# The Doll Collector > From the Curse of Strahd game wiki (it covers the whole game, spoilers included): https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-doll-collector.html. Unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy, not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. > [!infobox] > ![quest izek obsession](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/quest-izek-obsession.webp) > **Type:** Side quest > **Region:** [Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/regions/vallaki.md) · level 5 > **Given by:** [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/izek-strazni.md) > **Starts at:** [Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md) > **Rewards:** [Signal Whistle](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#signal-whistle) ## Summary 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. ## Walkthrough ### Getting the quest [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/izek-strazni.md), the Baron's enforcer, stands in [Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md)'s town square by day until the festival begins. If [Ireena](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/ireena-kolyana.md) is in your party, he walks straight up to her the first time he sees her, and the quest starts at **Noticed**. You can answer him three ways: - *"Her business is her own"*: he watches her walk away. - **Intimidation DC 14**, stepping between them: he backs off, "not in front of the town" (Godrick +2, Thistle +1). If it fails, he turns hostile and marks you. - *"Her name is Ireena"*: he tells her he's seen her every night since he was nine. If Ireena isn't with you, the journal starts later, at Dolls Found, when Blinsky tells you about the dolls (step 1). ### Step by step 1. **Find the dolls.** [Blinsky Toys](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/blinsky-toys.md) is on market row, west of the square, and is open by day only. - If Ireena is with you, [Blinsky](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/gadof-blinsky.md) recognises "the doll lady" the moment she walks in, and the quest moves to **Dolls Found**. - Without her, read the order book on his counter (eleven red-haired dolls for "I.S."), or examine the chest of dolls in Izek's room at [The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md). Then ask Blinsky *"Tell us about Izek's dolls"* to reach **Dolls Found**. - While you're in the shop, try **Performance DC 12**, *"Try to make him laugh"*. Success earns a [Signal Whistle](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#signal-whistle) (Wren +2); failure costs you a gold piece to his monkey. ![loc vallaki blinsky toys 1](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-vallaki-blinsky-toys-1.webp) 2. **Hear his story.** Find Izek in the square by day and ask *"What happened to your arm?"*. When he was nine, wolves came out of the woods past the lake and took his little sister and his arm, and he woke up with the arm he has now. *"We've heard about your dolls"* gets his side of it: she's real, and when he finds her he'll keep her safe. The Insight DC 13 option only adds colour. 3. **Work out who she is.** You need to have heard his story, seen the dolls and met Ireena. Then either: - with Izek in the square, try **Insight DC 12**, *"(Put the pieces together.)"*. Success moves the quest to **Truth Guessed**. A failure can't be retried. - or, while Ireena is lodged at the Blue Water Inn or at St. Andral's, ask her *"Ireena, what do you remember from before Kolyan found you?"*. She remembers trees, the cold, and a boy shouting a name. That's **Truth Guessed** with no roll, and she would rather he knew. If the Insight fails while Ireena is travelling with you, leave her at the inn (before the bones come home) or the church (after), then ask her. 4. **Tell him.** Choose *"Izek, we know who the red-haired woman is"*, in the square by day before the festival or in his room at night. Then: - *"Let Ireena tell him herself"*, if she's in your party: no roll needed. - **Persuasion DC 14**, *"Make him hear it"*. If it fails, he calls you a liar, turns hostile, and will only hear it from her. - *"We'll bring her to you"*, if she isn't with you. Once he believes it, the quest ends at **Truth Told**. He won't touch her, won't let anyone else touch her, and won't break any more heads for the Baron. 5. **Or confront him at night.** His room is off the mansion's foyer, and after dark he sits on his cot turning a doll in the candlelight. You can tell him you know about the dolls, warn him off with **Intimidation DC 16** (success: he tells you to get out; failure: he fights), or draw steel. - The fight is the Izek Confrontation: at level 5, Izek (110 HP) and two sergeants of the watch ([Warrior Veterans](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md)), 3,200 XP. That's between a moderate and a hard fight for four level 5 characters, and harder than hard at level 4. - He swings his battleaxe twice a turn, and can swap a swing for a 60 ft bolt of fire. - Winning ends the quest at **Izek Slain**. His chest holds a [Potion of Giant Strength (Hill Giant)](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#potion-of-giant-strength-hill-giant), though taking it counts as theft. > [!tip] Speak with Dead: Kolyan > If you've heard [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/izek-strazni.md)'s story of his lost sister, casting Speak with Dead on the burgomaster (at his coffin in the mansion, or his grave in the village churchyard) proves it: Kolyan found Ireena on the lake road the winter the wolves took Izek's arm. The journal moves to the truth being guessed, and you can tell Izek who she is. ### Choices and endings - **Truth Told.** This is the kindest ending, and the one that most helps you at [the festival](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-festival-of-the-blazing-sun.md). If you side with Lady Wachter or the town, Izek stays out of the festival fight, where he would otherwise be the hardest enemy. If the Baron wins, he makes no claim on Ireena. Telling him on the dais after the Baron's triumph also earns Wren +2, Liriel +2 and Godrick +1. - **Izek Slain.** He can die in his room, or in the duel after the Baron's triumph. He also dies automatically if you side with Lady Wachter or the town at the festival and he fights you there for the Baron. - **Spurned.** If you back the Baron and Ireena is with you or lodged in Vallaki, Izek asks for her as his reward after the festival. **Persuasion DC 14** makes the Baron refuse him. This doesn't end the quest: Izek waits and watches. In the Baron's town he stands in the square by day, but you can only talk it over with him in his room at night, where you can still tell him the truth, or fight him. - If Ireena has taken sanctuary at St. Andral's in the Baron's town, Izek stands at the church door every dusk. - Later, if you've heard Izek's story (or Ireena is with you), [Emil Toranescu](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/emil-toranescu.md) in the werewolf den has something to add about that night by the lake. ### If you're stuck - **Izek isn't in the square.** He leaves it when the festival begins. At night he's in his room, and after the festival he stays in town only if the Baron won. - **There's no "Put the pieces together" option.** You need his story (ask about his arm), the dolls (Blinsky's order book, Izek's chest, or Blinsky meeting Ireena), and to have met Ireena. - **You can't ask Ireena what she remembers.** She can only be asked once she's lodged at the inn or the church, not while she travels with you. - **The toyshop is shut.** It's only open by day. ## Rewards - [Signal Whistle](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/equipment.md#signal-whistle) **What your companions think** - **Wren Featherfoot:** +2 you told Izek the truth instead of fighting him; +2 you made the saddest toymaker in Barovia laugh - **Liriel Dawnsong:** +2 you told Izek the truth instead of fighting him - **Godrick Pendlebrook:** +1 you told Izek the truth instead of fighting him; +2 you stepped between Izek and Ireena - **Thistle:** +1 you stepped between Izek and Ireena ## Fights - *Izek comes off the cot in one movement, and the arm that isn't his starts to glow like a coal someone has…*, in [The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md): [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), [Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md). Scales with your level. > [!example]- By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get) > - **[The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md)**, when level ≥ 5: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), 2 × Sergeant of the watch ([Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md)) (3200 XP) > - **[The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md)**, when level ≥ 4: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), Sergeant of the watch ([Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md)) (2500 XP) > - **[The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md)**: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md) (1800 XP) - *Izek steps down off the dais, flexing the arm that isn't his. A few of the watch step down with him.*, in [Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md): [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), [Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md). Scales with your level. > [!example]- By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get) > - **[Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md)**, when level ≥ 5: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), 2 × Izek's sergeant ([Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md)) (3200 XP) > - **[Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md)**, when level ≥ 4: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md), Izek's sergeant ([Warrior Veteran](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/warrior-veteran.md)) (2500 XP) > - **[Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md)**: [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/izek-strazni.md) (1800 XP) ## Journal > [!quote]- Every journal entry and hint > **Noticed**: Izek Strazni, the Baron's enforcer, looked at Ireena as if he had seen her face before, many times. > *Hint:* Ask Blinsky the toymaker in Vallaki who orders his dolls, or watch Izek when Ireena is near. > > **Dolls Found**: Izek pays Blinsky the toymaker to carve doll after doll of one red-haired woman, and keeps them in a chest at the foot of his bed. They all have Ireena's face. > *Hint:* Ask Ireena what she remembers from before Kolyan found her, or press Izek about his past (Insight). > > **Truth Guessed**: Izek lost a little sister in the woods when he was a boy, the night the wolves took his arm. Ireena was found wandering at about that age, with no memory of where she came from. They are brother and sister. > *Hint:* Decide whether to tell Izek what you suspect. He is in Vallaki by day and in his room at the Baron's mansion at night. > > **Truth Told** (the end: success): We told Izek who Ireena is. The Baron's fist went quiet as a struck bell. He will not lay a hand on her now, nor, it seems, on anyone else for the Baron. He walked out of the Baron's service that same day, and nobody has seen him in the square since. > > **Izek Slain** (the end: success): Izek Strazni is dead. Whatever he dreamed of died with him. > > **Spurned**: The Baron refused Izek his reward. Izek obeyed, for now, and still watches Ireena whenever she crosses the square. > *Hint:* Izek still watches Ireena in Vallaki. Telling him what you know may change things. > [!abstract]- Every skill check in its conversations > - Persuasion DC 15: Ask her, in front of everyone, whose hand she means to rule with. > - Performance DC 12: Try to make him laugh. > - Intimidation DC 14: (Step between them.) Walk on, watchman. > - Insight DC 13: What does he want, besides obedience? > - Insight DC 12: (Put the pieces together.) > - Persuasion DC 14: Make him hear it. > - Intimidation DC 16: Stay away from Ireena, or you won't see another festival. > - Intimidation DC 16: Because we'll kill you if you try. ## Related - **People:** [Baron Vargas Vallakovich](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/baron-vargas-vallakovich.md), [Lady Wachter](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/lady-wachter.md), [Izek Strazni](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/izek-strazni.md), [Lydia Petrovna](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/lydia-petrovna.md), [Father Lucian](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/father-lucian.md), [Urwin Martikov](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/urwin-martikov.md), [Gadof Blinsky](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/gadof-blinsky.md), [Pidlwick II](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/pidlwick-ii.md), [Ireena Kolyana](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/ireena-kolyana.md), [Kolyan Indirovich](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/kolyan-indirovich.md) - **Places:** [Vallaki](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/vallaki.md), [Blinsky Toys](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/blinsky-toys.md), [Castle Ravenloft, the High Tower](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/castle-ravenloft-the-high-tower.md), [St. Andral's Church](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/st-andrals-church.md), [The Blue Water Inn](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-blue-water-inn.md), [The Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-burgomasters-mansion.md), [Burgomaster's Mansion](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/burgomasters-mansion.md), [Village of Barovia](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/village-of-barovia.md) - **More in Vallaki:** [Black Roses](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/black-roses.md), [Lady Wachter's Book Club](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/lady-wachters-book-club.md), [One Lantern Too Many](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/one-lantern-too-many.md), [Ribbons](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/ribbons.md), [The Attic Circle](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-attic-circle.md), [The Bones of St. Andral](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-bones-of-st-andral.md), [The Cat in the Window](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-cat-in-the-window.md), [The Count's Portraitist](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-counts-portraitist.md) > [!example]- Cutscenes > **The Struck Bell**: The Struck Bell: a later beat of a long conversation picture (vallaki/izek, ~ truth_ok), Ashwin's ask 2026-10-12. > ![izek truth](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/cutscenes/izek-truth.webp) > > **Izek and the Doll**: Izek alone in the dark with a red-haired doll. > ![izek doll](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/cutscenes/izek-doll.webp)