An unsanctioned guide to survival beyond the Lord’s notice
Threat Profile: Moderate → High (ambush)
Appearance:
Long coats, scarves, leather gloves
Masks or soot-darkened faces
Mixed weapons: pistols, knives, cudgels
Tactics:
Target choke points, fog, bridges
Feigned injuries or broken wagons
Use gunfire as intimidation, not execution
Lore Note:
Most highwaymen are not cruel — until desperation makes them so.
Threat Profile: High
Appearance:
Matching dark greatcoats
Brass insignia shaped like a broken wheel
Military bearing
Tactics:
Former soldiers turned bandits
Use coordinated volleys and retreats
Loot weapons, not coin
Lore Note:
They still believe Barovia can be taken by force — if Strahd ever falls.
Threat Profile: Extreme (close quarters)
Victorian Adaptation:
Clothing retained when transformed
Boots, belts, dog tags remain embedded
Appear more wrong than bestial
Behavior:
Avoid firearms unless cornered
Prefer urban or forest cover
Kidnap rather than kill
Lore Note:
They are not loyal to Strahd.
They are loyal to survival.
Appearance:
Patchwork mutations
Tremors, twitching jaws
Bandages, crude restraints
Behavior:
Pain-driven aggression
Can be reasoned with briefly
Lore Note:
Some curses do not finish the job.
Threat Profile: High
Appearance:
Hooded coats lined with amber shards
Burn scars along hands and neck
Whispering to unseen presences
Tactics:
Ritual traps
Sacrificial detonations
Corrupted magic
Lore Note:
They worship outcomes, not gods.
Threat Profile: Moderate → High
Appearance:
Flagellant robes under coats
Chains wrapped around arms
Religious symbols carved into flesh
Behavior:
Seek “cleansing through suffering”
Attack perceived sinners
Lore Note:
Faith rots differently than flesh.
Threat Profile: Low individually / High in numbers
Appearance:
Old uniforms, wedding clothes, clerical wear
Faces slack, eyes hollow
Behavior:
Drawn to routine
Congregate at bells, shifts, meals
Lore Note:
They rise not from necromancy — but habit.
Threat Profile: Moderate
Appearance:
Limbs elongated unnaturally
Jaws distended
Crawl through vents, drains, cellars
Behavior:
Ambush predators
Drawn to warmth and breath
Lore Note:
Hunger is a better animating force than magic.
Threat Profile: High
Appearance:
Academic coats
Goggles, notebooks, surgical tools
Arcane scars
Behavior:
Experiment on corpses and captives
Weaponize spirits
Lore Note:
Barovia punishes curiosity harshly — but not quickly.
Threat Profile: Moderate
Appearance:
Patchwork flesh or metal
Erratic movement
Visible seams
Behavior:
Obey incomplete commands
React violently to loud noise
Lore Note:
Progress leaves bodies behind.
Threat Profile: Moderate
Appearance:
Larger than normal
Scarred hides
Red eyes
Behavior:
Charge without warning
Immune to intimidation
Lore Note:
Even the animals here learn brutality.
Threat Profile: Variable
Appearance:
Humanoid shapes in the mist
Features blur when observed
Behavior:
Mimic voices
Separate groups
Lore Note:
Not all things in the fog belong to Strahd.
Threat Profile: Social / Indirect
Appearance:
Clean coats, official badges
Ink-stained fingers
Behavior:
Weaponize bureaucracy
Sell information
Lore Note:
Some men kill with paperwork.
Threat Profile: High
Appearance:
Matching uniforms
Modern firearms
No insignia
Behavior:
Work for coin, not loyalty
Abandon contracts mid-fight
Lore Note:
Barovia attracts those who believe it can be won.