Raising

the
Stakes
T h e E s s e n t i a l C u r s e o f S t r a h d C o m pa n ion

Yester Hill
Feel the rage of blood and nature with this
module guide for
Curse of Strahd

A module guide from Lunch Break Heroes

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Yester Hill

T
he druids of Yester Hill are an enigmatic when the druids began to cultivate a Gulthias tree that
group within Curse of Strahd. Their involve- they discovered in the forest. At that point, darkness
ment in the narrative is spread across mul- truly took hold within them, severing their ties to the
tiple chapters, but little information is given natural world around them, and the ability to change
regarding their motivations and history. That they their shape was lost.
worship Strahd as a god, and are being manipulated
by Baba Lysaga to her own ends, is mostly what is Areas of Yester Hill
known of them. This section will cover revisions to the areas of Yester
This chapter aims to tie up the loose narrative Hill. Any area not listed here should be run as it is
threads within the chapter, and will refocus the druid’s written in the module, or modified to your liking.
summoning ritual around the Gulthias tree. Kavan
and his blood spear will also take on a much more Y2. Berserker Cairns
important role.
The Blood Spear of Kavan is no longer located in this
area, but can instead be found in area Y3.
Video Companion
Watch the companion video for this chapter on YouTube. Y3. The Druid’s Circle

In the circle of stones stands a twisted effigy of wood and

An Alternate History vines, resembling Strahd von Zarovich. Embedded where
its heart would be is a spear of black iron, continuously
Hundreds of years ago, the forests and mountains of dripping with blood, grasped by foul roots twisting up the
Barovia were home to a tribe of wild nomadic peoples. statue. The echo of a furious battle cry seems to linger in
The “forest folk”, as they were called by those who the air—raging to break free.
lived in villages, had chosen to eschew all trappings of On the ground in front of the effigy you glimpse a wom-
civilized life, and instead sought solace and worship in an kneeling on the ground, her chin grasped by a figure
the natural order of the land. clad in bloody hides behind her. The bloody figure wears
Lead by a powerful barbarian, Kavan, the tribe took a headdress of twisted antlers and holds a fist-sized gem
to calling itself “The Kavani”. in front of the woman’s face, whispering in her ear. You
When the mists enshrouded Barovia, Kavan and sev- can see tears streaking down her face.
eral of his warriors left their village in order to drive
back the darkness and restore light to the land. None
of them returned, and none of their bodies were ever The druids of Yester Hill have stolen one of the gems
recovered. Kavan’s name and memory became legend, used by the Martikov family to give life to the grape-
as did stories of his infamous weapon, a spear made vines cultivated at the Wizard of Wines. They know
of black iron. that this gem is precious to the Martikovs, and thus
Within a few generations, the Kavani tribe began to want to use it—and their lives—as bargaining chips.
suffer from internal strife. Two sects had sprung up: The captive woman is Stefania Martikov, who was
one that adhered to the old ways of natural harmony, taken hostage along with her son, Claudiu, in the lat-
and one that saw a Strahd as the avatar of the land, est attack on the winery. Keshgar, a blood druid (see
and deserving of their worship. Through a violent Appendix C), is forcing Stefania to watch her son’s
schism, the Kavani tribe was decimated. Those that blood flow through the tree’s roots and into the effigy
worshiped Strahd were driven out, and came to call in order force her into giving up her family’s secret. He
the forest near the Luna River their home. is taunting her and holding the gem out in front of her,
Eventually, the offshoot of the Kavani tribe grew to telling her that all of this can be reversed if she simply
become the druids and berserkers of Yester Hill. gives him what he wants.
If the ritual in area Y4 is interrupted, the gem be-
A Lost Gift comes Keshgar’s only remaining leverage against the
After their departure from the Kavani tribe, the druids Martikovs.
of Yester Hill continued in their descent into darkness. If the characters interrupt this scene, Keshgar
Their connection with nature—while strained—re- immediately attacks, and Stefania cowers in fear until
mained with them, and they often took on the shapes the fight is over. If the party did not free Claudiu before
of forest animals for ritual purposes. This changed coming to area Y3, the ritual immediately commences

Yester Hill | 3
 and completes after six turns, animating Wintersplin- At any time during combat, a character can deter-
ter. mine how much time is left in the ritual by succeeding
on a DC 11 Intelligence (Nature) or a DC 13 Wisdom
Y4. Gulthias Tree (Insight) check.
Freeing the Claudiu requires a successful DC 16
Strength (Athletics) check as an action or dealing 50
Half a dozen humans, smeared with blue-gray mud, shout damage to the tree in one round.
chants at a monstrous black tree while locking arms in A creature pushed into the empty maw must suc-
a ring around it. Half a dozen more dance around them,
ceed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or become
swinging their axes in ecstasy. Dripping with sap—or
restrained. Each round spent in the maw causes one
worse—a maw-like hole gapes at the base of the trunk.
Inside of it, being pierced by dozens of barbs slick with level of exhaustion. The ritual must begin anew if the
blood, is a teenage boy. tree has no victim for 1 full round. The druids sacrifice
themselves to continue the ritual, if necessary.
If the druids successfully complete their ritual,
The six berserkers attack intruders immediately. The
Kavan’s soul is absorbed from his spear (see The
six druids only interrupt their chant if someone tries
Blood Spear of Kavan special event) and Wintersplin-
to breach their ring around the tree. Breaking through
ter erupts from the wooden effigy in area Y3. It then
their chain requires a contested Strength (Athletics)
stalks off to destroy the winery, as written in the mod-
or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check; the druids have advan-
ule. If it succeeds at that, it will continue on to Vallaki
tage as long as their chain holds.
where it will attempt to break through the town’s walls
The boy inside the tree’s maw is Claudiu Martikov.
and destroy the Blue Water Inn.
He and his mother were taken captive during the
latest attack on the Wizard of Wines. The druids plan Stopping the Ritual
to use his blood to fuel their ritual to summon the tree
The druid’s ritual can be stopped in one of three ways.
blight, Wintersplinter. See the Druid’s Ritual special
At your discretion, you may add additional methods or
even for more information.
let your players be creative and find a different way.
Special Events
• All six druids around the Gulthias tree are killed.
Druid’s Ritual • The effigy is destroyed.
• The Gulthias tree is destroyed.
The ritual to animate Strahd’s effigy in area Y3 now
takes place at the Gulthias tree in area Y4. This If any of the above events take place, the ritual cannot
vampiric abomination requires a sacrifice of blood to be completed and the Gulthias tree’s roots detach
grant false life to Wintersplinter, funneling it through themselves from the effigy. The druids cannot hold an-
its roots. other ritual of this type for approximately one month.
In order to power the ritual, the druids have placed
Claudiu Martikov inside a large opening in the side of The Blood Spear of Kavan
the tree—its sacrificial maw. Once the ritual begins,
The druids have discovered the legendary blood spear
Claudiu is pierced by spikes that grow from the tree’s
of Kavan in the tombs in area Y2. Despite their sep-
bark, which begin to drain him of blood. Throughout
aration from their original tribe, Kavan’s name still
the ritual, his blood is funneled into bulbous black
rings with power to the people of Yester Hill. The rest-
fruit that hangs from the tree’s branches, and through
less spirit of Kavan lingers in his spear, enraged with
its roots into Wintersplinter. The ritual concludes after
Strahd’s rule over the land he and his people once
six rounds of combat, when Claudiu is drained of his
roamed freely.
last drop of blood and dies.
The druids of Yester Hill plan to harness this fury,
While it has a victim, on initiative count 10 (losing
intending to fuel Wintersplinter with Kavan’s soul as
all ties) the Gulthias tree sprouts 1d4 - 2 vine blights,
a spirit of destruction. They feel Kavan’s fury at their
1d6 - 2 needle blights, and 1d8 - 2 twig blights within
intentions, but believe it will only make Wintersplinter
60 feet of it (acting on initiative count 20). From the
stronger. The Blood Spear (see Appendix A) is cur-
fifth round of combat, any creature starting its turn
rently embedded in the heart of the effigy in area Y3,
within 30 feet of the tree must succeed on a DC 15
in place of the winery gem.
Constitution saving throw or become poisoned for 1
The prospect of being used in the druids’ vile ritual,
minute by the mist of black blood bursting from the
effectively being made into an instrument of Strahd
fruit.
worship, chokes Kavan like bile, and he knows it will

4 | Yester Hill
destroy what is left of his soul. When the characters
approach within 60 feet of the statue, Kavan senses
their presence and telepathically contacts them. Read
the following boxed text aloud

As you take a step forward, a savage voice fills your head

and rings in your ears.
“YOU! You are not of my domain, but I can smell your
fury against the devil of this land! Tear me from this
monster’s heart and wield me against these misbegotten
offspring of mine—I want to taste blood again!”

The blood spear rests in the statue 15 feet above

ground. Climbing the statue requires a successful
DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check, as the roots of the
Gulthias tree seem to actively shift out of the grasp
of anyone scrambling towards the spear. Tearing the
blood spear from the statue requires a successful DC
15 Strength (Athletics) check.
If the party plucks the blood spear of Kavan from
the effigy before stopping the druid’s ritual, the rit-
ual can still be completed as long as the effigy is not
destroyed. However, the resulting tree blight will have
only half its hit points.

Only the Worthy

The spear can only be attuned with Kavan’s blessing,
and he only judges the following characters worthy:

• Whoever pulls the blood spear from the effigy

during combat.
• Whoever deals the most damage against the
blood druid in area Y3.
• Whoever slays at least 3 creatures in a pitched
battle within 24 hours while wielding the spear.

If the ritual to animate Wintersplinter is successfully

concluded before the Blood Spear is retrieved, Ka-
van’s soul is absorbed by the tree blight and the spear
loses all of its magical and sentient properties.

Yester Hill | 5
 Appendix A: Items
Blood Spear
Weapon (spear), very rare (requires attunement by a champion chosen by Kavan’s spirit)
This spear is filled with the fury of its original wielder: Kavan, first chief of the proud Kavani. He roamed the
land of Barovia with his people long before Strahd ever laid claim to it. The sheer volume of blood drained by
this spear in combat, combined with the unbreakable fury of Kavan’s spirit, imbue this weapon with both mag-
ical abilities and sentience. The druids of Yester Hill find that the fury of this weapon’s spirit are exactly what
they need to lay waste to the Wizard of Wines.
When you hit with a melee attack using this magic spear and reduce the target to 0 hit points, you gain 2d6
temporary hit points.
The character chosen by Kavan gains a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.

Sentience. The blood spear of Kavan is a sentient chaotic neutral weapon with an Intelligence of 8, a Wisdom
of 14, and a Charisma of 17. It has hearing and vision out to a range of 60 feet.

Personality. Kavan is furious that his descendants would bow to the devil Strahd and wants him gone with a
fiery vengeance. He cares not for the people of Barovia, except for his own Kavani. He particularly despises all
the settled people of the land and wants Barovia to go back to a primal state of living.

6 | Appendix A, Items
Appendix C: Monsters
Spellcasting. The blood druid is a 15th-level spellcaster.
Blood Druid Its spellcasting ability is Wisdom (spell save DC 17, +9 to
Medium humanoid, chaotic evil hit with spell attacks). It has the following druid spells
Armor Class 14 (hide armor) prepared:
Hit Points 130 (20d8 + 50)
Speed 30 ft • Cantrips: frostbite, infestation, mold earth, poison
spray
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA • 1st level (4 slots): absorb elements, cure wounds, fog
12 (+1) 14 (+2) 15 (+2) 10 (+0) 20 (+5) 12 (+1) cloud, thunderwave
• 2nd level (3 slots): flame blade, hold person, pass
Saving Throws Str +5, Con +6, Wis +9 without trace, spike growth
Skills Nature +4, Perception +9, Survival +9 • 3rd level (3 slots): call lightning, erupting earth, speak
Damage Resistance Necrotic; Bludgeoning, Piercing, and with plants
Slashing From Nonmagical Attacks • 4th level (3 slots): blight, confusion, grasping vine,
Senses Passive Perception 19 wall of fire
Languages Common, Druidic • 5th level (2 slots): awaken, contagion
Challenge 9 (5,000 XP) • 6th level (1 slot): wall of thorns
• 7th level (1 slot): regenerate
Blood Rage (1/Day). As a bonus action, the blood druid • 8th level (1 slot): control weather
can enter a blood rage. This lasts for 1 minute, until the
blood druid falls unconscious, or until the blood druid Actions
ends it as a bonus action. When entering this blood rage
and at the start of each of its turn while in blood rage, Blood Funnel. Ranged Spell Attack: +9 to hit, range 15 ft.,
the blood druid loses 5 (2d4) hit points. While in blood one target, Hit: 13 (2d6 + 5) necrotic damage. The target
rage, the druid can add the number of hit points it lost must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or its
from the blood rage during its current turn to one dam- hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the
age roll it makes during the same turn. damage taken. This reduction lasts until the target finish-
es a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit
point maximum to 0. The blood druid regains hit points
equal to the reduction in maximum hit points the target
suffers as its blood shoots out of a wound or its eyes and
into the druid’s mouth.

Appendix C, Monsters | 7