Fresh adventures, beautiful new artwork, stunning battle maps, and a completely redesigned collection of free Curse of Strahd guides.
Legends of Barovia, my expanded campaign for Curse of Strahd, began as a passion project born from my own campaign, which ran for 18 months and 65 unforgettable sessions.
In 2021, I began turning that experience into a series of free PDF adventure guides to share with the Dungeons & Dragons community. Along the way, I met DM Andy, an incredibly talented battle map artist. What began as a collaboration grew into a wonderful friendship, and together we began bringing our vision of Barovia to life.
Five years later, Legends of Barovia has grown into a collection of more than 30 free PDF guides, dozens of player handouts, and an amazing community of Dungeon Masters and players. Over the years, the guides have received more than 100,000 downloads.
What started as a small passion project became something far greater than I ever imagined.
Returning to Barovia
Over the years, I have received countless messages, suggestions, ideas, and constructive feedback from DMs running Legends of Barovia at their own tables.
I have kept a notebook filled with those ideas, always thinking that one day I might return to the guides and give them a fresh update.
Well, that day has arrived.
A great deal has changed since 2021. Dungeons & Dragons has introduced its revised 2024 rules, and we've seen a new return to the Domains of Dread with Ravenloft: The Horrors Within.
I have also learned a tremendous amount along the way, slowly honing my craft as a writer, adventure designer, and publisher.
And DM Andy? His battle maps have reached an entirely new level. His new 2.0 maps are absolutely stunning.
It felt like the perfect time to return to Barovia!
Legends of Barovia 2.0 — Less Is More
One of my most important goals for this new edition was simple: less is more.
As DMs, we have enough to manage at the table. We dont need to wade through walls of text or endless paragraphs searching for a single detail during a session.
I wanted the new Legends of Barovia guides to be more concise, elegant, and practical. Something a DM could read, digest, and actually use at the table.
To help accomplish this, I began working with Jesse Winter, a professional editor with extensive experience in the tabletop roleplaying community.
Jesse was instrumental in developing a new editorial style guide and layout, helping me rethink how information should be organized and presented.
We have also moved production to Typst, giving us greater control over layout and design.
The result is a cleaner, more accessible guide that preserves the atmosphere, lore, and storytelling of Barovia while making it easier to prepare and run.
Of course, this is not simply a visual redesign. I am also revisiting the adventures themselves, incorporating years of community feedback, refining encounters, expanding ideas where needed, and removing material that no longer serves the story.
Introducing NPC Cards — Bringing Characters to Life
One of my favorite new additions to Legends of Barovia 2.0 came from Jesse Winter: the NPC Card.
The idea is simple. Rather than burying important character details in paragraphs of text, each NPC gets a small, easy-to-reference card containing the essential information a DM needs to bring that character to life.
Every card begins with a brief description of the NPC's appearance, followed by four unique details chosen specifically for that character. These might include personality, motivations, secrets, knowledge, relationships, or other traits that make the NPC memorable.
The four details are not fixed categories. They are tailored to each NPC, giving the DM practical information to help portray the character, improvise conversations, and respond naturally to the players.
Another important part of Jesse's design is that the NPC Cards are system-agnostic. Whether you're running Curse of Strahd using D&D 5e, Shadowdark, Old-School Essentials (OSE), or another OSR or D&D-adjacent system, the cards remain useful without requiring mechanical conversion.
It's a simple idea, but one that perfectly captures our new philosophy for Legends of Barovia 2.0: Less reading, more playing.
Updated Player Handouts
The accompanying Legends of Barovia player handouts have also received a fresh update.
I have revisited the original handouts, which I designed in PowerPoint, introducing cleaner typography, improved layouts, and a more consistent presentation.
I've also refined the content to better align with the revised adventures, ensuring that letters, journals, historical documents, and other discoveries fit naturally into the updated campaign.
Player handouts have always been an important part of Legends of Barovia. They help bring the world to life, giving players something tangible to discover, read, and discuss as they unravel the mysteries of Barovia.
The goal remains the same: immersive, practical handouts that help tell the story without slowing down the game.
Bringing Barovia to Life with Original Artwork
Another important step in the evolution of Legends of Barovia has been the artwork.
Thanks to the generosity of our members and supporters, I have been able to commission Hardi, a wonderful watercolor and ink artist, to create original illustrations for the guides.
His hand-painted artwork brings a beautiful, haunting quality to Barovia, from the people who inhabit Barovia to its gothic landscapes.
Combined with DM Andy's new battle maps, the redesigned guides are becoming something truly special.
And none of this would have been possible without your support.
Gates of Barovia - Our First 2.0 Adventure Guide
We are kicking off Legends of Barovia 2.0 with the newly updated Gates of Barovia, the opening adventure that brings your characters into the mysterious land of Barovia.
The guide includes two of our most popular adventure hooks:
- Missing Merchant — A missing wine merchant draws the characters toward Barovia, where an ordinary journey becomes something far more sinister.
- Vistani Blood — A mysterious family connection calls a character back to the land of their ancestors, drawing them into the forgotten history of Barovia and the Fey.
Both adventure hooks have been revised and refined for the new release, along with updated encounters and presentation.
Gates of Barovia features our redesigned PDF layout, new original artwork by Hardi, and the beginning of a fresh chapter for Legends of Barovia.
And, as always, the PDF adventure guide is completely FREE.
Free PDF Guide - Gates of Barovia
Begin your Curse of Strahd campaign with Gates of Barovia, a free adventure guide featuring two character hooks, revised encounters, original artwork, and more.
You can also explore the entire collection of free guides and player handouts for your own Curse of Strahd campaign.
Explore All Legends of Barovia Guides
A Passion That Began with Ravenloft I6
My love for Ravenloft began back in the 1980s, when I first played the original Ravenloft I6 adventure. That experience stayed with me.
Decades later I am still imagining haunted villages, ancient ruins, tragic characters, and new adventures in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft.
Legends of Barovia has always been a labor of love, and I hope that passion comes through in every guide I write.
But this project has grown far beyond anything I could accomplish alone.
I am extremly fortunate to work with an amazing team: DM Andy, whose stunning battle maps have helped define Legends of Barovia from the beginning; Jesse Winter, whose editing and layout expertise have reshaped the guides; Hardi, whose beautiful original watercolor illustrations are bringing a new artistic vision to Barovia; and Blair, our Foundry Wizard, who works behind the scenes to bring these adventures to life in Foundry VTT.
And, of course, there is you.
Our supporters, members, and the incredible community of DMs who have downloaded the guides, shared their adventures, offered feedback, and helped make Legends of Barovia what it is today.
Your donations and memberships help pay the artists, editors, and developers who make this possible.
I remain committed to keeping the Legends of Barovia PDF adventure guides free for the entire community. That has been the foundation of this project since the beginning, and it will continue.
Help Keep Legends of Barovia Free
Your tips, donations, and memberships help support our artists, editors, and developers, allowing us to continue creating free adventures for the D&D community. Every contribution makes a difference. Thank you!
Thank you for five amazing years of Legends of Barovia.
Heres to the next chapter, new adventures, and many more journeys through the Mists.
The Mists are calling once again...
— Pyram King
