Verok Castle Locations Descriptions-
Exterior:
In the village of Vatra: Even from below the ponderous crags up above, the stone set into the spiraling mountain seems an imposing figure keeping overwatch on all of Vatra. The dark face of the many battlements on gaunt towers climb higher into the night, looming guards surrounding their once and forever king, the large, spiraling keep of the Count of Vatra. You can see the notorious barbican in the distance, perilously set at an impossibly narrow weathered and broken bridge that seems to defy nature in its tenacious existence. Fog seems to collect as arduous followers around the mountain and the schloss, hiding it from prying eyes and obscuring it in the heavy rain. Eight flying buttresses extend from the hollows of the second story, like spiders legs stretching their tendons.
Moat: From below the imposing walls of the castle, you stand within sight distance of the notorious “Flightless Pond,” the spiked moat from which unruly cattle were flung from the battlements. The bastions look gravely upon it, almost disapprovingly, as the dark muddy brown waters churn on indifferently in the ceaseless rain. The water moves around the tips of spears
For a moment, glancing at one of the sharp stakes jutting out of the water’s edge, you swear you see a face from beneath the dark depths, staring up at you with black sockets. The image conjured of porous flesh is torn away with a crackle of lightning, however, and your mind feels as though it is on fire as you peer back down into the water, only to find it without a figure. A shiver courses through you, but you decide it better to press on.
(Investigation of 13, you find a Ring of Animal Friendship https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/ring-of-animal-influence)
P.S. If the adventurer’s wish to look here, they will have to make a 17 DEX saving throw or be dealt 1d6 + 7 piercing damage as well as a CON 15 saving throw and taking 1d4 poison damage every minute. This can be cured with an herbalism kit or lesser restoration.
Crossbridge: The higher up you climb, the more intensely cold rakes its fingers through your water soaked flesh. The wind whips around you like a wraith, and you find it difficult to affix your gaze ahead of you in the thick fog. You try to concentrate on keeping warm, bundling up into your bits of clothing and pressing on.
(Roll a DC 13 Constitution check or take 1 level of exhaustion)
You eventually make your way to the edge of a once beautiful stone bridge, now lying in tatters and unkempt by man or beasts. Wind and past conflicts have chewed out sizable chunks of the path, now leaving a crumbling mass of stone to remain. The path ahead is thin, and glancing at the sheen of rain along the cobblestones, you know that it nay be a perilous distance to fall.
You continue forth, trying to ignore the danger yawning directly below you.
(Roll a DC 15 Dexterity check or higher, else slip off the side and need to be rescued, falling 50 ft each turn from a 300 ft drop)
Now, safely across, you glance back for a second time at the frighteningly unsafe bridge. Though you have successfully crossed it, something in the back of your mind reminds you that you are less safe now that you have passed than you were risking its slippery edge.
Barbican: Before you stretches the mammoth gate which stands a sentinel against invaders, be they demon or man. Along its edges, old marks of char and sword scuff the resolute stone, dating the structure by how many battles and conflicts its wounds reveal and its health attests to.
A huge portcullis is set down, the sharp prongs at its base spearing into slots set into the stonework. There are traces of ruddy brown along the edges of it, with mud or something else, you cannot say. The winch is visible at the top of the gate on the other side, shielded by a small overhang from the rain. The wind whips torn banners in the air, their frayed blue and white edges bleeding into a deep purple. The Steed on the Byries family crest rears nobily, though most of the features of its mane have receded into an amalgamation of blended color and rotted cloth tearing itself apart.
At the lefthand side of the gate, you see a pillar in which you would expect to see a fully functioning winch. (If they look) However, upon closer inspection, you see an absence of a vital piece of equipment: The crank handle. Looking around on the ground, you see no evidence as to where it could have gone. Searching around may prove to be helpful.
(Lift gate without chain or crank, DC 25 Strength)
(Crank Handle, located in small guardhouse; attaches to winch. Cloaker inside of guardhouse, can be spotted with 16 Perception check)
Guardhouse: If you believed it to be dark in the evening shadows and cloudcover, you have just begun to realize its effects on the poorly lit interiors of other locations. Turning to your righthand side, you see a small divot in the stone wall. It is almost too dark to see, and you count yourself grateful for your darkvision. As you enter, your eyes can barely discern a few shapes in the room. Littered on the ground is a shattered chair, the splinters sticking up in long, jagged shards and threatening to graze your leg as you pass.
Set on a small wooden table, you see a few items strewn about atop it. There! The crank handle sits, slightly rusted but otherwise undisturbed. There appears to be a yellowed page, cracked with age and hardly legible. A candle sits beside it, its wick burnt almost to the end. (If they try to pick up the candle holder) You attempt to move the silver holder, but find that it does not budge. Upon closer inspection, you note that it seems to be part of the table. Wax seems frozen in time, dripping forever. (Instructions, Turn winch left once, right twice, then left three times. Must put over flames to reveal the rest of the message, which states “Then turn right once for the fourth time, and say the words “Steed’s Charge,” and behold the gates will open.)
The Cloaker is an avoidable fight with a successful stealth and perception check.
After the gate has been opened: Feeling invigorated by your success, you press onward with more confidence… However fleeting it may be.
Postern: Taking one uneasy glance at the front of the castle, it is a challenge not to feel overwhelmed by the intensely guarded look that the building imposes upon you. You wrestle with a sort of confliction, and eventually turn your eyes to a small path that has been beaten along by muddy feet, though holds no cobblestones for ease of feet.
(Should they choose to continue along, they better get ready to make some rolls!)
As you follow along this makeshift path, you cross past a narrow cliff edge, dotted only with withered blackwood trees that sag pitifully like the knobby fingers of old men, and point wickedly in the direction of the different villages. But one thing is for certain: There is nothing to secure you here along this thin pass.
Mud sloshes beneath your feet as you scale this pass, only four-foot breadth to separate you from a 400 ft demise.
(Roll a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. If fail, then slide 30 ft down and take 3d6 bludgeoning damage. They must then roll again to catch themselves, a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or fall another 50 ft, taking 5d6. To catch themselves will be significantly more difficult, and they must make a final 18 Dexterity saving throw or else fall 180 ft down, taking 18d6 bludgeoning damage, and sliding the remaining 40 ft into the churning waters below.)
You manage past the remainder of the difficult footholds. The occasional misplacement of footing has your heart tremble for a moment before you regain your composure and continue on.
1st Floor:
Entrance Hall: The first thing you notice as you enter is the immensity of this hall, as well as the glittering ruby eyes of two stone dragons glaring in your direction. Their immensity is tucked to either side of the doorway, and seems cloaked by the thin veil of shadow that the corner allows them. Within your view, six large stained glass windows tower above you, out of reach by a good twenty feet. A long, elegant carpet flows far into the end of this room, that is currently invisible to your sights beyond the looming darkness ahead of you. The purple of its coloration is tinged with golden edges and red silks interwoven in strange, looping patterns, almost like archaic script. On the sides, you see beautifully carved stone benches, with patterns of spring chiseled into the side. The flowers on them seem to almost wilt in the wicked and brooding atmosphere of this house. Above, clinging to a ribbed vaulted ceiling, chandeliers of horned candles dangle down, limp as bodies. Though they do not offer any light, the gilded skeletons of them glint in the occasional flashes of lightning and reflect onto shapes of armor and weaponry set deeply in the wall.
As you approach the end of the hall, you see something that momentarily jars you. From above the doorway, the skull of a large, bullike head gapes down at you, from it pinned to a placard. The head of it is so grand, it covers a good ten feet in width. Protruding from it, thick, shiny black horns just jut out. Golden rings loop around the base of them, glinting proudly from atop the wall. Each of them cover a good seven feet. You can barely make out an inscription above and below the trophy mount, but your eyes are just able to find the right light. It reads “For one man, a menace. For one family, an honor.”
Music Lounge: The door gently swings open with nary a sound, almost seeming better maintained than the others. The image parts to open up to a beautiful room, not soiled by age or disuse. An inset of lacquered wood lines the bottom of the walls, with occasional twisting golden grape and vine, and reflects in gentle candle light. The very hall here seems to spout “peace.” The room extends to plush chairs and benches that are arranged casually throughout the room. From behind you, a small banquet table sits idly beneath a circular window, currently covered by a cloth curtain. The chairs there are positioned as though occupants are still conversing amicably about the days goings on, either never reset or still alive with the spirits of those who once resided here.
Against the wall, a huge organ with pipes like the mouths of huge creatures sits prepared to churn out a lovely harmony at a moment’s notice, though it is quiet as it stands. A narration in wood of a happy woodcutter setting out about his day is etched onto each of the pipes, and it seems as though this item was a gift, not quite fitting in with the remaining scheme of what you’ve seen, but still a jovial addition.
To it’s right, a large, gilded harp sits angelically in the light, it’s strings seeming untouched in many years.
There is something almost saddening to think of these beautiful instruments lying dormant, but as you look closer, it seems almost as though dust has not found many of the organ’s keys yet, despite time.
As you take a closer look at the keys, you see some are specifically cleared of dust, while others remain with their ivory keys grey under copious dust.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhYl6wYcR8I
Grand Hall: As the door gently squeaks open, your eyes rest upon a grand room, bathed in . The once white marble floor shines dimly up at you, like a visage of something once great, now hidden and covered by grime and dust. Images loom over you from the walls. Depictions of men and women on horseback trailing behind large, hapless beasts, armored figures with revelrous stance amongst a small army of knights, and nobly adorned lords and ladies gracefully exchanging steps and bows while in dance with one another. A few smatterings of candelabras illuminate their still visages. Though the rest of the room is stagnant, these figures seem… almost alive, in the playing light. The only thing to be so in this room. But the most notable thing to you, by far, is a large, magnificent skylight of stained glass and gold, warping the golden light from the room into a serene purplish blue. You can hear the pattering of rain from atop it, and a strike of lightning momentarily illuminates the room. A sloping overhang, which you now stand under, stands across one identical to it. From it, two great pillars with twisting golden adornments tower up to secure it, and a pair of ornate, sharp steps of marble ascend to meet the landings faces. In front of you are two doors, one directly North, and the other to the Northeast, behind one of the pillars.
Right Hallway: Going down to the eastern hall, you step through strangely sticky puddles of brown, residual liquid that seems to be dripping from above.
Looking up, you see thick splotches of ruddy liquid oozing from the cracked stone ceiling. The scent is sharply one of copper.
Peering closer through the crack in the ceiling, what you see momentarily jars you. Though it is only the barest of glimmers… it seems as though the filmy white of an eye is glaring at you sightlessly from above.
Suddenly, a phantom wind in the hallway kicks some dust from the crumbling rock and sprinkles it around you like grey snow.
(If Passive Perception exceeds 13) You hear a faint groan from above you.
Smoking Room: Opening the door to this room, a heavy scent of tobacco fills your nostrils, even before parting ponderous purple and blue curtains that shield the view from the rest of the room. Rolling them to the side- you are granted an exquisite yet grisly view.
Before lies a lighter room, once bright stone emblazoned with various depictions of the hunt suggests a room where men would opine opinions on various subjects. But now, turning your eyes about the room, you glimpse at feverish carnage. Layered in ash, skeletons of decadently dressed nobles prostrate in silken remains of fire, coated in char.
One figure with a loose jaw seems to be clawing with skeletal hands at another man’s face, one finger stuck between his teeth. Another mistress is forever immortalized in a state of weeping, clutching the casement haplessly.
You find old pipes of various make, designs of animal heads or boats or castles or faces, one particular a jade jumping fish with gold inlay.
(With a DC 13 Investigation check)
Taking apart the stem of the pipe from the chamber and bowl, you find it to be platinum. An engraving on the metal reads “An Esmer, meine lillien”. (When activated, this pipe can cause an illusory fish of smoke to leap from the bow of the pipe.)
War Room: You approach a door which seems sturdier than the others, wrought of a reinforced steel and dark oak.
(If they try to open it) You try for the handle, but it appears to be locked.
Either finding the key, using an Open spell, or picking / kicking it down (DC 15 and 18 respectively), the room is opened.
As the lock clicks open, you see a room of dark grey stone. Columns cling to the sides of the door, dividing into eight along the room. In the center, a massive table extends to about thirty feet in size. Alongside the westbound wall, a line of rakes (war room sticks) of various sizes are stacked. Below them, there seem to be tiny figurines on the surface.
The miniatures depicting various vile and despicable creatures snark with angry visages, as well as human units downed in different colors, horse heads, elves in deep green, and, perhaps strangest of all, a towering dragon flanked by smaller brethren. Investigating the
In the center of the map sits a fortress piece, isolated from the rest. Four avian gargoyles sit atop it, eagle like eyes spying tiny troubles from afar.
The inscription: “Unbezwingbar”.
(You have gained Daern’s Instant Fortress)
Playroom: Here, one small wooden horse on four crude legs lay inert, with two of the wheels on its hind haunches rusted beyond movement.
You note the taciturn stares of the stone above. Something sets you at unease.
Make a DC 10 Wisdom Saving throw, otherwise, see this.
One of the dolls that lie tossled among the rest shakes violently. Suddenly, it’s head whips around as though on a swivel, and it fixated a dead stare at you, one eye blinking, the other melted shut. You blink, and it hasn’t changed from where it sat, unmoving and inanimate. You distantly hear a child’s laughter.
Under a pile of forgotten toys, something glints in the poor light.
Tossing these things aside, you grasp a small metal item. A green eye glints up at you from an avian face. (You have gained the Bird Token)
Left Hallway: Approaching the side of the hall, you avoid the northbound grandiose entrance in favor of one of the side rooms in the hall to the left. Following this way, you enter a confined, dark hallway. Though barely visible and covered by curtains, you can glance two doors: One ahead of you, and one to the east.
East, Scullery: Turning into the right doorway, you find yourself in a narrow tunnel of sorts, still decently lavish, though with less mind laid to its beauty.
Above a plain doorway, you see the words “Dictum/Reinigung”.
Ahead, you see what appears to be the insides of a storeroom. You spot a barrel packed with what seem to be bushels of wilted wheat. Herbs hang form cast iron racks on the ceiling, and greet you with bland, exhausted fragrance. Among foul sacks of potatoes, mold-caked cheeses, and black mushy remains of what might have resembled carrots at one point in life, you glimpse five small, red vials. You gain five minor potions of healing.
Taking a further look around, there seems to be little else of note. A selection of crystal glasses may be the only other thing that is telli. An old bottle of mead, opened with mildew covering the lip of it, indicates a toast with the staff.
North, Ehren Hall: Looking above you, you see a bronze placard “Ehrenhalle”.
The corridor stretches out to open up to three ornate doors on the eastern side, the door on the farthest end from you seemingly the grandest. At the end of the hallway opens up a winding, twisting set of stairs.
As you pass, something outside flickers briefly in the window before disappearing. It happened too fast for you to catch, but it doesn’t seem to return.
A peculiar knocking sound ensnares from the center door.
Guest Bedroom: Opening the heavy wooden door, you are greeted by dust and shrieking hinges.
The room opens up to a decadently large residence, the entrance of which is in almost perfect condition.
A tall looking glass to your right reflects the image of a mural on your left. The depiction is one of playful nymphs and fairies amidst a golden forest. Some rest on the backs of large stags. Others hold golden fruits. One in particular seems crowned in sunlight, and is being greeted by a dark looking man on horseback. The paint is cracked and faded, but something pure about the image is still preserved.
Going forth, you spy the telltale signs of a struggle off to your right. Against the wall, a baroque bed-frame of dark wood twisted to look like woven branches supports a mattress that has been nearly utterly destroyed. Claw marks appear to rake down much of the bed itself, leaving copious amounts of down and debris scattered on the surface. Tousled sheets lay atop, brownish red peeking from beneath their tangled folds.
Across you in the room, a windowed door opens up to a balcony overlooking the rapids. Rain strikes the panes listlessly. An old stone bench and table can be spied from this angle.
A long willow chest lies at the foot of the bed. The lid has been wrenched open, and similar marks of distress mark the edges. The inside appears to be empty, save for some torn books and emptied vials of ink.
One room sits to the left of the foot of the bed itself. There is a door here, standalone and heavily damaged. You cannot see past it, but a chest of drawers seems to block off where it swings open.
(If the party tries for the door handle) It appears to be locked. Trying for the door results in the handle shaking loosely. (Passive Perception 14) You hear what sounds like faint scratching from the other side.
(If the party moves the chest of drawers) You push the chest of drawers away from the door. As you do, the scratching within stills. There seems to be an air of tension stagnating.
Guest Bedroom WC: (If the party has opened the door make a DC 16 Dex) Without warning, the door gives way. A rotted shelving unit dumps porcelain pots and artisans wares atop your head. You take two points of damage.
The first thing that hits you is a horrendous torrent of smell- an intermixing of feces and mold and rot- and the sight of a ramshackle garderobe (or a kind of water closet). The second thing that hits you, more or less literally, is something at your feet.
Looking down, you glimpse the hollow sockets of a skeleton. Though the darkness of the room prevents much color to be seen, you catch little white masses wriggling within them. The clothing of the individual seem to be in tatters as well. A nightgown, perhaps?
Pushing the body aside, you enter.
A laquered privy sits to your left as you enter, though much of it is splintered and stained. To your right, a flashes of lightning peek beneath a heavy curtain. From behind said curtain, you see the outline of what appears to be a heavy wooden tub.
(If the players decide to investigate the tub) Looking to your right is somewhat of a mistake. As you approach, you kick aside the shriveled bodies of several rats. Their exposed teeth grimace at you in dismay. Pulling back the curtains, your hand stays still for a moment.
There, sitting huddled in the tub, is a wiry figure. Their grey skin is sunken and torn and their greasy hair clings to their scalp like black wires. You hear a quiet crunching as the figure occasionally twitches. It appears to be crying.
(If players attempt to approach or intervene) You attempt to approach the creature. As you reach towards them, their head snaps to you. Glowing eyes glisten under the scarce pale light and their hollow cheeks are streaked with tears. Though their face is an abject horror- exposed gums revealing extended incisors resting atop cracked yet full lips, like some horrid balance between tempestuous life and settling death- you see some mad shred of humanity lost in those eyes. They feel as though they are drawing you in.yes my friend
(If the players stealth away, DC 16) You quietly exit the scene, taking care not to disturb the creature in the tub. (If failed) But along the way, your foot sails into the side of the skeleton’s head. As though looking at you aghast, it’s slack jaw gapes up at you. From the curtained corner, you see the shadow stand up. Slowly the curtain parts to reveal two glowing eyes darting at you.
With a tormented shriek, the creature lunges. (Engage fight with Blood Starved Vampire Spawn)
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