The Tome of Strahd

History of the Tome


Ezmerelda d’Avenir found her way into Barovia recently after seeking her old mentor, Rudolph van Richten, a fabled vampire hunter. She ended up in the village of Barovia and before she could get her bearings, saw an important looking man walking the street, clad in armor. The man was Strahd, and she tailed him for a time. He left a scroll case on a porch behind a potted plant. Ezmerelda got closer and saw all the signs he was a vampire, and in a split decision, decided to take the scroll case. She managed to get away with it. When she opened it, a letter was rolled up inside:


"Teneborous,

I am on my way to Vallaki at this present moment. I have decided to leave this letter for you before I leave. This latest adventuring party has me intrigued. Seems like fate herself has involved some larger players this time. Regardless, I have a favor to ask. My journal resides in my desk, found in my study. It lies in the fourth drawer down, which will only open after you speak its passcode: “Endaril.”

Once you have found it, I would kindly ask that you have it moved to the Amber Temple. If you open it, I will know. I no longer trust those who were closest to me so long ago to complete this task, and so it comes to you. If the wrong hands were to find this journal, it would greatly displease me.

With Highest Regard,

Strahd von Zarovich."

tome of strahd

After reading this letter, Ezmerelda realized the gravity of the situation she’d managed to find herself in and decided to double down. She made for the Castle in the distance, of which was surprisingly empty but for a few animated armors who had not noticed her. She found the Tome of Strahd, and made haste to get away with it. She ran as fast as she could, found a cart and a horse to steal, and made off with the Tome. Unfortunately, she opened it, and she was marked. After nearly being ambushed by a group of Strahd’s thralls, she managed to get on her cart and make for the horizon. They chased her till she ditched the cart off a cliff. She was saved by Cassidy and Aptori. By the morning, she had found herself in Krezk, holed up with the Tome.



Studying the Tome

Studying the tome requires the following steps to be taken:


- Select a page from the tome, usually based on Ezmerelda's notes, which will help with finding something relevant to current interests.

- Spend 4 hours studying the chosen page.

- Roll an Investigation check against the page's given difficulty class. This will vary greatly between different pages.

- If the party isn't taking countermeasures against detection or scrying over this time period, roll a d20 and disclose the result with the dungeon master privately via DMs.

- If the party fails a check, the difficulty class for that page is dropped by 5 for the next check made on that specific page.



Ezmerelda's Notes

Ezmerelda’s main contribution to the Tome of Strahd is a set of notes detailing what can generally be expected from decoding each page, although some pages are totally unknown. Some pages can be read immediately, and their contents are listed at the bottom of this webpage. Following this summary of the Tome's effects is a table that shows Ezmerelda's notes about the contents of each page in the tome, and the difficulty of each page's ciphers.




Page Number Ezmerelda's Remarks Notes on Difficulty DC
1 How Strahd came to Barovia Simple. See my attached notes. Deciphered
2 First love? Unsure if relevant. Same as page 1. Deciphered
3 Some sort of "pact"... might be important. This one has been decoded, but the result scratched out. Looks difficult. 20
4 Are those tears on the page? Almost there. Just missing one little bit. The next page is more interesting anyhow. 15
5 Strahd's weaknesses… seems of high importance. Very difficult, barely made a dent. Still a lot to go. 25
6 "Heart"? Probably whineing about that dead girl again. Strangely well-encrypted. Leaving it for now. 25
7 Two pictures of the same woman in different outfits. Looks easy, but I don't care about the dead girl. I want weaknesses. 15, or page 19 deciphered.
8 A diagram featuring a ghost, a loom, and an hourglass. Odd. The ghost is circled… Similar difficulty to page 7. I'll get around to it. 15
9 The handwriting looks... sad? Is that possible? Not the worst, still a headache. 15
10 Another picture of the same woman. Get over it! Easy, but don't have time for this right now. 10
11 Mentions "succession." Is he going to abdicate?? Surely not. Half-done. Not much left. 10
12 Notes on the Vistani and that woman again. Easy enough that I did it in my head! Didn't bother writing it down here. 10
13 There are hags here? Better avoid them. Another freebie. Good mental exercise! 10, or page 22 deciphered.
14 What's an "Exo Thinner"? Or maybe "Exit... something?" Not sure. Very difficult. Puzzling. 25
15 Who is ‘Yahel?’ And they’re keeping information from Strahd…? Difficult... 20, or the ability to read Celestial.
16 Trust no one. I am erasing my notes on this and keeping the tome hidden until I can resolve what I have discovered. ??? 20
17 His obsession with this girl… No deciphering needed. Just more behavior from a stalker. Deciphered
18 ??? This cipher is up there with page 6. I have no idea. 25
19 The writing seems jagged. That woman again? Maybe I should read these ones. Same cipher as page 7. 15, or page 7 deciphered.
20 He can see the future?? That is highly dreadful. Deciphered - notes attached. Deciphered
21 Is Monday a name? I'm stumped. 20
22 Seems like those wild druids have a boss. Lazily done. Same cipher as page 13. 10, or page 13 deciphered.
23 I think this is just one word... but why? A password? Incredibly difficult. 30
24 I've got "avenge," "silver," and "mansion." Not too bad. Will have a crack soon. 15
25 The ink on this one is fresh. Just a note about some creature on Mt Ghakis. Deciphered easily. Deciphered.
A1 Looks like a bunch of first level spells. Damn I hate wizards. Don't trust em. Trivial Deciphered.
A2 More spells. Hard to read. Frankly, I don't care. Not too bad. 15
A3 Haven't read it, more spells. Headache. 20
A4 You do the math. Spells. Higher level, I'm guessing. Nightmare. 25
A5 No clue but probably spells. Hardest cipher in the gods-damned book. 30


Deciphered Pages

Page 1

My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past, and so I record them here, even if just for myself. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god. My army settled in the valley, which I named after my father, the good King Barov. I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft, which I named for my deceased mother, Queen Ravenovia van Royen. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I loved him for both. I hated him for both.

Page 17

Tatyana… why did you run? (The rest of the page is empty but for drawings of Tatyana, who looks distinctly akin to Ireena Kolyana).

Page 25

The great crystal of Mount Ghakis remains dangerous as ever. I am thankful, I suppose, that it serves its purpose in guarding the mountains of Tsolenka Pass. If I could tame it then I wouldn’t need any guards for the Amber Temple therein.

Page 2

From the families of the valley, one spirit shone above all others. A rare beauty, who was called “perfection,” “joy,” and “treasure.” Her name was Tatyana and I longed for her to be mine. I loved her with all my heart. I loved her for her youth. I loved her for her joy. But she spurned me! “Old One” was my name to her – “elder” and “brother” also. Her heart went to Sergei. They were betrothed. The date was set.

Page 20

Khazan's ambitions will finally claim her, it seems. The Dark Powers never share their gifts easily. Her mind would have been better used in the castle. Her body will lay still upon the tower’s floor. I have seen this in my dreams. Perhaps this band of adventurers has more to offer than I anticipated.

Appendix 1

- Comprehend Languages
- Sleep
- Fog Cloud
- Shield
- Absorb Elements
- Disguise Self
- Silent Image
- Identify
- Mage Armor