The Hunter's Tower

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

Van Richten's Tower goes on your travel map when you hear of it: from Bluto Krogarov if you save him at Lake Zarovich, from a silvered wolf snare you can come across on the hill trails, from Rictavio himself if he leaves Vallaki angry and tells you where he's going, or from your Tarokka reading. It's 2.5 hours from the werewolf den by the ridge path, 3 hours by boat from Lake Zarovich, 4 hours from Krezk, and 2 hours down from Mount Baratok.

Ezmerelda d'Avenir is camped by her wagon on the shore, and she speaks first as you come up the path. Meeting her starts the quest. She's only here if Madam Eva's cards didn't name her as your ally (if they did, she's at the abbey instead) and she isn't already travelling with you.

Step by step

1. Meet Ezmerelda. She points a crossbow at you and asks you to say something a vampire wouldn't say; either answer will do. Ask "What's wrong with the tower?": the old lock opens to the dead archmage's name, KHAZAN, and Van Richten's newer ward is keyed to her alone and threw her in the lake. The quest moves to Asked. "We'll go in." or "What's in it for us?" (Kip +1, Godrick -1) both end the same way. If your Tarokka treasure is in the tower, she mentions "the thing the cards keep moving" in his strongbox. "What do you know about the wolves in these hills?" starts The Pack in the Hills.

   Around the camp: the note nailed to her wagon also gives you the name KHAZAN. A Perception DC 14 check from the lookout rock east of the camp reveals a satchel (search DC 14: Eyes of the Eagle), and there's something dropped beside the path (search DC 13: Caltrops). Her wagon is locked (DC 16) and has a tripwire on its step (spot DC 14, disarm DC 14, Dexterity DC 14 or 3d10 fire; Survival DC 14 at her campfire spots it too). Inside are 30 gp, 2 holy water, alchemist's fire, 20 bolts and a potion, but robbing it costs 2 of her trust and she knows it was you.

2. Open the door. Cross the causeway to the island and look at the carved lintel and door.
   • "Say the name: Khazan." opens it if you know the name. If you don't, History DC 14 reads it off the lintel (one try; Ratatouille +2).
   • Arcana DC 14 only tells you about the two wards. Knocking gets nothing.
   • If Van Richten is travelling with you, he opens the door himself and lowers the ward upstairs, and the quest moves to Inside.
   • If Ezmerelda is travelling with you instead, the ward snaps at her and she shoulders through anyway, swearing in three languages. If Van Richten is still in Vallaki, she has seen his empty tower for herself, so the quest ends at once at With Her (see Choices and endings). If he has come home, a chair scrapes somewhere above you, the quest moves to Inside as it would without her, and taking her up to him (step 6) turns it into Reunited.

   Otherwise the quest moves to Inside. The exception is when Madam Eva's cards named Ezmerelda: unless she walks in with you while Van Richten is away, opening the door doesn't start or move this quest at all.

   

3. The storeroom (ground floor). A crate holds 2 holy water, 3 torches, 2 oil and 4 rations. At the back of the hearth a copper rod feeds the lightning ward on the top floor. Pull it once you've read the casebook, or work it out with Arcana DC 13 or Investigation DC 14 (one attempt between the two). Survival DC 15 on the wall of trophies reveals a clip behind one of them (Investigation DC 16: Wand of Binding). The tower is a safe place for a long rest.
4. The workroom (first floor).
   • The casebook on the table has Van Richten's notes on Strahd and the wolves, and underlined in the margin: pull the copper rod before you go up.
   • The ledger of disguises says plainly that Rictavio of the Blue Water Inn is Van Richten.
   • The map of the valley marks the werewolf den.
   • The medicine cabinet holds a Healer's Kit, 2 potions of healing and Antitoxin. Medicine DC 15 on the jars reveals an unlabelled flask (Investigation DC 15: Oil of Etherealness).

   If Vallaki went to Lady Wachter and Van Richten left town, he's sitting here (see step 6).

5. The lantern room (top floor). Unless you pulled the rod or Van Richten is with you, copper nails across the floor carry a lightning trap (spot DC 15, disarm DC 16, Dexterity DC 15 or 4d10 lightning). Beyond it are his strongbox (120 gp, 3 holy water, 2 potions of healing, a Spell Scroll (Level 1), and your Tarokka treasure if it's here) and a sealed letter addressed to Ezmerelda.
6. Van Richten at home (only if he left Vallaki). Out of his showman's costume, he talks plainly. "We could use your arsenal, Doctor." opens his shop. "Ezmerelda is outside." lets you send him down to her: "She'll get in eventually. You trained her..." does it with no roll, and the Persuasion DC 14 option does the same pass or fail. If Ezmerelda is with you, "She's right behind us, Doctor." does it too. Either way the ward comes down, the quest ends at Reunited, and her trust rises by 2 (Wren +2, Liriel, Kip and Godrick +1).

   

   If Madam Eva named him and he refused you in Vallaki, "The cards still name you. Hunt with us." brings him along at once if you've freed the werewolf den's children, freed the children of Old Bonegrinder, or lit the beacon at Argynvostholt; otherwise it takes Persuasion DC 15.

7. Go back down to Ezmerelda and decide what to tell her.
   • The letter. "We found a letter in the tower, with your name on it." raises her trust by 1.
   • "We know where Van Richten is." This appears once you've read the ledger, or unmasked Rictavio in Vallaki. Then pick one:
     • "He's at the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki, calling himself Rictavio." raises her trust by 1 and ends the quest at Told; she leaves for Vallaki that night. If you'd promised Rictavio to keep his secret, Godrick -2 and Kip -1. If Van Richten has come home to the tower, she works out that he's inside instead, stays, and the quest doesn't end yet: go up and send him down (step 6).
     • "We promised him we'd keep his secret." (if you did promise, in Vallaki) or "He's alive. He doesn't want to be found." ends the quest at Kept (Godrick +1, Kip +1).
     • Deception DC 15, "We were wrong. We don't know where he is.", keeps his secret as surely as a promise: pass or fail, the quest ends at Kept. If the lie works she decides to believe you (Wren +1, Godrick -1); if it fails she guesses he made you promise, and it costs 1 trust.
   • Van Richten with you. If Rictavio joined you as your Tarokka ally, simply walk up to her camp with him: the reunion plays at her fire and the quest ends at Reunited.
   • The den. After the werewolf den is settled, "The pack in the hills is settled." changes her trust (see The Pack in the Hills).
   • Her gift. The first time her trust reaches 2 she gives you 2 Holy Water, a Potion of Healing, 10 Crossbow Bolt and her Glamoured Studded Leather. At trust 2 or more, "Hunt with us." brings her into the party as a guest, even if the cards didn't name her. If the quest is still at Inside and Van Richten isn't home, it ends at With Her as she joins.
8. Leave by day. Once you've read the casebook, the castle sends visitors to wait at the shore end of the causeway at night (from 19:00 to 6:00): two Vampire Spawn, a Wight and two Swarm of Bats at level 8 (4400 XP), no wight at level 7, and one spawn with the two swarms below that. They're standing in plain view, so you can see them first, but the easy answer is to rest in the tower and come out after dawn. Beating them pays 25 gp and a potion.

Choices and endings

• With Her (success): Ezmerelda travels with you while her teacher isn't home. You get it by opening the door with her along while Van Richten is still in Vallaki, or by asking her to "Hunt with us." (step 7) after you've searched the tower without her, as long as he hasn't come home. She knows he's alive and as stubborn as ever, and she'll find him in her own time. If Van Richten comes home to the tower later, "She's right behind us, Doctor." (step 6) still turns this into Reunited.
• Told (success): Ezmerelda goes to Vallaki to find him. Trust +1.
• Kept (success): you keep his secret, honestly or with a lie, and she stays on his doorstep. Refuse her honestly and she grudgingly respects you for it.
• Reunited (success): Trust +2. They sit together at her fire on the shore afterwards, and the epilogue sends them out of the valley together, already arguing about the next monster. If they never meet again, the epilogue has Ezmerelda leave alone.
• In every ending but With Her (where she's already with you), her trust decides whether she gives you her gift and whether she'll hunt with you: +1 for the letter, +1 for the truth about Rictavio, +2 for the reunion, and for the den +1 if Kiril is dead plus +1 if the children are home (-1 if Kiril leads). A failed lie costs 1 and a robbed wagon costs 2.

If you're stuck

• The quest won't end on Told while Van Richten is sitting upstairs. Send him down instead.
• Telling her where he is makes her leave that night, and after that she's gone from the camp. If you want her gift or her company, raise her trust first with the letter and the den news, then tell her.
• Once Ezmerelda travels with you she's no longer at her camp, so you can't hand her the letter or tell her anything there. If you opened the door without her and Van Richten isn't home, asking her to hunt with you ends the quest at With Her, so give her the letter and anything else you mean to tell her first. If he has come home, the quest waits at Inside until you take her up to him (step 6).
• If Madam Eva named Ezmerelda, she isn't at the camp, and the door doesn't start this quest without her. Once open, the door stays open, so bring her along as your guest the first time you say the name: the quest ends at With Her, or, if Van Richten has come home, take her up to him for Reunited (step 6). If you've already opened it without her, only a reunion with Van Richten at home (step 6) gives this quest an ending.
• If both hearth checks are gone, the casebook still lets you pull the rod. Or skip the rod and deal with the trap with a spot and disarm check.

Rewards

• Holy Water ×2
• Potion of Healing
• Crossbow Bolt ×10
• Glamoured Studded Leather (Studded Leather Armor)

What your companions think

• Kip Smudgewick: +1 you asked Ezmerelda what was in it for you; -1 you broke your promise to keep Van Richten's secret; +1 you kept Van Richten's secret, even from his student; +1 you sent Van Richten down to his student
• Godrick Pendlebrook: -1 you asked Ezmerelda what was in it for you; -2 you broke your promise to keep Van Richten's secret; +1 you kept Van Richten's secret, even from his student; -1 you lied to Ezmerelda about her teacher; +1 you sent Van Richten down to his student
• Wren Featherfoot: +1 you lied to Ezmerelda about her teacher; +2 you sent Van Richten down to his student
• Ratatouille: +2 you read Khazan's name on the lintel; +1 you studied the wards on Van Richten's door
• Liriel Dawnsong: +1 you sent Van Richten down to his student

Journal

Related

• People: Ezmerelda d'Avenir, Rictavio
• Places: Van Richten's Tower, Van Richten's Tower
• More in Van Richten's Tower: The Drowned Library, The Name Over the Door