Shadows and Steel: The Ravenloft Infiltration Plan

This session was written up twice on Obsidian Portal: as “Welcome Back To Vellanki” and as “Shadows and Steel—The Ravenloft Infiltration Plan” (the notebook version). This post combines both, checked against Chris’s own notes and the recording of the night.

Characters:

• Aera shan Ravanór (Liz): Wood-elf Rogue (Level 7) and expert infiltrator. Having mastered Evasion, she can emerge unscathed from dragon breath or reckless Fireballs. Her pseudodragon companion, found in Argynvostholt, is her eyes in the dark and vital for scouting.
• Malron Lichtstrahl (Chris): Reborn Cleric of Lathander and Spirit Medium. His body is the vessel for an ancient Elven spirit, the result of a failed resurrection. His connection to the Morninglord has grown stronger with the party’s new power, and he remains the group’s tether to the light against the encroaching rot of the Grave.
• Shabasta (Grant): Bard of Fate (Level 7), focused on the prophetic nature of the journey. At Level 7 he gains 4th-level spells, with Greater Invisibility among the new options he weighed. His tactical magic includes Silvery Barbs, to pluck away a foe’s success.
• Olfin Darning (Seth): Hexblood Paladin who carries the Symbol of Ravenkind. A primary frontline defender of legendary resilience and a prime candidate for the party’s new buffs. His Aura of Devotion projects a ten-foot sanctuary, so his allies cannot be charmed by the Count’s honeyed lies.
• Krusty – Ralph Kristofferson (Cole): Wizard (Level 7), a newcomer with a background in academic arcana. Fireball stays in his arsenal, and Level 7 brings his first 4th-level spell, with Greater Invisibility among the options discussed.

Summary:

The session began with a tense recap of the party’s final morning at Castle Ravenloft. After Aera’s solo reconnaissance of the Heart of Sorrow and her chilling encounter with Count Strahd, the group was promptly escorted from the guest quarters by Rahadin. Under the watchful eyes of the castle’s gargoyles, the party, joined by their allies Ezmerelda d’Avenir and Ireena Kolyana, departed by carriage.

During the journey back to Vallaki everyone reached Level 7. The survivors gathered beneath the flickering lamps of the Blue Water Inn, the memory of the Count’s wine still bitter on their tongues and the terror of their “failed” dinner hardening into cold resolve. The rest of the session was a deep-dive tactical briefing and a ritual of preparation.

The plan is a proactive heist. Drawing on what they had learned about the castle (not from Doru) and the castle maps of Rudolph van Richten, the party means to strike during Strahd’s 14-day hunting cycle, while he is expected to be away from the castle, infiltrate the catacombs, and secure the relics and allies they need.

Note: Much of the evening was “meta talk” about Level 7. The players discussed the mechanical impact of Evasion and the ethics of Silvery Barbs, which the DM noted is often treated as a higher-level spell because of its potency. A lighthearted sidebar compared the Canadian game Crokinole to curling.

Key Locations:

K1 (Front Courtyard): The 35-foot chasm is the primary gatekeeper. Without a mechanical solution or magical flight, the party is bottlenecked at the entrance. Access may also be restricted; they need another way in if the drawbridge is up.

K7/K8 (Entryways): The dragon and gargoyle statues are confirmed as active, sentient sentries, likely a silent alarm for the castle’s denizens. Stealth is mandatory.

K14/K15 (Hall of Faith and Chapel): The Hall of Faith is “creepy”. The Chapel, a site of former sanctity now defiled, is worth looking into.

K16/K17: K16 could lead up toward the spires; the south chapel at K17 goes down.

The High Tower (K18/K57): The site of the Heart of Sorrow. The high tower staircase at K18 goes to the crypts, though it is heavily guarded.

The Hall of Bones: On the basement floor, the suspected resting place of Argynvost’s Skull.

K84 (Catacombs): The primary objective. Its crypts include those of King Dostran (Crypt 34) and Saint Markovia (Crypt 40), which house artifacts needed to break the land’s curse. Anything else down there is a distraction.

K85/K86 (Tombs of Sergei and Strahd): Sergei’s tomb is well lit, blocked by a portcullis, and an unnatural beacon. Strahd’s is the ultimate target, expected to be empty during the new moon, though the crypts’ magic may hold him if the party lingers.

K88 (Tomb of King Barov and Queen Ravenovia): Rahadin’s sanctuary. Entering here means a confrontation with Strahd’s chamberlain, turning a heist into a bloodbath.

Vallaki and the Blue Water Inn: The party’s base of operations and the site of the heist rehearsals.

What We Learned (Not from Doru):

Chris’s notes from the night, castle room numbers as the party had them:

• Find: a key.
• K1, courtyard: the drawbridge might not be down, so find a way to get in. The party should devise a plan to get in if the drawbridge is up.
• K7, entry: the dragon statues are potentially guards.
• K8, great entry: the gargoyles are almost certainly guards.
• K14, Hall of Faith: creepy.
• K15, chapel: worth looking into.
• K16: could lead up.
• K17, south chapel: goes down.
• K18, high tower staircase: goes to the crypts.
• K84, catacombs: King Dostran and St. Markovia, crypts 34 and 40.
• K85, Sergei’s tomb: a portcullis in the way, but well lit.

Encounters:

• Social: The Morning Eviction: Rahadin (phonetically “Rod Dean”) saw the party out of Ravenloft without delay, cold and professional.
• Narrative: The Carriage to Vallaki: Travel and reflection, discussing recent discoveries and the party’s new Level 7 abilities.
• Tactical: The Heist Briefing: A non-combat session analysing map codes and room descriptions for hazards and entry points.
• Tactical: The Infiltration Strategy: The party weighed the “Arrow and Rope” approach against the casters’ new 4th-level magic, such as Greater Invisibility, to slip past the gate towers.
• Logistical: The Extraction: To smuggle the Dragon’s Skull (or the Heart of Sorrow) out, the party plans to shrink it with Enlarge/Reduce to fit the 500-pound limit of the Chest of Holding.

Loot:

No new loot was gained this session. The party took stock of what they carry and what they mean to take:

• Symbol of Ravenkind (Olfin): A legendary relic, essential to his Aura of Devotion and to fighting vampires.
• Chest of Holding: A dimensional vessel with a 500-pound capacity, the key to smuggling large relics out of the castle.
• Van Richten’s Maps: The hunter’s maps strip Ravenloft of its greatest defense, its power to swallow the lost in its corridors.
• Strahd’s Gemstones: Stones acquired earlier, to be used for Locate Object during the heist.
• Heist objectives: Argynvost’s Skull (Hall of Bones), the Icon of Dawn’s Grace (believed to be in the crypts) and the Spear of the Huntress (in the south crypts).

Notable NPCs:

• Strahd von Zarovich: The Master of Ravenloft. His recent “mercy” toward Aera has left the party wary but emboldened. His 14-day hunting cycle gives them their window: strike while he hunts away from the den.
• Rahadin: The Count’s chamberlain, who saw the party out.
• Ezmerelda d’Avenir: A famed monster hunter, on the party’s side and traveling with them, advising them.
• Ireena Kolyana: The object of Strahd’s obsession, on the party’s side and with them under their protection.
• Rudolph van Richten: The hunter whose castle maps turn a suicide mission into a calculated heist.
• Emil Tornescu: A werewolf prisoner in the South Dungeon whom the party intends to rescue.
• Gertruda: Mary’s daughter, confirmed to be in the King’s Bedchamber.

Plot Points:

• Argynvost’s Skull (priority one): Returning it to the “Shining Beacon” at Argynvostholt will light a beacon through the Barovian gloom and grant a permanent boon to the resistance.
• The Icon of Dawn’s Grace: A silver statuette, the only cure for the Abbot’s madness; without it, Krezk stays under a celestial’s broken rule.
• The Spear of the Huntress: A shard of the ancient power of the “Ladies Three”, needed before facing the Count.
• Emil Tornescu and Gertruda: Freeing the werewolf leader could break Strahd’s alliance with the wolves; saving Gertruda from the King’s Bedchamber is a moral imperative.
• The Heart’s Pulse: The Heart of Sorrow is the session’s biggest revelation, but the party will finish the heist’s recovery goals before trying to destroy it.

Session Highlights:

• “Straying from the Path”: Aera’s recap of Strahd’s warning set a somber tone.
• Level 7 upgrades: Aera’s Evasion and Krusty bringing Fireball to the table.
• The Vampiric Axolotl: A vivid image for the Heart of Sorrow, a 10-foot red crystal heart with a sliver of darkness swirling inside.
• The Fingernail Gambit: A half-meta plan to “tag” Strahd and track his movements during the heist.
• Canadian Politeness: The Crokinole tangent, and the suggestion that the party be “polite” while flicking enemies into the castle chasm.
• “Ghost In, Fire Out”: The consensus: stealth and magic to secure the objectives, but ready for a “guns blazing” exit if the undead wake.