One or both of the following special events can be used while characters explore the @Village of Barovia.
Every night at midnight, one hundred spirits rise from the @Barovia Cemetary and march up the Old Svalich Road to @Castle Ravenloft.
"An eerie green light suffuses the graveyard. From this light emerges a ghostly procession. Wavering images of doughty women toting greatswords, woodwise men with slender bows, dwarves with glittering axes, and archaically dressed mages with beards and strange, pointed hats—all these and more march forth from the graveyard, their numbers growing by the second."
These aren't the spirits of the people buried here, but of previous adventurers who died trying to destroy @Strahd von Zarovich. Every night, the ghostly adventurers attempt to complete their quest, and each night they fail. They have no interest in the living and can't be hit, damaged, or turned. They will not communicate with the characters.
Once they reach the castle, the spirits march straight to the chapel and up the high tower stair to the top of the tower. There, they throw themselves down the shaft toward the crypts, where they disappear.
This event occurs as the characters make their way through the @Village of Barovia.
"You hear the sound of small, wooden wheels rolling across damp cobbles. You trace the lonely sound to a hunched figure bundled in rags, pushing a rickety wooden cart through the fog."
@Morgantha, a @Night Hag in the guise of an old woman, has come to the village from @Old Bonegrinder to sell her dream pastries for 1 gp apiece. She goes from house to house, knocking on doors. Most of the time, no one answers. When someone does, @Morgantha tries to peddle her wares, offering customers an escape from the misery and despair of everyday Barovian life. If the characters shadow her for a while, she collects payment from one household in the form of a seven-year-old boy named Lucian Jarov (LG male @Human noncombatant). Lucian's parents plead with @Morgantha not to take their boy, but she snatches the crying child from their grasp, stuffs him in a sack, straps him down to her peddler's cart, and casually makes her way back to @Old Bonegrinder.
@Morgantha recognizes that the characters are strangers and does her best to avoid them. If the characters demand the release of the child, she grudgingly complies, knowing that she can always come back for the boy later. She fights only in self-defense and offers the following information in exchange for her life:
@Strahd von Zarovich has mastery over the land and the weather, and his spies include the Vistani.
There's a Vistani camp to the west, on the shores of @Tser Pool (@Tser Pool Encampment), and another on the outskirts of the @Town of Vallaki (@Vallaki Vistani Camp).
Strahd has @Undead enemies in Barovia, namely the fallen knights of the Order of the Silver Dragon. These @Revenants can be found in a ruined mansion @Argynvostholt west of Vallaki.
Strahd's most carefully guarded secret is a temple of forbidden lore hidden in the mountains. The temple can be reached by following the long and winding @Tsolenka Pass.
One or both of the following events can be used as characters explore @Argynvostholt.
This encounter occurs while the characters are inside @Argynvostholt. Those who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 11 or higher hear the clopping of horse hooves and the crunch of wagon wheels on gravel.
A cart pulled by a @Draft Horse and driven by a mad Vistana named Kolya (CN male @Human @Bandit) stops in front of the mansion. After relieving himself on the statue of Argynvost, Kolya untethers the horse and rides back to the @Vallaki Vistani Camp, leaving the cart and its cargo: a plain wooden coffin.
The coffin was made in the @Town of Vallaki by the local coffin maker, @Henrik van der Voort. It has the name of one of the characters (determined randomly) neatly chiseled into its lid. Opening the coffin releases a @Swarm of Bats from within. The swarm attacks the character whose name is engraved on the coffin. If that character isn't in sight, the swarm flies away.
@Ez d'Avenir arrives at @Argynvostholt on the back of a @Riding Horse stolen from the @Vallaki Vistani Camp. She has heard that the reportedly haunted mansion might harbor enemies of @Strahd von Zarovich and contain secrets to the vampire's destruction.
Once she arrives, Ez releases the horse (which flees back to its camp) and quietly makes her way through the mansion until she reaches the characters.
Hot on Ez's trail are the Vistani leader @Arrigal (NE male @Human @Assassin) and two Vistani bodyguards (CE female @Bandits). @Arrigal rides a black @Riding Horse, while the @Bandits ride two @Dire Wolfs. These dire wolves are servants of @Strahd von Zarovich and can't be charmed or frightened.
@Arrigal is determined to capture @Ez d'Avenir and haul her back to the Vistani camp to face punishment for horse theft. He does nothing to antagonize the characters, however, and returns to the Vistani camp if he can't convince them to give up Ezmerelda.
One or both of the following events can be used as the characters make their way along @Tsolenka Pass.
As the characters cross the stone bridge from east to west—possibly on their way back from the @Amber Temple—they are spotted by a @Roc that has survived in the mountains for thousands of years. The roc has a great nest on the top of Mount Ghakis to the southeast and feeds on fish in the nearby lake.
When the @Roc of Mount Ghakis appears, read:
"Diving toward the bridge is a creature of unearthly size—a bird so monstrous that its wings blot out the sky."
The roc attacks a random creature on the bridge, snatching up a horse or a mule, if one is available. Otherwise, it attacks a party member. It can't reach characters who hide in the guard posts at either end of the bridge. If it has nothing to attack on its turn, the roc lets loose a horrible shriek and flies back to its nest.
As the characters make their way along @Tsolenka Pass, they encounter a @Beast that the @Druids and @Berserkers of @Barovia call Sangzor ("Bloodhorn"):
"The road ahead is cut out of the mountainside, rising steeply to one side and falling away on the other. Mist and snow greatly reduce visibility, and the howling wind cuts through you like a knife."
If no character has a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 16 or higher, the party is surprised. Otherwise, read:
"A nine-foot-tall goat stands atop a crag above you, its gray fur blending perfectly with the rock of the mountainside. It lowers its head, and malice glimmers in its eyes."
Sangzor is a @Giant Goat known for its supernatural resilience and evil disposition. Mountain folk have been hunting it for years. Modify its statistics as follows:
It has an Intelligence of 6 (−2 modifier) and is chaotic evil.
It has 33 hit points.
It has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks.
Its challenge rating is 1 (200 XP).
The giant goat charges down the mountainside (using its Charge feature) and rams a character. If the attack hits and the target fails its saving throw, it is sent tumbling down the mountainside, falling 100 feet onto a ledge.
The goat flees if it takes 10 damage or more. The mist and snowfall prevent seeing anything more than 60 feet away. Once the goat is out of sight, it disappears through a cleft.
A character who wears Sangzpor's pelt can command the respect of the @Berserkers who inhabit Strahd's domain. They will not attack the character or that character's companions unless provoked.