By the time of Curse Of Strahd, none had ended up playing Pidlwick's harp to allow him to tell his story, but he nonetheless passed on after the Slaying Of Strahd.
Born in the Village of Barovia, Pidlwick Pilensky was a crazed entertainer of middling ability who juggled for coin in the central streets. Noticed by Ravenovia van Roeyen, she brought Pidlwick to the newly-built Castle Ravenloft to act as a court jester. His off-putting humor endeared him to Sergei von Zarovich and the lady Tatyana Federovna, whose laughter he often filled the halls with. Though his antics were harmless and kind, Strahd found him tiresome, seeing in the jester a reflection of joy he could not share. Despite the Count's disdain for him, Pidlwick remained loyal to the von Zarovich family even as tensions grew before the Wedding That Never Was.
His life ended in tragedy when a clockwork imitation of him, Pidlwick II, was assembled at Strahd's request in an attempt to please Tatyana. Pidlwick II lacked the Human's natural charm and talent, grew jealous, and pushed him down the staircase of the Castle's high tower to his death. After his murder, Pidlwick's spirit lingered in Ravenloft, bound as a Ghost, but the cause of his death was never found.
His body was placed in one of the first crypts in the catacombs of the castle, though his ghost lingered around the high tower, inhabiting a harp he once played in the count's dining hall.