Rafee's Barovia Campaign: Tomb of Leo Dilisnaya and onwards

[Le Noir Faineant]

Hello,

In the topic Des' Barovia Campaign: Preliminaries

I announced that I was working on an long-term campaign in Barovia, that I want to DM some time next year.

Now, as far as I prepared it already, this esteemed super campaign will start with Dion's amazing

Nine of Hearts

and then somehow lead to an epic finale with *House of Strahd*, or, now that it will soon be available, *Castle Ravenloft*.

My idea was to let the characters escape burning Vallaki and lead a group of refuges into the mountain wilderness, to eventually find the monastery
that houses Leo Dilisnaya's tomb.

Now, my question is: Was this location ever covered and detailed in any published form?

- I had thought of letting the party discover Strahd's vampire secret there and eventually choke with Leo.

If it hasn't been covered in detail already, of course, I would like to know of any suggestions or ideas you have on it.


Also, I would like to have a thrid adventure between the *Leo Dilisnaya* encounter and the final confrontation with Strahd.

Any ideas on this are very welcome as well!

(I had thought of preparing an adventure based on the *The Haunted of Valcon Forest* there, but I am not sure if it will fit into the main campaign.)

Awaiting your creative input,

Yours,

Rafael

[NeoTiamat]

Not per se, but it featured somewhat prominently in the novel I, Strahd, although there is a slight continuity error there. In Gaz 1, the tomb is listed as the monastery, whereas in Elrod's book, (which you should read if you haven't already done so, very good guide to the personalities involved), Leo hid in the monastery, but was entombed in a noble estate. Of course, in the book he is also supposed to have starved to death.

As for the monastery, I seem to remember it's in the mountains, barely a mile from the then misty border. It was a decently size complex, and at least one room was covered in anti-vampire runes used to almost kill Strahd, though they may have gone now.

In the novel at least, Leo Dilisnya is portrayed as an extremely brilliant person, a traitorous assassin who managed to have everyone think him nothing more then a fop, and spent the later years of his life learning magic and preparing for Strahd. The only way Strahd ever found him was due to a rumor spread by Leo, who was ready for the final confrontation.

Depending on how you want it, Dilisnya could well be as intelligent as Strahd, perhaps more so (He managed to outwit Strahd nicely, but the Count has had a few centuries of experience and association with Azalin to sharpen his wits). If the two of them do go at it again, the PCs should be careful not to be caught between two intelligent, powerful vampires with a grudge against each other.

[The Giamarga]

As for sources, aside from the novel I Strahd, which describes the original events, Gazetteer 1 of course has the Tomb of Leo Dilisnya sidebar and Legacies of the Blood has a whole chapter about the Dilisnya's.

If Leo Dilisnya was freed it would be interesting how he interacts with the contemporary Dilisnyas and of course with Nicu Moldonesti the defacto leader of the now again rising Baal Verzi assassins. Leo would be quite insane of course after having been entombed alive/undead for years.

The sidebar also speaks of Leo "magically slowing his aging". It would be interesting how he achieved that, considering his rather mediocre necromantic skills. I also seem to remember Leo having a magical staff carved with crawling words of power with a sharpened end, which burns Strahd as he touches it. It hinders Strahd's concentration in summoning when he is poked with it as "the destructive spell latent in the wood was too disruptive to his thoughts".

As for stats Leo seems to be only a mage and not a cleric at the time of I Strahd. Strahd remarks that Leo could not have placed the holy symbols in the trap room as "his faith was in himself; he had none to spare for the gods. However he was an expert in lies and must have spun a pretty tale to the many obliging holy people who had done the work."

And Leo does seem to wield more powerful spells than a Nec5/Cle4 could. He does hold the paralyzed/pained Strahd fast with invisible bands of force for example. (Grasping hand? Telekinesis? or perhaps another lower level spell that i can't think of? Perhaps the spell used to create Iron Bands of Bilarro?)

I'm not sure if he has Rogue, Assassin or even Deceiver levels aside from the Ari ones. NeoTiamat can you elaborate on the tratirous assassin part of your description from I, Strahd?

I would definately give Leo the Persuasive feat and perhaps also Find Weakness (from LotB), and perhaps also the Dilisnya traits (Family Bond), which would allow him to easily and quickly track down his remaining heirs. Though he is not a true Dilisnya afaik. He should have failed at least 1 Power Check imo and have some sort of madness and most probably the Blood Lust salient ability - at least when he is set free...

BTW he's age 70 btw. so apply those age modifiers before the vampire ones.

[Le Noir Faineant]

Wow - thank you both! Had totally forgotten about *I, Strahd*, and will go to check it.

The point is, since the first adventure will take place in a city, and the thrid one in a forest (something like letting them find the sunsword in Vaulcon Forest), I wanted the second one to be a dungeon crawl. The party shall not be haunted by Leo there, because that would bear to many similarities with I6, but rather fight the monks, maybe some Ba'al Verzi, and then find him in his tomb, as a contrast to Strahd. Maybe Leo is even tired of his undeath and willing to help them if they want to destroy his old enemy...

I'll do his stats during next week, and I am already working on the dungeon. Maybe an idea for a future QtR article...

I am toying with the idea of using the *monastery* card from the Black Box as base for that lair... But I really got to reread *I, Strahd* before...

Too much ideas in my brain... No structure right now...

More later...



Thank you so much, again!

[NeoTiamat]

Just as a note, I think Gaz one says that the monastery is in the foothills of Mount Baratak, up in the north of Barovia, overlooking the Shadow Rift.

As for Leo (probably my favorite character of canon), make note that he has never had a chance to enjoy his undeath. He was turned into a vampire, but immediately stuffed into a crypt. Chances are, if he gets out, first thing he does is drain the blood from every living thing in the nearest village. Perhaps sixty or seventy victims should sate them.

What he does next depends on whether you want him to be crazy. If you rule that his existence as a starving vampire drove him insane with hunger, he'd probably just continue to roam Barovia, depopulating villages as a glorified wild animal, leaving drained corpses without a trace of subtlety.

Alternatively, if he manages to pull himself together during this time (a very real possibility, considering his intellect and self-discipline) his first actions would be to figure out what is going on, and he would most likely flee Barovia (probably into Borca), and then begin to rebuild his connections and network. Nicu Moldonesti would be in extreme danger, while the other Dilisnyas (up to and including Ivan), would also soon become his pawns. After he has himself in complete control of the Dilisnyas, the Ba'al Verzi, and likely with a small army of other mercenaries, then he'd set himself the goal of destroying Strahd.

Of course, it's equally possible that he might just decide to live and let live (or unlive, if you prefer), since Strahd is now much, much more powerful then he used to be, and the world is much, much wider then it used to be. Leo might very well simply move to another domain, take it over, and live out enjoying his unlife.

[Ail]

Wow - thank you both! Had totally forgotten about *I, Strahd*, and will go to check it.

I am toying with the idea of using the *monastery* card from the Black Box as base for that lair... But I really got to reread *I, Strahd* before...

Hi, can you please tell what is that Monastery card? Is it a Tarokka card? And how are you using it?

If you decide to somehow use the Ba'al Verzi in it, I'd be interested to know how you do it. In my campaign, I decided that Strahd had decided to wrestle the assassins to his side from whoever controls them now (Strahd doesn't know it«s another vampire), and for that he's tracking, killing and replacing the current Ba'al Verzi assassins.

This was just a backstory to explain some encounters that I had mainly for flavour, but I really wish I could make the players more involved in this under-world war, and still haven't figured how.

However, if you do, that could provide a nice dungeon crawl, as ultimately they may have to roam through a worse kind of thieves' guild with a vampire at the end.

Alex

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Not per se, but it featured somewhat prominently in the novel I, Strahd, although there is a slight continuity error there. In Gaz 1, the tomb is listed as the monastery, whereas in Elrod's book, (which you should read if you haven't already done so, very good guide to the personalities involved), Leo hid in the monastery, but was entombed in a noble estate.

You wouldn't expect ol' Strahd to admit to the real location of Leo's tomb in a self-aggrandizing propaganda piece, would you...? He wants Leo demonized, not released.

[NeoTiamat]

You make a very good point Rotipher.

[cure]

I seem to recall that the monestary that left with Malkovia had begun its life in Barovia and indeed was the one in question. But correct me if I am wrong . . .

[cure]

Even if Stradh lied about the location, it is clear that he invested time and effort ensuring that a tomb on neutral or friendly soil was ready to receive Leo, and that could hardly have been at the monestary, for its very presence was offensive to him.

[NeoTiamat]

Actually, by the same logic, the soil of a monastery would be even more harmful to Leo, would it not be? I'm not saying this is the case, but if Strahd, a vampire for some seventy years by the time he imprisoned Leo had trouble, then a brand new vampire would have even more difficulties escaping a monastery, so it's not necessarily out of the question.

[Le Noir Faineant]

The monastery I mentioned was indeed the Markovian one from the BB*, though I am not at all sure if that will be the final decission.

For me, right now the questions are right now:

- Do I want Leo to rest in that manour house or in the monastery? (For the noble house, I was thinking of either using the *Palace of Otonkle* module from Dragon Quest, or mapping my own dungeon based on Eilean Donan Castle, the legendary *Highlander* castle from Scotland.)

- Is Leo awaking and plotting, maybe already awaiting the characters? - Or do they free him from his tomb?- Right now, I am totally undecided...

Just as a note, I think Gaz one says that the monastery is in the foothills of Mount Baratak, up in the north of Barovia, overlooking the Shadow Rift.

I am still unsure if I'll leave it on that location...

As for Leo (probably my favorite character of canon), make note that he has never had a chance to enjoy his undeath. He was turned into a vampire, but immediately stuffed into a crypt. Chances are, if he gets out, first thing he does is drain the blood from every living thing in the nearest village. Perhaps sixty or seventy victims should sate them.

I am thinking of a thrall luring the PCs into helping the villagers and then confront the vampire for the first time - problem is, however, I don't want to stress the vampire theme to much, because of the later fight with Strahd...

Alternatively, if he manages to pull himself together during this time (a very real possibility, considering his intellect and self-discipline) his first actions would be to figure out what is going on, and he would most likely flee Barovia (probably into Borca), and then begin to rebuild his connections and network.

Not in my game, since only Barovia is supposed to exist in this campaign - misty borders eternally closed... A hook to get the PCs and the refuges to the monastery would be that they try to cross the borders, but find that they cannot...

Questions over questions...







*For Ail: The *Realm of Terror Boxed Set* featured one-page colour pictures of different sights of interests in the mists, with a short description on the back side. One of them was a monstery on the border between Markovia and Barovia.

[NeoTiamat]

The monastery I mentioned was indeed the Markovian one from the BB*, though I am not at all sure if that will be the final decission.

For me, right now the questions are right now:

- Do I want Leo to rest in that manour house or in the monastery? (For the noble house, I was thinking of either using the *Palace of Otonkle* module from Dragon Quest, or mapping my own dungeon based on Eilean Donan Castle, the legendary *Highlander* castle from Scotland.)

Can't help you there, but as a rule, monasteries tend to be larger then manours (exceptions exist aplent, but on average), and tend to have catacombs or tombs below ground, while most manours have their burial grounds above ground.

- Is Leo awaking and plotting, maybe already awaiting the characters? - Or do they free him from his tomb?- Right now, I am totally undecided...

Your choice after all, but remember that Leo has been starving for several centuries. First thing he does upon release is to try and feed, and unless the PCs are VERY powerful or have some method of keeping him away (an allergen perhaps?) They'll end up vampire chow immediately. On the other hand, if you can arrange for them to have a powerful allergen of the warding variety, then having them accidentally open the tomb and unleashing a plague that then decimates the population for miles around may make for interesting psychological gaming.

Just as a note, I think Gaz one says that the monastery is in the foothills of Mount Baratak, up in the north of Barovia, overlooking the Shadow Rift.

I am still unsure if I'll leave it on that location...

Again, your choice, but it's a nice creepy setting. Up in the mountains, looking over the mists, cold and scary.

As for Leo (probably my favorite character of canon), make note that he has never had a chance to enjoy his undeath. He was turned into a vampire, but immediately stuffed into a crypt. Chances are, if he gets out, first thing he does is drain the blood from every living thing in the nearest village. Perhaps sixty or seventy victims should sate them.

I am thinking of a thrall luring the PCs into helping the villagers and then confront the vampire for the first time - problem is, however, I don't want to stress the vampire theme to much, because of the later fight with Strahd...

Have you thought of a third actor in this drama? Leo isn't capable of making any thralls if you have him still imprisoned. Perhaps there is someone else who really wants to destroy Strahd, or at least inconvenience him severely, and so lures the PCs inside to open the tomb (perhaps there are wards that prevent the third actor from doing it himself, especially if you end up choosing the monastery). A Shadow Fey or a Hag might mage for a good opponent, or perhaps everyones favorite Arcanaloth fiend?

[Le Noir Faineant]

Can't help you there, but as a rule, monasteries tend to be larger then manours (exceptions exist aplent, but on average), and tend to have catacombs or tombs below ground, while most manours have their burial grounds above ground.

Yeah, I think, on the long hand, the monastery idea will win...

Your choice after all, but remember that Leo has been starving for several centuries. First thing he does upon release is to try and feed, and unless the PCs are VERY powerful or have some method of keeping him away (an allergen perhaps?) They'll end up vampire chow immediately. On the other hand, if you can arrange for them to have a powerful allergen of the warding variety, then having them accidentally open the tomb and unleashing a plague that then decimates the population for miles around may make for interesting psychological gaming.

I would let Leo against the monks who have guarded him first, then, in the blood-bathed monastery yard, confront the party - or something alike. Maybe they enter the monastery not even looking for Leo, but searching for another clue to the Strahd riddle... Maybe Megan Llewelyn leads them there, looking for *The Tome of Strahd*...

BTW, I am going to implement many traditional vampire stereotypes in the campaign, like that they break all refelecting glass, or can't enter houses uninvited...

Again, your choice, but it's a nice creepy setting. Up in the mountains, looking over the mists, cold and scary.

For the record, Krofberg from the RL DMG will also star...

Have you thought of a third actor in this drama? Leo isn't capable of making any thralls if you have him still imprisoned. Perhaps there is someone else who really wants to destroy Strahd, or at least inconvenience him severely, and so lures the PCs inside to open the tomb (perhaps there are wards that prevent the third actor from doing it himself, especially if you end up choosing the monastery). A Shadow Fey or a Hag might mage for a good opponent, or perhaps everyones favorite Arcanaloth fiend?

That head-changing girlie whose name I always forget will definitely have an appeareance in the Vaulcon Forest part. Apart from that, I am not so sure, since *Nine of Hearts* already introduces a lot of personages. - When I have worked through that module, I hope to have a more concrete idea... But hey, why not Inajira?

[Alanik Ray]

Have you thought of a third actor in this drama? Leo isn't capable of making any thralls if you have him still imprisoned. Perhaps there is someone else who really wants to destroy Strahd, or at least inconvenience him severely, and so lures the PCs inside to open the tomb (perhaps there are wards that prevent the third actor from doing it himself, especially if you end up choosing the monastery). A Shadow Fey or a Hag might mage for a good opponent, or perhaps everyones favorite Arcanaloth fiend?

But hey, why not Inajira?

What about Lyssa Von Zarovich?