Overview
The crypts under the castle where the house of von Zarovich keeps its dead in rows: generals, servants, a conjurer, a jester, a champion watched by stone, and the black horse's stall. Stairs lead up to the castle and down to the oldest tombs.
Aisles of crypts run away into the dark in straight lines, each behind an iron gate with a name over it. The air is cold and very still.
Resting: Risky: a rest here can be interrupted.
Getting here
Ways in
- From Castle Ravenloft, Strahd's Tomb: The black stair up
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Old Tombs: Stairs up to the catacombs
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Larders of Ill Omen: The long stair, down to the crypts
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: The stairs down to the crypts
Ways out
| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stairs up to the chapel side |  Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor | |
| 2 | Stairs up to the dungeon |  Castle Ravenloft, the Larders of Ill Omen | |
| 3 | Stairs down to the old tombs |  Castle Ravenloft, the Old Tombs | |
| 4 | The black stair down |  Castle Ravenloft, Strahd's Tomb |
Map
Key: gold, people; red, containers; purple, hidden finds; teal, skill checks; white, exits; orange, traps. The numbers match the lists on this page.
Close up
the Mad Dog's sarcophagus, Torn regimental banners
a sealed reliquary with a slot in its lid, a wand hidden in the conjurer's bier
an iron-bound chest under the bones, Bones stacked to the ceiling
What to find
| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | the Mad Dog's sarcophagus | Longsword, 45 gp | open it |
| 6 | a sealed reliquary with a slot in its lid | Spell Scroll (Level 1) ×2, Ink, 30 gp | lock DC 22; or the Arcane Focus (Wand) |
| 7 | a painted box | Playing Card Set, 7 gp | open it |
| 8 | an iron-bound chest under the bones | Potion of Healing ×2, 120 gp | open it |
| 9 | a noble's crypt, its lid ajar | Perfume, 25 gp | open it |
| 10 | the champion's slab | Greatsword, 20 gp | open it |
| 13 | the conjurer's bier (hidden) | Arcane Focus (Wand) | Search |
| 16 | a wand hidden in the conjurer's bier (hidden) | Wand of the War Mage, +2 | Search: Investigation DC 16 |
| 17 | a false bottom in the jester's sarcophagus (hidden) | Cape of the Mountebank | Search: Investigation DC 15 |
Tarokka treasure spots. If the reading hid one of the treasures here, it's in: Castle Ravenloft Crypt of the Mad Dog (cat_mad_dog_sarcophagus); Castle Ravenloft Crypt of the Wizard (cat_conjurer_reliquary); Castle Ravenloft Gargoyle Tomb (cat_champion_slab)
The containers here also get random magic items and potions, rolled for a party of level 10 the first time you come (Random Treasure). Hidden finds need a Search (F) nearby; the party's best roll counts.
Skill checks
| # | Where | Check | Try | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Torn regimental banners | History 15 | Read the regiment's banners | reveals cat_mad_dog_blade |
| 12 | a small sarcophagus | Performance 15 | Tell the jester's crypt a joke | finds Cape of the Mountebank |
| 14 | Sigils on the wall | Arcana 16 | Read the sigils on the wall | reveals cat_conjurer_glyph; disarms cat conjurer glyph |
| 15 | Bones stacked to the ceiling | Investigation 16 | Work out why the bones are stacked so | reveals cat_ossuary_secret |
Traps
| # | Trap | Find DC | Disarm DC | Save | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | a scything blade under the flagstones | 15 | 15 | DEX 15 | 4d10 slashing |
| 19 | a glyph cut into the threshold | 16 | 16 | DEX 15 | 4d8 lightning |
Locked and secret doors
- an iron crypt gate, chained: lock DC 15
- a seam in the crypt's back wall: secret, found at DC 16
Fights
- The black horse lifts its head from the manger, and the man beside it turns around., in Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Strahd von Zarovich, Nightmare, Swarm of Bats.
- The coffins are empty because their sleepers are already standing, and they have been waiting for you., in Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Vampire Spawn. Scales with your level.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when night: 3 × Vampire Spawn (5400 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when day: 2 × Vampire Spawn (3600 XP; surprise: enemies)
- The winged figures at the corners of the slab unfold, stone grinding on stone, and drop to the floor., in Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Gargoyle.
- Corvina stands up out of her crypt, and the iron gates along the row swing shut by themselves, one after…, in Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, Helmed Horror. Scales with your level.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when corvina named and level ≥ 10: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, A Door-Warden (Helmed Horror) (9500 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when level ≥ 10: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, A Door-Warden (Helmed Horror) (9500 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when corvina named and level ≥ 9: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, A Door-Warden (Helmed Horror) (9500 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when level ≥ 9: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, A Door-Warden (Helmed Horror) (9500 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs, when corvina named: Corvina, the Doorkeeper (8400 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Corvina, the Doorkeeper, A Door-Warden (Helmed Horror) (9500 XP)
Quests and lore
- The Unnamed Crypt: One crypt in Castle Ravenloft's catacombs has no name on it, and something in it holds the count's doors.