Overview
The high tower of Castle Ravenloft: a stair that winds up the inside of the tallest tower around an open well, from the main floor past the count's floor to the high landing, where one door leads to the tower rooms and one last stair to the Heart of Sorrow.
A stair without a rail climbs the inside of a tower so tall its top is lost in the dark. In the middle there is nothing at all: a well of black air going straight down.
Resting: Risky: a rest here can be interrupted.
Getting here
Ways in
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count: Tower stairs up to the spires
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: The high tower stairway, up
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Heart of Sorrow: Down to the high landing
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Tower Rooms: The door to the high tower
Ways out
| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The door to the main floor |  Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor | |
| 2 | The arch to the count's floor |  Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count | |
| 3 | Up to the top of the tower |  Castle Ravenloft, the Heart of Sorrow | |
| 4 | The door to the tower rooms |  Castle Ravenloft, the Tower Rooms |
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 lamplighters' cupboard
People
Who turns up at points in the story (1)
- Pidlwick II, The grand landing (#5): when not pidlwick ii with the party and not pidlwick with blinsky
What to find
| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | the lamplighters' cupboard | Lamp ×2, Oil ×3, Candle ×6, Potion of Healing, 40 gp | open it |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | a faded tapestry | Investigation 14 | Study the tower plan woven into the tapestry | reveals spires_closet_panel |
Traps
| # | Trap | Find DC | Disarm DC | Save | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | a broken step | 14 | 15 | DEX 15 | 4d6 bludgeoning |
Locked and secret doors
- a panel in the wainscot: secret, found at DC 14
Fights
- Two shapes unfold from the underside of the stair above and drop onto the steps, and the well fills with bats., in Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower: Vampire Spawn, Swarm of Bats. Scales with your level.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower, when not spires stair watch cleared and level ≥ 11: 4 × Stair Warden (Vampire Spawn), 3 × Swarm of Bats (7350 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower, when not spires stair watch cleared and level ≥ 10: 3 × Stair Warden (Vampire Spawn), 3 × Swarm of Bats (5550 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower, when not spires stair watch cleared: 2 × Stair Warden (Vampire Spawn), Swarm of Bats (3650 XP)
Quests and lore
- The Destined Ally: Madam Eva's fourth card named the one who will stand with us against the devil.
- The Doll Collector: Izek Strazni, the Baron's enforcer, has dreamed of a red-haired woman all his life, and has had her face carved over and over.
- The Heart of Sorrow: At the top of Castle Ravenloft's high tower hangs a crystal heart that takes Strahd's wounds before he does.
- The Jester's Key: Pidlwick II, the clockwork jester of the high tower, is running down: the ravens took his wind-up key.
- The Toymaker's Masterpiece: Gadof Blinsky, Vallaki's toymaker, has wanted all his life to see the clockwork jester his master's master made for the count's children.
- The Unnamed Crypt: One crypt in Castle Ravenloft's catacombs has no name on it, and something in it holds the count's doors.