Gates of Ravenloft (J)

The following text assumes that the characters arrive here in the carriage from area I. Modify the text as needed if the characters arrive by another means.

After winding through the forest and craggy mountain peaks, the road takes a sudden turn to the east, and the startling, awesome presence of Castle Ravenloft towers before you. The carriage comes to a dead stop before twin turrets of stone, broken from years of exposure. Beyond these guard towers is the precipice of a fifty-foot-wide, fog-filled chasm that disappears into unknown depths.

A lowered drawbridge of old, shored-up wooden beams stretches across the chasm, between you and the archway to the courtyard. The chains of the drawbridge creak in the wind, their rust-eaten iron straining under the weight. From atop the high walls, stone gargoyles stare at you out of their hollow eye sockets and grin hideously. A rotting wooden portcullis, green with growth, hangs above the entry tunnel. Beyond this location, the main doors of Ravenloft stand open. A rich, warm light spills from within, flooding the courtyard. Torches flutter sadly in sconces on both sides of the open doors.

The drawbridge appears sturdy, but a few of its boards are missing and it creaks and groans under any weight. Each time a creature other than Strahd or a horse that draws his carriage crosses the drawbridge, there is a 5 percent chance of one of its boards breaking under the creature. If a board breaks, the creature must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall to the bottom of the cliffs, 1,000 feet below. If a companion is within 5 feet of the creature and reaches out to grab it, the creature has advantage on the save.

Green Slime

A patch of green slime (see "Dungeon Hazards" in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide) clings to the portcullis in the entry tunnel, and can be spotted with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. The slime will not fall on characters entering the castle, but it does fall on the first character who leaves by this route.