# Castle Ravenloft, the Back Way

> From the Curse of Strahd game wiki (it covers the whole game, spoilers included): https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/castle-ravenloft-the-back-way.html. Unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy, not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.

> [!infobox]
> **Region:** [Castle Ravenloft](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/regions/castle-ravenloft.md) · level 10
> **Resting:** No sleeping here
> **Light:** dark

## Overview

A way that was never meant for guests, cut into the thickness of the keep's walls behind the study fireplace: a false treasury, a hall of webs and a belfry, ending in a secret stair down to the count's vault.

Soot, old webs and bare stone. The passage runs on in the dark between the walls of the keep, and whoever built it did not expect to be followed.

**Resting:** No sleeping here: a Short Rest only, out of sight of foes. Not here, with a bell overhead and the webs all round.

## Getting here

### Ways out

| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Back up to the study hearth | [Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/castle-ravenloft-the-court-of-the-count.md) |  |
| 2 | Stairs down to the treasury | [Castle Ravenloft, the Treasury](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/castle-ravenloft-the-treasury.md) |  |

## Map

![castle ravenloft court belfry](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/maps/castle-ravenloft-court-belfry.svg)

**Key:** gold, people; red, containers; purple, hidden finds; teal, skill checks; white, exits; orange, traps. The numbers match the lists on this page.

## What to find

| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | a small chest | 14 gp | open it |
| 4 | a small chest | 21 gp | open it |
| 5 | a dead adventurer (hidden) | [Torch](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#torch) | Search |

The containers here also get random magic items and potions, rolled for a party of level 10 the first time you come ([Random Treasure](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/random-treasure.md)). Hidden finds need a Search (F) nearby; the party's best roll counts.

### Locked and secret doors

- a secret door in the north wall: secret, found at DC 17

## Fights

- *An iron clang shakes the stone overhead, raining grey dust and torn webbing down upon your shoulders. High in…*, in [Castle Ravenloft, the Back Way](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/castle-ravenloft-the-back-way.md): 8 × [Giant Spider](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/giant-spider.md) (185 HP). Starts from a conversation.