overly much, as I have seen firsthand how elves are
  treated in other countries during my travels. This
  is their way of turnabout.
  Unlike their civilized brethren, Sithicus’ wild
  elves live in small groups, much like wolf packs,
  with one dominant leader who must constantly
  defend his position from up-and-coming “young-
  sters.” Always on the move, they fight among other
  packs, although a few packs will work together on
  rare occasions, oftentimes when a large caravan
  passes near the Iron Hills. One pack chases the
  caravan from the rear, herding the unsuspecting
  travelers into an ambush by two or three other
  packs ahead of them. Typically, no victims survive,
  and everything portable is scavenged.
  Attitudes Toward Magic
  Sithicans believe that all arcane power flows
  from moonlight. Mind you, the elves also believe
  that the moon itself is the eye of one of their god-
  wyrms (see “Religion,” below), with the magic it
  emits waxing and waning as the great dragon opens
  It would be worthwhile to determine whether this
  vintage retains its properties beyond the borders
  of Sithicus.
  Because of the market for their wine, produce,
  and the somber statues some elves carve from
  Sithicus’ ancient trees, trade has slowly increased
  within the domain. For the insular elves, it is a
  difficult transition. With gritted teeth, the Sithicans
  watch as small encampments of human merchants
  establish themselves along the Merchants’ Slash
  and other areas close to the three elven cities. In
  addition, these human communities are slowly
  drawing halflings into Sithicus, many of whom
  eventually add to the growing population of prob-
  lematic bitterkinder. The only citizen who bears no
  qualms at all over the increase in expatriates is
  Azrael. His income has decreased since the loss of
  the Veidrava Salt Mines, so he is pleased with the
  growing piles of gold his trade tax has once more
  placed in his coffers.
  The overall air of the elves who inhabit the
  Sithican cities is apathetic, almost despondent.
  They take no joy from their lives and have few
  entertainments, often preferring simply to spend
  their free time in silent meditation. Even their
  music resembles funereal dirges, more fitting of the
  dour dwarves than the light and joyful elven art-
  istry of my homeland.
  Yet the Sithican elves hold to the belief that
  this is the way their life is supposed to be, the way
  their forefathers must have lived (if their memories
  are to be trusted). They firmly believe that no
  matter what misfortune befalls the kingdom, they
  will survive like this. Their aristocracy is largely
  apathetic, no one is assertive, and I sense little
  likelihood of a leader unifying the various groups of
  elves in the near future.
  The only explanation for this behavior I can
  suggest is that the elves of Darkon claim to feel a
  close connection with the land they live on — as
  if they are literally a part of nature. Yet, as the
  Sithicans themselves claim (however impossible it
  may be to validate), these elves were brought here
  years ago with the distinct duty of torturing an-
  
  120
  Report Five
  and closes its eye. According to what little Sithican
  legend I could gather, three god-wyrms of magic
  once ruled the sky — one black, one silver and one
  crimson, each controlling one aspect of magic:
  destruction, creation, and transformation, respec-
  tively. Yet the legendary black wyrm Nuitari ate
  her sisters, and so only her black glow remained.
  The  destructive aspects of magic — spells of death,
  doom, and necromancy — dominated those years,
  and thus magic fell under suspicion. Although the
  arcane caste continued to exist, its wizardly mem-
  bers seldom sought to draw attention to their
  training. With the recent dramatic change in
  Nuitari, however, the elves believe that Nuitari
  has merged with her sisters, bringing some balance
  back to the supernatural world. The arcane caste is
  once again emerging from the shadows to practice
  the occult arts openly.
  While Sithicans no longer see any harm in
  magic itself, they place their trust entirely in the
  hands of those who are trained in its use. Natural
  arcane talents such as sorcerers are considered
  inherently unstable. Should the elves discover a
  sorcerer in their midst, the hapless mage may face
  perilous, potentially fatal tests to prove his mastery
  over the forces he commands… and not vice versa.
  Religion
  No major religion is associated with those who
  dwell in the land of shadows and truth. While a few
  expatriates have brought their religious practices
  with them, such as the worship of Hala and Erza,
  they are the exception, not the rule. As far as I
  could discern, no active religious organizations
  operate within the borders of Sithicus. All that
  remains of the original elven religion are a few
  scattered ruins, whatever names they once bore
  stricken off, their statuary and icons seemingly
  blasted by lightning. Only through the closest
  scrutiny could I piece together even a partial ac-
  count of the old Sithican faith. Apparently, these
  temples were once dedicated to dragons of godlike
  power, who continually fought among themselves
  for the right to devour the world. Of these god-
  wyrms, the two most powerful were the
  Adamantium Wyrm, god of cold, reason and sun-
  light, and his mate the Many-Headed Devourer,
  goddess of heat and darkness, who devoured him
  and scattered his bones throughout the sky.
  The previous lord of Sithicus kept the elven
  population under his thumb. They had no time for
  leisurely activity or open, religious pursuits. After
  The Inconstant Moon: Nuitari
  To the naked eye, Sithicus shares a single
  moon with the rest of the Core. To some
  viewers, however, Nuitari takes on the appear-
  ance of a stained glass window. Creatures with
  supernatural or spell-like abilities sense the
  power lingering in Nuitari. Some morally neu-
  tral creatures see a rosette in its triple-hued
  glow, while others of evil bent notice more
  horrendous things in its face. To all, the land-
  scape casts strange and mysterious shadows
  under Nuitari’s otherworldly glow.
  While the Black Rose ruled, Nuitari had a
  cycle of just eight days. Today, its cycle matches
  the rest of the Core, stretching over a full lunar
  month. While the moon is half-full to full, evil-
  aligned arcane spellcasters suffer penalties to
  their occult defenses, while good or neutral
  arcane spellcasters receive bonuses. Only ar-
  cane spellcasters (not users of spell-like or
  supernatural abilities) are affected. These ef-
  fects were reversed during the reign of the
  Black Rose.
  New Moon: Evil arcane spellcasters gain a
  +1 profane bonus to their saving throws vs. all
  spells and spell-like abilities. Those of good or
  neutral moral alignment suffer a 1 profane
  penalty to these saving throws.
  Crescent Moon: No effect.
  Half- or Gibbous Moon: Evil arcane
  spellcasters suffer a 2 sacred penalty to their
  saving throws vs. all spells and spell-like abili-
  ties. Those of good or neutral moral alignment
  receive a +2 sacred bonus to these saving throws.
  Full Moon: Evil arcane spellcasters suffer
  a 3 sacred penalty to their saving throws vs. all
  spells and spell-like abilities and effectively
  cast evil spells at one level lower than normal.
  Good or neutral arcane spell casters receive a
  +3 sacred bonus to these saving throws and
  effectively cast good spells at one level higher
  than normal.
  the Black Rose’s destruction, the nature of the land
  changed. That no religion has taken root in this
  new land of “truths” I find quite intriguing. Some-
  thing for philosophers to ponder, perhaps?
  
  121
  Sithicus
  The Realm
  zrael Dak has been the titular ruler of
  Sithicus since the Black Rose’s disap-
  pearance in 752 BC in the Hour of
  Screaming Shadows. In the few scraps
  of official history put down in writing in
  Sithicus and in diplomatic communiqués from
  Azrael shown to me in other realms, the mad dwarf
  alternately claims that the Rose never existed or
  that he had been a mere figurehead, servant or
  puppet used to focus the animosity of the land’s
  many enemies. According to recent, official court
  history, “King Azrael I” has been the one true ruler
  of Sithicus since he first set foot there in 720 BC.
  No one I have met believes this, of course, and
  only the most fear-addled peasant even pretends it
  is true.
  That is not to say Azrael lacks power in his
  realm. The dwarf is a despot with tremendous
  resources at his command, and his edicts have a
  profound impact upon the day-to-day lives of the
  Sithican people. His control is far from complete,
  however. During the reign of the Black Rose,
  The Sithican Hero
  Races: Most Sithicans are elves, with smatterings of humans, half-Vistani, halflings and a growing
  population of half-elves. Sithicans are met with derision and hatred by the humans outside their borders
  and thus return the favor within their realm. While “true” Sithicans are disdainful, if not outright rude, to
  any foreigners and non-elves within their borders, PCs may be exempt from such racist behavior. Yet even
  they are growing concerned and fearful of the bitterkinder, the fastest-growing population of “new”
  Sithicans.
  Classes: Druids, fighters, paladins, rangers and wizards are the most common classes in Sithicus. In a
  desperate attempt to better understand the land Sithicans have finally chosen to inhabit, there is a growing
  trend among the elves to embrace the path of the druid. Acting as guardians of the forests, druids protect
  the woods from elf or human intervention. They serve as a medium between the land of spectres and elfkind,
  although some turn toward evil as they struggle with and misinterpret the nature they so desperately try to
  understand.
  Rangers are also highly respected, though not numerous. They protect the travelers passing through
  the elven forests, while both druids and rangers act as intermediaries between folk and nature.
  A select few from the growing numbers of halflings have turned to the life of the paladin, as younglings
  born to halflings who escaped with their lives have not grown up under the grim rule of the Black Rose.
  Wizards are also a growing number as more of them reveal themselves. Without the sorcerous presence of
  the Black Rose, many who studied for years in secret are slowly practicing their craft in public.
  Recommended Skills: Climb, Craft (bowmaking, carpentry, leathermaking, sculpture,
  weaponsmithing), Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (geography, local, nature), Listen, Move Silently,
  Profession (brewer, cook, farmer, fisher, herbalist, innkeeper, lumberjack, tanner, woodcutter), Search,
  Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Swim.
  Recommended Feats: Alertness, Combat Expertise, Craft Wand, Deflect Arrows, Dodge, Great
  Fortitude, Improved Unarmed Strike, Point Blank Shot, Run, Skill Focus (Knowledge [any], Move Silently,
  Survival), Sworn Enemy (see Van Richten’s Arsenal), Track, Weapon Focus (dagger, handaxe, longbow,
  longsword, quarterstaff, shortbow, shortspear).
  Sithican Male Names: Aramil, Aust, Eberk, Enialis, Heian, Himo, Ivellios, Laucian, Quarion, Ruric,
  Thamior, Tharivol and Veit.
  Sithican Female Names: Anastrianna, Antinua, Artin, Diesa, Drusilia, Felosial, Ielenia, Ilde, Lia,
  Qillathe, Silaqui, Valanthe and Xanaphia.
  Outcast Ratings in Sithicus
  Humans and halflings each have a base Outcast Rating of 3 when dealing with the xenophobic elves
  of Sithicus. Wild elves ignore all scarring-based OR modifiers.
  
  122
  Report Five
  Azrael derived much of his fearful reputation by
  bringing all who opposed him to the attention of
  his master, who could supposedly burn or freeze
  foes with a gesture or kill with a word. With the
  Black Rose gone, Azrael can no longer dangle that
  threat over anyone’s head. Azrael denies the exist-
  ence of any rival to his authority, but that claim
  seems threadbare. Numerous resistance movements
  are brewing, though none of them yet holds any
  true might.
  Even if no one gives it voice, I suspect that the
  truth — and the real power in Sithicus — lies
  within the Great Chasm. During my travels, I
  collected several accounts of a seductive yet deadly
  Vistana, including a few accounts from those who
  identify her as none other than Inza Magdova
  Kulchevich, thought killed in the Night of Scream-
  ing Shadows. If this woman is indeed Inza, then to
  have survived the shadows she must indeed possess
  the power her foes attribute to her. The stories I
  have heard about her dark deeds suggest that the
  dwarf holds the reins of Sithicus only at her whim.
  Perhaps knowing his tenuous position makes
  Azrael’s recent treatment of his more mundane
  enemies so brutal, even beyond the natural vi-
  ciousness the dwarf possesses in abundance. Not
  even Drakov is so extraordinarily brutal to those
  who fall into his clutches. No, this is cruelty borne
  of flailing desperation. Azrael’s power is fleeting,
  and he knows it.
  Government
  King Azrael’s mobile court moves from place
  to place as the whim strikes him. He cares little for
  the trappings of power, but revels in its exercise. A
  despot of the first order, he issues new edicts con-
  stantly, increasing taxes and declaring new ones or
  pressing his subjects into servitude as his needs
  demand. Old laws are rarely rescinded and the
  King’s Code remains largely unwritten. The result-
  ing tangle of contradictory laws leaves
  interpretation to the local government officials
  and the military, who must rely upon memory
  rather than a written record. Opportunities for
  abuse are obvious and many.
  Sithicus’ dreaded secret police, the Politskarae,
  are rife with corruption. The agents are poor at
  hiding their affiliation with the secret police (the
  identity of the local politskara is usually well known
  in any community), but that does not lessen their
  power. Because revealing or even admitting to
  knowing the identity of one of Azrael’s secret agents
  Dread Possibility:
  The Blessed Knight
  In 753, reports first surfaced of a heroic
  warrior who rescued people in need along the
  road that skirts the Great Rift near the ruins of
  Nedragaard Keep. The armed and fully ar-
  mored figure has been sighted many times since
  then, always in the same vicinity, always at
  moments of great peril for helpless travelers.
  Known only as the “Blessed Knight” by those
  he has rescued, the stranger refuses to speak or
  raise the visor of his helm, and makes his exit —
  vanishes, some say — as soon as danger has
  passed.
  Because the Blessed Knight has battled
  state soldiers, preventing them from abusing
  peasants and merchants, Azrael has established
  a sizeable reward for the hero’s capture or death.
  To date, no one has successfully cornered the
  man or even landed a blow against him in
  battle. His skills as a swordsman are remark-
  able, his strength prodigious.
  Some claim that the Blessed Knight is
  none other than the wandering hero Ganelon,
  also sometimes called the Blessed for his kind-
  ness and compassion. Ganelon has denied any
  connection to the armored rescuer, and he has
  no reason to lie about the matter.
  Yet the Vistani say that the key to the
  Blessed Knight’s identity lies within the ruins
  of Nedragaard Keep itself. They claim that the
  Black Rose spent so many years within the
  illusory worlds of his memory mirrors, dreaming
  of the hero he could have been, that he left
  some aspect of himself behind. When the
  memory mirrors were smashed, those illusions
  — images of the Black Rose as a mortal, had he
  never been damned — should have been de-
  stroyed as well. Instead, they were freed, given
  life by the very shadowstuff that blasted
  Nedragaard. Even so, the “Blessed Knight”
  would remain a mere illusion. These images
  seem to be gaining strength, showing signs of
  increasing intelligence and independence. The
  Vistani claim that this means they may be
  drawing strength from some unknown source.
  Perhaps, they whisper, the Black Rose truly was
  destroyed, but his essence is slowly being drawn
  back into the shadows he left behind.
  
  123
  Sithicus
  is a crime, the locals often find themselves in an
  awkward and dangerous position. They know who
  the agent is and even what he is planning, but
  cannot react for fear of summary execution.
  The Politskarae are charged with enforcing
  two very broad rules: every transaction in Sithicus
  should benefit King Azrael, and those who oppose
  the dwarf king’s rule must be punished. How to
  accomplish these goals is up to the individual
  agent, and oversight of the Politskarae is nonexist-
  ent. Azrael keeps his men loyal by keeping them
  well paid and allowing them to express their cru-
  elty as they will. So long as tax money keeps
  flowing from an area and no open revolts break out,
  the secret police act as they please — much to the
  despair of the local population.
  The main stabilizing force is the elven aristoc-
  racy. Each of the three Sithican cities has a council
  made up of elders of the aristocratic caste, who
  advise, appoint and obey one leader, known as the
  Lord Speaker. The three Lord Speakers answer to
  Sithicus’ ruler, traditionally identified as the Lord
  of Nedragaard Keep. The noble houses live by
  complex but consistent codes passed down through
  oral tradition. While they will not openly chal-
  lenge King Azrael, the elves follow his laws in
  appearance only. In matters of substance, when the
  dwarf king demands they change their rules to
  match his, the elven nobles fall back upon the
  maddening elven tactic of nigh-endless debate and
  delay. Given Azrael’s short attention span, the
  debate lasts much longer than his interest in the
  subject, and the elves can, eventually, let the
  matter drop without effecting any change at all.
  The elves’ own law enforcers, the honored families
  of the ranger caste, are few but elite, acting in
  whatever role required of them — soldier, detec-
  tive or executioner.
  This is not to say that the elves escape
  Azrael’s machinations completely. The dwarf
  king shrewdly plays off rivalries and hatreds
  existing among the various elven houses. These
  feuds are intense, expressed more often by acts
  of political and social treachery than physical
  violence. In looking at the individuals who act
  as if they are politskara (obvious in most cases),
  it appears as if Azrael has placed agents where
  they will maximize inter-house tensions. Thus,
  he manipulates the aristocracy to accede to his
  demands more often than they realize.
  This struggle for power between Azrael and
  the elves hides a third actor upon the stage of
  Sithicus, one who wields more power than king
  and aristocracy combined. Inza’s court is never
  seen, and though she travels the land much like
  Azrael, she draws no attention to her presence. She
  puts her schemes in motion by manipulating and
  heightening the guilt of those within Sithicus’
  borders. Anyone, at any time, might be acting
  upon her command. The locals understand that
  they are pawns to some dark force, some hidden
  lord — a knowledge that heightens the realm’s
  oppressive atmosphere.
  Inza’s long-term goal remains a mystery — one
  of the few real mysteries in Sithicus. Yet it is
  unlikely to remain hidden for long, given the
  domain’s curious nature. For now, she seems con-
  tent to allow Azrael and the elves to battle for
  control of Sithicus, a prize she has already won and
  carried with her into the lightless depths of the
  Great Chasm. The only clear losers in this struggle
  are the Sithican people, who fully understand the
  injustice of their situation and the hopelessness of
  revolt. The nature of the realm denies them harm-
  less, hopeful delusions that things will get better
  someday soon. The harsh truth is, they will not.
  Economy
  Trade among the humans in Sithicus is largely
  conducted through barter, with most eking out a
  living on subsistence-level farms. Trade among the
  elves is more robust, but they are reluctant to traffic
  with the local humans, whom they view as trespass-
  ers. The elves are more likely to deal with merchants
  from other domains, and much of the import-
  export business that occurs in Sithicus involves an
  elven merchant at some stage. The only significant
  exception is the salt trade, which Azrael conducts
  as a government monopoly. The elves frown upon
  the mines, but have thus far been ineffective in
  shutting them down.
  Ah, so you realize that the despot may be mad,
  but hardly a fool. The stunted little tyrant is
  cunning and tenacious. Now that he has
  declared Sithicus his “den,” this badger will
  not be removed as easily as some would boast.
  
  124
  Report Five
  The main resources in Sithicus are oats, cab-
  bage, turnips, peppers, squash, peaches, grapes,
  sheep, goats, wine, timber, furs, salt, gems, crystal
  and cloth. The elves produce rare and exotic veg-
  etables, spirits and crafts of incredibly fine quality.
  They harvest hardwoods rare to the Core, though
  they have threatened in recent years to stop all
  logging in Sithicus if human lumberjacks do not
  cease their incursions into the forests.
  The coinage of Sithicus is a holdover from the
  reign of the Black Rose, yet one more reminder of
  his existence despite all attempts to forget him.
  The gold piece is known as a “rose,” the silver piece
  a “crown,” and the copper piece a “sword,” for the
  symbols minted onto the face of each coin. The
  reverse side of each coin is morbidly marked with
  an elven skull. These coins have grown increas-
  ingly rare within Sithicus itself, though the elves
  may take years to agree on new designs. They are far
  more likely to be encountered in neighboring
  realms, before they are melted down for the value
  of their base metals.
  Diplomacy
  Sithicus remains relatively isolated from its
  neighbors, thanks to the elven population’s dis-
  dain of humans, to various failed alliances, to the
  occasional border skirmish, and to the perceived
  instability of Azrael’s claim to the throne. Sithican
  ambassadors are not welcome in most lands and are
  barely tolerated in those few courts that allow them
  access.
  Barovia: While most Barovians consider
  Sithicus an unnatural place, some in the realm’s
  western reaches — the lands gained during the
  collapse of Gundarak — maintain ties with former
  countrymen who fled south rather than remain
  subjects of Count Strahd. Much of Sithicus’ inter-
  action with Barovia is founded upon informal
  networks of trading partners. In recent years, some
  former Gundarakites, tired of elven snobbery and
  the unsteady nature of Azrael’s rule, have returned
  to their ancestral lands. With each departure, the
  feeble lines of trade and communication with
  Barovia wither further. The dwarf king’s troops
  along the Barovian border now turn back Sithicans
  seeking to exit the realm, rather than preventing
  any theoretical incursions by Strahd’s troops.
  Invidia: Though Azrael shares Malocchio
  Aderre’s hatred of the Vistani, the Invidians have
  distrusted the Sithican ruler since the Hour of
  Screaming Shadows. The dwarf king returns that
  Law Enforcement
  The politskara below can represent any member of Azrael’s secret police. A number of humans
  have also been recruited to keep an eye on Sithicus’ emigrants; adjust these scores as needed. The
  Sithican ranger represents one of the lone, elite protectors who roam the forests on their stag beetle
  steeds, using their wild empathy to control the creatures. Their ranks are restricted to Sithican elves
  alone.
  Politskara: 
  Politskara: 
  Politskara: 
  Politskara: 
  Politskara: Sylvan elf War2: CR 1; Medium humanoid (elf); HD 2d8–2, hp 7; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 11, flat-
  footed 16; Base Atk +2; Grp +2; Atk +3 melee (1d8/19–20, longsword) or +3 ranged (1d8/x3, composite longbow [+0
  Str bonus]); Full Atk +3 melee (1d8/19–20, longsword) or +3 ranged (1d8/x3, composite longbow [+0 Str bonus]);
  SQ elf traits, low-light vision; AL NE; SV Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +0; Str 11, Dex 13, Con 9, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
  Skills and Feats: Intimidate +4, Listen +3, Search +3, Spot +3; Weapon Focus (longsword). OR
  3 (racial).
  Possessions: Longsword, composite longbow (+0 Str bonus), 20 arrows, chain shirt, large steel
  shield, potion of cure light wounds.
  Sithican Ranger: 
  Sithican Ranger: 
  Sithican Ranger: 
  Sithican Ranger: 
  Sithican Ranger: Sylvan elf Rgr2: CR 2; Medium humanoid (elf); HD 2d8+2, hp 11; Init +3; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16, touch 13,
  flat-footed 13; Base Atk +2; Grp +3; Atk +4 melee (1d8+1/19–20, masterwork longsword) or +5 ranged (1d8/x3,
  composite longbow[+1 Str bonus]); Full Atk +4 melee (1d8+1/19–20, masterwork longsword) or +5 ranged (1d8/x3,
  composite longbow[+1 Str bonus]); SA favored enemy +2 (varies; usually undead); SQ elf traits, low-light vision,
  Track, wild empathy, combat style (archery); AL LN; SV Fort +4, Ref +6, Will +1; Str 13, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis
  13, Cha 8.
  Skills and Feats: Handle Animal +4, Hide +7, Listen +5, Move Silently +7, Ride (horse) +8,
  Search +6, Spot +5, Survival +5; Mounted Combat, Rapid ShotB, TrackB. OR 3 (racial).
  Possessions: Masterwork longsword, composite longbow (+1 Str bonus), 20 arrows, masterwork
  studded leather armor.
  
  125
  Sithicus
  suspicion in kind. Tensions between the two lands
  are very high, and trade and diplomacy all but
  nonexistent.
  Kartakass: Kartakass is the closest thing
  Sithicus has to an ally, but the relationship can be
  chalked up to the aggressive expansionism of the
  Kartakan merchants more than any shared politi-
  cal vision. In recent years, the dwarf king has come
  to appreciate the Kartakans, as the rest of his
  neighbors are unwilling to trade with him directly,
  even for such rare and highly valued items as elven
  spirits and salt. The elves of Sithicus do not share
  his enthusiasm, particularly due to the presence of
  Kartakan lumberjacks.
  Valachan: Baron von Kharkov is publicly
  contemptuous of Azrael, and Valachani patrols are
  especially strong along the border between the two
  realms. The soldiers’ stated mission is to prevent
  the spread of unrest from Sithicus, but the Black
  Leopards are actually trained subversives who creep
  into the dwarf king’s domain to foster unrest.
  While Azrael does not suspect von Kharkov’s se-
  cret desire to annex Sithicus — he has returned
  von Kharkov’s public contempt by stationing few
  troops along the border, as if the Valachanis could
  never be a threat — some other force within the
  kingdom recognizes the danger. In recent months,
  many Valachan spies have met with a prompt and
  grisly death, particularly those who travel close to
  the Great Chasm.
  Verbrek: The most adventurous of the
  Sithican elves have traveled to Verbrek to pit their
  woodlore and tracking skills against the packs of
  unnatural wolves said to roam the forest there. For
  the majority of Sithicans, the terrifying stories of
  Verbrek’s werewolves kill any interest in visiting
  that land. Where Verbrek’s river merchants can
  gain access to Sithicus, they do some light trading,
  particularly in timber and the strange vegetables
  grown by the elves, which are unknown in other
  parts of the Core.
   Sites of Interest
  ecalling many points of interest along
  the rambling route I took through
  Sithicus is hard. Do not misunderstand
  me. The country was completely devoid
  of mysterious corners — far from it. I
  simply find calling forth unique memories difficult.
  Almost everything is clouded with a sense of famil-
  iarity. No matter where my feet led me, I always had
  the vague feeling that I had been there, or some-
  place very similar, before. Though my recollection
  of my travels may be muddled, my journals are
  thankfully clearer. Several areas still haunt me.
  Mal-Erek
  The elven village of Mal-Erek sits just south of
  Verbrek on the Little Arden, west of the Breadth
  Forest. This insular community, despite the road
  passing through its walls and the small, ramshackle
  docks amid its northern brambles, sees relatively
  few visitors. I felt the hard looks from the dour elves
  who populated the city and knew they wanted my
  gold and then wanted me on my way.
  I barely had the chance to glance into the
  library I discovered before the rude stares drove me
  out. The Library of Mal-Erek is a true pity: once its
  towering shelves held arcane secrets to rival the
  collection of any Darkonian mage, but most books
  have rotted into mulch. The elven librarian seemed
  to bear no interest in me or the state of ruin around
  her. Before I left, however, I went looking for her
  in the stacks, hoping to give her a piece of my mind.
  Naively, I was not yet aware of how endemic
  Sithican apathy truly is. I caught sight of the
  librarian as I rounded a corner, and in that instant,
  witnessed something unnerving. The elf maid had
  taken one of the books into a secluded corner and
  there was eating it, one strip of sodden vellum at a
  time. To what end, I cannot even guess, and I did
  not stay to ask.
  Where to Stay in Mal-Erek
  Considering the reception I received upon
  entering the deteriorating city, I was surprised to
  discover that there were actually two inns within
  the crumbling walls of Mal-Erek. Neither is worth
  their cost. Between the Dirge of Sellisa (common
  quality rooms, no meals) and Aeir’s Tears (com-
  mon quality rooms, poor quality meals), I would
  recommend the latter. Neither inn has many rooms,
  Mal-Erek (village): 
  Mal-Erek (village): 
  Mal-Erek (village): 
  Mal-Erek (village): 
  Mal-Erek (village): Conventional; AL NE; 200 gp
  limit; Assets 5,000 gp; Population 500; Isolated
  (elves 94%, half-elves 3%, humans 2%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Claos the Elder, male elf Wiz6
  (Lord Speaker).
  Important Characters: Nuenel (librarian and
  lorekeeper), female elf Wiz3.
  
  126
  Report Five
  but Aeir’s Tears does boast a small kitchen and
  meager meals. I found it more comfort-
  able to stay there than to search out a
  tavern separate from my accommoda-
  tions.
  Hroth
  With ferns curling up be-
  tween every cracked stone
  in the Elf Road, I found
  the short trek south from
  Mal-Erek unexpectedly
  arduous. Hroth, the larg-
  est settlement in
  Sithicus, appeared
  little different from
  Mal-Erek at first
  glance: hard to find
  from the outside, decay-
  ing on the inside.
  Although it follows the
  same concentric layout
  common to elven com-
  munities, it lacks
  Mal-Erek’s docks and
  has 
  only 
  one
  entranceway. Exten-
  sive 
  marshland
  stretches to the
  southeast all the way
  to the distant banks
  of the Arden. The
  elves of Hroth often
  dispose of their dead
  in the bogs dotting
  this swamp. Many
  strange things are pre-
  served within their
  peat-choked waters,
  most famously the
  hulking, horned an-
  cient 
  dead 
  that
  emerged to do battle
  with van Richten
  and the local rangers
  in 724 BC.
  Hroth sees few
  visitors, but paradoxi-
  cally it has a somewhat
  larger relative population
  of humans and halflings
  than Mal-Erek. These
  
  127
  Sithicus
  folk are as reclusive as their elven hosts and are
  moderately tolerated as long as they respect the
  locals’ desire for quiet.
  Where to Stay in Hroth
  I had more luck finding a few choices where to
  stay and where to eat in this forlorn city. There
  were still only two inns, the Climber’s End (poor
  quality rooms, common quality meals) and the
  Sighing Maid (common quality rooms, poor qual-
  ity meals). Both had small dining halls; I chose the
  former because a few humans were already staying
  there. Less than two weeks in Sithicus, and I was
  tired of being the only outsider.
  Those humans at the Climber’s End appeared
  to be a band of adventurers, gathering supplies.
  When I asked where they were headed, one of them
  simply nodded to the south, toward the Disappear-
  ing Hills, and said, “We’re going to find out what’s
  on the other side.” I stared out the window a long
  time after them as they left, mesmerized by their
  naïveté. I knew in my heart that they would never
  return, yet a part of me hoped it. No amount of
  gold, however, would have persuaded me to follow
  in their footsteps. As my survey of the Core is now
  nearing completion, I will be most satisfied to
  return home to Darkon.
  accepted as the “capital” of Sithicus, despite being
  little more than half the size of Hroth.
  Har-Thelen is organized behind its weed-
  choked walls in a series of concentric circles. Its
  most active areas extend from its outermost ring. A
  fairly verdant plain stretches north of the town,
  following the banks of the Musarde, and the local
  noble and greenshaper castes are currently cooper-
  ating to develop a vineyard that could probably
  turn quite a profit.
  Har-Thelen’s docks are unusually well-kept
  for a Sithican community. This town has the
  largest mixed population, strongly bolstered by its
  river traffic. The races tolerate each other no better
  here than in the other elven settlements, however;
  the non-elves are simply more prevalent. To avoid
  trouble, most non-elves congregate near the exten-
  sive docks.
  Those docks exist thanks to the town’s former
  Lord Speaker, Mason of Har-Thelen. Unusually
  ambitious for a Sithican noble, Mason doggedly
  bullied the artisan caste into repairing and main-
  taining the city docks and pressed for increased
  trade with Kartakass and Invidia. Mason, though,
  was also known to resent Azrael’s brutal intrusions
  and steep taxes, while Azrael supposedly preferred
  his elves compliant. After the Black Rose fell from
  power, the two came to loggerheads, and Mason
  was forced to vacate his post hastily — the only
  time the title of Lord Speaker has changed hands
  within memory. Current Lady Speaker Ciyriia is
  new to her post, and much more of the docile mold
  Azrael prefers.
  Mason’s current fate is unclear. Some believe
  he is dead or has fled into exile. Others whisper that
  he still haunts the region, trying to organize an
  underground resistance to bring down the mad
  dwarf‘s regime.
  Where to Stay in Har-Thelen
  There was little choice in the central city of
  Sithicus for a non-elf. The only inn that would
  even consider letting me in the front door was the
  Wailing Banshee (poor quality rooms, no meals).
  The rooms were meager in terms of supplies, and
  there was no dining hall or any other place where
  the guests could gather. Therefore, I had to seek out
  another spot to refresh myself. After a bit of a
  search, dodging refuse and chamber pots that al-
  ways seemed to empty in front of me regardless of
  which winding, pot-hole infested path I chose, I
  discovered a hidden treasure.
  You speak too soon, my little scholar.
  Your labors are not nearly done.
  Hroth (small town): 
  Hroth (small town): 
  Hroth (small town): 
  Hroth (small town): 
  Hroth (small town): Conventional; AL N; 800 gp
  limit; Assets 37,600 gp; Population 940; Isolated
  (elves 91%, humans 4%, half elves 3%, other 2%).
  Authority Figures: Ieree Mylindan, female elf Drd6/
  Wiz4 (Lady Speaker).
  Important Characters: Klannyn Sirr (local guide),
  male human Ftr4/Exp8; Tileara (herbalist), female
  elf Drd5/Wiz4.
  Har-Thelen
  Nestled in the center of the country, Har-
  Thelen sits on the banks of the Musarde. Nedragaard
  Keep and the Great Chasm lie just a day’s hard hike
  down a rocky road to the east, separated from the
  town by the Krellin River. Due to its location, Har-
  Thelen sees the most foreign traffic and has squirmed
  under the firmest grip of the Lord of Nedragaard
  Keep. For these reasons, Har-Thelen is widely
  
  128
  Report Five
  Whether it was because of the warm fire, or the
  excellent wine, or the fact that folk actually spoke
  to me, I was quite taken with the Banshee’s Tears
  Tavern (common quality meals). The food was
  unremarkable but warm, and the wine from the
  local vineyards was wonderful and powerful. This
  was the only spot in any of Sithicus’ three cities
  where I did not feel like a pariah. And that says
  much.
  ately afterward and desecrated the mass grave that
  held the Vistani; their bodies were never found.
  “That doesn’t mean,” she explained to me, “that no
  one has ever seen them since, though.” When I
  asked her to elaborate, she told me that many folk
  traveled to “The Last,” as the spot is called. “Some
  to seek the otherworldly gold that supposedly lit-
  ters the forest floor,” she said, “while the occasional
  Vistani traveler treks to the spot as though on a
  holy pilgrimage.”
  I believe I located the spot not far from the
  Merchants’ Slash. No marker identifies the area,
  but I found a clearing some forty feet wide with
  what looked like the remains of a few rotted vardos
  along one edge. Off to one side was what might
  have been a mass grave: a pit that could easily have
  held perhaps twenty human-sized bodies, though
  nothing but worms wriggled there now. The place
  was eerily still, and I found myself holding my
  breath. I moved about quietly and thought that I
  heard whispers around me, but it was probably just
  the wind and the ceaseless creak of the pine boughs.
  Before I left the spot, I thought I spied some-
  thing winking in the twilight on the forest floor. It
  may have indeed been a piece of gold, but I decided
  against investigating and left the clearing before
  the last of the evening light failed. I did not want
  to chance desecrating the place and have some
  vengeful Vistani spirit hounding me for the return
  of its treasure.
  The Black Chapel
  I am afraid I must base all of my information on
  this infamous locale on word-of-mouth. I went so
  far as to locate Veidrava and approach what must
  have been the salt mine’s entrance, but I went no
  further. Some putrid, saline stench wafted from the
  abyssal crack, and I struggled to keep down my
  meager meal. I am sure that something or someone
  had died down that hole some time ago. I did not
  care to find out what it was. As I vacillated between
  keeping my breakfast and gathering more informa-
  tion for you, dear patron, a strange foursome
  approached and made to stop me from venturing
  any further.
  Three of the four appeared human, and judg-
  ing by their somewhat colorful garb, I deduced they
  were Vistani. That in and of itself was odd, as few
  of their kind wander through Sithicus these days.
  The final companion, however, was truly a rare
  sight, some kind of gray-skinned giant, perhaps
  twelve feet tall. As a lone traveler, I should have
  Har-Thelen (village): 
  Har-Thelen (village): 
  Har-Thelen (village): 
  Har-Thelen (village): 
  Har-Thelen (village): Conventional; AL LE; 200 gp
  limit; Assets 5,000 gp; Population 500; Isolated
  (elves 88%, half elves 10%, humans 1%, other 1%).
  Authority Figures: Ciyriia Mathrund, female elf
  Drd5/Wiz3 (Lady Speaker).
  Important Characters: Giogi Tharper (tanner), male
  human Ftr5; Tyrlyra Tharper (herbalist/healer),
  female elf Drd3; Mason (resistance leader), male
  elf Rog5/Wiz3.
  The Last Stand of the Vistani
  Northeast of the ruins of Veidrava, past the
  Musarde and the Merchants’ Slash and east of the
  central Fumewood, I heard mention of a clearing
  with a pathetic history. Some of the residents of
  Har-Thelen mentioned the spot to me. In a hushed
  tone, one of the elves told me over warm wine one
  evening in the local tavern in Har-Thelen that a
  band of Vistani known as the Wanderers broke
  their oath to a kinsman many generations in his
  grave and lingered more than one night in the same
  spot — that clearing.
  A horrible fate befell the eighteen or so Wan-
  derers. A band of Malocchio Aderre’s ogres
  ambushed them, decimating their ranks and leav-
  ing almost no survivors. At this point, the speaker
  lowered his voice even more as he continued the
  tale. “If it weren’t for the Black Rose,” he slurred,
  “they would have all died.” He stopped suddenly,
  casting a fearful eye on the tavern occupants, as
  though he had broken some terrible oath by men-
  tioning the Rose aloud. When he realized the
  others, including his companion, were not going to
  strike him dead for it, he finally continued. He told
  me that the ogres were all massacred; as they died,
  their swollen purses burst open and covered the
  ground with a blanket of coins, some of whose
  country of origin could never be determined.
  The woman, who I assume was his wife, added
  that someone or something came along immedi-
  
  129
  Sithicus
  felt threatened by such a strange collection of men,
  yet I felt oddly sure that I was quite safe.
  The oldest of the group came over to where I
  was poised, inspecting the fissure, and held out a
  hand in warning. “You don’t want to go down
  there,” he cautioned.
  “I have to agree with you,” I replied. “But,
  since you know I shouldn’t venture in, you must
  know what’s down there. Tell me.”
  The older man consulted his other compan-
  ions with a glance before turning back to me. “I
  have heard of an unholy chapel in the depths, a
  Black Chapel carved from the very salt itself.
  Carved with harts and hounds and other things
  that belong in the daylight.”
  “It is below the mine,” the giant added. “It is
  older than the mine.”
  One of the younger men, dressed decidedly
  better than his companions, chimed in, “And there
  are melted benches and a melted altar. Nothing a
  fine lady such as you needs to trouble herself with.”
  “Unless, you are looking for trouble,” added
  the youngest, with a touch of something less friendly
  than a warning in his tone.
  “Piotr, mind yourself a bit better,” the oldest
  admonished him.
  “The only thing I have in mind is satisfying my
  curiosity,” I told them.
  “Curiosity can be a dangerous trait in these
  parts,” the giant warned me, “and there are things
  down there far worse than the Chapel.”
  “Such as what?” I asked them.
  “If it will keep you from meddling where you
  shouldn’t,” the oldest finally said, “then I shall tell
  you.”
  Yet before he could continue, the giant started
  his tale.
  The Lake of Sounds
  “Beyond the Black Chapel, a series of tunnels
  wind their way deeper into the bowels of this cursed
  spot. The tunnels themselves were dug out by
  someone… or something,” he corrected himself
  somberly, “with very large claws.” I was hard-
  pressed not to laugh at his earnest expression when
  he held up his own, stone-colored hands imperson-
  ating the claws — that is, until I realized how
  serious he was.
  “Whatever created those tunnels probably still
  haunts them. Beyond the defiled altar, a tunnel
  leads down several hundred feet, the stench of
  brine more overwhelming with every step, choking
  out almost all breath.”
  I could tell by his description that this giant, so
  out of place here in the land of shadows and truth,
  had been there himself.
  “Finally, a purple glow starts to fill the tunnel
  and you know you are near,” he lowered his voice,
  overcome by some unnamed emotion.
  “Near to what?” I asked.
  “The Lake of Sounds,” the older man finished
  for the giant. “A huge underground lake that spans
  an enormous cavern. Along the stalactites and the
  cavern ceiling, a luminous purple moss grows and
  fills the chamber with its sickly light. The black
  Secret Society: The Wanderers
  Sometime after escaping from the Black Rose in 720 BC, Magda Kulchevich gathered a odd mix of
  other Vistani to her side — those whose families had been murdered or destroyed, just as the Black Rose
  had wiped out her tribe. Eventually, her band numbered nearly two dozen. Yet the raunie and her people
  were betrayed by she who should have been closest to the revered Magda: her own daughter Inza.
  Nearly all of Magda’s caravan members were destroyed, save for three men: the older Alexi, the
  creature-comfort loving Nikolas, and the angry Piotr. After Inza’s plot to destroy the Black Rose was foiled,
  the three Vistani were joined by a fourth member: a stone giant named Nabon. Because of the magically
  endowed boots the giant sports, he has an unusual connection to the Vistani survivors as well as a different
  connection of blood debt to Inza, who kept him hobbled and imprisoned in the Veidrava mine for years.
  Together, the four make up a group known today in Sithicus as the Wanderers.
  They patrol the countryside over and over, spoiling as many of Azrael’s plans as they can, preparing
  for the day they will meet with the true darklord of Sithicus and finally have their revenge against her. Only
  then will their wandering finally come to an end. Further details on the Wanderers can be found in Heroes
  of Light.
  
  130
  Report Five
  waters cast no reflection back and are even sup-
  posed to be poisonous. The black waters move of
  their own accord, and the cavern echoes with
  whispers that never cease.
  “After the horrendous Hour of Screaming
  Shadows, I don’t know that anyone other than that
  werebadger, Azrael, has ever come back from a visit
  to those fetid waters. And even he has a fearful look
  about him when he returns.”
  “If what you say is true,” I said, “why would
  anyone else try the journey?”
  “Gold,” the older man replied. “What other
  reason ever motivates beings to attempt the foolish
  things they do?”
  I would have liked to speak to the odd coali-
  tion of men longer, but the oldest politely mentioned
  that they needed to continue their journey, and I
  could see the younger men were already anxious to
  move on as I was obviously not a damsel in despair.
  “Where to?” I asked.
  “To the end,” the giant responded and the four
  continued on. Our paths never crossed again.
  Final Thoughts
  Once one has suffered through even a few
  hours in the blighted land of Sithicus, I cannot
  imagine any sane person returning by choice to this
  doom-bowed place. The strange threat of truth the
  domain presents is unsettling in ways I never could
  have imagined before coming here. I no longer
  wonder why the rulers of the Core have shunned
  this kingdom or its people.
  These cold months have been sorely trying,
  my dear patron, and at times harrowing. This
  endless forest weighs heavily upon me, and I yearn
  for the grassy plains and broad skies of Nova Vaasa.
  Intellectually, I understand that the sense of
  guilt which plagues me here is nothing more than
  a phantasmal manifestation of Sithicus’ planar
  fabric, no stranger than our memory-leeching home-
  land. Yet, at an emotional level, these accusations
  will not let me deny their essential truth. I feel like
  a madwoman straining to be sane, but forced to
  judge sanity through the filter of a deranged mind.
  I am due to meet with one of your lackeys at
  dusk, when I shall deliver this, my latest folio. That
  done, I shall spare no time in leaving these wretched
  woods behind. Fortunately, I have already made
  arrangements with a Vistana I happened upon
  earlier today. He had an underfed, haggard look
  about him, and seemed most eager as I dropped my
  coins in his scarred palm. An escapee from the
  Dukkar, perhaps? I will have to ask.
  Regards,
  S
  So at last the hounds have found my fox. I warned
  the impudent little fool against relying on the
  gypsies. Now it begins.
  
  131
  Attached Notes
  Attached Note<:
  DM’< Appendix
  Men die nightly in their beds, wringing the hands
  of ghostly confessors, and looking them piteously in the
  eyes — die with despair of heart and convulsion of
  throat, on account of the hideousness of mysteries
  which will not suffer themselves to be revealed.
  — Edgar Allan Poe, “The Man of the Crowd”
  Attached Note<:
  DM’< Appendix
  
  132
  DM’s Appendix
  This section offers new material for the Dun-
  geon Master to include in her campaign. If you are
  a player, you should stop reading now.
  Poison Politics
  orcan contracts are written in ink but
  underlined with venom. The following
  section expands on the rules for crafting
  poisons found in Song and Silence. Al-
  though the use of deadly toxins is an art
  form in Borca, it is hardly unique to that land.
  Creating Poisons
  Characters can use any of three overlapping
  skills to create poisons: Craft (alchemy), Craft
  (poisonmaking) and Profession (herbalist). Profes-
  sion (herbalist) is used to prepare any plant-based
  poison, while Craft (alchemy) is used for poisons
  extracted from animals or more esoteric ingredi-
  ents. Craft (poisonmaking) can create any poison,
  but does not provide the extra abilities included in
  the other two skills.
  Regardless of the actual skill used, creating poisons
  follows the rules for making items with the Craft skill (see
  the Player's Handbook), with the following exceptions.
  The DCs to create poisons in the Dungeon Master's
  Guide  are listed in Song and Silence.
  Raw Materials: The cost of a poison’s raw
  materials is determined by their rarity.
  Very Common: The ingredients are readily
  available and cost 1/6th of the market price. Very
  common poisons are mild and often grown in
  herbal gardens for medicinal use.
  Common: The poison’s ingredients appear
  naturally in the region and can be gathered with-
  out unusual difficulty. The poison’s raw materials
  cost 1/3 of the market price. Many plant- and
  animal-based poisons are common in Borca’s for-
  ests, though rare in foreign lands.
  Rare: The ingredients can be found regionally,
  but only with considerable effort. The poison’s raw
  materials cost 3/4 the market price. Most poisons
  have rare ingredients.
  Very Rare: The raw materials cannot be bought
  at any price. At the DM’s discretion, a character
  planning to prepare a poison with very rare ingre-
  dients may need to undergo a special quest to
  gather the raw materials. Poisons extracted from
  powerful monsters — such as dragon bile or lich
  dust — are very rare.
  Crafting Mishaps: If a character fails a Craft
  check while creating a dose of poison, then in
  addition to the standard repercussions she must
  succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save or expose herself to
  her own toxic brew. Characters with the poison use
  ability (such as assassins, blackguards, and court
  poisoners) are exempt from this condition.
  Table 6–1: New Poisons
  Poison
  Poison
  Poison
  Poison
  Poison
  Type
  Type
  Type
  Type
  Type
  Initial Damage
  Initial Damage
  Initial Damage
  Initial Damage
  Initial Damage
  Secondary Damage
  Secondary Damage
  Secondary Damage
  Secondary Damage
  Secondary Damage Craft DC
  Craft DC
  Craft DC
  Craft DC
  Craft DC Market Price
  Market Price
  Market Price
  Market Price
  Market Price
  Banewort
  Ingested DC 17
  Special
  Special
  25
  150 gp
  Belladonna
  Ingested DC 13
  1d3 Con
  Special
  15
  60 gp
  Borrowed Time
  Ingested —
  Special
  Special
  25
  360 gp
  Coma spores
  Inhaled DC 16
  2d4 Wis and special
  2d4 Wis and special
  18
  240 gp
  Cyanide
  Ingested DC 16
  1d4 Con
  1d6 Con
  15
  120 gp
  Dewplum
  Ingested DC 18
  1d4 Str
  1d4 Str
  15
  90 gp
  Foxglove
  Ingested DC 16
  1d8 Int
  1d6 Con
  20
  500 gp
  Hemlock
  Ingested DC 18
  1d6 Dex
  1d8 Con
  20
  650 gp
  Henbane
  Contact DC 15
  1d6 Wis
  1d4 Wis and special
  20
  600 gp
  Gust oil
  Ingested DC 13
  —
  Special
  15
  90 gp
  Passionflesh fruit
  Ingested DC 13
  1d2+1 Con
  1d2+1 Wis
  —
  50 gp
  Royal morel
  Contact DC 20
  2d6 Con
  2d4 Str
  25
  3,000 gp
  Sightrot
  Contact DC 17
  Special
  Special
  20
  240 gp
  Silphium resin
  Ingested DC 15
  —
  Special
  15
  15 gp
  Staggersap
  Injury DC 15
  Staggered
  Staggered
  20
  60 gp
  Strychnine
  Ingested DC 16
  1d6 Dex
  1d6 Con
  15
  240 gp
  Twin shudders
  Ingested DC 14
  1d2 Con
  1d2 Con
  25
  180 gp
  Wolfsbane
  Injury DC 18
  1d4 Con
  1d8 Con
  15
  1,500 gp
  
  133
  Attached Notes
  New Poisons
  Borcans cultivate many natural poisons, often
  putting them to beneficial use in minute doses.
  These minute doses cost 1% of the listed market
  price, but their game effects are cosmetic.
  Banewort: Banewort must be blended with
  another herbal substance (such as garlic or wolfs-
  bane) before it can take effect. A character ingesting
  prepared banewort temporarily develops an aller-
  gic reaction to the selected herb, lasting 2d4 hours
  after ingestion. During this time, the victim’s skin
  breaks out in a painful rash (dealing 1d6 points of
  nonlethal damage) whenever she comes in direct
  contact with the selected bane.
  Belladonna (Deadly Nightshade): This plant
  bears bell-shaped flowers of dark purple tinged with
  green. Borcan noblewomen use diluted drops of its
  juice to dilate their pupils, increasing the brilliancy
  of their eyes. It has medicinal uses in relieving pain.
  Ezrite folklore (incorrectly) holds that eating larger
  doses of belladonna can prevent the onset of lycan-
  thropy. In doses of this size, belladonna causes
  convulsions, then hallucinations (as the madness
  effect) and loss of voice for 1d6 hours.
  Borrowed Time: Ivan Dilisnya commands
  fanatic loyalty among his inner circle of servants,
  guards and spies through this insidious poison. This
  toxin courses permanently through the veins of
  Ivan’s key minions, laying a death sentence only
  Ivan can stay. A creature poisoned with Borrowed
  Time suffers 3d6 points of temporary Constitution
  damage each day at sunset unless she ingests an
  elixir dubbed “Mercy” less than 10 minutes prior to
  sunset. Ivan doles out Mercy each day, though
  even the appearance of disloyalty can provoke him
  to withhold it at the last moment.
  Borrowed Time does not function like most
  poisons, but remains active in the victim’s system
  for the rest of her life. A dose of Borrowed Time
  must be ingested each day for seven consecutive
  days for it to take effect. The time and cost in-
  volved makes it impractical for Ivan to inflict this
  poison on anyone but a select cadre of his own
  servants. Only Ivan holds the secret to creating
  Borrowed Time and Mercy (Craft DC 12; Market
  Price per Dose: 5 gp).
  Caldura Roses: Living creatures (with a sense
  of smell) that rest quietly for 24 hours within 10
  feet of a living caldura rosebush gain a +2 enhance-
  ment bonus to Fortitude saves to recover from
  negative levels, disease and similar long-term ail-
  ments for as long as they remain near the rosebush.
  Cut caldura roses, however, impose a –2 enhance-
  ment penalty to all such saves. If living and cut
  roses are mixed together, their effects cancel each
  other out.
  Coma Spores: Creatures inhaling this fungal
  powder sink into a deep torpor. Victims who cling
  to consciousness gradually recover as normal, but
  those reduced to 0 Wisdom or below are plunged
  into a deep, dream-wracked slumber from which
  they cannot wake. Such victims recover Wisdom
  damage only through magic or the application of
  the only antidote, Rapture (Craft DC 15; Market
  Price per Dose: 120 gp). Borcan poisoners use coma
  spores as a method of taking hostages, making
  demands of the victim’s kin in return for the
  antidote.
  Cyanide: Extracted from the pits of cherries,
  peaches, or apricots and from bitter almonds, cya-
  nide prevents the victim’s blood from replenishing
  the body’s tissues, quickly leading to suffocation.
  Dewplum: Dewplums’ flesh and juice are
  highly poisonous. Dewplums can be distinguished
  from wild plums only by the glistening sheen of
  pearl-like moisture droplets that condense on their
  skins.
  Foxglove: These thimble-like wildflowers
  range from yellow to crimson to lavender. The
  blossoms and leaves are ground into a sweet-tasting
  extract used to treat heart ailments. In larger doses,
  foxglove causes visual hallucinations and mental
  confusion, ending in heart failure.
  Hemlock: These herbs resemble wild pars-
  nips; clusters of small white flowers sprout from
  purple-splashed stalks. The thick yellow sap is a
  deadly poison identifiable by a strong, unpleasant
  odor resembling vermin. Hemlock attacks the ner-
  vous system, creating a brief sensation of excitement
  quickly followed by paralysis and death.
  Henbane: Henbane is a grayish-green, sticky
  plant that emits a foul aroma. In extremely limited
  doses, it is used to treat headaches and insomnia,
  but in greater amounts it causes dementia. Treat a
  failed Fortitude save as a failed Madness save, with
  the degree of failure determining the severity of the
  madness effect as normal. The madness effect per-
  sists only until all Wisdom damage lost to the
  henbane is recovered.
  Gust Oil: Victims loses all sense of taste for
  the next 1d6 hours. Although the effects of this
  colorless, odorless liquid are mild, poisoners use it
  to conceal the distinctive taste of more lethal
  concoctions.
  
  134
  DM’s Appendix
  Passionflesh Fruit: Passionflesh is cut into eight
  slices. After ingesting each slice, a character must
  succeed at a DC 13 Will save or desire to eat another
  section. If more passionflesh is not immediately
  available, the craving lasts for 4d8 minutes, during
  which time the character will hungrily seek it out.
  Royal Morel: These large mushrooms bear
  lavender stems and spongy, vein-covered caps of
  deep purple. Rivulets of poison ooze from the cap,
  rendering it poisonous to the touch. Among the
  deadliest toxins in the poisoner’s arsenal, royal
  morel is rare even in Borca.
  Sightrot: If a victim fails one saving throw
  against sightrot, her vision grows dark and bleary,
  halving her range of vision and imposing a –8
  competence penalty to all Search and Spot checks.
  If a victim fails both saving throws, she is blinded.
  Blindness improves to impaired vision after one
  hour, and impaired vision fades after another hour.
  Silphium Resin: Silphium is a leafy herb with
  thick roots, so medicinally popular that it has been
  harvested into extinction in the wild and is now
  grown only in Borcan herbal gardens. Its resin
  alleviates all manner of minor ailments, but it is
  most effective as a form of birth control. Dissolving
  a pea-sized ball of silphium resin in wine and
  swallowing it prevents (or quickly ends) pregnan-
  cies for 1d3 days.
  Staggersap: These slender mauve toadstools
  glisten with an intoxicating poison. Victims be-
  come disoriented and are staggered for 1d4 minutes
  per failed save. If a victim fails both saving throws,
  the duration stacks.
  Strychnine: In minute doses, this plant ex-
  tract is used as a restorative to increase appetite. In
  greater amounts, it causes paralysis and muscular
  convulsions, leading to a sudden and painful death.
  The Twin Shudders: This complex poison is
  comprised of two separate liquids, both pale violet.
  Each liquid is inert by itself, but when a creature
  ingests both liquids within an hour of each other,
  they combine to induce shortness of breath or even
  suffocation with high enough doses. Poisoners value
  its ability to subvert detect poison spells and similar
  protective magic.
  Wolfsbane (Aconite): In minute doses, aco-
  nite root is used in ointments to soothe fevers.
  Wolfsbane is lethal in larger doses, causing nausea,
  giddiness and the sensation of crawling skin rapidly
  followed by death, and is often used in poisoned
  bait to kill wolves and such predators.
  New Feats
  he following feats are particularly ap-
  propriate for characters from the
  southwestern Core, though the DM may
  allow them elsewhere at her discretion.
  Cat’s Eyes
  Valachani are occasionally born with disturb-
  ing, bile-yellow eyes. These people are said to have
  cat spirits in their ancestry and are feared and
  respected for their power over panthers.
  Prerequisites: Wis 11.
  Benefit: The character can speak with cats (as
  speak with animals, but only affecting feline crea-
  tures) at will. The cat is in no way obliged to listen
  to or obey the character, but usually reacts favor-
  ably. The character suffers a –2 racial penalty to
  Charisma-based skills when dealing with canine
  and lupine creatures.
  Special: This feat can only be taken at 1st level
  by characters of Valachani heritage.
  Sympathetic Spell [Metamagic]
  You can channel spells through a held token
  to affect a distant target.
  Benefit: To use this feat, you must possess a
  small sample taken from your chosen target. If target-
  ing a creature, you must have a tissue sample such as
  blood, hair, or a finger. To target an object, you must
  have a piece of the object, such as a scrap from a cloak,
  a chainmail link, or a stone pried from a cottage’s
  foundation. Through a 10 minute ritual, you perma-
  nently prepare the sample as a sympathetic token.
  To use sympathetic magic, you must hold the
  token and target it with a sympathetic spell. The
  magic is channeled through the token to affect the
  true target, regardless of distance, so long as you and
  the target are on the same plane. Only spells that
  affect single targets (such as “one creature” or “one
  object”) can be channeled through the focus. If you
  attempt to channel any other kind of spell (such as
  any area affect spell), the spell targets the token itself.
  Casting a sympathetic spell increases its casting time:
  Standard Casting Time
  Standard Casting Time
  Standard Casting Time
  Standard Casting Time
  Standard Casting Time
  Sympathetic Casting Time
  Sympathetic Casting Time
  Sympathetic Casting Time
  Sympathetic Casting Time
  Sympathetic Casting Time
  Free action
  1 standard action
  1 standard action
  1 full-round action
  1 full-round action
  1 minute
  1+ minutes
  standard casting time x2
  The token becomes a material component in
  the sympathetic spell and is consumed in casting.
  
  135
  Attached Notes
  New Prestige Classes
  he unique properties and cultures of
  each domain call for specific
  forms of expertise devoted
  to its most common traits.
  Below are two prestige
  classes designed for use within the
  realms of the southwestern Core,
  though they may also be found in
  other lands.
  Court Poisoner
  Borca’s courts bustle with court-
  iers serving their patrons in specific
  roles. The court poisoner is a vital
  component of Borcan politics. Of-
  ficially, these scholars act as
  herbalists and apothecaries; how-
  ever, they are also trained to dole
  out herbal remedies to rid their mas-
  ters of complaining commoners.
  In Borca, court poisoners begin
  as aristocrats or experts, trained in
  the arts of poison by long tradi-
  tion. Although the court poisoner
  is an unskilled combatant, assas-
  sins and blackguards sometimes
  take this class to expand their
  murderous repertoire. Court poisoners need
  not be murderous villains, but at best they
  serve a necessary evil. Heroes who pride
  themselves on their honor would never
  consider such underhanded treachery.
  Hit Die: d4.
  Requirements
  To qualify to become a court poisoner
  (Cpo), a character must fulfill all the fol-
  lowing criteria.
  Alignment: Any non-good.
  Skills: Craft (alchemy) 2 ranks, Craft
  (poisonmaking) 8 ranks, Profession (herb-
  alist) 2 ranks, Sleight of Hand 4 ranks.
  Feats: 
  Skill 
  Focus 
  (Craft
  [poisonmaking]).
  Special: To prove herself wor-
  thy of training, the character must
  kill a living creature (not necessar-
  ily a person) with a poison she has
  crafted herself.
  Class Skills
  The court poisoner’s class skills (and the key
  ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentra-
  tion (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Forgery
  (Int), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Profession (herb-
  alist) (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), and Spot
  (Wis).
  Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int
  modifier.
  Class Features
  All of the following are features of the
  court poisoner prestige class.
  Weapon and Armor Profi-
  ciency: A court poisoner gains
  no proficiency in any weapon
  or armor.
  Poison Use (Ex): Court
  poisoners are skilled in the
  use of poison and never risk
  accidentally poisoning them-
  selves when applying poison
  to a blade or when craft-
  ing poisons.
  Poison Mastery
  (Ex): Court poisoners
  are experts in the cre-
  ation of beneficial
  medicines and lethal
  toxins. As they gain ex-
  perience, they master
  complex methods of al-
  tering the properties of the
  poisons they create. For
  each level a court poisoner
  gains in the prestige class, she
  gets a special ability of her
  choice from the following list.
  Each modification added to a
  dose of poison increases the
  DC of the
  
  136
  DM’s Appendix
  skill check to craft that dose by +2 and increases its
  market price by the modifier noted below. When
  crafting a poison with multiple modifications, ap-
  ply the modifiers to the poison’s base market cost,
  then total them for a final price.
  Altered Delivery: The poison’s original method
  of delivery (ingested, inhaled, contact, or injury)
  can be altered to any other method of delivery. Cost
  Modifier: x3.
  Delayed Onset: The court poisoner can delay
  the onset of the poison’s initial damage by a period
  of up to 10 minutes per court poisoner level. Thus,
  a character with 4 levels of this prestige class could
  create a dose of poison that inflicts its initial
  damage up to 40 minutes after delivery. Secondary
  damage still takes effect 1 minute after initial
  damage. Cost Modifier: x1.5.
  Enduring: The poison remains active in the
  victim’s body for an extra minute, inflicting ter-
  tiary damage equal to the poison’s secondary
  damage. The saving throw to resist tertiary damage
  is reduced by –4, however, as the toxins peter out.
  Cost Modifier: x2.
  Putrid Distillation: The court poisoner uses the
  poison to kill a miniscule animal, then leaves the
  creature to rot for a day. She then collects and distils
  the creature’s putrefying fluids, combining the origi-
  nal poison with the toxins of decomposition. This
  increases the DC of saving throws to resist this dose
  of poison by +2. Cost Modifier: x2.
  Undetectable: The court poisoner increases the
  DC of any checks to notice this dose of poison by +4.
  Magic still detects these poisons normally, however.
  Cost Modifier: x2.
  Saving Throw Bonus vs. Poison (Ex): A court
  poisoner works with countless toxins and builds up
  resistance to their effects, gaining a bonus to all
  saving throws vs. poison equal to her class level.
  Insidious Application (Ex): At 3rd level, the
  court poisoner can apply contact poison to any ob-
  ject, such as a goblet or the lining of a vest, rather than
  simply applying it to weapons.
  Inventive Ingredients (Ex): At 5th level, the
  court poisoner is so practiced in creating drugs and
  toxins that she can replace difficult-to-obtain ingre-
  dients with skillfully blended substitutes. When the
  court poisoner crafts poisons, this reduces the rarity of
  her raw materials by one category (see above).
  Table 6–2: The Court Poisoner (Cpo)
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Base Attack
  Base Attack
  Base Attack
  Base Attack
  Base Attack
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Bonus
  Bonus
  Bonus
  Bonus
  Bonus
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  1st
  +0
  +0
  +2
  +0
  Poison use, poison mastery, +1 save vs. poison
  2nd
  +1
  +0
  +3
  +0
  save vs. poison +2
  3rd
  +2
  +1
  +3
  +1
  save vs. poison +3, insidious application
  4th
  +3
  +1
  +4
  +1
  save vs. poison +4
  5th
  +3
  +1
  +4
  +1
  save vs. poison +5, inventive ingredients
  
  137
  Attached Notes
  Moonchild
  Lycanthropy threatens to warp both flesh and
  spirit. Most afflicted victims end their lives or
  strive to cure themselves of the curse. Others seek
  a different form of escape, battling their own latent
  savagery for self-control. Some moonchildren seek
  to integrate their human minds and bestial urges to
  muzzle the beast within, while others hope to
  unleash the beast and thus become its master.
  Although much rarer, a few natural lycanthropes
  have also become moonchildren, honing their self-
  control to blend into humanoid societies better.
  Hit Die: d8.
  Requirements
  To qualify to become a moonchild (Mnc), a
  character must fulfill all the following criteria.
  Skills: Concentration 2 ranks, Control Shape
  2 ranks.
  Feats: Iron Will.
  Special: Must be a lycanthrope. If afflicted,
  the character must be aware of her condition. A
  moonchild cured of lycanthropy loses all special
  abilities and can no longer gain levels in this class.
  Should she later be afflicted again, however, she
  regains all special abilities and can once again
  progress in levels as a moonchild.
  Class Skills
  The moonchild’s class skills (and the key abil-
  ity for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Concentration
  (Con), Control Shape (Wis), Intimidate (Cha),
  Listen (Wis), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), and Sur-
  vival (Wis).
  Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.
  Class Features
  All of the following are features of the
  moonchild prestige class.
  Weapon and Armor Proficiency:
  Moonchildren gain no proficiency in
  any weapon or armor. Note that ar-
  mor check penalties apply to the
  skills Balance, Climb, Escape Artist,
  Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Sleight
  of Hand, Swim and Tumble. Many
  moonchildren eschew armor, since it
  risks destruction when they transform.
  Shackle the Beast (Ex): Starting at
  1st level, a moonchild receives a compe-
  tence bonus to Control Shape checks equal to
  twice her moonchild class level (+2 at 1st level, +4
  at 2nd level, and so forth).
  Human Heart (Ex): Starting at 1st
  level, whenever a moonchild voluntar-
  ily assumes bestial form, she retains
  her original alignment, memo-
  ries and self-control by
  making a successful Will
  save at the DC listed in
  Table 6–3, below.
  Savage Blood (Ex): Starting at
  1st level, whenever a character takes a
  level in moonchild, she must succeed at
  a DC 20 Will save or have her alignment
  
  138
  DM’s Appendix
  permanently shift one step toward the alignment of
  her bestial form. This alignment change is insidi-
  ous and considered voluntary, and thus does not
  provoke a Madness save.
  Example: A lawful good character afflicted by
  a chaotic evil werewolf takes a level of moonchild
  and fails her Will save. Her alignment shifts to
  either neutral good or lawful neutral (player’s
  choice).
  Tempered Hunger (Ex): Starting at 2nd level,
  on any day a moonchild does not assume bestial
  form, she need eat only half as many pounds of raw
  meat as a normal lycanthrope of her size to satisfy
  her dietary requirements. At 4th level, her dietary
  requirements drop to just 1/4 of the listed amount
  (see “The Hunger” in Chapter Five of the Ravenloft
  Player’s Handbook ). The character’s appetite
  never drops below the norm for her base race,
  however.
  Example: A Medium werewolf normally needs
  to eat 25 pounds of raw flesh each day or begin to
  starve. (Remember that afflicted lycanthropes who
  have not taken ranks in Control Shape are subject
  to the Hunger only in bestial form.) A 2nd-level
  moonchild needs to eat only 12 pounds of flesh on
  any day she stays human. At 4th level, this amount
  drops to just 6 pounds per day.
  Scent of the Bloodline (Ex): Starting at 3rd
  level, the moonchild’s senses become so acute that
  she can detect other members of her own bloodline
  by scent. To detect the scent of another werebeast,
  the moonchild must succeed at a Wisdom check
  (DC 10 + 1 per 5 ft.). Creatures with the scent
  ability (including many lycanthropes in their bes-
  tial forms) receive a +4 racial bonus to this check.
  Improved Control Shape (Su): At 5th level,
  a moonchild receives Improved Control Shape as
  a bonus feat. The moonchild is now considered a
  natural lycanthrope; she can assume both animal
  and hybrid forms, can control her changes at will,
  and is no longer affected by her trigger. This change
  also severs the original bloodline; the moonchild
  can never be cured of lycanthropy, and any af-
  flicted lycanthropes she creates consider her the
  progenitor of their bloodline. Despite the fact that
  she is now a natural lycanthrope, the moonchild
  does not have an adjustment to her effective char-
  acter level (ECL). Such are the boons of forgoing
  all other paths in favor of mastery of the beast
  within.
  In addition, whenever any lycanthrope gains
  the Improved Control Shape feat, she must endure
  a brief period when the two halves of her nature
  engage in a final battle for dominance. This phase
  lasts for 1d4+1 days, during which the lycanthrope
  must make a DC 30 Control Shape check every
  1d6 hours or assume one of her other two forms.
  Natural lycanthropes pass through this phase in
  early adolescence, when their heritage first mani-
  fests.
  Table 6–3: The Moonchild (Mnc)
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Class Level
  Base
  Base
  Base
  Base
  Base
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Fort
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Ref
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Will
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Special
  Attack Bonus
  Attack Bonus
  Attack Bonus
  Attack Bonus
  Attack Bonus
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  Save
  1
  +0
  +2
  +0
  +2
  Shackle the beast, human heart (DC 20),
  savage blood
  2
  +1
  +3
  +0
  +3
  Tempered hunger 1/2, human heart (DC 18)
  3
  +2
  +3
  +1
  +3
  Scent of the bloodline, human heart (DC 16)
  4
  +3
  +4
  +1
  +4
  Tempered hunger 1/4, human heart (DC 14)
  5
  +3
  +4
  +1
  +4
  Improved Control Shape, human heart (DC 12)
  
  139
  Attached Notes
  New Magic
  This section presents new forms of magic
  particular to the southwestern Core.
  Under certain circumstances, DMs may
  allow characters from outside this re-
  gion special access to these magics.
  Cleric Domain
  Slaughter Domain
  Deity: The Wolf God (Verbrek)
  Granted Power: Once per day, you can acti-
  vate the frightful presence extraordinary ability
  automatically as you attack an opponent (see Chap-
  ter 7: Glossary in the Monster Manual). This ability
  has a range of 30 feet and affects any opponent with
  less Hit Dice than you who can see you. The Will
  save has a DC of 10 + 1/2 your character level +
  your Charisma modifier. Affected creatures remain
  frightened or shaken for 5d6 rounds. This is a fear
  effect.
  Slaughter Domain Spells
  Slaughter Domain Spells
  Slaughter Domain Spells
  Slaughter Domain Spells
  Slaughter Domain Spells
  11111
  Expeditious Retreat: 
  Expeditious Retreat: 
  Expeditious Retreat: 
  Expeditious Retreat: 
  Expeditious Retreat: Doubles your
  speed.
  22222
  Hold Animal: 
  Hold Animal: 
  Hold Animal: 
  Hold Animal: 
  Hold Animal: Holds one animal help-
  less; 1 round/level.
  33333
  Greater Magic Fang: 
  Greater Magic Fang: 
  Greater Magic Fang: 
  Greater Magic Fang: 
  Greater Magic Fang: One natural
  weapon of subject creatures gets +1
  bonus to attack and damage per three
  caster levels (max +5).
  44444
  Fear: 
  Fear: 
  Fear: 
  Fear: 
  Fear: Subjects within cone flee for 1
  round/level.
  55555
  Slay Living: 
  Slay Living: 
  Slay Living: 
  Slay Living: 
  Slay Living: Touch attack kills sub-
  ject.
  66666
  Tenser’s Transformation: 
  Tenser’s Transformation: 
  Tenser’s Transformation: 
  Tenser’s Transformation: 
  Tenser’s Transformation: You gain
  combat bonuses.
  77777
  Power Word Stun: 
  Power Word Stun: 
  Power Word Stun: 
  Power Word Stun: 
  Power Word Stun: Stuns creature with
  up to 150 hp.
  88888
  Discern Location: 
  Discern Location: 
  Discern Location: 
  Discern Location: 
  Discern Location: Exact location of
  creature or object.
  99999
  Wail of the Banshee: 
  Wail of the Banshee: 
  Wail of the Banshee: 
  Wail of the Banshee: 
  Wail of the Banshee: Kills one crea-
  ture/level.
  Magic Items
  The magic items detailed below are most com-
  mon in the southwestern Core. Though they might
  be found elsewhere, their flavor is best suited to
  that area when first encountering them.
  Baron’s Arm: Baron’s arms are exotic double
  weapons wielded by the Black Leopards. One end
  of the weapon is a black +1 heavy mace, fashioned
  in the shape of an armored gauntlet or panther’s
  claw. The other end is a short whip of black leather
  strips tipped with sharp pieces of metal. This end
  acts as a nonmagical light flail. A critical hit with
  either end of the weapon results in terrible scarring,
  increasing the victim’s OR by +1 for each 10 points
  of damage inflicted.
  Faint necromancy; CL 5th; Craft Magic Arms
  and Armor, inflict moderate wounds; Price 2,360 gp;
  Cost 1,180 gp.
  Periapt of Intimidation: This stone is a jade
  skull on a platinum necklace. While wearing it, the
  user gains a +5 profane bonus to Intimidate checks.
  The user must make a 1% powers check each week
  she wears the periapt.
  Strong necromancy; CL 3rd; Craft Wondrous
  Item, cause fear; Price 1,000 gp.
  Tasting Cup: These coveted crystalline gob-
  lets are typically embossed with swirling, serpentine
  designs. Whenever a poisonous liquid is poured
  into the goblet, the clear crystal assumes a lurid
  violet shade. The tint fades once the goblet is
  emptied and wiped clean.
  Strong divination; CL 5th; Craft Wondrous
  Item, detect poison; Price 4,000 gp;Weight 1 lb.
  Vital Venom: Nostalia Romaine created this
  elixir with assistance from Ivana Boritsi. It is a
  lethal poison mixed with Nostalia’s own toxic
  ichor and the life’s blood of three people harvested
  for this very purpose. The draught must be con-
  sumed on a night of the new moon for its magical
  properties to take effect. A character who drinks
  the concoction must make two DC 20 Fortitude
  saves or suffer initial and secondary damage of 2d4
  points of temporary Constitution. If the imbiber
  survives, the toxins halt her physical aging for four
  months, effectively embalming her living flesh. A
  character can extend her youth indefinitely by
  drinking additional draughts of vital venom, but if
  she ever stops drinking the elixir or otherwise
  allows its effects to wear off, she ages at fifty times
  the normal rate until her physical age matches her
  true age once more.
  Only Nostalia and Ivana know the formula to
  the elixir, though they have chosen to share its
  benefits with several of their compatriots. Vital
  venom has no effect on creatures immune to
  ermordenung poison.
  Crafting vital venom does not require a powers
  check, but the necessary murders do.
  Strong necromancy [evil]; CL 6th; Brew Po-
  tion, pint of drinker’s blood, pint of ermordenung
  blood, heart’s blood from 3 victims of same race as
  drinker; Price 2,000 gp.
  
  140
  DM’s Appendix
  New Monsters
  This section presents monsters known
  to roam the lands of the southwestern
  Core.
  Lycanthrope, Werepanther
  This sinewy creature’s ebony fur glistens in the
  moonlight as it approaches like a silent piece of ani-
  mated night.
  Werepanthers in humanoid form are sleek and
  graceful and exude a feral sense of danger. The
  Black Leopards are Valachan’s elite enforcers, serv-
  ing Baron von Kharkov as guards, assassins, tax
  collectors, and spies. Though feared for their mer-
  curial cruelty and fierce loyalty, they would be even
  more frightening if the truth of their lycanthropy
  were known by Valachan’s populace.
  Creating a Werepanther
  Denizens of Dread and the Ravenloft Player’s
  Handbook contain full rules for Ravenloft’s
  lycanthropes; the rules below detail the werepanther
  only as it differs from other sample lycanthropes.
  “Werepanther” is a template that can be added
  to any humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base
  creature). The werepanther template can be inher-
  ited (for natural lycanthropes) or acquired (for
  afflicted lycanthropes). Becoming a werepanther is
  very much like multiclassing as an animal and
  gaining the appropriate Hit Dice.
  Size and Type: The base creature’s type does
  not change, but the creature gains the shapechanger
  subtype. The werepanther takes on the character-
  istics of a large cat such as a leopard or panther
  (referred to hereafter as the base animal). This
  animal can be within one size category of the base
  creature’s size (Small, Medium, or Large for a
  Medium base creature). Werepanthers can also
  adopt a hybrid shape that combines features of the
  base creature and the base animal. A
  werepanther’s hybrid form is the same size as
  the base animal or the base creature,
  whichever is larger.
  A werepanther uses either
  the base creature’s or the
  base animal’s statistics
  and special abilities
  in addition to those
  described here.
  Hit Dice and
  Hit Points: Same as
  the base creature
  plus those of the
  base animal. To cal-
  culate total hit
  points, apply Con-
  stitution modifiers
  according to the
  score 
  the
  werepanther has
  in each form. For
  example, a hu-
  man commoner
  with a Constitu-
  tion score of 11 as
  a human and a
  Constitution score
  of 15 as a panther
  has 1d4 plus 3d8+6
  hit points. See “Ly-
  
  141
  Attached Notes
  canthrope” in the Monster Manual and in Denizens
  of Dread.
  Speed: Same as the base creature or base
  animal, depending on which form the werepanther
  is using. Hybrids use the base creature’s speed.
  Armor Class: In humanoid form, the charac-
  ter gains a natural AC bonus +2. In animal or
  hybrid form, it has a natural AC bonus of +3.
  Attacks: Same as the character or the animal,
  depending on which form the werepanther is us-
  ing. A werepanther in hybrid form gains two claw
  attacks and a bite attack as natural weapons. These
  weapons deal damage based on the hybrid form’s
  size. A hybrid may attack with a weapon and a bite
  or may attack with its natural weapons. The bit
  attack of a hybrid is a secondary attack.
  Damage: Same as the character or the animal,
  depending on which form the werepanther is us-
  ing.
  Special Attacks: A werepanther retains the
  special attacks of the base creature or the base
  animal, depending on which form she is using, and
  gains the special attacks described below.
  A werepanther’s hybrid form does not gain
  any special attacks of the base animal. A
  werepanther spellcaster cannot cast spells with
  verbal, somatic, or material components while in
  animal form or spells with verbal components
  while in hybrid form.
  Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid hit
  by a werepanther’s bite attack in hybrid or animal
  form must succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save (or
  DC 18 in Ravenloft) or contract lycanthropy. In
  Ravenloft, afflicted lycanthropes can pass on the
  Dread Disease. Afflicted characters are unaffected
  by the curse until the night of the next new moon,
  when they undergo an agonizing transformation.
  Their skin darkens to the coffee color of a native
  Valachani and their face reshapes itself until they
  are unrecognizable. If in Valachan, they must make
  a DC 18 Will save or come under Von Kharkov’s
  control: their alignment changes to lawful evil,
  they are permanently charmed by the baron, and
  they can spend 100 XP to take the Improved
  Control Shape feat. A werepanther who takes this
  feat during her first transformation is thereafter
  considered a true lycanthrope. They are no longer
  subject to involuntary shape changes but cannot be
  cured. If the new werepanther makes the Will save
  or is outside Valachan, they retain their freedom
  but remain an afflicted lycanthrope.
  Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, the
  werepanther must hit with its bite attack in pan-
  ther form. If it gets a hold, it can rake.
  Rake (Ex): A werepanther that gets a hold in
  panther form can make two rake attacks (at full
  attack bonus) with its hind legs for 1d3 + 1/2 its
  Strength modifier points of damage each. If the
  werepanther pounces on an opponent in panther
  form, it can also rake.
  Special Qualities: A werepanther retains the
  special qualities of the base creature and the base
  animal, and also gains those listed below.
  Alternate Form (Su): See “Lycanthrope” in the
  Monster Manual (and Denizens of Dread). Natural
  werepanthers can assume a hybrid form as well as
  panther form, while afflicted werepanthers can
  normally only assume panther form.
  Damage Reduction (Ex): An afflicted
  werepanther in animal or hybrid form has damage
  reduction 5/silver. A natural werepanther in ani-
  mal or hybrid form has damage reduction 10/silver.
  Lycanthropic Empathy (Ex): In any form, a
  werepanther can communicate and empathize with
  any normal or dire animals of its animal form. This
  ability gives werepanthers a +4 racial bonus on
  checks when influencing the animal’s attitude and
  allows the communication of simple concepts and
  (if the animal is friendly) commands, such a “friend,”
  “foe,” “flee,” and “attack.”
  Low-Light Vision (Ex): A werepanther has
  low-light vision in any form.
  Scent (Ex): A werepanther has the scent abil-
  ity in any form.
  Base Save Bonuses: Add the base save bonus
  of the base animal to the base save bonus of the base
  creature. Werepanthers also receive a +2 racial
  bonus to Fortitude and Will saves.
  Abilities: Natural werepanthers gain Str +2,
  Dex +2, Con +4, Wis +2 while in humanoid form.
  In panther or hybrid form, these modifiers improve
  to a total of Str +6, Dex +8, Con +4, Wis +2. As
  well, a werepanther may also gain an additional
  ability score increase by virtue of extra Hit Dice.
  Skills: A werepanther gains skill points equal
  to (2 + Int modifier, minimum 1) per Hit Die of its
  animal form, as if it had multiclassed into the
  animal type. (Animal is never its first Hit Die,
  though, and it does not gain quadruple skill points
  for any animal Hit Die.) Any skill given in the
  animal’s description is a class skill for the
  werepanther’s animal levels. Werepanthers in hu-
  
  142
  DM’s Appendix
  manoid form gain a +4 racial bonus to Listen,
  Search, and Spot checks. When in animal or
  hybrid form, these bonuses increase to +8, and
  werepanther’s receive a further +4 racial bonus to
  Hide and Move Silently checks and a +8 racial
  bonus to Balance checks. See Denizens of Dread.
  Feats: Add the base animal’s feats to the base
  creature’s. If this results in a werepanther having
  the same feat twice, they werepanther gains no
  additional benefits unless the feat normally can be
  taken more than once, in which case the dupli-
  cated feta works as noted in the feat description.
  This process may give the werepanther more feats
  than a character of its total Hit Dice would nor-
  mally be entitled to; if this occurs, any “extra” feats
  are denoted as bonus feats.
  A werepanther may possibly not meet the
  prerequisites for all its feats when in humanoid
  form. If this occurs, the werepanther still has the
  feats, but cannot use them when in humanoid
  form. A werepanther receives Iron Will as a bonus
  feat.
  When in hybrid or animal form, werepanthers
  also gain Weapon Finesse (bite, claw) as a bonus
  feat. If they retain their freedom past the first new
  moon, werepanthers can gain the Improved Con-
  trol Shape feat without binding themselves to Von
  Kharkov by spending 100 XP.
  Environment: Temperate and cold forest and
  hills.
  Organization: Solitary or squad (2–12).
  Challenge Rating: Character level +4.
  Treasure: Standard, plus baron’s arm.
  Shadow, Salt
  Medium Undead
  Medium Undead
  Medium Undead
  Medium Undead
  Medium Undead
  Hit Dice:
  Hit Dice:
  Hit Dice:
  Hit Dice:
  Hit Dice:
  5d12 (32 hp)
  Initiative:
  Initiative:
  Initiative:
  Initiative:
  Initiative:
  +7
  Speed:
  Speed:
  Speed:
  Speed:
  Speed:
  30 ft. (6 squares), climb 30 ft.
  Armor Class:
  Armor Class:
  Armor Class:
  Armor Class:
  Armor Class:
  14 (+3 Dex, +1 deflection)
  Base Attack/Grapple:
  Base Attack/Grapple:
  Base Attack/Grapple:
  Base Attack/Grapple:
  Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+5
  Attack:
  Attack:
  Attack:
  Attack:
  Attack:
  Corrosive touch +5 melee (1d6+3 plus
  1d6 acid or 1d6 Strength)
  Full Attack:
  Full Attack:
  Full Attack:
  Full Attack:
  Full Attack:
  Corrosive touch +5 melee (1d6+3 plus
  1d6 acid or 1d6 Strength)
  Space/Reach:
  Space/Reach:
  Space/Reach:
  Space/Reach:
  Space/Reach:
  5 ft./5 ft.
  Special Attacks:
  Special Attacks:
  Special Attacks:
  Special Attacks:
  Special Attacks:
  Malevolence, strength damage, splash
  damage, create spawn
  Special Qualities:
  Special Qualities:
  Special Qualities:
  Special Qualities:
  Special Qualities:
  Vulnerability to sunlight, vulnerabil-
  ity to fire, +2 turn resistance, damage
  reduction 5/magic, undead traits
  Saves:
  Saves:
  Saves:
  Saves:
  Saves:
  Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +5
  Abilities:
  Abilities:
  Abilities:
  Abilities:
  Abilities:
  Str 17, Dex 16, Con —, Int 10, Wis 12,
  Cha 13
  Skills:
  Skills:
  Skills:
  Skills:
  Skills:
  Hide +10, Listen +7, Spot +7
  Feats:
  Feats:
  Feats:
  Feats:
  Feats:
  Dodge, Skill Focus (Hide)
  Environment:
  Environment:
  Environment:
  Environment:
  Environment:
  Any land and underground
  Organization:
  Organization:
  Organization:
  Organization:
  Organization:
  Solitary, gang (2–5), swarm (6–20)
  Challenge Rating:
  Challenge Rating:
  Challenge Rating:
  Challenge Rating:
  Challenge Rating:
  7
  Treasure:
  Treasure:
  Treasure:
  Treasure:
  Treasure:
  None
  Alignment:
  Alignment:
  Alignment:
  Alignment:
  Alignment:
  Always chaotic evil
  Advancement:
  Advancement:
  Advancement:
  Advancement:
  Advancement:
  6–11 HD (Medium)
  Level Adjustment:
  Level Adjustment:
  Level Adjustment:
  Level Adjustment:
  Level Adjustment:
  —
  Reeking of saline ooze, the pool of semi-liquid
  darkness slithers across the cavern floor, coalescing as
  it flows into a dripping, half-formed humanoid figure.
  Description
  Salt shadows are the spawn of the misery and
  evil found within the depths of the Veidrava salt
  mines and other black places beneath the earth.
  These entities of living darkness continually shift
  form, appearing as swift-moving puddles of liquid
  shadow one moment and vague humanoid figures
  the next. The touch of a salt shadow causes terrible
  burns from salt corrosion or drains the strength
  from one’s bones. Furthermore, salt shadows can
  force themselves into a person’s body, possessing
  the victim; those possessed can be identified  by
  their faint saline odor and by the fact that when
  they commit an evil act, their eyes become the
  glossy black of the salt shadow’s true form.
  Salt shadows hate life and light, taking mania-
  cal glee in acts of corruption. Often, salt shadows
  work with other evil beings to further great works
  of evil. Salt shadows often blend into a possessed
  
  143
  Attached Notes
  victim’s community in order to pursue long-term
  goals.
  Combat
  Malevolence (Su): Once per round, a salt
  shadow can attempt to possess the body of a living
  victim. This ability is similar to magic jar as cast by
  a 10th-level sorcerer, except that it does not re-
  quire a receptacle. If the attack succeeds, the salt
  shadow crawls completely into the opponent’s
  body. While in possession of a living victim, the
  shadow uses the victim’s skills, feats, and abilities
  rather than its own; a salt shadow cannot use any
  of a victim’s divinely-granted class abilities, how-
  ever. The target can resist the attack with a
  successful DC 16 Will save. Those possessed by a
  salt shadow’s malevolence ability receive a +2
  profane bonus to Fortitude and Reflex saves. A
  creature that successfully saves is immune to that
  salt shadow’s malevolence for one day. Should a
  salt shadow abandon or be driven from its possessed
  victim, the victim suffers 2d6 points of temporary
  Strength damage (no saving throw) as the shadow
  pours out.
  Note that in Sithicus, salt shadows cannot
  possess Innocent victims while Inza is darklord.
  Strength Damage (Su): Instead of deal-
  ing normal damage with their touch attack,
  salt shadows may choose instead to deal 1d6
  points of temporary Strength damage to a
  living foe. A creature reduced to 0 Strength
  by a salt shadow dies.
  Splash Damage (Su): Each time a salt
  shadow is damaged in combat, blobs of the
  semi-liquid shadowstuff that composes its
  body spray in all directions, inflicting 1
  point of acid damage to all living creatures
  within 5 feet of the salt shadow.
  Create Spawn (Su): Any humanoid
  reduced to 0 Strength by a salt shadow
  becomes a salt shadow under the control of
  its killer within 1d4 rounds. Newly cre-
  ated salt shadows may automatically
  possess their own corpse using their
  malevolence special attack the same
  round in which they rise as undead.
  Salt shadows that possess their original bodies can
  pass unnoticed among the living since the pos-
  sessed corpse does not decay, but is instead preserved
  as it appeared at the moment of death.
  Vulnerability to Sunlight (Ex): Salt shadows
  exposed to direct sunlight are staggered and are
  destroyed on the following round if they can not
  escape. Salt shadows are unharmed by sunlight
  while within possessed hosts, but suffer a –1 cir-
  cumstance penalty to all attack rolls, saves, and
  checks while exposed.
  Vulnerability to Fire (Ex): Salt shadows take
  double damage from fire, regardless of whether a
  saving throw is allowed or if the save is a success or
  failure.
  
  144
  DM’s Appendix
  Who’s Doomed
  This section presents the darklords of the five
  domains in this gazetteer as well as other notables.
  Information here takes precedence over previous
  versions already detailed in Secrets of the Dread
  Realms or elsewhere. The NPC descriptions ad-
  here to the following format:
  Statistics: The character’s complete game sta-
  tistics. Some characters use special rules found in
  the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook or Denizens of
  Dread. The character’s native language is always
  listed first and marked with an asterisk.
  Background: The character’s history.
  Current Sketch: The character’s personality
  and current activities.
  Combat: Tactics and strategies the character
  usually employs in battle. If the character has any
  unique special attacks or qualities not found in the
  core rulebooks, the Ravenloft Player’s Hand-
  book, or Denizens of Dread, they will also be
  detailed here.
  Lair: The character’s home or where she can
  often be encountered.
  Closing the Borders: If the character is a
  darklord, this section details how a border closure
  manifests in her domain.
  Gabrielle Aderre,
  Darklord of Invidia
  Female Zarovan half-Vistana Sor11:
  Female Zarovan half-Vistana Sor11:
  Female Zarovan half-Vistana Sor11:
  Female Zarovan half-Vistana Sor11:
  Female Zarovan half-Vistana Sor11: CR 12; Medium humanoid
  (human) (5 ft. 1 in. tall); HD 11d4, hp 39; Init +2 + 1d10–1d4;
  Spd 30 ft.; AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 15; Base Atk +5; Grp
  +4; Atk +5 melee (1d4/19–20, +1 shapechanger bane dag-
  ger) or +8 ranged (1d4–1, masterwork dart); Full Atk +5
  melee (1d4, +1 shapechanger bane dagger) or +8 ranged
  (1d4–1, masterwork dart); SA gaze of the temptress, spells;
  SQ dread familiar (cat), fire-building, free of the lunatio,
  protected kin; AL NE; SV Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +13; Str 8, Dex
  14, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 17.
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +7, Concentration +6,
  Diplomacy +6, Gather Information +6, Knowl-
  edge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (local: Invidia) +5,
  Move Silently +4, Sense Motive +6, Spellcraft +8,
  Survival +5; Extend Spell, Quick Draw, Spell
  Focus (enchantment), Voice of Wrath.
  Languages: Balok*, Luktar, Patterna.
  Typical Sorcerer Spells Known (6/14/7/7/6/4;
  save DC 13 + spell level, 14 + spell level for
  enchantment spells): 0 — dancing lights, daze,
  detect magic, flare, ghost sound, mage hand, light, read
  magic, resistance; 1st — cause fear, charm person,
  disguise self, hypnotism, sleep; 2nd — blindness/deaf-
  ness, detect thoughts, scare, Tasha’s hideous laughter,
  whispering wind; 3rd — dispel magic, hold person,
  major image, suggestion; 4th — charm monster, con-
  fusion, emotion; 5th — dominate person, hold monster.
  Signature Possessions: +1 silver shapechanger
  bane dagger, 6 masterwork darts, amulet of natural
  armor +1, bracelets of armor +2 (as bracers), kerchief
  of disguise (as hat), ring of protection +2, ring of
  wizardry I, shawl of resistance +3 (as cloak), Eva’s
  deck, wand of charm person.
  The darklord of Invidia appears as a beautiful
  woman in her mid-20s with black eyes and hair like
  lustrous ravens-wings, marred only by a single
  streak of gray. Her skin is unblemished and pale,
  inherited from her giorgio father. Gabrielle is actu-
  ally in her late 40s. Her reflection in mirrors shows
  her true age, with graying hair and the beginnings
  of wrinkles. Though this reflection is by no means
  unattractive, Gabrielle finds it hideous and does all
  she can to avoid mirrors.
  Gabrielle favors her gypsy mother’s mode of
  dress, preferring brightly colored skirts and blouses
  and a great deal of silver jewelry.
  Gabrielle Aderre
  
  145
  Attached Notes
  Background
  Gabrielle is part Vistani, the daughter of the
  half-Vistana fortuneteller Isabella Aderre and an
  unknown giorgio. Born in Richemulot, she never
  knew her father. Though her mother’s people
  spurned both mother and child, Gabrielle learned
  much of the ways of the Vistani from her mother,
  including how to tell fortunes and cast simple
  spells, but Gabrielle was consumed with curiosity
  about her father’s identity. Isabella said only that
  he had been a cruel and evil man and that Gabrielle
  carried a piece of that evil within her.
  “You must never have children,“ her mother
  once warned her. “Tragedy would be the only
  result.” From a seer of Isabella’s skill, such a proph-
  ecy was tantamount to a curse. Though the words
  had been spoken out of love and concern, Gabrielle
  grew bitter and resentful of her mother, creating a
  fanciful image of her father as a great noble and
  imagining finding him and rediscovering the love
  so lacking in her present life.
  When Gabrielle was 19, a werewolf attacked
  her and her mother, severely injuring Isabella.
  Holding the creature at bay with a silver bane
  dagger that she had stolen from a wealthy mer-
  chant, Gabrielle threatened to leave Isabella to the
  werebeast unless she revealed her father’s identity.
  At last Isabella told her the truth: she had once
  been slave to a wealthy, sadistic Falkovnian noble-
  man, became pregnant with his child, and escaped
  so her child could know freedom.
  Gabrielle refused to accept her mother’s words
  and left her to the werewolf’s tender mercies.
  The Mists surrounded Gabrielle, who found
  herself in the heart of Invidia. Invidian soldiers
  seized her and brought her to the werewolf Bakholis,
  the realm’s darklord. Mad with bloodlust, Bakholis
  ordered his guards away and moved to attack the
  peasant girl. To his horror, he found himself trans-
  fixed by her evil eye, and he perished as her silver
  bane dagger slit his throat. The lordship of Invidia
  passed to Gabrielle. The oppressed peasants rose
  up, overthrew the werewolf’s minions, and pro-
  claimed Gabrielle ruler, a role that held no interest
  for her.
  Gabrielle took various lovers, luring them
  away from committed relationships, dominating
  them, and casting them aside when she tired of
  them. Still haunted by her mother’s curse, she
  dared not seek out a true relationship.
  Twelve years ago, a mysterious, dark-eyed
  Gentleman Caller captivated her the moment
  their eyes met. They shared a single night of pas-
  sion, after which she never saw him again. To this
  day, she has difficulty remembering their time
  together.
  Nine months later, Gabrielle gave birth to
  Malocchio, a child seemingly normal save for a
  small sixth finger on each hand. Gabrielle’s
  divinatory gifts revealed that her son was actually
  a Dukkar — a fearsome monster from Vistani
  legend fated to destroy the Vistani should he be
  permitted to live.
  At first, Gabrielle was delighted by this dis-
  covery and determined to use Malocchio as a tool
  for her vengeance on the Vistani. Unfortunately,
  though he held a deep contempt for the gypsies,
  Malocchio had bigger plans. By the winter of 747,
  his manipulations had left Gabrielle broken and
  nearly mad. Only the timely intervention of Matton
  Blanchard, a wolfwere and one of her spurned
  lovers saved her. Malocchio set off to claim Invidia
  as his own.
  Matton slowly nursed Gabrielle back to health
  and she found herself returning Matton’s affec-
  tions. The two planned to defeat Malocchio and
  restore Gabrielle to her prominence in the domain.
  To this end, Gabrielle used her seductive arts
  and subtle enchantments to take control of the
  bitterly divided Gundarakite rebels in northern
  Invidia, helping them recapture Castle Hunadora.
  Matton ventured into Kartakass to recruit
  wolfweres.
  The rebels chafed at Gabrielle’s leadership,
  however, as they realized she was more devoted to
  vengeance against her son than to the cause of
  Gundarakite independence. Sensing control slip-
  ping from her, Gabrielle seduced Ardonk Szerieza,
  leader of the Barovian Gundarakite movement,
  and once more became undisputed rebel leader.
  She has walked a precarious route, keeping both
  lovers in ignorance of each other.
  Late in 752 BC, Gabrielle discovered that she
  was pregnant, despite magical and herbal precau-
  tions. Her daughter, Lucita Aderre, is now a girl of
  four-and-a-half, and Gabrielle still does not know
  who the father is. Matton and Ardonk each be-
  lieves himself the girl’s father, and Gabrielle finds
  it difficult to maintain her ruse. If Matton is the
  father, then Lucita is a wolfwere as well and could
  start transforming at any time. If Ardonk is the
  father, the girl will never change, and Matton will
  know the truth. Either alternative may result in the
  downfall of all her plans.
  
  146
  DM’s Appendix
  Gabrielle has come to realize that, in her own
  way, Lucita proves Isabella’s curse true once more.
  Current Sketch
  As Lucita grows older, Gabrielle becomes more
  estranged from those around her, distancing her-
  self from both Matton and Ardonk. Above all,
  Gabrielle loves her daughter and hopes that Ardonk
  is the father, preferring Lucita to avoid facing life as
  a bestial shapechanger.
  Lucita is a lovely, dark-haired girl who dotes
  on Gabrielle, often dressing like her. Gabrielle
  never allows her daughter out of her sight, thus
  keeping Lucita sheltered and naïve.
  Combat
  Gabrielle does not relish combat, but she has
  killed to defend herself in the past and will not
  hesitate to do so again if necessary. She normally
  leaves her charmed minions to defend her, but aids by
  using the powers of her evil eye to assist her allies.
  Special Attacks: Gaze of the Temptress (Su):
  Gabrielle can use any enchantment spell that she
  knows in a manner similar to a gaze attack. To use
  a spell as a gaze attack, she must have at least one
  spell of the appropriate level readied for the day.
  Thus, if Gabrielle wants to use hold person as a gaze
  attack, she must have at least one 3rd-level spell
  readied. Using this gaze attack does not actually
  cast the spell. As long as Gabrielle still has one 3rd-
  level spell readied, she can use her hold person gaze
  over and over again. When used as gaze attacks,
  Gabrielle’s spells do not require spell components.
  Gabrielle must take a standard action to use her
  gaze attack, and those merely looking at her are not
  affected. Anyone she targets must succeed at a DC
  18 Will save or be affected as though by the spell.
  The abilities are all as spells cast by an 11th-level
  sorcerer. Gabrielle’s gaze has a range of 30 feet.
  Special Qualities: Eva’s Deck (Su): Gabrielle
  can read the future as well as a full-blooded Vistani,
  but only when using her personal deck, an heir-
  loom originally crafted and passed down by her
  ancient ancestor, Madame Eva. Using the cards
  gives her blinding headaches, inflicting an effec-
  tive decrease of 2d4 Strength per reading. She
  recovers 1 point of Strength per hour and is consid-
  ered sickened until fully recovered. Due to this
  pain, she uses this talent only when necessary.
  Free of the Lunatio (Ex): Gabrielle does not
  suffer from the moon madness that afflicts most
  half-Vistani.
  Protected Kin (Ex): Gabrielle cannot directly
  harm the Vistani. Pure-blooded Vistani are com-
  pletely immune to her supernatural powers and
  spells, unless the spell is harmless, and she cannot
  attack such an individual. Any individual of Vistani
  heritage — whether half-Vistani or simply having
  a distant Vistani ancestor — receives a +2 bonus to
  her saving throws vs. all of Gabrielle’s supernatural
  powers and spells, and Gabrielle suffers a –2 pen-
  alty to her attack rolls should she attack such an
  individual physically. She can, however, manipu-
  late others to harm those of Vistani blood.
  Lair
  Gabrielle resides in Castle Hunadora with the
  Gundarakite rebels. Once home to the vampire
  Duke Gundar, darklord of Gundarak, the castle is
  an ancient and dangerous place, full of traps and
  unexplored areas that might harbor hostile crea-
  tures from Gundar’s time. Gabrielle’s private
  quarters contain colorful drapes and tapestries.
  Aromatic incense spices the air. The rebels are
  laying their own traps and ambushes should the
  Invidians ever attack again. The castle was a rank
  4 sinkhole of evil under Gundar, but in recent years
  it has been reduced to rank 2.
  Closing the Borders
  When Gabrielle wishes to close her borders,
  an invisible and undetectable wall of terror sur-
  rounds Invidia. Creatures who cross the border
  automatically panic and must flee back into Invidia
  (no saving throw). This panic affects even crea-
  tures normally immune to fear or mind-affecting
  magic, though creatures without Intelligence scores
  remain unaffected.
  Malocchio Aderre, the Dukkar
  Male Dukkar Ftr3/Rog3:
  Male Dukkar Ftr3/Rog3:
  Male Dukkar Ftr3/Rog3:
  Male Dukkar Ftr3/Rog3:
  Male Dukkar Ftr3/Rog3: CR 8; Medium outsider (chaotic,
  evil) (6 ft. tall); HD 3d10+3d6, hp 36; Init +7; Spd 30 ft.; AC
  20, touch 14, flat-footed 17; Base Atk +5; Grp +7; Atk +9
  melee (1d8+2, crit 19–20, masterwork cold iron longsword),
  or +9 ranged (1d8+2/x3, masterwork composite longbow [+2
  Str bonus]), or +9 ranged (1d12/x3, masterwork musket); Full
  Atk +9 melee (1d8+2/19–20, masterwork cold iron
  longsword), or +9 ranged (1d8+2/x3, masterwork composite
  longbow [+2 Str bonus]), or +9 ranged (1d12/x3, masterwork
  musket); SA evil eye, feral allies, sneak attack +2d6, spell-
  like abilities; SQ damage reduction 10/holy silver, resistance
  to acid 20, cold 20, electricity 20, and fire 20, darkvision 60
  ft., evasion, Dukkar qualities, poison immunity, protected kin,
  reality wrinkle, teleport without error, trapfinding, trap sense
  +1; SR 15; AL CE; SV Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +4; Str 14, Dex 16,
  Con 10, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 17.
  
  147
  Attached Notes
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +8, Diplomacy +4, Handle
  Animal +8, Hide +8, Intimidate +11, Knowledge
  (arcana) +8, Knowledge (local: Invidia) +5, Knowl-
  edge (Ravenloft) +7, Knowledge (Vistani lore) +5,
  Listen +6, Move Silently +8, Ride  (horse) +8,
  Search +8, Sense Motive +6, Spot +6; Combat
  Reflexes, Dodge, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (fire-
  arms), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Weapon
  Focus (longsword). OR 2 if fingers visible; 7 if true
  nature known.
  Languages: Balok*, Luktar, Patterna, Vaasi.
  Signature Possessions: Masterwork cold iron
  longsword, masterwork composite longbow (+2
  Str bonus), masterwork musket, +1 studded leather,
  masterwork buckler, cloak of resistance +1, ring of
  protection +1.
  Invidia’s tyrant is a darkly handsome man who
  appears to be in his early twenties, with a square jaw
  and steady eye. His skin is pale, but everything else
  about him is black as midnight. He has inherited
  his mother’s dark eyes and wavy black hair, wearing
  it below his shoulders. He prefers to dress entirely
  in black. Those who hold his gaze for long are
  invariably forced to look away, overcome by feel-
  ings of unease and a sense of great evil. Malocchio
  is quite normal-looking save for a tiny, claw-like
  sixth finger on each hand, concealed under black
  gloves.
  Malocchio often wears military attire, includ-
  ing an engraved breastplate. He bears the sword
  Vistani’s Bane. Polite and well-spoken when calm,
  if provoked he transforms into a mad thing, bellow-
  ing and shrieking, striking all nearby. His rage is
  greatest in the presence of Vistani, who consider
  him a Dukkar — a demon in the flesh. Though he
  cannot harm the Vistani directly, he revels in their
  suffering at the hands of his minions.
  Background
  Born in the spring of 747 BC to the luckless
  Gabrielle Aderre and a mysterious stranger,
  Malocchio seemed to be a gift from on high, a
  specially blessed child who would bring his mother
  happiness (and, in her mind, vengeance upon the
  Vistani who had banished her mother). Unfortu-
  nately, Gabrielle’s curse was that she never find
  happiness — the mysterious stranger was actually a
  fiendish creature of purest evil.
  Before Gabrielle had recovered from the child-
  birth, Malocchio was walking and holding
  intelligent conversations. Within half a year he
  had gained nearly full adult stature and intelli-
  gence.
  When he thought no one was looking, he
  demonstrated burgeoning occult powers, using them
  to monstrous ends, such as directing flocks of birds
  to crash into the walls of Castle Loupet. Even more
  incredibly, he could teleport from place to place at
  whim — around the castle at first, then throughout
  Invidia. At first, Gabrielle indoctrinated her son
  with all of her anti-Vistani sentiment. Yet
  Malocchio’s hatred seemed far greater than any-
  thing Gabrielle could have anticipated. Her
  suspicions aroused, Gabrielle consulted her tarokka
  and in a dark vision she saw that her son was a
  Dukkar: a dark messiah destined to bring pain,
  suffering and death to the Vistani and possibly
  bring down the Realm of Dread entirely.
  As his wickedness expanded to match his
  physical growth, Malocchio came to see a won-
  drous and terrible destiny beckoning to him. Tiring
  of his mother, he enthralled her servants, turning
  them against her and turning Gabrielle’s own mind
  against itself. During the Harvest Carnival,
  Malocchio imprisoned his mother, then stripped
  away the illusions surrounding her night with the
  Gentleman Caller. The unshackled memories of
  that night ravaged Gabrielle’s mind, leaving her
  broken, beaten, and alone.
  Malocchio intended to destroy his mother and
  continue on to pursue his own fiendish interests.
  The Vistani, who had slowly pieced together his
  existence, opposed him. Within Malocchio writhed
  an unholy combination of powers drawn from his
  demonic, Vistani and darklord heritage, and when
  he assumed his full powers, no force — not even the
  Dark Powers —would be able to chain him.
  Malocchio could use the Mists to travel anywhere
  in the multiverse, even through closed domain
  borders and even carrying darklords in tow.
  He imprisoned his mother and had her tor-
  tured until she agreed to cede all authority to him.
  Malocchio left her to die in the Dreadwood, where
  the first wolfwere Gabrielle encountered was her
  old lover Matton. When all was nearly lost, the
  Vistani — including Madame Eva herself — cre-
  ated the sphere of binding and shackled the Dukkar
  to the domain of Invidia, containing his evil power.
  Outraged, Malocchio returned to Castle
  Loupet, destroying much of its contents in a child-
  ish tantrum. He resolved to seize control of Invidia
  by force. Using his charisma and the enthralling
  powers of his evil eye, Malocchio united the dispar-
  
  148
  DM’s Appendix
  ate village militias, mustering an impressive merce-
  nary force. When Malocchio claimed control of
  most of the domain, few folk dared stand against
  him. With the villages of Invidia united under his
  rule, he organized a campaign of murder against the
  Vistani. If he could not torture the Vistani into
  revealing how his chains could be broken, then he
  would sate his anger with the blood of their entire
  race.
  With their new ruler calling for a pogrom
  against the “thieving gypsies,” the Invidians rose
  up to drive the Vistani from their midst. Malocchio’s
  expanded army and his newly-recruited mercenar-
  ies honed their skills on helpless gypsies — the
  lucky ones were merely beaten and driven into
  exile. To be a Vistani, a Vistani half-breed, or even
  a Vistani sympathizer was tantamount to a death
  sentence.
  Only the eastern lands of Invidia remained
  outside Malocchio’s control. The Gundarakites
  there retained a strong independent streak, and
  Malocchio was surprised to discover his mother
  leading the resistance movement.
  Dozens of dead Vistani men, women and chil-
  dren barely slaked Malocchio’s bloodlust. He
  ordered his soldiers to cross into neighboring realms
  in pursuit of the gypsies, and only recently did he
  curtail the practice in the face of complaints and
  threats from Borca and Barovia. Most believe that
  this is only a temporary respite.
  Current Sketch
  Lord Malocchio is a man driven by hatred: for
  his mother, for the Vistani, and (some claim) for
  himself. Some believe that his campaign against
  the Vistani is influenced by his loathing for his own
  Vistani heritage and that of his mother, whom he
  has sworn to flay alive on the walls of Castle
  Hunadora when he captures her. Malocchio now
  regrets allowing his mother to escape his clutches.
  Although he controls most of the domain, she
  remains the darklord, and Malocchio is satisfied
  with that state of affairs.
  Malocchio understands much of the nature of
  Ravenloft and does not want to become darklord
  himself; darklords are irrevocably tied to their
  domains, while Malocchio is entrapped only by a
  magic spell that might yet be broken. As long as
  Gabrielle lives, she remains the darklord; should
  she die, lordship of the domain will likely pass to
  him, denying him his destiny. He seeks to capture
  her, keeping her safe while he tortures her psycho-
  logically for his own amusement. He has recently
  learned of his young half-sister Lucita and sees her
  as the perfect leverage to trap Gabrielle.
  Malocchio acts like a child in many ways. He
  is selfish and temperamental. The slightest frustra-
  tion sends him into a tantrum that usually ends in
  murder. His iron fist closes tighter around the
  realm each day. Malocchio does not care whether
  Invidia is crushed beneath the heels of foreign
  invaders, so long as he exterminates the Vistani.
  When not overseeing his troops or leading
  patrols in the countryside, Malocchio researches
  his ancestry or amuses himself by tormenting com-
  moners or torturing his imprisoned Vistani, leaving
  day-to-day functions of the nation to subordinates.
  When Malocchio issues a decree, however, he
  expects it to be obeyed instantly.
  Combat
  Malocchio revels in death and misery and
  leads patrols into the countryside whenever he
  can, ordering his mercenaries to swoop down on
  bandits, rebels, marauding creatures, and fleeing
  Vistani with heartless enthusiasm. His favorite
  steed, Redhoof, is a warhorse as intent on shedding
  blood as its master. Malocchio particularly enjoys
  Malocchio Aderre
  
  149
  Attached Notes
  riding foes down and trampling them beneath his
  steed’s iron-shod hooves.
  Malocchio has many powers at his command
  and uses his evil eye to render his foes helpless
  before summoning wild beasts or directing merce-
  naries to tear them apart. Though boastful in
  combat, Malocchio is a coward at heart, quickly
  teleporting away should a fight turn against him.
  Special Attacks: Evil Eye (Su): Malocchio
  possesses the Evil Eye ability of the Vistani, de-
  tailed in Chapter Five of the Ravenloft Player’s
  Handbook. In addition to the effects listed there,
  Malocchio can use his evil eye to cast cause fear,
  charm monster, charm person, hypnotism, and sugges-
  tion in a manner similar to a gaze attack. To use a
  spell as a gaze attack, Malocchio must take a
  standard action, and those merely looking at him
  are not affected. These effects manifest as if cast by
  a 6th-level sorcerer. Saving throws against the
  Dukkar’s evil eye have a DC of 16. Malocchio’s
  gaze has a range of 30 feet.
  Feral Allies (Su): Once per day, Malocchio can
  call forth 3d6 wolves, 2d6 dire wolves, 2d6 Tiny
  vipers, 1d6 Small vipers, 4d10 ravens, or 2d4 dire
  ravens from Invidia’s wilds as a standard action.
  These animals arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve
  Malocchio for up to 1 day. Malocchio has no love
  for these creatures and often bids them to destroy
  themselves for his own entertainment.
  Spell-Like Abilities: 3/day — darkness; 1/day —
  desecrate, unholy blight. These spells are cast as by a
  6th-level sorcerer and have a saving throw DC of
  13 + spell level.
  Special Qualities: Dukkar Qualities (Su): As a
  Dukkar, Malocchio is immune to Vistani curses
  and the Evil Eye. Part fiend, part Vistani, Malocchio
  forms a “blind spot” for the Vistani, undetectable
  to their prophecies and scrying. Although
  Malocchio does have a reality wrinkle with a radius
  of 12,000 feet, Gabrielle cannot sense its presence
  or location. It may even be true that the Dark
  Powers themselves have difficulty perceiving him.
  Malocchio has not performed power rituals; he has
  no interest in further binding himself to this claus-
  trophobic world.
  Protected Kin (Ex): Malocchio has inherited
  his mother’s inability to harm her kin. Pure-blooded
  Vistani are completely immune to his supernatural
  powers and spells, unless the spell is harmless, and
  he cannot attack such an individual. Any indi-
  vidual of Vistani heritage — whether a half-Vistani
  or simply a giorgio with a distant Vistani ancestor —
  receives a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. all of his
  supernatural powers and spells, and he suffers a –2
  penalty to his attack rolls should he attack such an
  individual. Malocchio can, however, cause others
  to harm those of Vistani blood.
  Teleport Without Error (Sp): At will, Malocchio
  can teleport without error as a standard action. Were
  he not shackled by Vistani magic, he would be able
  to teleport through closed domain borders to any
  location on any plane (not unlike a plane shift spell)
  and could take “passengers” with him, even
  darklords. This action would free those damned
  souls from their domains, causing those lands to
  vanish or be reformed. In his current circum-
  stances, however, Malocchio is limited to
  teleporting to any location within Invidia’s bor-
  ders. Malocchio now primarily uses this ability to
  transport himself around the domain and to escape
  danger.
  Lair
  Invidia’s ruler divides his time between the
  Citadel in Karina and his personal retreat at Castle
  Loupet, his mother’s old demesnes and the lair of
  the werewolf lord Bakholis before her. His merce-
  naries’ barracks are located within the castle walls.
  The extensive dungeons and torture chambers are
  also kept occupied by as many Vistani as the
  Dukkar’s men can capture, their eyes and tongues
  cut out to prevent them from laying curses. Loupet’s
  bloody history and the constant agony of the
  Dukkar’s prisoners keeps the castle a consistent
  rank 3 or 4 sinkhole of evil.
  Ivana Boritsi, Darklord of Borca
  Female human Ari3/Exp4/CPo5:
  Female human Ari3/Exp4/CPo5:
  Female human Ari3/Exp4/CPo5:
  Female human Ari3/Exp4/CPo5:
  Female human Ari3/Exp4/CPo5: CR 13; Medium humanoid
  (human) (5 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 3d8+4d6+5d4+72, hp 112; Init
  +4; Spd 30 ft.; AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +8;
  Grp +7; Atk +8 melee (1d4/19–20, +1 dagger) or +9 ranged
  (1d4–1, masterwork dart); Full Atk +8/+3 melee (1d4/19–
  20, +1 dagger) or +9/+4 ranged (1d4–1, masterwork dart);
  SA insidious application, kiss of death, poison mastery; SQ
  detect poison, inventive ingredients, poison immunity; AL
  CE; SV Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +8; Str 8, Dex 11, Con 22, Int 16,
  Wis 10, Cha 20.
  Skills and Feats: Appraise +9, Bluff +19, Craft
  (alchemy) +6, Craft (poisonmaking) +20, Diplo-
  macy +20, Gather Information +10, Handle Animal
  +7, Hide +9, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge
  (nature) +9, Knowledge (nobility and royalty) +9,
  Knowledge (religion) +5, Listen +8, Move Silently
  +8, Profession (herbalist) +6, Search +8, Sense
  Motive +6, Sleight of Hand +10, Spot +8; Alert-
  ness, Improved Initiative, Muse (see Van Richten’s
  
  150
  DM’s Appendix
  Arsenal), Skill Focus (Bluff, Diplomacy, Craft
  [poisonmaking]).
  Languages: Balok*, Mordentish*, Falkovnian.
  Signature Possessions: +1 dagger, 6 masterwork
  darts, amulet of natural armor +2, bracelets of armor
  +3 (as bracers), dress of charisma +2 (as cloak), ring
  of protection +1.
  Ivana has not aged a day since becoming
  darklord of Borca. Though she is currently 68 years
  old, she looks no older than 18. Appearing as a
  beautiful young woman with long black hair and
  deep blue eyes, she has an air of innocence about
  her that is completely contrary to her cruel charac-
  ter. Her appearance is marred only by her lips and
  fingernails, which are a sickly shade of blue. She
  disguises these flaws with the careful application of
  makeup.
  When Ivana sleeps, her face swells, her tongue
  protrudes and blackens, and her skin becomes gray,
  marked by a maze of black veins. She looks like a
  victim of poisoning and would appear dead if not
  for the strained rise and fall of her chest. This
  disfigurement fades within a minute of her waking,
  but Ivana must rise to it every morning.
  Background
  Ivana is the daughter of Camille Dilisnya, the
  former darklord of Borca, and Klaus Boritsi, a
  minor stapan. Her father disappeared, just one
  more in a long string of Camille’s murders.
  Camille tried to instill in Ivana the same
  disdain for men that she had, but was unable to
  poison Ivana’s heart completely against them. Ivana
  longed to experience true love. When 17, she met
  a young man named Pieter, a poet and musician.
  Pieter was more interested in his art than love, and
  even Ivana’s considerable beauty was insufficient
  to garner his attention. Roused by his aloofness,
  Ivana pursued Pieter, trying to capture his interest.
  Once she began to feel as deeply for his work as he
  did, Pieter began to share her affections.
  Camille was unwilling to let her daughter
  experience happiness in love. Using her resem-
  blance to Ivana and the cover of night, Camille
  deceived Pieter and made her way into his bed,
  where Ivana found the two of them together.
  Camille claimed Pieter seduced her, demanding
  that Ivana punish him in the manner of Dilisnya
  women. Ivana employed a powerful magic poison
  that saturated her body while doing her no harm. A
  single kiss killed Pieter.
  In 711 BC, Ivana recruited her childhood
  friend and closest confidante Nostalia Romaine as
  a test subject for a new concoction that would give
  its user a lethal touch at will — a refinement of the
  same magic toxins that now flowed through Ivana’s
  blood. Thus, Nostalia became the first ermordenung,
  and the two women conspired to assassinate
  Camille. Although Nostalia’s kiss took Camille’s
  life, Ivana had directed the event and so became
  Borca’s new darklord.
  Ivana remain unchallenged until the Grand
  Conjunction, when her distant cousin Ivan Dilisnya
  became trapped in Borca. As children, Ivana
  counted Ivan as a dear friend, but this sentiment
  now came to an end. The impish child Ivana once
  knew has been replaced by a bitter old man who
  craves her eternal youth — a gift not in her power
  to give. Ivana remains the dominant personality of
  the two but must constantly be on guard against
  Ivan’s envious schemes.
  Current Sketch
  Ivana’s experience with Pieter has left her
  bitter and hateful toward men. She delights in
  destroying the relationships of others and humors
  the men who court her just so she may poison them
  later. She claims that her slain lovers had at-
  Ivana Boritsi
  
  151
  Attached Notes
  tempted to do her harm, but such claims leave the
  people of Borca deeply torn. On the one hand, they
  remain suspicious of Ivana, secretly calling her the
  Black. On the other hand, few Borcan men can say
  that they do not wish to sample her embrace.
  Ivana still longs for love. Unfortunately, the
  poison coursing through her body makes this im-
  possible, so she drowns her loneliness in hedonistic
  pursuits and encourages her ermordenung retainers
  to do the same.
  Ivana rarely concerns herself with passing laws
  and leaves the nation’s defense to her cousin Ivan.
  She is interested in maintaining her decadent
  lifestyle and taxes Borca’s elite mercilessly, with
  her “rent collectors” making sure no one with-
  holds. The elite extort from the commoners, and
  thus Ivana’s excesses drain the very livelihood from
  her domain.
  Combat
  Ivana is not a strong combatant, but she pos-
  sesses enormous skill with poisons and has many
  hired thugs to defend her. She also has her inno-
  cent bearing, which often allows her to get close
  enough to an opponent to make use of her deadly
  kiss.
  Special Attacks: Kiss of Death (Ex): The inti-
  mate embrace of Ivana Boritsi is far deadlier than
  any poison known to humanity. Ivana can kiss a
  helpless creature as a standard action or kiss a
  resisting creature with a successful grapple check.
  Any living creature she kisses must make a success-
  ful DC 22 Fortitude save or immediately suffer 3d6
  points of temporary Constitution damage. The
  victim must continue to make a Fortitude save
  each minute following the kiss, suffering 3d6 points
  of temporary Constitution damage with each fail-
  ure, until the victim dies or receives a neutralize
  poison spell. Creatures immune to poison due to
  their creature type (i.e. constructs, elementals,
  oozes, and undead) are immune to the kiss.
  Special Qualities: Detect Poison (Su): Ivana
  continuously detects poison, as the spell, on all
  creatures and objects within 50 feet. This ability
  requires no concentration or action on Ivana’s
  part.
  Immunity to Poison (Ex): Ivana is immune to
  poison.
  Lair
  Ivana’s private estate, Misericordia, is filled
  with hidden passageways and secret doors that only
  Ivana can freely navigate. The beautiful, walled
  gardens contain all the raw materials she needs to
  create her poisons. Ivana frequently entertains
  guests here, but just as frequently bars everyone
  from entering, even her servants, when she desires
  solitude. The estate is a rank 3 sinkhole of evil.
  Closing the Borders
  When Ivana wishes to seal her domain, an
  undetectable catalyst permeates the air surround-
  ing Borca. This substance reacts with the waters of
  the domain to create a lethal poison — even when
  that water is already coursing through a creature’s
  veins. Creatures that have consumed any liquid in
  Borca in the last 48 hours become nauseated when
  they cross the border and will die in 1d4 x 10
  minutes unless they return to Borca. The nause-
  ated condition ends 1d6 rounds after the creature
  crosses back into Borca. Borca’s closed borders do
  not affect creatures immune to Ivana’s poison kiss.
  Azrael Dak,
  the Sorrow of Sithicus
  Male hill dwarf werebadger Ftr10: 
  Male hill dwarf werebadger Ftr10: 
  Male hill dwarf werebadger Ftr10: 
  Male hill dwarf werebadger Ftr10: 
  Male hill dwarf werebadger Ftr10: CR 13; Medium humanoid
  (dwarf, shapechanger) (4 ft. 1 in. in dwarf or hybrid form, 7
  feet long as dire badger); HD 10d10+3d8+52 (10d10+3d8+65
  as badger or hybrid), hp 120 (133 as badger or hybrid); Init +7
  (+10 as badger or hybrid); Spd 20 ft. (20 ft. as hybrid, 30 ft.
  as badger, burrow 10 ft. as badger or hybrid); AC 19, touch 13,
  flat-footed 16 (21, touch 16, flat-footed 15 as badger or
  hybrid); Base Atk +11; Grp +15 (+17 as badger or hybrid); Atk
  +19 melee (1d10+11/x3, +3 dwarven waraxe of speed) or +15
  ranged (1d8/19–20, masterwork light crossbow), or +21
  melee (1d10+14/x3, +3 dwarven waraxe of speed) or +18
  ranged (1d8/19–20, masterwork light crossbow) as hybrid,
  or +17 melee (1d4+6, claw) or +17 melee (1d6+3, bite) as
  badger or hybrid; Full Atk +19/+14/+9 and +19 melee (1d10+11/
  x3, +3 dwarven waraxe of speed) or +15 ranged (1d8/19–20,
  masterwork light crossbow), or +21/+16/+11 and +21 melee
  (1d10+14/x3, +3 dwarven waraxe of speed) or +18 ranged
  (1d8/19–20, masterwork light crossbow) as hybrid, or +17
  melee (1d4+6, 2 claws) or +17 melee (1d6+3, bite) as badger
  or hybrid; SA animate dead, spread the rage, curse of lycan-
  thropy, rage (as badger or hybrid); SQ alternate form, badger
  empathy, chemical bane (poppy seed), darkvision 60 ft.,
  dwarf traits, the Hunger, low-light vision, scent, damage
  reduction 15/silver (as badger or hybrid); AL CE; SV Fort +14,
  Ref +9, Will +9 (Fort +14, Ref +11, Will +8 as badger or hybrid
  without cloak); Str 19, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12
  (Str 23, Dex 22, Con 20 as badger or hybrid).
  Skills and Feats: Bluff +2, Climb +4 (+8 as
  badger or hybrid), Craft (trapmaking) +6, Hide +3
  (+8 as badger or hybrid), Intimidate +7, Jump +4
  (+8 as badger or hybrid), Knowledge (local:
  Sithicus) +2, Move Silently +3 (+8 as badger or
  
  152
  DM’s Appendix
  hybrid), Sense Motive +3; Back to the Wall, Blind-
  Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Courage, Dodge,
  HollowB (see Van Richten’s Arsenal), Improved
  Control ShapeB, Improved Initiative, Iron WillB,
  Power Attack, Weapon FinesseB, Weapon Focus
  (dwarven waraxe), Weapon Specialization
  (dwarven waraxe). OR 3 (7 if true nature known).
  Languages: Dwarven*, Balok, Sithican.
  Signature Possessions: +3 dwarven waraxe of
  speed, masterwork light crossbow, chain shirt.
  Azrael’s body is heavily muscled, yet nimble.
  Balding on top, he has foregone the traditional
  dwarven beard for bone-white muttonchop side-
  burns that meet as a mustache. The skin on the left
  side of his face and running down his left arm and
  chest is puckered with scars. His voice is a rumbling
  growl, and his eyes bulge with madness. Azrael’s
  mannerisms make him appear to be on the verge of
  a violent rampage — and he often is. Azrael usually
  wears dark and repeatedly patched clothes, and he
  always wears his chain of office, bearing a rose of
  black iron.
  As a werebadger, Azrael can also take the form
  of a dire badger or a monstrous dwarf-badger hy-
  brid, with stooped posture and claws so long and
  thick they clack together as he moves. His burns
  are visible in all forms.
  Background
  Azrael was born on a distant world, in the
  dwarven city of Brigalure. He demonstrated no
  talent for dwarven crafts and proved too lazy to
  overcome his incompetence. Unable to master his
  parents’ crafts, Azrael could not be considered an
  adult. His parents’ continued attempts to teach
  him their trade merely resulted in expensive acci-
  dents.
  At last, unable to bear his parents’ tirades,
  Azrael snapped and in a rampage slaughtered his
  entire family. His mother’s screams drew con-
  stables, and Azrael was forced to flee. A mob of
  dwarven locals cut off Azrael’s escape. Wounded
  and cornered, Azrael sank into unconsciousness.
  Azrael awoke alone, somewhere in the endless
  maze of lightless tunnels surrounding the city. On
  the verge of panic, he heard the smothering dark-
  ness speak to him, promising to grant Azrael life
  and power if he destroyed Brigalure. Azrael ac-
  cepted, and his body wrenched itself into a new
  shape: he had become a werebadger.
  Azrael found his way back to the dwarven city,
  preying on its inhabitants for 50 years and realizing
  his true calling as a murderer.
  One day, while Azrael tracked yet another
  victim through the tunnels, a strange mist billowed
  from the stone. When it parted, Azrael found
  himself in Forlorn. He wandered the southwestern
  Core, learning the lay of the land. In 720 BC,
  Azrael was captured by a band of Barovian peasants
  who tried to burn him for his crimes. He killed the
  last of them, then discovered he had an audience:
  a glowering, undead blackguard and his captive
  Vistana, Magda Kulchevich. The death knight, an
  outlander like himself, had only just arrived in the
  Land of Mists. Sensing the Black Rose’s power,
  Azrael joined him, serving him for the security he
  provided. When the Black Rose entered the Mists
  and became the darklord of Sithicus, he made
  Azrael the seneschal of his castle, Nedragaard.
  Azrael served as the death knight’s emissary
  for more than 30 years, earning the nickname “the
  Sorrow of Sithicus.” Following the Grand Con-
  junction, Azrael discovered a subterranean pool of
  liquid darkness far beneath the Veidrava salt mines.
  Once again, the darkness whispered to Azrael,
  revealing the secrets of any creature in the domain
  and promising him future glory. Azrael saw that the
  Azrael Dak
  
  153
  Attached Notes
  Black Rose had retreated into numb despair and
  that the darkness was preparing him to become the
  new master of Sithicus. The darkness taught Azrael
  a rite that would give him control of every shadow
  in Sithicus and advised him on how best to wield its
  power.
  Six years ago, Azrael started conspiring with
  Inza Kulchevich, the treacherous daughter of Magda
  Kulchevich. Azrael believed that Magda was the
  only person capable of thwarting his treason and
  that Inza sought to assume her mother’s role as
  raunie of their small tribe. Azrael secretly approached
  Malocchio Aderre to sow the seeds of the Black
  Rose’s destruction. Once his master was gone,
  Azrael would assume control of the domain and
  deliver all of his master’s captive Vistani to the
  Dukkar’s tender mercies.
  Azrael’s plans came to fruition in 752 BC on
  the heels of Magda’s murder. An army of Invidian
  mercenaries distracted the Black Rose at his castle
  as Azrael performed the rite. The shadow of every
  living creature in the domain tore away from its
  moorings and poured into the Great Chasm be-
  neath Nedragaard. Then, as a single roiling mass,
  they rose up to shatter the castle and all who stood
  within it, an event now called the Night of Scream-
  ing Shadows. The darkness sank back into the rift,
  and the shadows returned to their owners. The
  Black Rose was erased from his own domain.
  Current Sketch
  The shadow rite has driven Azrael to the brink
  of madness. The darkness no longer cajoles him
  with promises of power. Now, it speaks the truth,
  mocking him as the puppet he has always been.
  Azrael knows that Inza has assumed the position of
  darklord. He wishes to find and destroy her, to
  assume her power, and to repay her for her betrayal.
  Azrael knows Inza has merged with the darkness —
  or that she has always been the darkness.
  Azrael has declared himself the new ruler of
  Sithicus, but his control is crumbling. The Sithicans
  are slowly realizing that for all his sadism, Azrael is
  just one dwarf with a dwindling force of hired
  killers. Increasingly desperate, Azrael now con-
  tinually races through Sithicus on a chariot
  decorated with elven bones, quashing one uprising
  after another with acts of astounding cruelty.
  Combat
  Azrael hurls himself fearlessly into close com-
  bat to rattle his enemies. Many opponents have
  been fooled into thinking him little more than an
  unsubtle berserker. If he intends to kill a foe, Azrael
  usually shifts to hybrid form. If opponents demon-
  strate that they can actually cause Azrael serious
  harm, he immediately becomes much more cau-
  tious and reveals a cunning, tactical mind. Azrael
  shifts to his badger form and burrows to retreat if
  necessary. If opponents best Azrael once, they can
  rest assured that he will return with reinforcements
  to even the score.
  Special Attacks: Animate Dead (Sp): Once
  per day, Azrael can cast animate dead, as the spell
  cast by a 9th-level cleric. The Black Rose granted
  Azrael this power as a boon for his service.
  Rage (Ex): Azrael can use the dire badger’s
  rage ability whenever in badger or hybrid form.
  Spread the Rage (Su): When an intelligent,
  non-evil creature touches Azrael’s battleaxe, it
  must succeed at a DC 17 Will save or pick the
  weapon up and go berserk, as a berserking sword.
  The axe does not function as a berserking weapon in
  Azrael’s hands.
  Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Afflicted
  lycanthropes of Azrael’s bloodline are triggered by
  rage.
  Lair
  Azrael seldom visits his home in the cracked
  ruins of Nedragaard. The castle is still haunted by
  phantoms, some of which remind Azrael of his
  former master. The domain’s simmering political
  unrest offers Azrael little respite, and he travels
  frequently.
  Ivan Dilisnya, Darklord of Borca
  Male human Ari4/Exp3/CPo5
  Male human Ari4/Exp3/CPo5
  Male human Ari4/Exp3/CPo5
  Male human Ari4/Exp3/CPo5
  Male human Ari4/Exp3/CPo5: CR 13; Medium humanoid (hu-
  man) (5 ft. 7 in. tall); HD 4d8+3d6+5d4+72, hp 113; Init +0;
  Spd 30 ft.; AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 16; Base Atk +8; Grp
  +7; Atk +11 melee (1d6+1/18–20 plus venom, envenomed +2
  rapier) or +9 ranged (1d4–1 plus venom, masterwork dart);
  Full Atk +11/+6 melee (1d6+1/18–20 plus venom, envenomed
  +2 rapier) or +9/+4 ranged (1d4–1 plus venom, masterwork
  dart); SA envenom, insidious application, poison mastery; SQ
  deadly alchemy, immunities, inventive ingredients; AL CE; SV
  Fort +9, Ref +6, Will +10; Str 8, Dex 11, Con 22, Int 18, Wis
  15, Cha 12.
  Skills and Feats: Appraise +11, Bluff +14, Craft
  (alchemy) +10, Craft (poisonmaking) +21, Diplo-
  macy +1, Disguise +10, Forgery +7, Gather
  Information +8, Intimidate +9, Knowledge (his-
  tory) +11, Knowledge (local) +10, Knowledge
  (nature) +12, Knowledge (nobility and royalty)
  +12, Listen +4, Perform (act) +11, Profession
  
  154
  DM’s Appendix
  (herbalist) +8, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand
  +8, Spot +12; Alertness, Quick Draw, Skill Focus
  (Bluff, Craft [poisonmaking]), Weapon Finesse,
  Weapon Focus (rapier).
  Languages: Balok*, Mordentish*, Falkovnian,
  Luktar, Vaasi.
  Signature Possessions: Envenomed +1 rapier
  (“Wasptongue”), 3 masterwork darts, amulet of
  natural armor +2, bracelets of armor +2 (as bracers),
  cloak of charisma +2, ring of protection +2.
  Ivan is a thin man with curly gray hair, streaked
  with the blond of his youth. He is an extremely
  animated person, to the point of histrionics. Many
  Borcans call him a fop — but never to his face. He
  paces and poses as though on a stage, lowering his
  voice to a barely audible whisper only to send it
  booming to emphasize a point. He gesticulates
  with every word and often laughs suddenly for no
  apparent reason. Ivan considers himself a great
  actor, and his wardrobe includes costumes repre-
  senting all walks of life. Although Ivan usually
  prefers to wear the stylish fashions of the Borcan
  court, on any given day he may choose to pose as
  anything from an armored knight to an anchorite
  to a lowly court jester. He makes for most unusual
  company, and no one would likely tolerate his
  presence if not for his power, wealth and willing-
  ness to eliminate those who displease him.
  Background
  The Dilisnyas have been in Ravenloft since its
  earliest days, being among the guests at Castle
  Ravenloft on the fateful night of Strahd’s death
  and rebirth. Some were able to survive the horrors
  of that evening, and the Dilisnyas have persevered
  ever since.
  Ivan was born under a new moon in Levkarest
  in 689, on the same night as Ivana Boritsi. He was
  a troublesome child from the start, prone to fits and
  tantrums. By the age of six, he was torturing small
  animals and was only ten when he committed his
  first murder, poisoning a servant girl for stealing a
  pastry. At the age of twelve, he poisoned his
  mother for no particular reason.
  Ivan seemed filled with hatred for the whole
  world, save for his playmate Ivana Boritsi and his
  older sister Kristina. The two siblings loved each
  other dearly, but Kristina had no inkling of just
  how evil her younger brother was. Instead, she
  doted on him, spoiling him to the best of her
  ability. Ivan began to feel perversely possessive of
  his older sister, and these feelings would have tragic
  consequences.
  When Ivan was twenty, Kristina took a hus-
  band, and Ivan’s jealousy was extreme. Ivan felt
  betrayed when Kristina had a child, as though she
  had replaced him in her affections. Enraged, Ivan
  poisoned Kristina and her husband. Fortunately, a
  midwife escaped with the child before Ivan could
  finish exacting “revenge.”
  Ivan’s own family drove him into the Mists. A
  new land emerged to welcome him, which he
  dubbed Dorvinia. His rulership of that domain
  lasted until the Grand Conjunction. Terrified by
  the tremors, Ivan sought out his cousin Ivana
  Boritsi for comfort. The two were in close proxim-
  ity when the Grand Conjunction ended, and their
  domains merged, with Borca subsuming Dorvinia.
  Ivan now shares lordship with Ivana, and the
  awkwardness of this situation has driven the cous-
  ins to mutual hatred.
  Current Sketch
  As a young man, the only thing Ivan loved as
  much as watching poison course through a person
  was tempting his palate with the sensual pleasures
  of fine foods and drink. Since becoming a darklord,
  he has been robbed of his sense of taste. The finest
  Ivan Dilisnya
  
  155
  Attached Notes
  foods are like ash in his mouth, the best wines like
  vinegar. The loss of his palate has left Ivan feeling
  empty and dissatisfied, unable to enjoy the luxury
  in which he lives. He hosts extravagant dinners to
  garner vicarious enjoyment through his guests, but
  erupts in jealous rages when his guests enjoy the
  food too much and offended rages if they like it too
  little.
  Ivan’s other obsession is his age. He is nearing
  70, and while he remains as vigorous as a man half
  his age, he need only look at his ageless cousin
  Ivana to feel the weight of time bearing down
  heavily upon him. Ivan has tried to extract the
  secret of eternal youth from Ivana, but has failed.
  She offered him the formula for vital venom soon
  after their domains merged, but he proved as im-
  mune to the poisonous elixir as Ivana herself. Ivan
  believes that she is hiding the true secrets of im-
  mortality from him out of spite, but the truth is that
  Ivana does not know why she has remained youth-
  ful for so long. Ivan’s jealousy has deepened the
  wedge between the two.
  Combat
  Ivan is not well suited to direct combat, prefer-
  ring to poison his enemies from a distance. He has
  a large number of thugs at his command, though,
  and sends them into combat while he stands back
  to watch.
  Special Attacks: Envenom (Ex): As a stan-
  dard action, Ivan can touch an object weighing up
  to 50 pounds to render it permanently poisonous.
  This is a contact poison that can never be removed
  from the object; the poison infuses the object’s very
  essence. Creatures that touch the envenomed ob-
  ject must succeed at a DC 26 Fortitude save or
  suffer 1d6 points of initial temporary ability dam-
  age and 2d6 points of secondary temporary ability
  damage. Ivan can decide at the time he poisons the
  object whether the venom will inflict Strength,
  Dexterity, or Constitution damage.
  Ivan has enchanted his rapier Wasptongue
  with Constitution venom, including its hilt.
  Special Qualities: Deadly Alchemy (Ex): Ivan
  can create any poison as though its raw materials
  were two categories less rare than they actually are,
  to a minimum of “very common” (see “Poison
  Politics,” above).
  Immunities (Ex): Ivan is immune to disease,
  paralysis, and poison.
  Lair
  Degravo, the Dilisnya estate, is as chaotic as its
  master. Ivan is constantly in motion within its
  walls, changing quarters to suit his whim and
  leaving the rest of the estate to gather dust. He
  loves to host gatherings or invite acting troupes to
  perform in his private theater, and once an invita-
  tion is extended, attendance is mandatory. For all
  his guests to survive the visit is a rare occurrence.
  The estate is a rank 2 sinkhole of evil, though this
  often rises to rank 3 during gatherings.
  Closing the Borders
  Though Ivan is in most respects on equal
  footing with his fellow darklord Ivana Boritsi, the
  power to close Borca’s borders resides with her
  alone.
  Inza Magdova Kulchevich,
  Darklord of Sithicus
  Female Vatraska Vistana Rog4/Wiz6: 
  Female Vatraska Vistana Rog4/Wiz6: 
  Female Vatraska Vistana Rog4/Wiz6: 
  Female Vatraska Vistana Rog4/Wiz6: 
  Female Vatraska Vistana Rog4/Wiz6: CR 12; Medium hu-
  manoid (5 ft. 6 in. tall); HD 4d6+6d4+10, hp 46; Init +4; Spd
  30 ft. (10 ft., climb 10 ft. as shadow); AC 16, touch 14, flat-
  footed 12; Base Atk +6; Grp +7; Atk +11 melee (1d4+5/
  19–20, +4 dagger of wounding) or +10 ranged (1d6/x3,
  shortbow); Full Atk +11/+6 melee (1d4+5/19–20, +4 dagger
  of wounding) or +10/+5 ranged (1d6/x3, shortbow); SA evil
  eye, guilt lash, sneak attack +2d6, spells; SQ heightened
  static burn, darkvision 60 ft., daylight vulnerability, dread
  familiar (“Sabak,” shadow asp), low-light vision, Mist navi-
  gation, shadow form, shadow immunity, she seeps below, the
  sight, tracking magic, trapfinding, evasion, trap sense +1,
  uncanny dodge; AL NE; SV Fort +4, Ref +10, Will +9; Str 13,
  Dex 18, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 16, Cha 18.
  Skills and Feats: Appraise +6, Bluff +10, Con-
  centration +5, Craft (alchemy) +8, Escape Artist
  +10, Forgery +7, Gather Information +10, Heal
  +5, (Hide +14 as shadow), Intimidate +13, Knowl-
  edge (arcana) +7, Knowledge (Vistani lore) +7,
  Listen +5, Move Silently +7, Search +12, Sense
  Motive +8, Spellcraft +6 (+8 to decipher scrolls),
  Spot +15, Survival +6, Use Magic Device +11;
  Alertness, Back to the Wall, Brew Potion, Combat
  Casting, Jaded, Spell Penetration, Voice of Wrath.
  OR 2 (8 in shadow form).
  Languages: Patterna*, Balok, Draconic, Luktar,
  Sithican.
  Wizard Spells Known (5/5/5/4; save DC 13 +
  spell level): 0 — all; 1st — cause fear, charm person,
  chill touch, disguise self, mage armor, magic missile,
  protection from good, ray of enfeeblement, sleep; 2nd
  —misdirection, summon swarm, web; 3rd — dispel
  magic, lightning bolt, nondetection, phantom steed.
  
  156
  DM’s Appendix
  Signature Possessions: +4 dagger of wounding
  (“Novgor”), leather armor, crystal ball with detect
  thoughts, charm of life protection.
  Inza Magdova Kulchevich appears to be a
  beautiful young Vistana woman in her late teens.
  Those who knew her mother — the famous Magda
  Ilyanova Kulchevich — swear that Inza is almost
  her mirror image: slender figure, raven-black hair,
  gorgeous green eyes. The likeness, though, ends
  there. Whereas Magda was always blunt, even
  brazen, Inza is manipulative and secretive. She has
  convinced strangers that she was a sweet young
  thing, more prone to singing than scheming. Even
  now, she sometimes appears to strangers dressed in
  pretty skirts and embroidered blouses, but her black
  leather fighting gear — sewn, some say, from the
  flayed skin of her defeated enemies — always lurks
  beneath this frilly façade.
  Inza’s beauty hides a heart of darkness, how-
  ever. Although she prefers to maintain her human
  form whenever possible, her true form is a seething,
  formless wave of semi-liquid shadow. All that re-
  mains of Inza are her bright green eyes, glinting out
  from the darkness. Inza must focus to retain her
  humanity. She visibly darkens when angered, and
  her blood is inky black.
  Background
  Born in Gundarak in the year 736 BC, at the
  very hour when Duke Gundar was assassinated,
  Inza entered the world as a terrifying storm swept
  through the domain, as if the land mourned its
  lord’s passing. The Vistani of her caravan said that
  her cry of outrage at being slapped by the midwife
  was louder than the worst shrieking of the un-
  earthly tempest.
  Inza’s constant screaming as an infant brought
  more than one deadly night creature down upon
  the Wanderers’ camp. Throughout her youth, she
  caused the troupe’s hasty departure from village
  after village with her flagrant thievery and combat-
  ive attitude. Magda’s love for Inza blinded her to
  the girl’s darker traits. Perhaps the raunie had
  hoped to make her daughter’s life better than the
  one she had endured or to compensate for Inza’s
  missing father, murdered by Duke Gundar’s men
  before her birth.
  By the time Inza was sixteen, the rest of the
  Wanderers had decided that she was either a mon-
  ster or a jinx. Though Magda saw the girl as sweet
  and caring, they recognized her as a vicious, power-
  hungry misanthrope who cared little for the
  unwritten codes of the Vistani. She hated animals,
  particularly dogs, because she feared that they
  could recognize her true nature. This fear mani-
  fested in her animosity toward her mother’s faithful
  hound, Sabak.
  Inza learned thieving skills from some of the
  older men in the caravan, whom she seduced with
  promises of power and never-delivered sexual fa-
  vors. Where she gained her initial training in
  magic remains a mystery. Some claim that she
  traded her soul to a dark entity for tutelage. How-
  ever she gained her magical skills, she kept them —
  and the powerful dagger Novgor, which had also
  come into her possession — hidden from her mother
  and the other Wanderers.
  Novgor was the storied blade of the equally
  storied Vistani warrior Kulchek the Wanderer.
  Inza’s mother had called her patchwork caravan
  “the Wanderers” in honor of the legendary hero,
  whose bloodline she claimed as her own. As Magda’s
  renown grew, the Vistani elders wondered aloud if
  the raunie might indeed be the heir to Kulchek’s
  fabled greatness.
  Kulchek had been the original wielder of the
  weapon Magda then carried: the cudgel Gard. The
  club had been carved, from a tree at the top of the
  world, out of wood only Kulchek’s ever-sharp dag-
  Inza Magdova Kulchevich
  
  157
  Attached Notes
  ger Novgor could cut. In her travels, Magda had
  kept watch for that long-lost blade, a powerful
  artifact in its own right. And her dreams had
  revealed that a Vistana of Kulchek’s bloodline
  could carve a remarkable legacy for herself with
  Novgor.
  A member of the Wanderers, one of Kulchek’s
  descendants, would fulfill this dream-prophecy, but
  in ways Madame Magda never could have imag-
  ined.
  By 752, the Wanderers unknowingly jour-
  neyed to Sithicus, the domain-prison of Magda’s
  old adversary the Black Rose and were trapped
  there. The Black Rose allowed the tribe the run of
  Sithicus, but he would close the borders whenever
  they attempted to leave. In Sithicus, Inza forged a
  secret alliance with the werebadger Azrael Dak,
  who had served as the Black Rose’s seneschal but
  now schemed to control the domain himself. The
  werebadger underestimated Inza, who lusted for
  power even Azrael could scarcely imagine.
  Inza used Novgor to sabotage Gard, then ar-
  ranged for the salt shadows, discovered by Azrael,
  to attack the caravan. The cudgel shattered in
  Magda’s hands during the fight, a disaster that led
  to the raunie’s death. The surviving Wanderers
  were later sacrificed in a scheme by which Inza
  would gain the Black Rose’s personal protection.
  To trick the Knight into saving her, Inza arranged
  for a mob of the Dukkar’s ogres to attack the
  remaining Wanderers. The Black Rose did indeed
  rescue her and granted her the safety of his castle.
  Three of the Wanderers survived the attack, how-
  ever, a fact Inza would later regret. (See Heroes of
  Light for more information on the Wanderers.)
  The Black Rose eventually vanished from
  Sithicus, but neither Inza nor Azrael could claim
  total victory. The hero Ganelon disrupted Azrael’s
  plot to control the shadows of every living creature
  in the domain, leaving the werebadger on the brink
  of madness. The three surviving Wanderers joined
  with the giant Nabon and swore revenge against
  Inza. On the Night of Screaming Shadows, to
  escape these avengers, Inza threw herself into the
  Great Chasm just as the seething darkness struck
  Nedragaard and poured into the rift behind her.
  She survived the fall, but was cursed with the
  mantle of Sithicus’ secret darklord.
  Current Sketch
  Witnesses to Inza’s plunge into the Chasm say
  that shadowy hands enfolded her, slowing her
  descent. Her terror-filled shriek is the last thing
  anyone can report with certainty. Some who ven-
  tured too close to the Chasm claim they heard a
  young woman’s voice whispering to them in
  Patterna, though they are reluctant to reveal what
  was said. Others speak of meeting a green-eyed
  Vistana woman who tempted them to unspeakable
  deeds.
  Inza revels in the evil deeds of others. She
  works from within the Great Chasm to eradicate
  all goodness within her domain.
  She often acts through minions and oblivious
  agents, tempting the weak to evil and punishing
  those who do good and selfless things. She espe-
  cially enjoys causing those who think of themselves
  as noble to lose faith and has tormented harmless
  individuals with her Guilt Lash for days on end for
  some small act of self-effacing kindness that Inza
  witnessed through her crystal ball.
  Inza mostly remains hidden, increasing her
  potency through mystery and minimizing the drain
  of maintaining her preferred form. She recognizes
  that she has made some powerful enemies. The
  Wanderers stalk her ceaselessly, carrying with them
  a stake made from the shattered wood of Gard and
  swearing to drive it through Inza’s black heart for
  her treachery against the Vistani. Ganelon the
  Doomed, who even now labors under Inza’s curse
  that everything he holds dear should perish by his
  hand, also pursues her. Even Azrael  accuses her of
  having stolen “his” rightful power. Then there is
  the White Rose, a helpful, phantasmal figure en-
  countered near the ruins of Nedragaard Keep.
  These adversaries trouble Inza more than she
  admits. They remind her that selfless people, ca-
  pable of good, exist. These noble souls haunt her
  thoughts and trouble her sleep. She cannot bury
  their truth any more than her subjects can escape
  their sins.
  Inza studies magic and has increased her wiz-
  ardly skill significantly since becoming darklord.
  She still loathes animals, especially dogs. Even the
  shadow asp the Dark Powers granted her as a dread
  companion repulses her, though she tolerates its
  presence. Inza named this familiar Sabak in mock-
  ing tribute to her mother’s faithful hound.
  Combat
  Inza rarely enters combat. She has no scruples
  and stoops to any underhanded method to win. She
  enjoys goading an enemy into a fight after sabotag-
  ing his weapons or buying off his reserve forces. If
  
  158
  DM’s Appendix
  cornered, she is fierce and resourceful, reverting to
  liquid shadow to escape. She uses spells or her Guilt
  Lash to incapacitate the most dangerous foes, al-
  lowing her allies or servants to deal with lesser
  threats. She feels no guilt about fleeing from a
  serious adversary, though she always resumes the
  fight under more favorable conditions.
  Inza carries Novgor, dagger of the Vistani hero
  Kulchek. The plain looking blade is an impressive
  +4 dagger of wounding. Novgor’s edge never dulls,
  and its needle-sharp point can be used by any pure-
  blooded Vistani rogue as a masterwork lockpick.
  Novgor seems immune to scratches or scuffs. In the
  hands of one of Kulchek’s descendants, including
  Inza, the flat of the blade can be used to cast color
  spray at will; a light source is necessary for this
  effect, but anything brighter than a candle within
  5 yards will suffice. Once per week, the dagger’s
  mirror-bright sides can be used to cast major image,
  with a duration of 1 hour/level rather than concen-
  tration + 3 rounds. (All spells are cast as by a
  12th-level sorcerer and have a save DC of 16,
  where applicable.) This illusion exhausts the caster,
  effectively reducing her Strength and Constitu-
  tion by half for 24 hours. Novgor’s powers are
  subject to Sithicus’ limitations on illusions.
  For distance fighting or ambushes, Inza relies
  upon a shortbow and specially prepared poisoned
  arrows (Injury, Fort DC 11, initial and secondary
  damage 1d6 Con).
  She wears a charm of life protection. This small
  silver pendant protects the wearer from magic jar
  and spells that would usurp control of the wearer’s
  body. The pendant shields the wearer’s shadow
  from capture or manipulation. If the wearer is slain,
  her soul enters the pendant and is protected for
  seven full days. Thereafter, it is supposed to depart
  to the plane of the wearer’s alignment — though in
  Ravenloft, this power remains untested and un-
  likely. If the pendant is destroyed during the seven
  days, the spirit is annihilated. Inza’s charm appears
  as a silver teardrop patterned with a twining vine
  and casts a small shadow on the wearer’s flesh at all
  times.
  Special Attacks: Guilt Lash (Su): As a stan-
  dard action, Inza can cause any individual within
  the domain to recall a random memory. Especially
  detailed will be the recollection of any guilty deeds
  or motivations associated with that memory. Tar-
  gets must succeed at a DC 22 Will save
  (good-aligned targets gain a +1 bonus; evil-aligned
  targets suffer a –3 penalty) or be stunned with
  remorse for 2d4 rounds.
  If the target of Inza’s Guilt Lash succeeds at a
  Will save, it means that the darklord has inadvert-
  ently tapped a memory without a specific or
  noteworthy sin attached to it. Unless she has cast
  protection from good on herself, the backlash from
  this revelation causes Inza 1d6 points of damage.
  This damage manifests as a pain in her chest, as if
  the Wanderers had succeeded in piercing her heart
  with the Gard fragment they carry. Inza will not use
  the Guilt Lash for a day on someone who succeeds
  in a Will save and flees from direct confrontation
  with him until she reassures herself of his corrupt-
  ibility.
  Special Qualities: Daylight Vulnerability (Ex):
  Inza suffers 1d4 points of nonlethal damage each
  round she remains exposed to direct sunlight.
  Heightened Static Burn (Su): Like all Vistani,
  Inza is compelled to stay mobile. As the direct
  descendant of Kulchek the Wanderer, she must
  sleep in a different location every night and never
  in the same place twice, or she faces dire conse-
  quences. After her mother’s death, Inza ordered
  the surviving members of her caravan to stay in the
  same location two nights in a row, in a spot where
  she had arranged for ogres to attack them. The
  transgression was fatal for most of the Wanderers.
  The consequences of defying the curse have yet to
  manifest for Inza, though she fears that the Blessed
  Knight might be an agent sent to deliver super-
  natural retribution. Since that incident, she has
  not defied the curse.
  Innocence Vulnerability (Ex): The mere pres-
  ence of true innocence pains Inza. She suffers a –1
  morale penalty to all attack rolls, checks, and saves
  made either to attack an Innocent character or to
  resist the attacks of an Innocent character.
  Mist Navigation (Ex): Inza cannot use the
  Mists to leave her domain.
  Shadow Form (Su): Inza can transform at will
  into seething shadow as a move action and can
  remain in shadow form indefinitely. When she
  transforms, all worn and carried gear transforms
  with her. Whenever wounded, she must succeed at
  a Concentration check (DC 10 + damage suffered)
  or involuntarily assume shadow form; she can take
  human form again on her next action as normal.
  While in shadow form, Inza is chillingly cold to the
  touch, but she cannot make physical attacks, speak,
  or cast any spells requiring verbal or somatic com-
  ponents. Her liquid body can seep up walls and
  
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  Attached Notes
  through narrow gaps and is not subject to flanking
  or critical hits. She also gains a +10 racial bonus to
  Move Silently checks and a +10 racial bonus to
  Hide checks while in shadowy areas.
  Shadow Immunity (Ex): Inza is immune to the
  natural attacks of all shadow creatures and all
  shadow magic.
  She Seeps Below (Su): Whenever in shadow
  form and in contact with the ground, Inza can seep
  into the earth (or boil up from it) through the soil
  or crevices in stone as a full-round action, unless
  she is somehow blocked (as by a forcecage spell).
  When Inza sleeps, is rendered unconscious, or
  drops below 0 hp, she automatically assumes shadow
  form. One round later (if possible), she automati-
  cally seeps into the inky bowels of the earth. While
  deep below Sithicus, Inza recovers 1 hp per hour
  until she is fully healed. If the Wanderers are
  correct, driving the shard of Gard through Inza’s
  heart (or into the rippling pool of shadow) before
  she can seep away would destroy her forever.
  Lair
  Inza has no true home, lairing within the
  seething depths of the Great Chasm when she must
  rest. Because of Kulchek’s curse, she sleeps in a
  different location every night, in the chasm itself
  and in the loneliest wilds and most desolate ruins
  of her domain.
  Closing the Borders
  Inza rarely closes the borders, but to do so she
  merely begins a recitation of her sins. As she
  catalogues her crimes, all the inhabitants of Sithicus
  stop whatever they are doing to add their voices
  and their own catalogue of transgressions to hers.
  The resulting sound flows to the border and coa-
  lesces as a wall of tangled flowerless rose stems,
  their thorns dripping with corruption. When the
  recitation is finished, the inhabitants of Sithicus
  recall every crime and misdeed they confessed.
  They do not remember the sins confessed by their
  neighbors, but are aware that everyone had joined
  them in giving voice to myriad dark deeds.
  Alfred Timothy,
  Darklord of Verbrek
  Male human werewolf Clr7 of the Wolf God:
  Male human werewolf Clr7 of the Wolf God:
  Male human werewolf Clr7 of the Wolf God:
  Male human werewolf Clr7 of the Wolf God:
  Male human werewolf Clr7 of the Wolf God: CR 11; Medium
  humanoid (human, shapechanger) (5 ft. 4 in. tall as human or
  hybrid, 5 ft. long as wolf); HD 7d8+4d10+22 (7d8+4d10+44
  as wolf or hybrid), hp 75 (97 as wolf or hybrid); Init +1 (+3 as
  wolf or hybrid); Spd 30 ft. (50 ft. as wolf or hybrid); AC 13,
  touch 11, flat-footed 12 (AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 as
  wolf or hybrid); Base Atk +9; Grp +9 (+12 as wolf or hybrid);
  Atk +9 melee (1d6, quarterstaff), or +12 melee (1d4+3, claw)
  or +12 melee (1d6+1, bite) as hybrid, or +12 melee (1d6+4,
  bite) as wolf; Full Atk +9/+4 melee (1d6, quarterstaff), or +12
  melee (1d4+3, 2 claws) and +7 melee (1d6+1, bite) as hybrid,
  or +12 melee (1d6+4, bite) as wolf; SA rebuke undead, spells,
  spontaneous casting, curse of lycanthropy, trip (as wolf or
  hybrid); SQ alternate form, chemical bane (wolfsbane),
  darkvision 60 ft., the Hunger, low-light vision, scent, shadow
  walk, wolf empathy, damage reduction 5/silver as wolf or
  hybrid, spell resistance 16; AL NE; SV Fort +12, Ref +8, Will
  +13 (Fort +14, Ref +10 as wolf or hybrid); Str 10, Dex 13, Con
  14, Int 12, Wis 19, Cha 14 (Str 16, Dex 17, Con 19 as wolf or
  hybrid).
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +7 (+9 as wolf
  or hybrid), Diplomacy +8, Heal +9, Hide +3 (+5 as
  wolf or hybrid), Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowl-
  edge (nature) +3, Knowledge (religion) +7, Listen
  +8, Move Silently +3 (+5 as wolf or hybrid),
  Search +5, Spellcraft +6, Spot +8, Survival +8;
  AlertnessB, Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Dodge,
  Enlarge Spell, Improved Control ShapeB, Iron
  WillB.
  Languages: Mordentish*, Balok.
  Typical Cleric Spells Prepared (6/6/5/4/3; save
  DC 14  + spell level): 0 — detect magic (x2),
  guidance, inflict minor wounds, mending, resistance;
  1st — cause fear, command, doom (x2), inflict light
  wounds, protection from good; 2nd — cure moderate
  wounds (x2), darkness, enthrall, resist energy; 3rd —
  animate dead, bestow curse, dispel magic, inflict serious
  wound; 4th — cure critical wounds, divine power,
  restoration.
  Typical Domain Spells Prepared (Slaughter,
  Strength): 1st — expeditious retreat; 2nd — bull’s
  strength; 3rd — greater magic fang; 4th — spell
  immunity.
  Signature Possessions: Amulet of resistance +1
  (as cloak), potion of endurance, wand of doom.
  Despite his 50 years, Alfred Timothy resembles
  a slim Verbreker youth with pale skin and scruffy,
  dark chestnut hair in human form. His features
  possess a fresh handsomeness; nonetheless, those
  nearby may notice details hinting at his black
  heart, such as the predatory glitter in his blue eyes
  and his wolfish, toothy smile. Whenever he speaks
  to non-werewolves, Alfred sneers, the left edge of
  his mouth twitching. His body quivers with ten-
  sion, as if ready to attack at any moment. In human
  form, Alfred dons the simple garb of a Verbreker
  commoner.
  In animal form, Alfred is a silvery wolf of
  unusual beauty and strength, about the size of a
  worg. He is nimble and assured in this form, often
  
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  DM’s Appendix
  running with packs of wolves and dire wolves. He
  prefers his hybrid form, believing it his race’s natu-
  ral form. During rituals, he dons the high priest’s
  ceremonial dress, a gruesome mantle of beads,
  feathers, bones, and human hide.
  Alfred carries few possessions. Even in wolf
  form, however, he wears a gold amulet in the shape
  of a crescent moon. Alfred never casts a shadow, an
  unsettling trait prompting some opponents to mis-
  take him for a vampire.
  Background
  Alfred is the son of Nathan Timothy, a
  Mordentish werewolf who was himself darklord of
  Arkandale until the Grand Conjunction. In his
  human form, Alfred was sickly and frail. Realizing
  that he would never be his father’s equal, Alfred
  despised his “human” weakness. Eventually, this
  hatred encompassed all humanity. Disgusted by his
  father’s tolerance for the company of humans and
  passion for life on the River Musarde, Alfred left to
  seek his own way.
  While traveling Arkandale, Alfred learned
  that the human natives made sacrifices to an an-
  cient deity known only as the Wolf God. Packs of
  vicious wolves plagued Arkandale, and the hu-
  mans sought respite from the constant attacks.
  Alfred felt a kinship with the Wolf God.
  The thought of wielding divine magic at the
  behest of the god-beast tantalized Alfred, who
  dedicated a portion of his kills to the Wolf God and
  offered prayers to the deity, hoping to become its
  first priest. Unfortunately, Alfred received no re-
  ward from the Wolf God in return for his devotion.
  Frustrated, Alfred hunted down Arkandalers who
  revered the Wolf God, terrorizing them to uncover
  their secrets. He devoured each human that failed
  to provide another answer.
  One night, maddened by frustration, Alfred
  went on a rampage, slaughtering livestock and
  desecrating shrines to the Wolf God. Satiated, he
  fell asleep amid the carnage, whereupon furious
  villagers captured him. Just as Alfred was about to
  be burnt at the stake, a Vistani mother and daugh-
  ter approached and purchased the young werewolf’s
  life for a hefty sum. By virtue of her Sight, the elder
  Vistana was aware of what Alfred’s future held. She
  offered Alfred his freedom in exchange for safe
  passage for any Vistani he should meet from thence
  on. Alfred agreed, but then attacked the moment
  he was released, devouring the old woman as her
  daughter fled into the night. The Mists descended
  upon Alfred, revealing Verbrek as his new home
  and prison.
  Alfred discovered that Verbrek was home to
  powerful werewolf clans and that he was revered as
  the high priest of the Wolf God. He commanded
  the reverence of his fellow lycanthropes and was
  able to cast divine spells in the name of his god. Yet
  a terrible curse struck him as well, forcing his
  transformation to human form whenever strong
  passions stirred within him.
  Current Sketch
   Alfred rules the werewolves of Verbrek by
  virtue of his supreme cunning and his unrivaled
  divine powers. Though Alfred has the mandate of
  the Wolf God, strong alphas constantly challenge
  his supremacy. Thus far, Alfred has toppled all
  challengers. He nurtures alliances with strong clans
  and fosters religious fanaticism to widen his loyalty
  base. Still, Alfred fears that his fellow werewolves
  will discover his curse, heralding his fall from
  power. Due to his curse, he often refrains from
  hunts and has not yet found a mate, failings that
  diminish his status among other werewolves. So far
  he has always viciously murdered any werewolf or
  other creature that witnessed his weakness.
  Alfred Timothy
  
  161
  Attached Notes
  Alfred believes that his curse is a test of faith.
  He is convinced that the Wolf God will free him
  from his burden if he transcends his weak humanity
  and obliges others to do the same. He encourages
  greater and greater depravities in the Wolf God’s
  name, hoping that freedom from his curse lies at
  the bottom of the blackest pit of savagery.
  Following the Grand Conjunction, Alfred
  found his realm encompassed his father’s realm of
  Arkandale as well as Verbrek. He regarded it as a
  blessing from the Wolf God for his promotion of
  attacks on humans. In the years since, the com-
  mands he has handed down in his god’s name have
  grown more appalling. Alfred is aware that his
  father is still alive and traveling the Musarde River.
  He would relish the opportunity to show his father
  how powerful he has become, but secretly fears
  such a confrontation.
  Combat
  Bloodlust bubbles in Alfred’s soul, and he
  longs to rend flesh with fang and claw. Unfortu-
  nately, his curse prevents this, as he transforms into
  his weak human form whenever strong anger, lust,
  or fear overcome him. Thus, Alfred contains his
  emotions amidst the thrill of the hunt or the
  rapture of a blood rite. He is calculating and me-
  thodical in combat, evading his opponents’ blows
  expertly and seeking tactical advantages in his
  surroundings. Alfred relies on his allies’ battle
  prowess, supporting his fellow werewolves with
  spellcasting.
  Special Attacks: Curse of Lycanthropy (Su):
  The trigger for afflicted werewolves of Alfred’s
  bloodline is the three nights of the full moon.
  Special Qualities: Shadow Walk (Su): When-
  ever the moon is visible (i.e., not covered by clouds
  or in its new phase), Alfred can use shadow walk.
  This ability functions as the spell except that it
  only affects Alfred and allows instantaneous move-
  ment through the Plane of Shadow to any other
  shadowed area in Verbrek.
  Alternate Form (Su): Though he is a natural
  lycanthrope and therefore possesses the Improved
  Control Shape feat, Alfred suffers under a trigger.
  He is cursed to transform into human form when-
  ever anger, lust, or fear overcome him (no check
  allowed).
  Lair
  Alfred considers all of Verbrek his lair, wan-
  dering wherever he pleases in the company of other
  werewolves. He spends much of his time at the
  Circle where he oversees the spiritual life of
  Verbrek’s werewolves. Beneath each dolmen are
  said to rest the bones of a powerful human hunter
  or knight, slain by werewolves when the creatures
  claimed Verbrek. The Circle is more than a holy
  site, however. There, the werewolves gather to
  socialize, engaging in contests for dominance, bru-
  tal blood sports and unspeakable breeding customs.
  Due to the bestial hatred that permeates it and the
  countless ritual murders that have occurred there,
  the Circle is a rank 3 sinkhole of evil.
  Closing the Borders
  Alfred cannot close his borders through any
  supernatural means. When he wishes to seal his
  domain, he sends dire wolves and werewolves to
  patrol the borders. It is possible to escape Verbrek,
  provided one can outwit or outrun these vicious
  predators.
  Baron Urik von Kharkov,
  Darklord of Valachan
  Male human mature nosferatu Ftr11:
  Male human mature nosferatu Ftr11:
  Male human mature nosferatu Ftr11:
  Male human mature nosferatu Ftr11:
  Male human mature nosferatu Ftr11: CR 15; Medium undead
  (vampire) (6 ft. tall); HD 11d12, hp 87; Init +8; Spd 40 ft. (50
  ft., climb 30 ft. as panther); AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 19;
  Base Atk +11; Grp +17; Atk +17 melee (1d4+6, claw) or +19
  melee (1d8+9/19–20, +1 longsword) or +18 melee (1d6+7/
  19–20, +1 short sword) or +16 ranged (1d8+5, +1 composite
  longbow [+3 Str bonus]), or +17 melee (1d6+6, bite) or +17
  (1d3+6, claw) as panther; Full Atk +17 melee (1d4+6, 2 claws),
  or +17/+12/+7 melee (1d8+9/19–20, +1 longsword) and +16
  melee (1d6+4/19–20, +1 short sword), or +16/+11/+6 ranged
  (1d8+4, +1 composite longbow [+3 Str bonus]), or +17 melee
  (1d6+6, bite) and +12 melee (1d3+3, 2 claws) as panther; SA
  Blackout, blood drain, children of the night, create spawn,
  curse of lycanthropy, domination, plus pounce, improved
  grab, rake as panther; SQ Alternate form, cold and electricity
  resistance 20, damage reduction 20/+1, darkvision 60 ft.,
  daylight powerlessness, feline spies, gaseous form, lunar
  regeneration, restful sleep, spider climb, turn resistance +6,
  undead traits, vampire weaknesses; SR 13; AL LE; SV Fort +7,
  Ref +9, Will +5; Str 22, Dex 19, Con —, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha
  19.
  Skills and Feats: Balance +8 (+16 as panther),
  Bluff +12, Climb +12, Diplomacy +8, Handle
  Animal +11, Hide +12 (+16 as panther), Intimi-
  date +8, Jump +12, Knowledge (arcana) +6,
  Knowledge (nature) +6, Listen +10, Move Silently
  +12 (+16 as panther), Ride (horse) +11, Search
  +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +9, Spot +10,
  Survival +8; Alertness, Cleave, Combat Reflexes,
  Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes,
  Mobility, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise
  Shot, Track, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Fo-
  
  162
  DM’s Appendix
  cus (composite longbow), Weapon Focus
  (longsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword).
  OR 7 if true nature is known.
  Languages: Vaasi*, Darkonese, Mordentish,
  Sithican.
  Signature Possessions: +1 longsword, +1 short
  sword, +1 composite longbow (+3 Str bonus), 20 +1
  arrows, bracers of armor +2, cloak of resistance +2,
  ring of protection +1.
  Urik von Kharkov is a tall, exotically hand-
  some, black-skinned man with broad shoulders. He
  speaks in a deep, resonant baritone. He has high
  cheekbones and an angular jaw. His meticulously
  groomed black hair is short and straight, and his
  compelling eyes have an unusual golden hue. When
  angered, his pupils change to the slits of a cat. His
  hands are covered in sleek black fur and feature
  retractable talons, but he hides this deformity with
  gloves. Despite his build, von Kharkov moves
  smoothly and gracefully.
  Background
  The baron started life as a panther in an
  outlander world, but his tale begins with the pow-
  erful wizard Morphayas, who conceived of an
  elaborate plot for revenge against Selena, a woman
  who spurned his advances. Morphayas used a rare
  polymorphing magic to transform a panther into a
  full-grown man, naming his creation Baron Urik
  von Kharkov. Urik received years of education and
  courtly training at the finest schools, where he
  exhibited a tendency toward violence and treach-
  ery.
  Morphayas arranged for Urik and Selena to
  have frequent chance encounters. The pair be-
  came lovers, and when the two were locked in a
  lover’s embrace, Morphayas dispelled the magic
  that maintained Urik’s humanity. The savage pan-
  ther tore Selena to shreds.
  Morphayas bestowed human form upon Urik,
  not expecting the panther to remember his prior
  human incarnation. Urik was horrified by the
  uncontrollable beast within him, escaped from the
  wizard, and fled the country, burning with hatred
  and humiliation. He stumbled into a bank of fog,
  emerging in Darkon, where a bard told him legends
  of Azalin’s vampiric secret police. Urik sought out
  a vampire to induct him into the ranks. In undeath,
  Urik desired not just power and immortality, but
  control over the panther. What he received was 20
  years of slavery to a Kargat master.
  When his master was killed, Urik fled into the
  Misty Border. This time, the Dark Powers em-
  braced him, granting him his own domain. Urik
  von Kharkov adapted well to his new prison. He
  named it Valachan and declared himself its baron.
  Current Sketch
  Some vampires pine for the humanity they
  have lost. Urik von Kharkov mourns for the hu-
  manity he never had. He loved Selena, and his role
  in her murder still haunts him. Von Kharkov has
  been a panther, a man, and a vampire, possessing
  traits from all three: the quick temper and taunting
  cruelty of a cat, the intelligence and creativity of a
  human, and the charm and bloodthirst of a
  nosferatu.
  Baron von Kharkov marries frequently, select-
  ing a bride for himself or through a lottery.
  Valachan’s three major settlements take turns sac-
  rificing one of their daughters to the baron’s desires.
  Few of the baron’s brides survive their first year of
  marriage. Baron von Kharkov tries to be the perfect
  gentleman, but he cannot deny his true nature,
  inevitably questioning his every word and deed,
  wondering when his civilized veneer will crack.
  Within months he grows suspicious of his bride,
  becoming convinced that she must already know
  Baron Urik von Kharkov
  
  163
  Attached Notes
  he is a beast and is keeping other secrets from him.
  He turns cold, then cruel. Finally, he snaps and
  tears the woman apart. After a period of shame and
  self-recrimination, he calls for another lottery.
  Combat
  Von Kharkov is a dangerous opponent in close
  combat, even during daylight hours, using his physi-
  cal prowess to its utmost advantage. Nearly half the
  population of Valachan lives under his domina-
  tion, and he can telepathically call upon all of these
  victims if need be. Von Kharkov mistrusts
  spellcasters, particularly wizards, targeting arcane
  spellcasters first among his foes, then divine
  spellcasters.
  Special Attacks: The save DC against Von
  Kharkov’s vampire abilities is 18.
  Blackout (Su): If Von Kharkov successfully
  uses his drain blood ability on a creature, that
  creature immediately suffers a blackout when it
  escapes the baron’s grapple. The creature forgets all
  that occurred in the 5 minutes leading up to and
  including Von Kharkov draining it, as if the spell
  modify memory had been used on it. This is a mind-
  affecting compulsion enchantment.
  Claws (Ex): Unlike most vampires, Von
  Kharkov has claw attacks instead of a slam attack.
  Children of the Night (Su): Unlike most vam-
  pires, Von Kharkov can use this ability only to
  summon 2d4 black panthers (use the MM leop-
  ard).
  Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid hit
  by Von Kharkov’s bite attack in panther form must
  succeed at a DC 18 Fortitude save or contract
  werepanther lycanthropy.
  Domination (Su): When used like a gaze at-
  tack, this ability works just like that of the Monster
  Manual vampire. Victims of Von Kharkov’s blood
  drain attack, however, must also make a Will save
  or fall instantly under his influence. In this case,
  the victim remains under Von Kharkov’s domina-
  tion until the victim receives a break enchantment
  spell or Urik is slain.
  Special Qualities: Alternate Form (Su): Un-
  like most vampires, Von Kharkov can only take the
  form of a black panther (as the Monster Manual
  leopard). This ability is otherwise unchanged.
  Feline Spies (Su): Von Kharkov can place his
  mind inside that of any feline creature anywhere in
  Valachan. “Feline creature” in this case applies to
  anything from a house cat, to a werepanther in
  hybrid or panther form, to a dire tiger. He cannot
  control the animal in any way, but he experiences
  everything that the cat experiences. His human
  body lies comatose and unaware of its surroundings
  during this period, which lasts until the Baron is
  wounded, decides to return to his body or that of
  another cat, or magic jar is cast on the affected cat.
  Feline familiars, animal companions, and
  bonded mounts receive a Will save to resist the
  Baron’s spirit. If they succeed, they are aware of the
  attempted possession.
  Lunar Regeneration (Su): Von Kharkov gains
  the regeneration special quality whenever he is
  exposed to direct moonlight. When he is exposed
  to moonlight, any damage he has previously suf-
  fered is immediately converted to nonlethal damage
  (bypassing the standard undead immunity to non-
  lethal damage); this is true even if Von Kharkov
  had already been slain. He then automatically
  heals nonlethal damage at a rate determined by the
  phase of the moon: crescent moon 3 hp/round; half
  moon 4 hp/round; gibbous moon 6 hp/round; full
  moon 8 hp/round. Fire, acid, and blessed or holy
  weapons still deal normal damage. Von Kharkov
  can reattach severed limbs while regenerating, but
  he cannot regrow them. If decapitated, Von
  Kharkov cannot heal nonlethal damage until his
  head is reattached.
  Vampire Weaknesses: Garlic and mirrors do
  not affect Von Kharkov. He may freely enter any
  building in Valachan without being invited. He
  can cross running water at will, but he still suffers
  damage if immersed. Wooden stakes are useless
  against him — his heart must be impaled on a stake
  made of sharpened bone.
  Lair
  Baron von Kharkov resides in Castle Pantara,
  home to the baron, his handful of spawn, and at
  least a score of living peasants. These peasants
  frequently succumb to White Fever and are re-
  placed by healthy individuals. Castle Pantara usually
  carries a rank 2 or 3 sinkhole of evil. This often rises
  by a rank in the weeks following the death of von
  Kharkov’s latest bride.
  Closing the Borders
  When von Kharkov wishes to seal his domain,
  the land itself subtly shifts to redirect travelers back
  into Valachan. Regardless of their bearing, travel-
  ers become confused in the forest and journey back
  into the domain.
  
  164
  DM’s Appendix
  
  165
  Attached Notes
  
  166
  DM’s Appendix
  COMING THIS YEAR FOR
  Denizens of Dread
  January 2004
  Van Richten's Guide to the Shadow Fey
  March 2004
  Ravenloft Gazetteer V
  May 2004
  Legacy of the Blood: The Great Families
  July 2004
  
  167
  Attached Notes
  
  168
  DM’s Appendix
  
  ISBN 1-58846-087-8
  WW15023 $24.95 U.S.
  www.swordsorcery.com
  Legacies of Violence, Landscapes of Despair
  Twisted shapechangers and immortal tyrants strike terror into the denizens of Ravenloft’s
  southwestern Core. The twisted desires of Borca’s dual rulers, the curse at the heart of Invidia’s
  ruling family, the savagery that reigns in the dark forests of Verbrek, the cruelty of Valachan’s
  master and the greed that marks the rulers of Sithicus evoke an atmosphere of horror that touches
  all who journey through those forsaken lands.
  The fourth Gazetteer explores the lands of Borca, Invidia, Verbrek, Valachan and Sithicus,
  noting landmarks and dangers, relating history and legend and providing a practical assessment of
  each realm. Bold adventurers may experience these lands for themselves, if they dare.
  Requires the use of the Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook,
  published by Wizards of the Coast®. This product utilizes updated
  material from the v.3.5 revision.
  The Ravenloft® campaign setting is an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons® property.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Dungeons & Dragons [multi]/D&D 3rd Edition/Ravenloft/Ravenloft Gazetteer Volume IV.pdf