Evil courses through world after world, and the gods are very, very angry! This adventure is designed for four to six player characters PCs of 9th to 12th level. Its assumed that all adventuring parties in Ravenloft are largely of good and neutral alignments; evil parties rarely feel obliged to do the right thing, and most adventures in the demiplane of dread depend upon at least a bit of heroism in the PCs. Magical weapons in general are important to the partys success, but few player character groups of the appropriate levels lack a virtual arsenal of magic.
Dungeon Masters DMs who dont employ this rule might justify its sudden use by claiming that the very powers of the universe are at work here. After all, the Grand Conjunction doesnt occur every day or every millennium, for that matter!
An optional entry is supplied to allow this module to be played by itself, but both players and the DMTM will enjoy Roots of Evil all the more if its used as the second of a two-part adventure.
In fact, Roots of Evil represents the culmination of a six-part series of adventures, loosely connected by the prophecy known as Hyskosas Hexad.
Each module deals with one of six couplets written by the Vistani seer Hyskosa. According to the prophet, when all the couplets have been fulfilled, the Grand Conjunction will take place and all the lords of Ravenloft will return to their Prime Material points of origin. The first couplet is realized in Feast of Goblyns , the second in Ship of Horror , the third in Touch of Death , and the fourth in Night of the Walking Dead Even if the adventuring party doesnt play through the first four modules, it is still strongly advised that From the Shadows be played before beginning Roots of Evil.
These two adventures are more closely related than any of the others, for the first sets the Grand Conjunction in motion while the second gives the player characters a chance to reverse the horrific occurrence. For the most part, this module assumes that From the Shadows has been played first, and some adjustments will need to be made by the DM if it hasnt. As always, the DM should read this entire adventure before running it.
In this module, the player characters will find that the story supersedes the dungeon crawl aspects of the adventure although that element is present, too. Theyve started a chain of events that must be resolved in order to avert -- literally! Its not enough to defeat the bad guys in combat; the bad guys in this adventure are too powerful. Thinking things through, using the nonplayer characters NPCs against one another, waiting for the right moment to act -- these are the real keys to survival, and the DM is free to explain this to the players before the game starts.
Theres a lot of story involved in resolving the problems that arose in From the Shadows and a lot of information for the PCs to absorb. During these encounters, the game takes on a questions and answers feel.
The encounters are set up to anticipate the PCs questions and to preserve drama and atmosphere, but it falls upon the DM to capture the PCs imaginations by making conversations sound as natural as possible. Be prepared to discuss anything the characters bring up. Of course, what they can learn from an NPC depends upon that NPCs own knowledge, so its very important for the DM to know this module before playing it. Theres probably no need to say it, but players are notorious for and sometimes even proud of erratic behavior and stunts that short-circuit the most carefully planned adventures.
As long as the DM knows the adventure fairly well, it should be possible to redirect events to get the party back on track without forcing their hands. However, if the PCs insist on actions that burn their own bridges, then the Grand Conjunction will fully unfold and the PCs will have to live in a hell of their own making.
The DM is always free to simply claim that Madame Yvonna looks into her crystal ball and sees all or to take a deck of normal playing cards and role-play a reading for the characters -- the rules book in the RAVENLOFT boxed set provides some handy guidelines for performing such activities.
However, the Forbidden Lore boxed set contains some excellent tools for enhancing that effect. In particular, the tarokka deck is a perfect accessory for this module, containing artwork that is quite appropriate to a magical atmosphere. The Waking Dream, one of the five books included in the Forbidden Lore box, explains how to lay out the cards and the spin the telling so that the DM will read the proper fortune, making the PCs feel as though fate itself has dictated their actions.
There are also three other books dealing with psionics, curses, and secret societies in Ravenloft that may not be directly useful in Roots of Evil, but the DM is free to use any element that enhances the players experience.
Before beginning play, the DM may choose to make the following preparations with the tarokka or a normal deck: 1 Stack the five following cards so that they can be drawn from the top of the deck in the following order: the necromancer or the eight of hearts , the diviner or the two of hearts , the paladin or the two of clubs , the anarchist or the six of spades , and the traitor or the nine of spades.
The following cards should be set aside before play so they can be immediately laid out for the players to see in the Madame Yvonna encounter section: the marionette or jack of clubs , the donjon or ace of hearts , the darklord or king of hearts , the beast or king of diamonds , the artifact or ace of diamonds , the mists or ace of clubs , the raven or king of clubs , the hangman or ace of spades , and the innocent or king of spades.
When presented against a vampire, it flares with the light of the sun for 1d10 rounds -- this functions only once per week; an identify spell reveals this fact. Strahd von Zarovich is more terrified of the Holy Symbol than is any other creature. He cannot approach within 10 feet of it, regardless of the turning PC priests die roll. This effect is cumulative with the bonus afforded by the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind. At no point were they asked to do so, but many quick-thinking groups will have seized the opportunity when it arose.
If the PCs did so, then the woman who received the items kept them safe for Azalin, awaiting the day when he would arrive in Prime Material Barovia the realms of Ravenloft are shadowy replications of actual places. If the PCs never bothered with the Icon, then it disappeared into Ravenloft when the demiplane was created. In that case, the Icon will have miraculously reappeared on the altar of Prime Material Castle Ravenloft when the Grand Conjunction takes place. If Azalin has both relics, then the characters need to retrieve them both.
This is accounted for in the text as much as possible, but the DM will still have to make adjustments to the boxed copy here and there to be sure that the continuity of the adventure doesnt break down. In this adventure, Azalins phylactery has a special feature: Whenever the eyes of the skull point directly in the lichs direction, they flash very subtly and then glow as long as the skull remains pointed at the lich.
Distance isnt a barrier, although the phylactery cannot track Azalin across planar boundaries. This makes the phylactery a perfect homing device for characters who know the secret. Briefly, the Book is used to specifically summon yugoloths, a kind of lower-planar lawyer.
Some Books of Keeping summon a particular yugoloth by name. He keeps all his negotiated contracts in the Book, so it contains all the proof of his success and failure as a negotiator, which is paramount to a yugoloths social standing and self-worth. Anyone who would attempt to take or keep it from him had better have godlike powers!
Within the confines of this game module, a few significant attributes are ascribed to Inajiras Book of Keeping; It is classified as an artifact rather than a magical item, so it cannot be destroyed through any conventional means.
More notably, since so important a tome must be given to others to be signed, the Book is enchanted such that it can be transported across nonphysical spaces only by its owned; anyone else can pick up the book and carry it, but it cannot be teleported, dimensionally shifted, put through planar portals, or moved through any other magical or psionic means.
The DM will find role-playing hints within the text, but the NPC summary is included here for quick reference, especially in combat. Anebroun wears a ring of human influence and a helm of comprehending languages and reading magic the circlet , and she carries a wand of paralyzation up her sleeve. She leans upon a beautifully crafted staff that has no inherent magical abilities, but she often imbues it with the magic staff spell. Anebroun has only recently reached the 18th level of experience.
She has used magic to increase her longevity, but old age is catching up with her, driving her to seek lichdom. Azalin keeps a stoneskin spell active at all times. If attacked from behind, a contingent flesh to stone spell hits the attacker. Azalin can animate dead 8 HD or lower in a 2-mile radius simply by willing such to occur. These monsters make their way to him by any such means possible, and they respond to his orders as if he had cast control undead.
Queen Kristiana von Zarovich. Strahd wears a pendant that is an amulet of proof against detection and location. Strahd keeps a contingency spell active at all times. If defeated in combat reduced to 0 hp or exposed to paralyzing or destructive light, he is instantly transported to his coffin below Castle Ravenloft. Thus, it is possible to take advantage of him should he be forced into gaseous form.
In this light, listing a monsters stats in the text may actually be redundant as well as insufficient. Therefore, rather than list monster stats in this module, the specific appendix from which the creature was taken is listed after the monsters name. DMs are advised to read over the monster entries before beginning play, to keep their compendiums at hand during play, and to turn to the proper pages as encounters occur.
For the DMs benefit, monsters appear in bold type throughout the text. Of course, NPCs and special monsters are described in full. Adventures in the demiplane of dread are primarily plot driven. Everything that goes bump in the night should be carefully inserted into the adventure at a point where it is most effective for establishing the sense of foreboding that lies beneath the experience, and the unknown thing lurking in the dark corner should be part of some terrible truth that the player characters perhaps foolishly hope to uncover.
Roots of Evil is a special exception to this rule. When Azalins phylactery and the lich within is brought through the Mists, the Grand Conjunction is set in motion and denizens of Ravenloft begin to filter into the Prime Material Plane. Small, temporary portals that link the Shadow Plane with the Prime Material occur at random, letting loose the monsters of Ravenloft just a few at a time.
Sometimes, even the lord of a domain may find one of these portals. When one of these portals open, its called a minor conjunction. The Minor Conjunction Encounter Chart is provided at the back of the module to help the DM determine which monsters come forth.
Note that once the lord of a domain appears, he or she may not appear again -- reroll for another creature. The DM will ideally employ this device during slow-moving parts of the adventure, such as when the party is en route to the next featured encounter or when it pauses too long at any point along the trail.
The text assigns percentage chances for a minor conjunction, but DMs know best when one is appropriate. A junction between Ravenloft and the Prime Material can take many forms or no perceptible form at all.
The DM is encouraged to take advantage of any nearby objects that could suddenly become a portal, like a pair of trees that grow together overhead or a puddle of water. A minor conjunction is more dramatic if it is preceded by some fluctuation in the surroundings, like a sudden change in temperature or a strong gust of wind -- anything that makes the PCs say, Ive got a bad feeling about this Below are some suggestions for a minor conjunction choose or roll 1d Extremely thick mists suddenly well up, then monsters tumble out of them.
Faerie fire ignites on nearby objects, racing along edges, brightening and expanding until an area large enough for monsters to pass through develops. Thunderclouds billow up at an unnatural pace, then lightning strikes uncomfortably close. Dexterity check to dive free of 5d6 points of damage -- saving throw vs. When the smoke clears, monsters are standing there. A localized earthquake knocks the PCs to their knees.
The ground opens up and monsters crawl out of the hole. A high-pitched squeal rises until the PCs must clamp their hands over their ears save vs. A foot by foot section of space near the PCs blurs as if it were a photograph taken out of focus, and monsters take shape within before it clears.
A nearby tree creaks eerily, as if it is being pulled apart like a wishbone, then cracks open with an explosion of splinters those within 20 feet save vs. Monsters emerge from within. An electrical hum precedes an energy vortex that appears between any two upright objects.
A tornado forms, even in a clear sky, and then spits monsters out of its point as soon as it touches down. PCs are subject to 4d8 points of damage from being too close to the tornado. This may require fear and horror checks. A piece of metal coin, etc. Some other possibilities include monsters popping out of a fire or a grave, through a mirror or a reflection in water, and so forth.
Discretion is strongly advised when employing this device -- the idea is not to beat the PCs into the ground, but to deprive them of the luxury of putting off the mission until they feel more rested or better prepared to tackle it. During various points in this module, PCs may be called upon or may ask to perform actions that test the limits of their basic attributes. For example, a PC may wish to make a diving catch for a valuable gem that is slipping over a precipice.
Under these circumstances, saving throws have little meaning. Therefore, the character in this example should make a Dexterity check. The player rolls 1d20 and compares the result to the characters Dexterity score. If the number rolled is equal or less than the PCs score, then the action is successful. If the number rolled is higher, then the PC will have missed the grab at best and gone over the cliff with the gem at worst.
Modifiers may make the action a bit more difficult to accomplish Another use of the ability check is to help players who are thoroughly lost or confused by the adventure. If the PCs hit a dead end and dont know where to turn, the DM can ask the characters to make either an Intelligence or a Wisdom check.
Those who succeed their rolls may be given a hint by the DM that will get the party back on track. The clue should be a fairly subtle one. Perhaps the recited rhyme of a non-player character keeps running through a PCs head, or it occurs to a character that the party should reconsider the inscription on the wall of the last room it was in. In any event, this technique should be used sparingly. Let the players work through mysteries themselves if possible. Sometimes a subtle smile on the DMs face is enough to tell them that theyre on the right track In From the Shadows, the PCs were decapitated and reanimated as heads on a shelf in Azalins laboratory.
In this condition, they were obliged to do the lichs bidding, which was to journey into the past to the night Ravenloft was first formed and make an adjustment to history. They were to remove the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind from the castle, which they eventually accomplished. Its possible that they spirited the Icon of Ravenloft out of the castle as well. Azalin had correctly guessed that removing the Holy Symbol from Castle Ravenloft would weaken the planar boundaries that rendered Ravenloft inescapable.
With the deed done, he allowed the PCs to regain their bodies and flee his castle. Along the escape route, however, they met the infamous Vistani seer Hyskosa, who told them that they must steal Azalins phylactery and take it into the Mists. They did so, never suspecting that they had played right into Azalins hands -- he appeared at the border and allowed his body to be defeated in battle, and his spirit was drawn into the phylactery.
Thus the PCs unwittingly carried Azalin out of the demiplane of dread. Azalin willed his phylactery and the PCs to travel to Prime Material Barovia so that he can exact a long-contemplated revenge upon his old enemy, Strahd, who made a slave of Azalin in Ravenloft until he received his own domain from the land. But all is not yet safe for the newly freed lords of the Shadow Plane: The fifth couplet of the hexad was skipped in Hyskosas and Azalins haste to realize the Grand Conjunction, which brings the action to this adventure.
There, he has taken up his crystal ball and ferreted out the mystery of Ravenlofts opened borders. He has scried the PCs, discovered their role in the recent events, and seen that they carry the phylactery of Azalin. Realizing that the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind an object poisonous to his being has fallen into Azalins hands, Strahd has begun hatching plots of his own.
The vampire lord needs a mortal to retrieve the Symbol for him he cannot touch it himself so that he can dispose of it and end any threat to his person. Strahd also knows that returning the Symbol and the Icon of Ravenkind to the chapel altar will restore the integrity of the dark powers, cause the Grand Conjunction to collapse, and send him back to his shadow-planar prison.
That he cannot abide! Strahd will do anything within his power to ensure that the PCs dont return the items to the altar. Strahd is delighted with the timing of the Grand Conjunction because Prime Material Barovias current ruler, King Barov, is his near-perfect twin.
Furthermore, Queen Kristiana is the current reincarnation of Strahds beloved Tatyana! If he can only eliminate Barov and covertly step into the kings place The last piece of pertinent background information concerns the human Strahd, some years in the past.
At that time, he was a battle-weary general, still looking forward to a day when he would rule the land. During his exploits, he was approached by a yugoloth from Gehenna named Inajira, who offered to make him undefeatable in battle in exchange for unknown concessions.
Strahd agreed to the pact, but insisted on keeping Inajiras Book of Keeping until the contract was fulfilled. Inajira, having small fear of mortals and no idea of how treacherous Strahd could be, consented. When Strahd became a vampire, he literally disappeared into the Shadow Plane with the Book and thus never fulfilled his terms of the contract.
Inajira was disgraced and exiled from Gehenna for the loss of his prize possession and his failure to seal the pact. Now that Strahd has suddenly returns to the Prime Material Plane, the yugoloth is anxious to retrieve his Book and exact some vengeance! As the Grand Conjunction has taken place, creatures of Ravenloft wander about and often engage the PCs in combat. After one battle, Azalin inhabits one of the fallen undead and flees the scene, leaving behind his phylactery.
No sooner does Azalin exit than Strahd appears and unsuccessfully attempts to take the phylactery. Luckily for the PCs, he needs their services, so he avoids killing them.
She performs a reading, at which time she identifies the occurrence of the Grand Conjunction, links the prophecy of Hyskosa to it, and discusses the phylactery of Azalin. The PCs are lead to believe she is on their side, but in reality Madame Yvonna is an agent of Strahd, so she tells the PCs that they must retrieve the Holy Symbol and the Icon in order to destroy the phylactery, and that they must fulfill the fifth couplet of the prophecy.
She claims that fulfilling the prophecy now will cause the Grand Conjunction to collapse. In fact, Strahd is using the PCs to capture the holy relics. He knows that realizing the fifth couplet will only reinforce the Grand Conjunction. Madame Yvonna warns the party that Azalin will come looking for them and his phylactery after he has rested. Finally, she advises them to seek more information at Castle Ravenloft.
After some trouble with suspicious castle guards, the PCs are granted an audience with King Barov and Queen Kristiana, both of whom are on the good side.
The queen is a high priestess, and she uses her powers to divine more information for the PCs. Kristiana determines that the Holy Symbol and the Icon must be brought together with Azalins phylactery on the chapel altar of Castle Ravenloft in order for the Grand Conjunction to be reversed and the phylactery to be destroyed.
This becomes the PCs primary mission. Inajira appears and kills Barov, thinking he is Strahd and hoping to enslave his spirit to ransom against the precious Book of Keeping. The yugoloth immediately realizes his mistake and kidnaps Kristiana, planning to use her as a bargaining chip.
Rescuing Kristiana becomes the secondary objective of the adventure. Shortly thereafter, the party is approached by Inajira, who tells them about the Book of Keeping and Strahds pact, made years ago. The fiend explains that Strahd has locked the Book in a vault that can be opened only with the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind.
Until he gets it back, he cannot go home to Gehenna. In short, the fiend promises to return Kristiana safely in exchange for retrieving the Holy Symbol which he cant touch, either and liberating the Book of Keeping. Then Strahd appears and banishes Inajira with a secret word of power.
Strahd then tells the PCs more about the association with Inajira in the distant past. Strahd wishes to dissolve the year-old pact with the fiend. Under the pretense of getting Kristiana back, he tells the PCs of a plan: They must convince Azalin to send them back to the past, to the day that Strahd made his pact with Inajira, and they must prevent the deal being struck.
Strahd suggests that Azalin will cooperate if his phylactery is used as ransom, and he instructs the PCs on how to hide the item. This becomes the tertiary objective of the PCs. As it happens, Azalin is only too happy to comply with the request. He understands that the PCs actions will fulfill the prophecy and secure the Grand Conjunction. Besides, he wants to give the Holy Symbol and the Icon to the PCs so theyll lead him to Strahd and thus inadvertently help him destroy the vampire lord.
Pretending to accept a trade of his services and a grant of amnesty to the PCs in return for his phylactery, Azalin sends the PCs back in time as they have asked.
Back in the past, the PCs complete their tertiary objective, but they also fulfill the prophecy of Hyskosa. When they return to the present, the PCs recover the holy relics, but find that Strahd has taken the phylactery. The PCs make their way to the hiding place of the Book of Keeping and open the vault. Inajira appears with Kristiana and demands to make a trade for the Book.
Then Strahd appears with the phylactery and a stand-off ensues. Finally, Azalin takes possession of a nearby corpse and the struggle grows more complicated. Strahd and Azalin temporarily forget their differences to stop the PCs, but Inajira runs interference for them, claiming that if he cant go home, nobody can. This allows the PCs to complete their quest. Jump Start This encounter is provided for adventuring parties who have not played From the Shadows. The scene is Prime Material Barovia, which has continued to live peacefully for the last years, since the day strange mists swallowed the inhabitants of Castle Ravenloft and then receded into the newly-formed demiplane of dread.
The adventure begins in the woods just outside of Vallaki see the map. Until the phylactery comes through the mists, there is nothing odd about the surroundings. The forest is clamoring around you as the birds in the trees call to each other and small animals chirp shrilly at your passing.
The gentle scraping of armor as you walk is the harshest sound youve heard all day. Then, without warning, a thick white fog closes in and blots out the sun. The entire forest falls absolutely silent, as if a sudden dread has clasped it by the throat and squeezed.
First the trees in the distance are lost to view, and then those within a few feet disappear into the heavy mist. The sudden quiet weighs upon you like a deadly menace just over your shoulder.
You hear a soft groan just ahead If the PCs hesitate to respond, the groaning continues. It isnt a ghostly or monstrous moan, but that of someone dying. Rather than say this to the players, however, the DM might make such sounds and let them guess at the cause. The statue is 4 feet long from snout to base and appears very heavy. On closer inspection, you note a dark pool of blood mingling with the dirt below the woman and statue. Her padded armor is stained to a patchy, blackish red.
The only reason why she hasnt already bled to death is that shes also been badly burned by fire, electricity, or both, and her wounds have thus been cauterized. At the sound of your approach, the woman summons the strength to lift her head and look your way. Dirt is caked in bloody clots across her face, and her eyes seem to gaze far away. Then she slowly reaches out to you, groaning in pain, and says, Please Her shaking hand gestures toward the statue. It houses the spirit of the most evil of undead wizards, Azalin Lord of Darkon.
She closes her eyes and tears run down her cheeks. We have opened the gates of untold evil and released it upon the universe Im sorry Im so sorry. Her eyes roll up into her head. The unknown woman is dead. Its suggested that the DM reread the boxed copy on page 60 of From the Shadows to be sure that the players are up to speed.
Parties that havent played From the Shadows also continue with this scene. Theyll find little of value on the woman who gave them the phylactery, other than perhaps a short sword. The DM is free to place on her body money and items, magical or otherwise, suitable to the individual campaign. She carries treasure types M and Q.
On the ground, the draconian eyes of Azalins phylactery burn with furious intensity and stain the fog an unwholesome red. In the distance, the quiet gives way to an eerie sound that sends shivers up your spines: ghostly laughter.
The volume rises and divides into two voices, then four, then eight, then sixteen, and so on, until the shapeless void around you is filled with maniacal jeering and hysterical screaming. It rises to an ear-splitting pitch, surrounding you on all sides -- and then suddenly stops.
Absolute silence. Then, slowly, you perceive a quiet shuffling sound. The mists thin slightly, and you find yourself surrounded by walking dead! If the party is beginning with this adventure, it would be reasonable to double the number of creatures.
The monsters shouldnt attack the party as a unified force, but should enter combat over the course of several rounds, as if they just happened to be walking by and decided to join the battle. This includes the tougher Turning Undead Table in the boxed set rules book. More importantly, as long as the PCs have Azalins phylactery, all undead are turned as a lich.
Furthermore, Azalins spirit s within the phylactery at this point, creating a sinkhole of evil in the area, so turning undead attempts are made with a -4 penalty. A 12th-level priest needs to roll a 20 to turn even a lowly skeleton! The pack of undead is a symptom of the Grand Conjunction. With the gates of Ravenloft swung open, creatures of evil are filtering through to the Prime Material Plane.
However, the Dungeon Master can allow the PCs the opportunity to hide from the many monsters that rove the countryside; that way, theyll see that chaos has been unleashed, but theyll still be able to reserve their strength for the main adventure. After the battle has ended, note where each PC is standing in relation to Azalins phylactery.
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Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. So, the Dummies guides are a series of works. But the Loeb Classical Library is a series of editions, not of works.
Now the time has come to learn about the secrets of the lands in the demiplane of dread. Forbidden Lore. There have been a myriad of Ravenloft products over the years, starting from the first adventure.
While I havent been able to see all of them, I consider this one to be on top of them. Ravenloft: Strahd's Possession is a 1. Forge Intertainment for Strategic Simulations, Inc. Ravenloft: Stone Prophet is a sequel to this game. These products were created by scanning an original printed edition.
Most older books are in scanned image format because original digital layout files never existed or were no longer available from the publisher. The result of this OCR process is placed invisibly behind the picture of each scanned page, to allow for text searching.
However, any text in a given book set on a graphical background or in handwritten fonts would most likely not be picked up by the OCR software, and is therefore not searchable.
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