FEY QUEST
Campaign Prep
You may be asking what the Fey Quest is and why should we concern ourselves with it. Let me proffer some thoughts as to why the Fey Quest may be the primary and pivotal story arc and quest for your party.
THE MISTS
We do not often talk about it, but the unspoken enemy of the party and all the people of Barovia is the Mist. Once the players enter Barovia, they are unable to leave. The Mist traps all in Barovia, even souls. To escape Barovia, you need to lift the Mist. To lift the Mist, you need to defeat Strahd. The problem is, defeating Strahd is only temporary, he will rise again, the Mists will return, and the horrific cycle will continue.
HEART OF SORROW
The Heart of Sorrow floats in Castle Ravenloft. It is a powerful magic artifact giving Strahd strength and power. However, the Heart of Sorrow is more than it appears. First, while it provides additional health (rules as written) to Lord Strahd, for the purposes of this supplement it serves a second purpose as his phylactery. The Heart of Sorrow allows Strahd to resurrect after being killed in 1d6 days. That means, even if Strahd is defeated, victory is only temporary. Strahd will rise, and the Mist will blanket the valley, again cutting off Barovia from the world. Do you think Strahd would be so easily defeated without a backup plan?
The Heart of Sorrow was created with powerful magical amber, found only in the Amber Temple. The amber’s power can harness even the darkest and most powerful magic and cannot be destroyed by any weapons or magic the party could reasonably acquire.
Yet there is a way, using a magic of equal power, to destroy the Heart of Sorrow. Once the Heart of Sorrow is destroyed, Strahd’s power will fade, and he will not be able to resurrect—thus freeing Barovia from his dark reign, lifting the Mists forever, and restoring the land.
Where does one find the powerful magic needed to destroy the Heart of Sorrow? The Fey Quest.
THE FEY QUEST SUMMARY
To destroy the Heart of Sorrow, the party must restore the fey, learn their secrets, and harness their power.
HOW DO THEY DO THAT?
Strahd has desecrated the three ancient stone circles (known as Fanes), and the gems that power the magic of the three stone circles are missing.
The party must find the three gems and perform a ritual at each of the stone circles to restore the fey. Once all three fey are restored, they will give the party a powerful magic gem to destroy the Heart of Sorrow.
Sounds simple but wait—there are some serious obstacles in the way, including Strahd himself. It is not going to be easy.