The Land of Barovia



''In D&D lore, Barovia is a mountain valley within the fictional Balinok mountains. The terrain is densely wooded and the climate is one of frigid winters. The valley hosts a small village (also named Barovia), over which looms Castle Ravenloft, ancestral seat of vampire ruler Count Strahd von Zarovich. The location is loosely based on the real world Transylvania.''

In DDO, The Land of Barovia is a Wilderness Adventure Area introduced with the Mists of Ravenloft expansion. Two variants exist, heroic (level 10) and legendary (level 30).

Accessing the area

 * To access the area for the first time, you must first complete Into the Mists introductory quest located in House Jorasco or Eveningstar.
 * Once you complete the quest, you can enter the wilderness directly from House Jorasco or Eveningstar.

Alternatively, Bottle of Mist, exclusively available with Mists of Ravenloft ultimate bundle, allows to teleport to Barovia from any location:
 * If you have not run Into the Mists, you teleport to House Jorasco.
 * If you have completed the introductory quests, you teleport to the Blood on the Vine Tavern in Barovia.

Public areas and quests
There are three small public area hubs within Barovia. Each hub has a separate story arc with 3-4 quests.

Village of Barovia

 * Tobar the Smith at the wagon on the east side of town, next to the road from the gate to the village.
 * Chapel on west side of town sometimes has vampire Doru in cellar with chest if you kill him.
 * Magdelena the Curious - Death House / Death House Vector
 * Blood on the Vine Tavern
 * Velimir the Frugal - Banker
 * Seraz, Traveling Merchant
 * Arik Lorensk, Barkeep
 * Shrine of the Morninglord - Spirit Binder(Altar)
 * Livius Lanston - Heroic Saga
 * Lavinia Lanston - Epic Saga
 * Ireena Kolyana - bestows the story arc "In the Shadow of the Castle"
 * Ismark Kolyanovich - An Invitation to Dinner quest giver
 * Rudolph van Richten - The Curse of Strahd raid
 * Exit table for return to House Jorasco, Eveningstar, or your Guild Ship (if you are in a guild).
 * Vistani guide inside the Tavern who can teleport to nearby areas

Town of Vallaki

 * Jirko Lukresh - A Mad Tea Party / Wachterhaus
 * Blue Water Inn
 * Thoman Silverthumb Banker
 * Seraz, Traveling Merchant
 * Shrine of the Morninglord - Spirit Binder(Altar)
 * Mora Swilova - Hireling Vendor
 * Raam Lukresh - Heroic Treasure Vendor (Vistani Talismans)
 * Osah Lukresh - Epic Treasure Vendor (Vistani Totems)
 * Rudolph van Richten(Vampire Hunter) bestows Story Arc "Vampire Hunters"
 * Urwin Martikov Keepers of the Feather Patron - gives favor rewards.
 * Adrian Martikov - Old Baba's Hut - Raid Quest giver
 * Danica Martikov - Barkeep
 * Exit table for return to House Jorasco or Eveningstar
 * Vistani guide inside Inn who can teleport to nearby areas

Van Richten's Tower

 * Perislav Karamov - Banker
 * Seraz, Traveling Merchant
 * Shrine of the Morninglord - Spirit Binder(Altar)
 * Ezmerelda D'Avenir (vampire hunter) bestows The Light of the Land story arc
 * Exit table for return to House Jorasco or Eveningstar
 * Vistani guide inside Tower who can teleport to nearby areas
 * Wagon on lakeshore has chest which can be unlocked with 3 crests, found at various 'mausoleums' or stone cairns located around or even in the lake (see map for locations)

Quest givers located in the wilderness:
 * Oksana Cantemir - A Raven at the Door / Castle Ravenloft, Servant's Door
 * Aglaya Karushkin - Fresh-baked Dreams / Old Bonegrinder
 * Zigmund Kovalev - Oath of Vengeance / Argynvostholt
 * Davian Martikov - The Final Vintage / The Wizard of Wines
 * Ireena Kolyana - Sunrise / The Abbey of Saint Markovia
 * Muriel Vinshaw - Ravens' Bane / The Ruins of Berez
 * Kasimir Velikov - Sealed in Amber / The Amber Temple
 * Grilsha Targolova - Wrath of the Earth / Yester Hill

Wilderness encounters
These often appear at the same spawn points as 'rare' encounters, but do not give XP. Chests from these encounters will include Vistani Talismans/Totems and sometimes Sentient Filigrees.
 * Mysterious Mist - Transports you to a random location in Barovia
 * Shrines - Either working shrines or disappear and replaced by shadows that leave a chest when slain
 * Vistani tale teller - Listen to the entire tale of Strahd for a chest
 * Danika Martikov - Kill the scarecrows that appear for a chest
 * Wachterhous cultists sacrificing woman (Victoria Lukresh) to summon demons - Kill them for a chest
 * Barovian Witch with Dretches - Kill to unlock chest
 * Zombie horde - Kill waves of Strahd Zombies and Crawling Claws (almost 100 with a full party) for a chest
 * Furious Berserker - Asks for your help, then attacks with two friends. Kill for a chest.
 * Roving Flesh Golem - Kill Frankenstein's monster (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and the pitchfork-and-torch-wielding villagers will reward you with a chest.
 * Cocoon-like pillar - Turns into altar with attack or defense boost, Crawling Claws, or Spiders when you approach
 * Vistani - Transport you to random location if you pay them, otherwise attack
 * Woodsmen and Forest Trappers - Ask about your silver weapons. They do not attack if you say you have none.
 * Revenant fighting worgs - Joins you if asked
 * Slaughtered wagon group with breakables - Sometimes guarded by phantom warriors
 * Circle of dead ravens - Scarecrows appear and attack
 * Adventurer's Pack next to body and ravens - May give collectible or Crawling Claws
 * Altar with attack or defense boost. You don't lose the buff, if you enter a quest from the wilderness.
 * Bear traps
 * Pressure plates
 * Wooden planks with unkillable rats

Rare Encounters

 * Slay Oleg Lipsiege - Phantom Warrior
 * Vanquish Adrim Terrastar, Vampire Spawn
 * Dismantle Strahd's Animated Armor
 * Slay Echo of Vasily Drazkoi, Flameskull [Southwest of Castle Ravenloft or south of Barovia, near Oleg Lipsiege]
 * Slay Ravenbane, Scarecrow [Northeast of Castle Ravenloft]
 * Slay Rootrot, Shambling Mound
 * Slay Darkshard of Limbo, Death Slaad
 * Slay Vyizm Krulgyr, Vargouille
 * Vanquish Magda Meatcarver, Barovian Witch
 * Rid Barovia of the Lich Sovan Soulstealer
 * Slay Kiril Stoyanovich, Werewolf Pack Leader
 * Slay Cebruvass, Mind Flayer Arcanist
 * Slay Boris Targolov, Yester Hill Druid
 * Slay Hans Ulbrek, Wachterhaus Cultist [Northeast of the Wizard of Wines]
 * Slay Zalken's Monster, Flesh Golem

XP per encounter:

Bonus XP for solving all encounters:

Carnival Exhibit
Found this in the Land of Barovia (Epic) wilderness. South of van Richten's Tower across the water, there is a Vistani cart that has a stone sarcophagus falling out of the back. It has three crest sockets: bat, wolf and snake. The placement of the crests within the nearby wilderness is random. They can be at any one of the small tombs around the lake, a bit east and west and along the river, even inside the water. Placing the three crests in the sockets opens the sarcophagus and releases Carnival Exhibit. This event is not worth XP and does not count as a Rare encounter, since it is always there, but it does have a chest.

Journal
Note: Each journal can randomly spawn in one of three locations most often on top of a stone or brick.

Strahd's Journal
XP per discovery:

Bonus XP for discovering all:

1st to 15th


 * I am the Ancient. I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just.
 * I am the Ancient. I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just.


 * I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god. But the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.
 * I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god. But the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.


 * All goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god's grace and justice.
 * All goodness slipped from my life. I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power over the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god's grace and justice.


 * I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.
 * I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.


 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.


 * With words she called me "brother," but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name--"death." It was the death of the aged that she saw in me.  She loved her youth and enjoyed it.  But I had squandered mine.
 * With words she called me "brother," but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name--"death." It was the death of the aged that she saw in me.  She loved her youth and enjoyed it.  But I had squandered mine.


 * The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to hate death - my death. My hate is very strong. I would not be called "death" so soon. I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood.
 * The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to hate death - my death. My hate is very strong. I would not be called "death" so soon. I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with his blood.


 * I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the chapel. She fled from me.  She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled in me.  She had to understand the pact I made for her.
 * I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the chapel. She fled from me.  She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled in me.  She had to understand the pact I made for her.


 * I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft, and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.  It was a thousand feet through the mists.  No trace of her was ever found.  Not even I know her final fate.
 * I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft, and I watched everything I ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.  It was a thousand feet through the mists.  No trace of her was ever found.  Not even I know her final fate.


 * Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul. But I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.
 * Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul. But I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.


 * I have studied much since then. "Vampyr" is my new name. I still lust for life and youth, and I curse the living that took them from me. Even the sun is against me.
 * I have studied much since then. "Vampyr" is my new name. I still lust for life and youth, and I curse the living that took them from me. Even the sun is against me.


 * It is the sun and the light I fear the most, but little else can harm me now. Even a stake through the heart does not kill me, though it holds me from movement.  But the sword, that cursed sword that Sergei brought!  I must dispose of that awful tool!  I fear and hate it as much as the sun.
 * It is the sun and the light I fear the most, but little else can harm me now. Even a stake through the heart does not kill me, though it holds me from movement.  But the sword, that cursed sword that Sergei brought!  I must dispose of that awful tool!  I fear and hate it as much as the sun.


 * I have often hunted for Tatyana. I have even felt her within my grasp, but she escapes. She taunts me! What will it take to bend her love to me?
 * I have often hunted for Tatyana. I have even felt her within my grasp, but she escapes. She taunts me! What will it take to bend her love to me?


 * I now reside far below Ravenloft. I live among the dead and sleep beneath the very stones of this hollow castle of despair. I shall seal shut the walls of the stairs that none may disturb me.
 * I now reside far below Ravenloft. I live among the dead and sleep beneath the very stones of this hollow castle of despair. I shall seal shut the walls of the stairs that none may disturb me.

Tatyana's Journal
XP per discovery:

Bonus XP for discovering all:

1st to 15th


 * - I had a dream once when I was a girl. In it I prayed to the Morninglord to show me my love.  Then, from the east, came a great bird - an eagle flying on wings of blinding light, soaring high above the mountains.  Just as this beautiful creature was about to land at my feet, I woke up.  And when I woke I wept.


 * - I knew once this dream was about the man I would marry someday. And so I waited for my love, biding my time with the distractions of the young - dances and parties and long summer afternoons lazing in the sunshine.


 * - Then Strahd van Zarovich arrived in Barovia. He came as a conqueror, at the head of a vast army. He saw our valley and decided to stay. He even began building a castle as splendid as any in the Vistani's stories. And people wondered - what would make such a man linger here, so deep in the mountains?


 * - He saw me in the village during the market fair. From that day on, Strahd pursued me. Oh, he was very proper and polite. He said all the right things to Mama and Papa and the Bishop. But I could see from the very start that he meant to make me his.


 * - Of course I was impressed with Strahd. Who wouldn't be? He had seen and done so much. And he was so mysterious, disappearing for weeks at a time to who knows where. Yet when I looked at Strahd I saw a conqueror, a builder, a ruler. As hard as I looked, I couldn't see the shining eagle from my dream.


 * - They were brothers but they could not have been more different. Sergei was everything Strahd was not. Sergei was warm, open, young. Strahd was remote, unyielding, older. Sergei would joke and flirt, while Strahd just lectured. When news of their mother's death arrived, Sergei wept openly before everyone in the castle hall. Strahd fled to his chamber to sulk. Is it a surprise that I was drawn to the younger brother?


 * - So we fell in love. They say that love is complicated but ours was as simple and as sure as the sunrise. Sergei was my light and I was his, so we arranged to be married. Mama was happy, Papa was happy, the Bishop was happy. Strahd was not.


 * - Everyone could see that Strahd was unhappy with our engagement. I tried to talk to him. I told him that he would always be part of our lives. I called him "brother". he fled without saying a word, his face as dark as night.


 * - When he learned that Sergei and I were engaged, Strahd vanished for many days. No one knew where he went, only that he rode far to the west. I was too busy preparing for the wedding to think of what this might mean.


 * - The night before my wedding I had another dream. In it I prayed to the Morninglord to show me my love. And from the west flew a great beast - a huge black creature, so large that its wings blotted out the sun. Darkness spread over the mountains and the valleys, covering them in eternal night.


 * - I tried to forget my dream. After all, it was my wedding day. So I put on my dress and began to do my hair. Then a servant came, tears streaming down her eyes. When I asked her what was wrong, she told me that Sergei had been killed.


 * - I asked the servant who had killed him, though I was already sure of the answer. "Strahd," she said, her voice filled with fear. And in my heart I could feel the beating of black wings.


 * - So I wait for Strahd to come. The light of my life is gone forever. The monster who killed him has every advantage - wealth, power, an entire army at his command. Still I must remember that I control my own fate.


 * - He's coming now. I can hear the guards shouting in the stairwell. When I look down over the wall I can see nothing below but mist. And I'm afraid., I don't deny it. But I am certain of one thing. Strahd will never have me.

Ireena's Journal
XP per discovery:

Bonus XP for discovering all:
 * What's the first thing I remember? it must be Papa, calling out my name. "Ireena!" he'd shout whener I wandered too far away from his side. When I was little, I thought he was just being silly. Now I know what he felt. He was afraid.
 * It's not that my childhood was hard. The villagers tipped their caps to Papa and called him "Burgomaster".  I lived in a fine house with a father and brother who loved me.  Yet something was missing, something I can't describe or explain.  As grateful as I am for my family and my home, sometimes at night I can't help but feel that none of it is mine.
 * I grew up here in the village, in shabby old Barovia. And ever since I can remember, its people have never seemed quite right to me. Papa burned bright with life, my brother Ismark too. But the others in the village: most of them just flickered, as if they were barely there.
 * Castle Ravenloft looks down on the village, watching us all. As a girl I always wondered who lived up in that splendid building on the hill.  But when I asked the grownups about the castle, they told me to mind my business, or else I'd bring the curse of the demon Strahd down upon us.
 * I had so many questions, but I learned not to ask: not to ask why the doors were barred at night, not to ask why I couldn't go into the forest, not to ask what had happened to my friends who vanished without a trace. "Always stay close to your home, little one," they told me. "And fear the devil Strahd above all."
 * Sometimes at night I'd dream of a world of light, a world where the sun blazed like a bonfire instead of hiding behind the mists. In my dream, I'd walk through the warm sunlight to a little pond.  Suddenly, I'd realize that someone was missing, someone who was supposed to be there.  And then I would wake up to the cold and the dark.
 * One day, when I was grown, I went to the marketplace to buy some lamb for dinner. There I was, chatting away with the butcher when I suddenly realized that everyone else had gone silent. They were all staring at a tall man in expensive clothes who had just arrived in the square. And this man: he was staring at me. That was the first time I saw Count Strahd von Zarovich.
 * The night after I went to the marketplace, the Count himself appeared at our door. He called me "Tatyana" and said he'd come to see me.  Papa and Ismark were terrified.  I was not.  This was the demon that kept the entire valley paralyzed with fear?  He looked like just a man to me.  But then Strahd looked at me.  I saw the blazing hunger in his eyes:  and then I remembered no more.
 * Later, they told me that Strahd bit me, like an animal. I have no memory of this, though the holes in my flesh showed it was true.  I remember only darkness, and dreams where I ran and ran and then fell.  When I awoke, they told me that I had been in a fit that lasted for three days.  Papa said he thought that I would die.
 * Then he bit me a second time. Our neighbors tell me that Strahd came here. But I don't remember it, and neither does Papa or Ismark. I just remember waking up on the floor, with blood on my neck and the front door open. What can be done to defend against this kind of dark magic?
 * I could see that Papa was afraid, and not just of Strahd. People in the village started to whisper that they did not want me here. But I would not leave Papa. I would not leave our home.
 * I vowed that Strahd would not have me, and Papa agreed. To keep the demon at bay, we barricaded ourselves inside our home.  So Strahd sent his servants for us instead.  Night after night the wolves came and beat against our door.  Their howls kept us awake until we thought we would go mad from the lack of sleep.
 * Papa died on the seventh night. His heart couldn't take the strain, poor thing.  Ismark and I thought that Strahd would surely attack in force.  But no wolves came that night:  and indeed, no wolves have come since.  Maybe Strahd is giving us time to bury our dead, treating us like honored opponents on the battlefield.  Or maybe he knows he has already won.
 * Now we wait. We wait for Strahd to come a third time, we wait for the darkness to take me at last. Ismark has given into despair since Papa's death. He says he does not believe Strahd can ever be stopped. I try to be more optimistic, but it becomes harder with each day. One thing I know for certain: if I am to resist Strahd, I cannot do it alone.
 * Last night I dreamed of the light again. This time a man stood in the sun by the pond, a man I had never seen before. He held up his hand, and in it was a sword that blazed with light. He told me that night was ending, and help would come with dawn. When I woke up it was still dark, and I could hear the wind howling outside. But this time I could feel a warmth within me. A light that refused to go out.
 * The night after I went to the marketplace, the Count himself appeared at our door. He called me "Tatyana" and said he'd come to see me.  Papa and Ismark were terrified.  I was not.  This was the demon that kept the entire valley paralyzed with fear?  He looked like just a man to me.  But then Strahd looked at me.  I saw the blazing hunger in his eyes:  and then I remembered no more.
 * Later, they told me that Strahd bit me, like an animal. I have no memory of this, though the holes in my flesh showed it was true.  I remember only darkness, and dreams where I ran and ran and then fell.  When I awoke, they told me that I had been in a fit that lasted for three days.  Papa said he thought that I would die.
 * Then he bit me a second time. Our neighbors tell me that Strahd came here. But I don't remember it, and neither does Papa or Ismark. I just remember waking up on the floor, with blood on my neck and the front door open. What can be done to defend against this kind of dark magic?
 * I could see that Papa was afraid, and not just of Strahd. People in the village started to whisper that they did not want me here. But I would not leave Papa. I would not leave our home.
 * I vowed that Strahd would not have me, and Papa agreed. To keep the demon at bay, we barricaded ourselves inside our home.  So Strahd sent his servants for us instead.  Night after night the wolves came and beat against our door.  Their howls kept us awake until we thought we would go mad from the lack of sleep.
 * Papa died on the seventh night. His heart couldn't take the strain, poor thing.  Ismark and I thought that Strahd would surely attack in force.  But no wolves came that night:  and indeed, no wolves have come since.  Maybe Strahd is giving us time to bury our dead, treating us like honored opponents on the battlefield.  Or maybe he knows he has already won.
 * Now we wait. We wait for Strahd to come a third time, we wait for the darkness to take me at last. Ismark has given into despair since Papa's death. He says he does not believe Strahd can ever be stopped. I try to be more optimistic, but it becomes harder with each day. One thing I know for certain: if I am to resist Strahd, I cannot do it alone.
 * Last night I dreamed of the light again. This time a man stood in the sun by the pond, a man I had never seen before. He held up his hand, and in it was a sword that blazed with light. He told me that night was ending, and help would come with dawn. When I woke up it was still dark, and I could hear the wind howling outside. But this time I could feel a warmth within me. A light that refused to go out.
 * I vowed that Strahd would not have me, and Papa agreed. To keep the demon at bay, we barricaded ourselves inside our home.  So Strahd sent his servants for us instead.  Night after night the wolves came and beat against our door.  Their howls kept us awake until we thought we would go mad from the lack of sleep.
 * Papa died on the seventh night. His heart couldn't take the strain, poor thing.  Ismark and I thought that Strahd would surely attack in force.  But no wolves came that night:  and indeed, no wolves have come since.  Maybe Strahd is giving us time to bury our dead, treating us like honored opponents on the battlefield.  Or maybe he knows he has already won.
 * Now we wait. We wait for Strahd to come a third time, we wait for the darkness to take me at last. Ismark has given into despair since Papa's death. He says he does not believe Strahd can ever be stopped. I try to be more optimistic, but it becomes harder with each day. One thing I know for certain: if I am to resist Strahd, I cannot do it alone.
 * Last night I dreamed of the light again. This time a man stood in the sun by the pond, a man I had never seen before. He held up his hand, and in it was a sword that blazed with light. He told me that night was ending, and help would come with dawn. When I woke up it was still dark, and I could hear the wind howling outside. But this time I could feel a warmth within me. A light that refused to go out.
 * Now we wait. We wait for Strahd to come a third time, we wait for the darkness to take me at last. Ismark has given into despair since Papa's death. He says he does not believe Strahd can ever be stopped. I try to be more optimistic, but it becomes harder with each day. One thing I know for certain: if I am to resist Strahd, I cannot do it alone.
 * Last night I dreamed of the light again. This time a man stood in the sun by the pond, a man I had never seen before. He held up his hand, and in it was a sword that blazed with light. He told me that night was ending, and help would come with dawn. When I woke up it was still dark, and I could hear the wind howling outside. But this time I could feel a warmth within me. A light that refused to go out.
 * Last night I dreamed of the light again. This time a man stood in the sun by the pond, a man I had never seen before. He held up his hand, and in it was a sword that blazed with light. He told me that night was ending, and help would come with dawn. When I woke up it was still dark, and I could hear the wind howling outside. But this time I could feel a warmth within me. A light that refused to go out.


 * &dagger; Mouseover for spoilerss.