Karina
Ral DeNonna had been more intoxicated in his life, but never had so much fun! The songfests of his village on the Barovia/Kartakass border couldn't hold a candle to the revelry of Karina during Carnival! The day had been a whirlwind of dancing in the streets, scantily-clad women, and more wine than he thought existed in the world.
It was past midnight now, and he staggered alone down Front Street, singing at the top of his lungs, enjoying the sound of his voice echoing off the walls of the buildings and that of the wine sloshing in the bottle he carried.
Then he saw a fellow reveler, a slender man in a dark cloak and wide-brimmed hat. He called to the man, offering him wine and the opportunity to join him in song. The man raised an arm, in what Ral thought was a greeting... until he saw the blade flash in the moonlight. In his final moments, Ral was stone-sober.
As Ral's blood mingled with spilled wine and flowed into the gutter, the darkclad man merged with the shadows.
The harvest festival in Karina provides the principal backdrop for most events and encounters in this chapter. While the major non-player characters of this adventure are mobile free agents who can roam about the town and surrounding countryside as circumstances dictate, they are encountered in this chapter in specific locations in Karina. The Dungeon Master is encouraged to devise side encounters with these characters and otherwise bring them to life for the players.
The Dungeon Master must decide if he wants the heroes to spend any substantial amount of time in Karina at this point, or be contacted by the Zarovan Vistani, who hold the key to the lifting of their curse immediately, as described in Chapter Four. Regardless, the locations, rumors, and suggested events involving major nonplayer characters of this adventure can be used in play, whether the heroes are just drifting through Karina or serving as the eyes and ears of the Zarovan.
Karina is Invidia's largest town, and during most of the year its population is around 2,000 people. In recent years, the small city has become famous for its extraordinarily alcoholic beverages, including Glum Wine, Ambered, and several other exotic drinks. As a result, the local wine harvest has grown into a highly popular event. During the Carnival season, the population swells to over 5,000, as visitors arrive from Barovia, Borca, Richemulot, and even distant Falkovnia and Kartakass for a week of drinking and carousing.
Karina is built on the shores of the Noisette River, a tributary of the Musarde, in a small bowl-shaped valley south of a thick, lush forest. The air is warm and clean during the summer months, but during the fall and winter, clouds of woodsmoke obscure the sky, casting the town in a gray dusky haze that lasts until spring when hearth fires are no longer necessary. On many nights, a thick fog rolls off the river into the city streets, enveloping Karina in a pale blanket.
The town is divided into two major sectors by Tower Road, a wide cobblestoned street that runs from the clockspire, Goldfinger, to the docks along Front Street. Landmarks of the city and locations used in this adventure are detailed below and clearly marked on the town map for easy reference.
East Karina is a safe, affluent haven in comparison with the western part of town. During the week of Carnival, the sleepy town is transformed into a sprawling chaos of humanity. The normally quiet, cobblestone streets are crowded with people drinking from ale mug, wine glasses, or even directly from the bottle. Sidewalks are cluttered with broken glass and reek of spilled beer. Most Carnival activity takes place between High Road and East Front Street.
1. Vineyards
Extensive vineyards line the steep shores of the river outside the city walls. The neat rows of vines, recently stripped of their grapes, have been decorated with paper lanterns for the festival. The vineyards stand like rows of soldiers around stately manors. Just outside the city walls, few estates have been built along the edge of a 50' cliff, undoubtedly the residences of the most affluent nobility.
The vineyards of Karina are famous for some of the best wines south of Richemulot. As the heroes approach the town, presumably aboard Timothy's Virago, they will sail past several farms and vineyards. One of the estates, known as Cliff House, has been claimed by Gabrielle as her residence for the Carnival. The dark lord's temporary residence is described in the final chapter of the module.
2. Dockyards
The dockyards run the length of East Front Street along the river, crammed with small passenger boats and river craft that are busily unloading visitors and cargo. The street is a confusion of uncertain travelers and heavily-laden porters, doubled over beneath luggage.
This neighborhood will most likely be the heroes' first impression of Karina. Compared with the wide expanse of the river, East Front Street is a claustrophobic bottleneck of hurried people, livestock, and carts. Those strolling along the packed dockyards pass a variety of crowded boarding houses, noisy taverns, and over-priced shops (tobacco, supplies, lumber, etc.) catering to boat owners or travelers.
Docking at Karina is not free. Although berthing fees are normally inexpensive, during Carnival the fee rises to 5 sp for every 10' of keel per day. For Captain Timothy's Virago (a 50' boat) the fee amounts to 50 sp per day. Cargo fees are 5% the market value of imported goods, payable in coinage, barter, or actual cargo. In addition, the harbor master also charges each passenger an admittance toll to the town: 1 sp per unarmed person (unarmed) or 1 gp per armed person.
Nathan Timothy. Unless stated otherwise, Captain Nathan Timothy (featured in Chapter Two) will spend the majority of his time at the dockyards, within close proximity to the water's edge. Because of his curse, he cannot stray more than a hundred yards from the water's edge without experiencing mounting discomfort and weakness (losing 1 hp/hour). He spends his time in Front Street taverns.
Rumors. Timothy recommends the heroes join him at the Dog Fights in he Falkovnian Quarter (Area 9), in his opinion a high point of the festivities. (See Chapter Five for details.) He says they can find him each night at the Black Swan, a disreputable pub on the corner of East Front and Tower Street, at midnight, where he will take them to the Fights.
A number of other stories are circulating the dockyards. The number of fatal "accidents" at the docks have risen dramatically during Carnival. People have been crushed while unloading or transporting cargo. If their memory is properly lubricated, one man whispers that he saw a "boy in black" that frightened him so much that he made a sign against the evil eye.
Event: The Boy in Black
Having long since enthralled his guardians and explored the dreary reaches of Cliff House, the adolescent Malocchio has decided to investigate the Carnival for himself. After teleporting into town," he is wreaking mischief with his evil eye. For now, the Dukkar limits his targets to animals and children.
"LOOK OUT!" a man shouts above the frenzied whinnying of panicked horses. An ale cart, laden with heavy wooden casks, teeters precariously as the bay draft horses rears back, ears folded in terror. As the driver works furiously to control the two horses, one of the casks rolls off back of the cart onto a pair of children playing by the street. With a scream, one boy disappears beneath the cask with a sickening crunch, while his playmate still stares at the cart, paralyzed with terror.
Unless the heroes act immediately, the rest of the casks will soon tumble off the cart, killing both children. With some decisive action, they should be able to drag both children to safety; the child beneath the fallen cask only has a broken leg. Play up the drama and suspense of the scene by threatening the heroes with falling casks from the wine cart; each inflicts 1d6 points of damage. While the children are being dragged to safety, the cordage holding down the casks breaks, showering down 2d10 casks on rescuing heroes with a THACO of 17.
Now that the cart is lighter, the horses suddenly bolt down the street, knocking the driver off his seat into the back of the cart. (Unless the heroes can somehow stop the horses (either by slaying or magically controlling them) they will stampede down the along docks, eventually hurling themselves off the docks and drowning.
Award individual experience point awards (up to 400 XP per character) to heroes that participate in the encounter. Regardless of their actions, however, the heroes are not thanked for any courageous endeavors. The parents scoop of their children with a hostile glare and a spanking, while pedestrians rapidly resume their former activities as if nothing unusual has happened. The shattered casks remain on the street until the town watch arrives to clean up the mess (no questions are asked). The heroes might notice some of the townspeople glaring at them making strange signs with their left hand. Those who accompanied Captain Timothy may have learned these gestures are meant to ward off the evil eye.
Before the heroes resume their earlier activities, they spot Malocchio watching them. He is not at all pleased if they have disturbed his entertainment:
You notice a boy in the crowd, no more than 10 years old, dressed entirely in black velvet with a wide lace collar. He wears dark leather gloves and pointed slippers. The boy is simply standing there, regarding you with a stern, mirthless gaze that stands out starkly against the backdrop of Carnival. A group of revelers rush past him, obscuring the boy in black for a second, and then he is gone.
Malocchio will return to deal with the heroes later. You can foreshadow his return, or remind the heroes of this encounter simply by having them encounter horse-drawn carriages throughout town. Play up the clatter of approaching hoof beats through the crowd, of have them wake up at night to the neighs of horses below their window. If nothing else, these constant remainders of the horse incident should make them unsettled.
Finally, the Dungeon Master can refer to Chapter Eight for Malocchio's game statistics and description.
3. Walls and Towers
Karina proper is embraced by a 15-foot tall curtain wall made from hewn gray limestone, punctuated at hundred yard intervals by narrow bastions, that project out from the wall to offer flanking fire in the event of a siege. The walls are further protected by a 20' wide moat, fed by two meandering streams and by the Noisette River herself. Near the foundations of the walls and towers, the crumbling mortar has been overtaken by seeping, dark green lichen.
Karina's walls are kept in generally good repair considering the fact that the town has not been besieged during the past generation. The town's fortifications were originally erected Bakholis, Invidia's original lord, but after he was murdered by Gabrielle , Karina's walls and moat have served only to keep out prowling monsters.
The Watch. The watch intermittently patrols the long curtain wall, but their vigilance is lax, especially now since most of the guards would prefer to be enjoying the carnival. The wall watch consists of 30 guards (1st level warriors), overseen by three burly sergeants (2nd level warriors). They are equipped with studded leather armor, battle axes, and light crossbows.
The primary function of the watch is to make sure that visitors pay a toll in order to enter the town for the carnival. A pair of guards are stationed at each of main gates, where they charge 1 sp per person (unarmed); 1 gp per person (armed); 1 pp per person (mounted). They also levy a 5% tax on the market value of imported goods, payable in coinage, barter, or actual items. Visitors must pay the toll each time they enter the city, but the import tax is a one-time event.
Rumors. The soldiers that guard the city are quite knowledgeable about the seedier elements of the city and warn the heroes to stay away from West Karina, especially after dark when the Slasher prowls those neighborhoods. In the Maze, the heroes are warned that Scar runs a "tough gang," while Commander Regess in the Falkovnian Quarter administers justice according to his own rules. The soldiers are not willing to discuss anything else with visitors, even for a sizable bribe, but they refer the heroes to the Engineer in Goldfinger (Area 5), who "knows everything."
4. Commons
Crowded cobblestoned streets open into a wide paved plaza, perhaps a hundred yards wide and two hundred long. The plaza has been converted into a grand bazaar and trading area of visiting merchants. Dozens of temporary stalls have been erected in the center of the square, where a variety of merchants, farmers, winemakers, and brewers sell their wares. Although many stalls feature the latest vintage wines from the surrounding countryside, they also contain fruits and vegetables from the autumn harvest: apples, squash, corn, potatoes, and huge turnips are all on display among the myriad of stalls.
The north end of the plaza is dominated by a long building with dozens of high arched windows along its facade.
In front of the hall, a wooden scaffold and gallows have been erected recently, as attested by the fresh unpainted timber and faint smell of sawdust. A long rope lies coiled at the base of stairs leading to the top of the platform, but otherwise the execution site is deserted, except for a few young children playing among the vertical supports beneath the platform.
Although not in the geographic center of town, the Commons is the commercial and administrative nucleus of Karina. The heroes can find just about any kind of foodstuffs or beverages at the open markets at the prices listed in the Player's Handbook. The market square remains active until nightfall, when the center of Carnival activity moves to the Wine Garden (Area 6). By day, the Commons is the heart of the Carnival, and any incidental encounters with the nonplayer characters of this adventure can be staged here.
The town hall at the end of the plaza contains the offices of the town officials and the meeting halls for the guilds. The residents of Karina currently acknowledge Mayor Zachary Beauchamps as their ruler, but like most important public officials, the poor man is hopelessly enthralled by Gabrielle and secretly her fawning slave. For the duration of the holiday, the town hall is closed. (Area 7).
The gallows in front of the town hall is reserved for the last day of the Carnival, in which the convicted criminals from the Citadel will be executed. Most citizens look forward to the hangings as the culmination of the week's entertainment. The Dungeon Master should take time to describe the ominous scaffolding in the midst of the celebration, if only to foreshadow the death and darker elements underlying the festival's merry facade.
Rumors. There is anticipation for the upcoming executions on the Commons; some townspeople mention arriving early for good seats. The prisoners come from the Citadel (Area 7), where they are said to be tortured hideously until their sanity shatters. Persistent questioning can uncover a few rumors on the Commons relating to strange accidents (similar to the wine cart upset described earlier), but the townspeople here are reluctant and frightened to discuss them. If asked about a "boy in black," the locals immediately shut up, make signs against the evil eye, and hurry away.
Event: Matton's Grand Entrance
While wandering through the crowd, the heroes encounter Matton Blanchard and his retainers, returning from their hunt (see Chapter Two):
The crowds around you part abruptly, disgorging a sleek black horse mounted by an extraordinarily handsome noble. In his mid-thirties, he has a long drooping mustache and a scar down his right cheek. He is wearing a hunter's leathers and tail black leather riding boots and a plumed wide-brimmed hat. It is the man you encountered while in the wilderness. He glares down at you from the saddle, hand on the sheathed rapier at his knee, not a glimmer of recognition in his face or voice, only haughty disdain: "Out of my way, you rabble!" Not a glimmer of recognition, only haughty disdain.
In the wake of the mounted nobleman, six exhausted retainers are jogging behind their master's horse, dragged along by a pack of hounds held tightly in reign. The emaciated dogs struggle at their leashes frantically in the direction of the food vendors by the street before one of the retainers lashes them brutally with a leather crop.
The heroes have two choices of action. The simplest (and safest) action is to back off, and allow Matton to pass. After their nocturnal ambush in Chapter Two, the heroes may suspect Matton is a shapechanger and hence may be unwilling to antagonize him openly on the streets, especially when he is supported by underlings. Assuming that they step aside, the noble heads toward the Wine Garden where he takes up residence at the Laughing Maiden.
The heroes will face dire consequences if they attack Matton openly on the streets during Carnival. Not only will they have to face down the pack of vicious hunting dogs, Matton's retainers, and Storm (the war steed), but Matton himself has the height advantage from atop the steed (+2 to hit). If the heroes seem too much for him to handle, Matton simply rides away, leaving his retainers to detain the heroes while he summons the watch (4 1st-level fighters), who arrive within 5d4 rounds and attempt to arrest the heroes. If captured, they may be incarcerated in the citadel (Area 7) until they manage to bribe the warden or escape. In any event, they will have made an enemy of Matton and robbed themselves of a potential source of information later in the adventure.
However much the heroes dislike Matton, unless there is open antagonism between him and the party, he will seek them out in the next chapter, asking for their assistance.
5. Goldfinger
On an unnatural bowl-shaped mound, surrounded by a copse of well-tended shrubbery, a lofty clockspire rises into the sky at the center of Karina. Easily visible from most parts of town, the 60' tower is hewn from polished yellow granite that reflects the golden light at dusk or dawn. Just under the tower's pointed roof, a white clock face stares out at the city, mounted at the center of each wall in the four cardinal directions. The hands and numbers of the clock are painted lustrous black, and every hour it chimes, punctuating the flow of time for the entire city.
Along with the Citadel (Area 7), this clock, called Goldfinger, is a prominent town landmark, essential for visitors navigating a new city. The tower is inhabited by the Engineer, an antisocial wizard with a fascination for machines. The Engineer is a wizened and self-absorbed wizard, thoroughly devoted to the creation of intricate magically-powered mechanical devices. He is utterly dependent upon an ear-horn (he is half deaf from living in the clocktower) and spectacles (he is near-blind from staring at tiny mechanisms). His only volume of speech is a shout. The wizard is alone in his tower, except for a small army of mechanical creations. The basement of the tower contains a huge workshop containing his latest invention, a mechanical golem (see the Monstrous Compendium: RAVENLOFT Appendix. The golem is nearly completed, and the Engineer is rushing to finish the device for the end of Carnival, when he plans to donate the contraption for the defense of the city. The Dungeon Master can expand the Engineer and his mechanical golem into an interesting side adventure, if desired. The Engineer should be at least 9th level, and may be developed into an interesting tutor for a visiting wizard to the city.
Rumors. The Engineer is as much of a landmark in Karina as Goldfinger. He has either donated or sold all of the clocks available in Karina, either on a mercurial whim, or to finance one of his latest researches. Although he is well-known and admired throughout town, most citizens give Goldfinger wide berth, for those living nearby have reported hearing frightening rumbles emanating from the base of the tower. Contrary to most rumors, the Engineer does not know "everything;" in fact, he cares for very little aside from magic and machines. He lives in a mechanistic bubble, effectively insulated from the rest of the world.
6. Wine Garden
The streets leading east to the Wine Garden and Brewery Street are filled with revelers, open shops, outdoor cafes, corner entertainers, and ale stalls. The Garden itself is a crowded narrow plaza, a chaotic jumble of tables and chairs. At the west end of the plaza, on a raised stage, a brass band plays cheerful vignettes, while a great mass of drunken dancers stumble around in front of them. The Garden is lined with six large taverns, each packed with customers enjoying the Carnival.
The Wine Garden is the town's entertainment center, remaining active throughout most of the night. Most of the town's best taverns can be found along this plaza, or along nearby avenues, such as Brewery Street to the north. The six taverns on the Garden (the Silver Star, the Laughing Maiden, the Clock's Tick, the Golden Fields, the Raven's Roost, and the Shield & Boar) are each supported by an individual winery or brewery, so that the wines and ales at each of the houses are distinctly different.
Among the exotic, if expensive, beverages available in the Wine Garden are: Ambered (an aromatic golden wine), Glum Wine (a mellow red), Setarn (a delicate white wine), Shriek (a tart, brash red wine), Billy Goat (a musky beer), and Sharp (the local ale).
Entertainers. The Garden is a stage for some of the Carnival's finest entertainment. Minstrels, small bands, mimes, jugglers, jesters, puppeteers, and acrobats from all across the Core can be found in the streets near the Wine Garden. Those seeking to gamble will find numerous opportunities to lighten their purse at the card and dice games in the taverns.
Matton. The wolfwere takes up residence in the Laughing Maiden. If the heroes spend any time in the Wine Garden, Matton will notice them; he has gathered some small information about Gabrielle, and has gotten the impression that she is being held isolated in one of the manor houses around town. He is wrong, of course, but he thinks it is the Gentleman Caller who is keeping her from attending the Carnival, which, he knows, is one of her favorite times in Karina. Assuming they did not attack him in the Commons, Matton offers to pay each hero 5 gp a day if they will attempt to locate Gabrielle for him, and then assist in expelling the evil man from her presence. He will tell the heroes the full tale of the succubus' appearance at Loupet, but leave out the fact that he himself is a wolfwere. (This tale may sound familiar if the heroes have already encountered the Zarovan, as described in the next chapter.)
Finally, Matton asks the heroes accompany him to the Dog Fights that evening so he can learn more information. He asks that they meet him at the Laughing Maiden before midnight on the day they speak with him.
Rumors. Crammed with drunken visitors from nearby cities, the taverns are an excellent place to learn about the lore of the Demiplane. Because of the festive occasion, however, none of the visitors will want to discuss the negative aspects about their home; a merchant from Barovia, for instance, might talk dreamily about the dawn rising over the mountains, about his estate's lovely forests, or about the beauty of his hometown, sooner than he would mention any of Strahd's depredations. Although it is easy to learn about distant domains from travelers, gleaning rumors about Karina is much more difficult, since many of the townspeople prefer to stay indoors until after the Carnival madness has ended.
Event: Invitation to Dance
As the heroes are in the Wine Garden, either here because of Matton or just wandering through, (but prior to him asking them for aid), they happen upon Gabrielle Aderre, who is attending the wedding reception of Dieter and Ingrid Zimmermann under the guise of "Frau Braun," one of Dieter's widowed cousins. The celebration is taking place at tables outside the Silver Star, which is right next door to the Laughing Maiden. The reception proceeds normally until the toasting ceremony, when each family member must toast the newly married couple.
A man called Gustav, the brother to the bride, is called upon to give a toast. Instead, the angry man splashes wine in his brother-in-law's face, calling him a cheat and a scoundrel for bringing dishonor his sister's name. He challenges the groom to a duel on the spot. The bride faints. Seconds later, the groom's father is on his feet, shouting for his son Dieter to avenge the insult. While Dieter and Gustav prepare for combat, the tables are being swept aside to make room for fighting. Most of the wedding party is watching the enfolding events in stunned silence, as a crowd of curious onlookers starts to gather around the perimeter of the fighting area.
The heroes are watching the fruits of Gabrielle's cruel manipulations. For weeks prior to the wedding, she has had affairs with both Gustav and Dieter, and on the morning of the wedding, she arranged for Gustav to catch her and Dieter during a secret rendezvous. Later, she confronted Gustav and told an elaborate lie about how Dieter had forced himself upon her, while laughing about the ignorance of Ingrid. She gave Gustav a poison with which to treat his blade, and thus avenge both women with one swordthrust.
Unless the heroes intervene, the encounter proceeds like the final scene of Hamlet. Armed with the poison given to him by Gabrielle, Gustav envenoms his blade and stabs Dieter during the first few rounds of combat. Dieter then disarms Gustav, and uses the poisoned sword to stab Gustav, who stops fighting to reveal its poisoned nature. Meanwhile, Frau Braun has vanished without a trace.
As the fight is unfolding, Gabrielle has already moved on to her next prey: the male player character with the highest charisma, having been drawn to this handsome, foreign male in the crowd. She approaches him, the illusion of Frau Braun dropped, revealing her true self. She is wearing a simple, yet elegant dress and a veil across her face, like many other women at the Carnival. She will feign horror at the brutality and will play the shrinking violet. Should the hero seem receptive to this routine, she will charm him with her evil eye, and will then begin to accompany the party during its wanderings in Karina. (The Dungeon Master may tell the player his character has been charmed, if he wishes, but should ideally just try to impress upon the player how sympathetic and vulnerable this small woman seems to him.)
Once Gabrielle discovers Raul is with the party, she will do her utmost to poison the hero against the smith, using twisted lies based on the truths of her background, claiming that Vistanis kidnapped her as a child and sold her to Bakholis, the former overlord of Invidia. At some point, she will react with horror to a burly fighter in the crowd, who is walking with a fetching beauty on his arm. She will faint into the arms of the charmed hero, and when she comes to will exclaim that the man was Bakholis' former slavemaster. She urges the heroes to free that poor woman from his fiendish hands. The charmed hero will be all for such a noble quest, and will do his utmost to convince the rest of the heroes to support him.
The fighter is, in fact, Radu Gerdanok, one of the few local nobles who has not fallen to Gabrielle's evil eye (he is a 9th-level fighter with traces of Vistani blood). He was recently reunited with his wife, and now Gabrielle wants the heroes to slay this "abominable monster."
The particulars of how this develops is entirely determined by the heroes actions, but any rash attacks on Radu will either result in their deaths or on their being locked away in the Citadel (Area 7). If they attempt to learn more about Radu, they will find that he was one of the few who dared oppose Bakholis. Whatever the result, Gabrielle will have vanished when events have run their course, leaving behind only a handkerchief dappled with blood. (She hopes the heroes will think she has been kidnapped.)
7. The Citadel
A dilapidated castle broods on a small hill overlooking Karina. The town walls ride up the hill to kiss the perimeter of the citadel, but the castle stands apart from the town's fortifications, a self-contained stronghold guarding the northern-eastern approach to Karina. Although the castle's outer walls and towers appear solid, some of the inner buildings are in serious disrepair.
The Citadel was once an important administrative center for Baron Bakholis, Invidia's previous lord. Bakholis resided primarily in Loupet, and the castle and town were administered by his chief steward, Manfred Taige. When news of Bakholis's murder reached Karina, the garrison revolted against the steward. During the uprising, Taige and his supporters were cornered in the great hall. Rather than fighting the steward any longer, the revolutionaries sealed all the exits and set fire to the hall. The fire spread to engulf the entire north wing of the castle. Over the years, attempts have been made to renovate the north wing, but a number of strange and deadly accidents (caused by the ghost of Taige) quickly stops all progress.
The south wing of the castle currently houses the barracks and offices for the wall watch, administered by Captain Johannes Van Deusen, a cherry-cheeked, bulbnosed drunkard and buffoon (and a 3rd-level fighter). The castle rarely houses more than 20 offduty guards (1st-level warriors). Less than a dozen watch the gates and patrol the castle walls. The guards carefully avoid the North Wing.
Most of the castle towers serve as storerooms, containing provisions in the event of a siege, but the towers along the north wing have been converted into a prison. By day, the prisoners are guarded by a pair of soldiers, but none of the guards dare to watch over the prisoners at night. The prison towers contain over 30 inmates, most serving sentences for some sort of violent crime. The seven worst offenders (murderers, mostly) are scheduled to be hanged at the end of the Carnival, but the condemned are envied by the remaining prisoners, for they at least leave the prison.
Those who remain must still hear the tortured screams and pleadings that echo through the north wing, and endure glimpses of flame-ravaged specters. Not surprisingly, few of the inmates have a firm hold on their sanity.
The heroes are unlikely to visit the citadel, unless they commit a crime. Even if they are incarcerated, the heroes can be ransomed if they provide a suitable bribe to Van Deusen. The warden, however, makes certain that prisoners experience the terrors of the North Wing for at least one night before approaching them for a bribe; he has found that the prisoners are more amenable to negotiation after listening to the chilling screams.
Rumors. The citadel has a nasty reputation in town, and its warden is known to be a drunken fool who dotes on bribes. The prisoners are rumored to be tortured to the point of insanity, but this results more from the haunting than any actions taken by the guards. There are also stories that the citadel's old treasury was located in the haunted North Wing, but foolhardy adventurers who have managed to bribe the warden for a search permit (and a cut of the loot) have fled the castle dungeons screaming, their sanity quite shattered. Still, legends about the treasure persist, and this Carnival will find its share of fools willing to risk their lives for it.
The prisoners are well aware of the ghastly spirits haunting the North Wing. Many landed in jail as a result of the "Witch of Loupet" and are guilty of crimes of passion committed while under the influence of her evil eye.
West of Tower Road lies Karina's most dangerous neighborhoods, including the Maze, the Falkovnian Quarter, and the Warehouse District. These areas are noted for their dirty, narrow streets, poorhouses, dilapidated buildings, and locked storage buildings. After dark, townspeople stay indoors in West Karina, for madmen, murderers, cruel Falkovnian soldiers, and more twisted beings slink through the clammy, dark streets.
8. The Maze
This seedy neighborhood is noted for its twisting, shadowed alleys which shelter the town's ruffians, ladies of the night, cut purses, and beggars. By day, the alleys are littered with garbage and the stink of human excrement. Starved animals and other vermin pick through the refuse and wander aimlessly amid the ruins of deserted buildings.
By night, packs of diseased wild dogs prowl the twisted streets, challenging or attacking anyone who enters their territory. Anyone bitten by one of these dogs must make a successful saving throw vs. poison or become infected with a debilitating disease, as described under the entry for the priest spell cure disease in the Player's Handbook.
Wild Dogs (4-16): INT Semi- (3); AL N; AC 7; MV 15; HD 1+1; hp 2-9; THACO 19; #AT 1; Dmg: 1d4+ Disease; SA: Disease; SZ S; ML 6; MM/57; XP 65.Scar's Band. The attic of a deserted building in the Maze serves as an informal base for Karina's small thieves' guild, which is run by "Scar" Tabor, a greedy darkling. Scar and his band of eight accomplices meets every night to discuss their daily exploits of robbing or murdering Carnival celebrants. Scar arranges to punish visiting thieves who do not pay "tribute" to work in Karina during the festival.
A Vistana, Tabor was banished for murdering his elder brother. His mother accused him of the heinous crime and brought him before the raunie, a female tribal leader, for judgment. Placing an obsidian knife in his palm, the raunie asked Tabor to confess, but the arrogant Vistana denied the accusations. But the black blade burned his hand, proclaiming his guilt to all. From that day forward, Tabor was an exile and a darkling, a former Vistana with a black heart.
Tabor is a gaunt man in his mid-thirties, with olive skin, soulless eyes, and long black hair woven in a flowing braid. He wears brown, threadbare clothing over leather armor, but the folds of his shirt conceal four throwing daggers, each envenomed with a foul poison (type E, injected, death/20). Tabor also carries the vishnadd blade, the dagger of judgment that proclaimed his guilt. This blade is also poisoned. In a shirt pocket, he conceals a potion of healing in clear crystal vials. He wears a magical belt that elongates into a rope of climbing upon command. Tabor also wears dark woolen gloves to cover his hands, which were colored dark red on the day of vishnadd, forever labeling him as Kinslayer to all Vistani. His right palm is crossed by a long black scar, where the vishnadd blade marked him forever.
The darkling is described in the RAVENLOFT Monstrous Compendium Appendix, but a brief overview of his powers is given below. Tabor has the power of foreseeing. He is never surprised and makes all his saving throws automatically. He also retains the powers of the evil eye, which in Tabor manifests as a strike of paralyzing fear into the hearts of his enemies (the victim must make an evil eye check or be paralyzed with fear for 1d4+1 rounds). Highly intelligent and driven by his hatred of the Vistani, Tabor can serve a minor nemesis for the adventure.
Rumors. Those seeking information in the Maze will be referred to Scar, who meets the inquisitive heroes at the Pale Rose, a squalid bar beneath a house of ill-repute. The Pale Rose has five bouncers (2nd-level fighters) to keep order, and Scar is accompanied by a few of his gang members, who mingle unobtrusively with the bar crowd for added protection.
Scar is willing to sell any of the rumors detailed for Areas 1-7 for more than the heroes can afford. However, if they help him perform a heist the evening they approach him, he will tell them whatever they want to know about the city in exchange for their take of the treasure. If they are interested, he asks them to meet him at the Pale Rose just after Goldfinger has tolled midnight.
9. The Falkovnian Quarter
This tense, orderly neighborhood is bordered by Bog Street to the south and by the Maze to the north. Infrequent pedestrians rush quickly down the clean cobblestoned streets, their eyes fixed determinedly on the road before them. Iron bars and sturdy shutters cover all the windows of buildings in this neighborhood. Curiously, the neighborhood is untouched by the Carnival, and there are no sign of revelry.
The quarter is a small "colony" established by a trio of wealthy Falkovnian wine merchants under the direction of Commander Regess, who dispenses justice to those within "his" quarter according to their own brutal laws (the Dungeon Master is referred to the RAVENLOFT Campaign Setting for details on Falkovnian society).
Less than a hundred Falkovnians have permission to live in Karina and they keep mostly to themselves, rarely leaving their own neighborhood except to shop in the town market. Most of the immigrants are the family and slaves of the merchants, but a platoon of Falkovnian soldiers is also stationed here.
As the appointed leader of the Falkovnian community, Regess arranges regular patrols of the houses and warehouses maintained in the quarter. The patrols dispense swift military "justice" on the spot to apprehended offenders within the neighborhood.
The Commander's Residence. Commander Anton Regess lives in a small walled townhouse with four domestic slaves and a bodyguard of six soldiers. Regess is noted for his taste of brutality, and his greed, and entertains all manner of visitors who would like to benefit from his protection (the Falkovnians make a much more effective police than the local watch). His townhouse is scattered with a number of expensive presents from local merchants wishing Regess to extend his patrols to watch over their warehouses. Regess is also allied with a band of werewolves, who rent space in his neighborhood for the "Dog Fights" during Carnival Season (see Chapter Five). The townhouse basement contains an interrogation and torture chamber.
Like all Falkovnians, Regess' most striking feature is the branded hawk on his forehead, symbol of ownership by the State. His hair has been cropped short, military style, and his steel gray eyes show no evidence of emotion. He wears polished plate mail, engraved with hawk symbols that echo the brand on his forehead. Since the Midnight Slasher has already made one attempt on his life, Regess carries several weapons. His bastard sword +2, named Windower, has a golden eagle pommel with a brilliant emerald in its beak (1,000 gp).
Rumors. Congregating on the streets of the Falkovnian Quarter is a crime, and no one will stop to talk with the heroes for fear of public whipping or worse punishments if apprehended. There are no taverns in the quarter for heroes to visit, either.
If the heroes seek an audience with Regess, they find him cordial but strict, and a good source of information about Falkovnia. He is not knowledgeable about Karina or Invidia. However, he does know about the Midnight Slasher whom he both fears and hates with a passion. Regess asks the heroes if they would be willing to help him eliminate the Slasher, who has been murdering his soldiers and has threatened his life on more than one occasion. He invites the heroes to meet him at a later time to discuss terms of employment. (If the Slasher survives this adventure, the Dungeon Master might wish to develop an adventure in which the heroes hunt the brutal killer.)
10. The Warehouse District
Unlike the rest of town, this neighborhood has no homes or shopping areas: it is devoted entirely to tall imposing storage buildings. The district is a quiet, lonely place, even during Carnival. Its empty streets are littered with empty crates and broken casks, home to stray animals and a few deranged beggars.
One of the oldest parts of town, this district stretches between Bog Street and West Front Street. The town watch makes regular patrols of the streets, but most merchants hire private guards, wizards, or adventurers to watch over their wares. Some of the warehouses, especially those along West Front Street, are quite old. They were built on extensive stone foundations, riddled with countless subterranean vaults and secret storage chambers. Many of the underground rooms are now forgotten by the warehouse's current tenants.
The Slasher. A hidden underground chambers beneath East Front Street are the secret home of a dangerous murderer known as the Midnight Slasher. This serial killer is detailed fully in the RAVENLOFT Monstrous Compendium Appendix II (2139), but enough information is given in Chapter Eight, "Dramatis Personae" to allow effective use of the character for this adventure.
On cold foggy, nights, the Slasher roams the streets of Invidia, enveloped in darkness, silent as a shadow. The murderer strikes anywhere in the city, but usually stalks in the slums of West Karina. The Slasher is a sworn enemy of Commander Regess, but attempts to eliminate the sadistic Falkovnian have ended in failure. The Midnight Slasher is driven by an insane rage at any who would disrupt family life or hurt children.
A Dungeon Master who plans to introduce the Midnight Slasher into the adventure must be very careful. If the Slasher is presented simply as an insane killing machine leaving a trail of gore in his wake, then the atmosphere of horror will have been destroyed. Instead, the Slasher should be portrayed as a frightening, mysterious stalker.
Rumors. There are few people in the warehouse district to question, except the few scattered beggars who shelter in abandoned buildings. Most are deranged escaped convicts from the Citadel, who mutter about the "Angel of Darkness." There is nothing that the heroes can learn from the warehouse district's inhabitants.
At some point after they arrive in Karina, the heroes attract the notice of the Zarovan Vistani. This mysterious tribe initiates contact with them, as described in the next chapter, and this will both put them on a path to have their curses lifted, as well as a collision course with the Dukkar.
Meanwhile, Gabrielle learns of Malocchio's exploits in town (possibly even after playing wicked games with the heroes), and returns home to punish her disobedient child. She arrives at Cliff House to find herself a prisoner, captured by the bodyguards who have been enthralled by her son. After a brief battle (some of Gabrielle's allies were willing to defend her), the witch was locked in the manor's basement until Malocchio can decide her fate. He returns to town, and if the heroes have not yet been to visit the Zarovan, they will become the soul targets of his growing power.
In the course of their time in Karina, the heroes must have received at least one invitation to attend the mysterious Dog Fights which take place in the Falkovnian Quarter after midnight on each day of the Carnival. This event will provide them with more information about the Dukkar.
Once the heroes have finished all their business in Karina, the Dungeon Master should award them each up to 500 XP, based on their curiosity and handling of the various role-playing encounters.
