Overview
The heart of the castle's ground floor: the entry and the vaulted great entry with the grand stairs, the guests' hall and the dining hall where Strahd entertains, the turret posts, the hall of faces with its ever-burning hearth, and the passage to the chapel and the crypt stairs. Every part of the castle is reached from here.
Cold stone, high vaults and dust, and somewhere an organ playing. Stairs climb, stairs descend, and every door is a little ajar, as if the house expects you.
Resting: Risky: a rest here can be interrupted.
Getting here
Ways in
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs: Stairs up to the chapel side
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Chapel: Back to the chapel passage
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count: Stairs down to the main floor
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Gates: The keep's great doors
- From Castle Ravenloft, the Larders of Ill Omen: Stairs up to the main floor
- From Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower: The door to the main floor
Ways out
| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Out through the great doors to the courtyard |  Castle Ravenloft, the Gates | |
| 2 | Out through the great doors to the courtyard | Castle Ravenloft, the Gates | |
| 3 | The grand stairs up |  Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count | |
| 4 | The grand stairs up | Castle Ravenloft, the Court of the Count | |
| 5 | The high tower stairway, up |  Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower | |
| 6 | The servants' stairs down to the kitchens |  Castle Ravenloft, the Larders of Ill Omen | |
| 7 | The stairs down to the crypts |  Castle Ravenloft, the Catacombs | |
| 8 | The church doors of the chapel |  Castle Ravenloft, the Chapel | |
| 9 | The church doors of the chapel | Castle Ravenloft, the Chapel |
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
a servery cupboard, the organ, a compartment behind one of the organ's stops
a sideboard
a guest wardrobe
People
Who turns up at points in the story (2)
- Strahd von Zarovich, The dining hall (#10): when strahd invitation is “accepted” and not castle dinner
- Captain Merrow, The dining hall (#11, #12): when name ilse varga and quest kestrel company at or past the deserter and not kestrel merrow counted and not kestrel merrow fallen and strahd invitation is “accepted” and not castle dinner; or when name ilse varga and quest kestrel company at or past the deserter and not kestrel merrow counted and not kestrel merrow fallen and (strahd invitation isn't “accepted” or castle dinner is “dined” or crg dinner fight over)
What to find
| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | a servery cupboard | Ration ×4, Candle ×6 | open it |
| 14 | a sideboard | Glass Bottle ×2, 25 gp | open it |
| 15 | a guest wardrobe | Fine Clothes, Perfume | open it |
| 16 | a weapon rack | Halberd, Shield, Crossbow Bolt ×20 | open it |
| 17 | an iron strongbox | 320 gp | open it |
| 19 | a compartment behind one of the organ's stops (hidden) | Instrument of the Bards (Anstruth Harp) | Search: Investigation DC 16 |
Tarokka treasure spots. If the reading hid one of the treasures here, it's in: Castle Ravenloft Hidden Hearth (crg_hearth_hoard)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | the organ | Performance 16 | Play the count's organ | finds Instrument of the Bards (Anstruth Harp) |
Locked and secret doors
- a seam beside the firebox: secret, found at DC 13
Fights
- Strahd sets down his glass. At my table, he says, almost fondly. The candles gutter, and the dark above the…, in Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Strahd von Zarovich, Swarm of Bats.
- Two suits of black armour step down from their stands at once, as if someone had called the watch., in Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Strahd's Animated Armor. Scales with your level.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when level ≥ 10: 2 × Strahd's Animated Armor (4600 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Strahd's Animated Armor (2300 XP)
- The fire dies, and every face in the hall turns toward you. Two portraits lean out of their frames; helmed…, in Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Guardian Portrait, Helmed Horror. Scales with your level.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when not crg hearth quiet and level ≥ 10: 2 × Guardian Portrait, 3 × Helmed Horror (3700 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when not crg hearth quiet: 2 × Guardian Portrait, 2 × Helmed Horror (2600 XP)
- Up the servants' stair comes Corporal Vell, two of the company at his back. 'Sergeant,' he says. 'You're…, in Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Vampire Spawn. Scales with your level. Part of Count Off.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when name ilse varga and quest kestrel company at or past the deserter and not (quest kestrel company at or past count off) and not kestrel vell rests: Corporal Vell (Vampire Spawn), Private Venn (Vampire Spawn), Private Corrin (Vampire Spawn) (5400 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when name ilse varga and quest kestrel company at or past the deserter and not (quest kestrel company at or past count off): Private Venn (Vampire Spawn), Private Corrin (Vampire Spawn), Private Ash (Vampire Spawn) (5400 XP)
- Every panel in the hall stands open. Four of Kestrel Company come out of the walls in step, and their captain…, in Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Vampire Spawn. Scales with your level. Part of Count Off.
By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when kestrel merrow called: Captain Merrow (Vampire Spawn), Private Hale (Vampire Spawn), Private Dosh (Vampire Spawn), Lance-Corporal Brannock (Vampire Spawn), Private Lind (Vampire Spawn) (9000 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor, when not kestrel jory forgiven: Captain Merrow (Vampire Spawn), Private Hale (Vampire Spawn), Private Dosh (Vampire Spawn) (5400 XP)
- Castle Ravenloft, the Main Floor: Captain Merrow (Vampire Spawn) (1800 XP)
Quests and lore
- A Seat at the Table: Ratatouille learned magic so that people would sit with him. He crossed the mists to apprentice himself to the Wizard of Wines, a master of…
- Count Off: Ilse Varga's mercenary company marched into the mists a year ago at the invitation of someone who signed himself S. She was meant to march…
- Dinner at Castle Ravenloft: Strahd sent his carriage with an invitation to dine. He kept his word: the table was laid, and he was waiting.
- The Fine Print: Kip Smudgewick signed a devil's contract to save his family's apricot orchard. The devil has offered him one way out: a signature from the…