Barovia

Transylvania, 1822
Population: 535

Villagers of Note
Baker
Vladimir, 37
Appears friendly and meek, with apron and hat covered with flower.
He is the one who killed the Ghost in the cemetery years ago when he was a young
man. He keeps a torn out lock of her hair as trophy. He was seen by the gravedigger
Boris while burying her body in a freshly dug grave recently filled. Boris has blackmailed
him for years. The stress of this and the influence of the cursed valley over the years
has slowly eroded his sanity and has begun to transform him into a Boogeyman. Soon
he will complete the transformation and have to kill again. He has already begun to
follow one of the tavern maids at night. He is also dreaming of killing Boris.

Blacksmith
Dieter Krantz, 42
German by birth he has fled the wars which plague his homeland. Large, bearded,
sweaty. He is gruff but professional. He was a member of the witch coven, drawn in by
the advances of the witch Yolanda. He is terrified that someone will find out about his
involvement and is desperate to keep it a secret. He will kill to do this.

Burgomaster
Kolyan Indirovich, 53
Once a respected leader and Burgomaster of the Village of Barovia, Kolyan’s heart
gave out during the endless nights of attacks on his home. He left behind his children,
Ireena Kolyana and Ismark Kolyan.
Ireena Kolyana, 21
Ismark Kolyan, 27

Candlemaker
Andrei, 33
A long fingered and pale man. He is secretly in the employ of the Infernal Emissary
though he does not know his identity. When the "werewolf" Jaques Savoy was hanged
Andrei removed the corpse's left hand to make a hand of glory for his master. Unknown
to him the Friar Eric was the illegitimate son of Jaques and has secretly vowed to find
and kill the man who took his father's hand.

Clergy (Franciscan)
Father Olwyn, 52
Frail, disheveled, rarely leaves the church. Olwyn has been tainted by the valley curse
causing him to give into his temptations by having an affair with one of the villager's wife
and to be tormented with visions of Hell in his dreams. The stress is driving him slowly
mad. He has begun to hear voices in his waking hours urging him to commit vile acts.
He is served by and sometimes cared for by his Friars Martin and Eric.

Friar Martin, 24
A quiet and mostly faithful servant of God he has begun to worry about Father Donovich
whom he is devoted to as much as the church. He is superstitious and afraid of most
things outside the church walls.

Friar Eric, 25
The illegitimate and secret son of the hanged "werewolf" Jaques Savoy. His mother
made him aware of his father and his fate. Eric has begun dreaming of his father in Hell,
holding a bleeding stump and calling his name. He has become obsessed with finding
the man who mutilated his father's corpse. He will then savagely try to murder the
culprit.

Constabulary
Sgt Grigori Semmovich, 36
A disgraced officer full of bitterness and cruelty he was demoted as punishment for
scarring the son of a senior Austrian officer in a duel. He ended up in backwater
Barovia. After hearing rumors he discovered the coven at Devyll's Mound and, after
trailing her from the site, tried to strike a deal with the witch Yolanda wanting her to ally
with him and use her magics to regain his rank and social standing. She instead
betrayed him and tried to enslave him. He broke free of her power and with the help of
the garrison attacked the coven at one of their sabbaths, killing and unmasking Old
Svalovich, and capturing Yolanda, burning her at the stake in the Town Square and
refusing to allow any to bury her bones. They still lie at the base of the burned stake. He
is aware that members of the coven are still in the area but as long as they do not cause
disturbances he will not seek them out. They are of no use to him. He is currently
occupied with thoughts of revenge for his situation and collecting a percentage of the
loot by the mercenaries/bandits robbing travelers. He allows them to operate in the
valley for his split and under the condition that no citizens of Barovia and the valley are
robbed or molested.

Cpl Andres
of questionable hygiene and morality. His Sergeant, Andres, is a hulking brute of a man
who enjoys violence, gambling, and drinking. He is frequently found in the tavern
engaged in a game of cards or dice with the trader Lazlo.

Adam, 40
Markov, 36
Levi, 32
Velki, 28

Grave Digger
Boris the Lame, 34
A tall, thin gruesome man with a club foot and a limp. He has been in charge of digging
and maintaining graves in Barovia for many years. He hates those around him,
especially those who tortured and mocked him for his deformity as a child, and has
readily turned to evil and depravity sometimes playing with the corpses before burial. He
is blackmailing the baker Vladimir after witnessing the man bury the body of the little
girl's ghost many years ago and sometimes steals skin in exchange for coins from
Sergei the tanner. He has seen the Little Girl's Ghost over the years but ignores her.

Merchant
Stefan Unger, 43
An sickly but average looking man of means. He is always dressed in fine clothing and
wears a glove on his left hand, crippled in a fire years earlier in Budapest. Stefan was
born in Barovia but spent his youth in Budapest with his uncle after his parents diet in
an outbreak of plague. He returned to Barovia years later and reopened his father's
mercantile. He is a successful merchant dealing in wine, spices, wool, cloth, oil, and all
manner of small goods. He has his supplies shipped in from outside the valley every
few months via traders on the roads. He has made many friends in the tavern and has
become a prominent citizen. His word carries much weight with the villagers and Baron
Dvorak.
Stefan is secretly an Infernal Emissary. He was inducted into a satanic coven in his
youth by his uncle and rapidly rose in the ranks, eventually killing his own uncle to take
control of the coven and serving as his master's servant on Earth. His left hand is
twisted and blackened marking his devotion to the Devil. Leaving the Budapest coven
he returned to Barovia, drawn by the valley's evil. He has been carefully watching the
goings on in the valley with his magics and is aware of most of the supernatural
creatures and events in the valley. He is thoroughly diabolic, seeking to manipulate the
inhabitants of the valley further down the road of corruption and evil and to sell their
souls to his master for favors. When he finds those hidden members of the coven which
still reside in the valley he will force them to serve him.

Physician
Dr. Emil Lorca, 55
Old, thin with wild white hair, and walks with a cane. Dr. Lorca is retired having served
as a military surgeon for many years. Financially well off he treats any serious local
injuries and ailments for very little compensation, often a chicken or loaf of bread. He
has seen many strange things in his years of retirement in Barovia and keeps curiosities
from unusual cases he has treated. A number of deformed babies are pickled in jars in
his study along with other anatomy specimins and records in his journals.

He is assisted by Ms. Nadia Grasa, 23, an educated young woman from Brasov who
serves as nurse, clerk, and housekeeper.

Tanner
Sergei Dobre, 31
A rotund bald man Sergei is a master leather worker and a decent taxidermist. He
provides much of the leather clothing, belts, saddles, satchels, quivers, sheaths, and
other items for the village. Sergei has a dark obsession, the tanning of human flesh. He
will pay Boris the gravedigger for specimens of perfect skin, usually from young girls or
women whom have died from the village or the nearby farms. Sergei will tan them and
sew them into clothing which he stores in special chests in his cellar. On nights of the
full moon he will sometimes sneak off to the Moon Pool and put on his special clothes,
drink a bottle of wine, and dream about meeting fairies while gazing at the moon.

If Boris is murdered by Vladimir for blackmailing him, Sergei will become desperate and
will have to find a way to obtain fresh pretty skin on is own. He will have no choice, his
obsession will drive him to this.

Tavern, " Blood of the Vine"

Arik and Hilda Torescu, 30's
A friendly couple they are the owners of the only tavern in Barovia. Their home-brewed
wine and beer is excellent and Hilda is a wonderful cook. They are careful around the
town guardsmen who drink here as they fear the drunken louts will become violent.
They are suspicious of strangers but have a few rooms for rent upstairs for the rare
traveler to stay the night.

Arik hides his coins in a hidey hole he has behind one of the cellar's wall.

Nadia and Laura, 20's

Slightly above average local women they work at the tavern as serving girls. They have
lived a hard life working at the tavern and will make the occasional coin by bedding the
lonely locals and guardsmen. They share a room in the back of the tavern.
Trader
Lazlo, 53
Tall, bulky, and swarthy Lazlo is a half-gypsy kicked out of his mother's tribe for
attacking and robbing a fellow gypsy. He traveled for years working for a travelling
merchant and eventually poisoned the old man and taking his business. He ended up in
Barovia several years ago, drawn to the area, and set up shop as a trader. He
specializes in furs, gold, gems, firearms, shot, and powder. Lazlo enjoys drinking and
gambling with the Guard Cpl Andres and has a tendency to cheat. He gets mean when
he drinks.

Woodcutter
Dragomir Vedovski, 32

The Nobility
Baron Vladimir Dvorak, 47
Mirescu, 37
Pietor, 34

Those Who Live Nearby

The Mad Hermit
Radu, 67
A thin, ragged, dirty, old man with a wild hair and beard. Radu was the child of a farmer
whose family died in a fire. Radu was taken in by an abusive aunt. He fled his new
home shortly after and began living in the Eastern Woods. He has lived there for almost
60 years sometimes begging and sometimes creeping around the village watching
people. In that time he has seen and learned many things about the valley and its
residents. He has seen the Ogre stalking at night. He has seen the Dark Rider and its
hounds on its midnight ride. He spied on the witch coven when they danced on the
Devyll's Mound. It was here that he saw the leaders of the coven, Yolanda and Old
Svalovich, now a revenant in the town cemetery. It was at the Mound that he found Old
Svalovich's journal. Radu is a friend of Mother Toad and frequent visitor to her abode.

The Old Crone

Mother Toad, 89
An ancient toad-like crone living in a decrepit house on the edge of the Marsh. Mother is
rumored to be a witch but this is not true. She is a healer and wise woman and for a bit
of coin, a favor, or food she will help those in need with a charm, a potion, or other
treatment that Doctor Lorca cannot or will not help with. The Marsh behind her home is
filled the bones of animals and unwanted babies. Living in the pond and around her
home are thousands of frogs and toads who will defend her if she is attacked,
attempting to smother and drown her attacker(s). She knows many secrets of the valley
and is a friend of the mad hermit Radu.

The Gypsies
Madame Eva, 80s
Szandor, 47
Nicu, 28
Maria, 31

The Deceased Whom Still Leave Their Mark

Old Svalovich and Yolanda
A refugee from the land of Serbia Svalovich was cast out from his native land as a
heretic and devil worshiper. He came to Barovia a decade ago, drawn to the valley's
darkness. He set up shop as a cobbler and began to quietly recruit members of a new
witch coven among the lost and disillusioned residents of the valley. One of his first
converts was the midwife Yolanda. She soon grew in power and lead the coven with
the old man as secret lover. The coven grew over the years and they held their rites up
on Devyll's Mound dancing with demons and sacrificing souls to their dark lord and
master. Members were carefully masked, even from each other, and none could say
who was a witch and who was not. Rumors of devil worship and hidden rites spread
throughout the valley and beyond but none could be identified and the inhabitants were
too fearful to try. This all came crashinig down with the arrival of Captain Julian. His
betrayal at the hands of Yolanda prompted the destruction of the coven as Svalovich
was killed on the Mound and Yolanda dragged to the Town Square and burned alive.

Svalovich rose as a revenant (vampyr) a month later and has been haunting the village
since, greatly reduced from what he was in life. Yolanda remains dead but her familiar
was a Midnight Cat, Albraxius, and it seeks revenge on the Captain, trying to find a way
and manipulate others in this task. PC's who acquire and cast a Speak with Dead spell
on her bones can speak with her. She knows a few of the secrets of the valley (DM's
discretion.) She does know that Svalovich kept a journal and spoke of a ghostly tower
he had seen in the valley. (The curse of the tower causes them to forget its location.
Svalovich did write in his journal before he forgot.)

The Little Girl's Ghost in the Graveyard

The young victim of Eurys the Mouse all those years past. He kidnapped the young
farmgirl, torturing and killing her before burying her in a freshly filled grave, just above
the grave's occupant. He took a lock of her hair as a trophy.

She has been seen by a number of villagers and the Gravedigger Pippin. She can only
appear on certain nights, phasing in and out of sight, confined to the cemetery. She has
no voice to speak and can only communicate with frantic gestures for a short time but
phases out of reality before her message can be conveyed. Those with an item such as
dust of appearance or a head of revelation can see her long enough for her to lead
them to the grave and plead with gestures to dig it up. Her withered corpse is clearly
missing a lock of hair and it can be used to track down her killer, especially if Eurys
loses control before this and kills another girl and takes her hair as well.