Curse Of Strahd

Count Strahd von Zarovich was once the conqueror of Barovia, a valley nestled deep in the Balinok Mountains. Unsatisfied with merely being its Count and warlord, Strahd made a dark bargain for utmost control over death. A Dark Power responded to his plea, and both he and his lands were turned into something unholy. When the pact was sealed, mists surrounded his lands and peeled Barovia away from the Material Realm, and Strahd was turned into its Vampire Darklord.

Barovia became lost to the Deepmists, a domain of dread untouched by sunlight and filled with death. Its dismal lands became inundated with Ghosts, Werewolves, and other fell creatures that terrorized its citizens. Many secrets were lost in its Svalich Woods, including forgotten ruins and battlefields that held the story of Count Strahd's life as a conqueror. Those adventurous enough to brave the wilds could find discarded relics and the remnants of Strahd's ancient enemies, though not all his foes were as dead as one might expect.

For the people of Barovia, hemmed in by impenetrable mists, there was no escape from the harsh world he created. The town of Vallaki stood ready to defend itself against the servants of Strahd, but it was far from the sanctuary it purported to be. The fortified village of Krezk lay near the edge of the valley, its Abbey now in the clutches of evil, misguided creatures. But of all the settlements in Strahd's domain, the Village of Barovia was the most affected. Cowering in the shadow below Castle Ravenloft and terrorized by its ageless overlord, generations of the village's populace had completely succumbed to despair. 

As part of his dark bargain, Strahd allowed Adventurers to occasionally enter his domain, watched closely by those bearing the Mark of Strahd. When the time was deemed right, the Count would invite his "guests" to dine with him at Castle Ravenloft, and for a time, they would become a focus of his obsession. For his own amusement, the vampire turned them against one another, tormented them, and killed them. Some became his Undead thralls, and others never rose again, their souls forever trapped under Barovia's heavy mists.

As long as Strahd von Zarovich remained the lord of Ravenloft, dawn would never come to Barovia.