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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9477258" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/k4d5Eka.jpeg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /><a href="https://www.dmsguild.com/product/331718/Barovian-Things" target="_blank">Product Link</a>Product Type: Character OptionsCoS-Required? Technically no, but flavor text and item functions tie heavily into that adventureThe lack of significant gear to spend money on has been a common criticism of 5th Edition, and when it comes to Curse of Strahd this is only magnified when its most prominent shops have only overpriced basic equipment. Barovian Things serves as a replacement for the generic PHB items found in places like Bildrath’s Mercantile, giving us 60 mundane and magical* items that feel like the kind of things you’d find in a rural gothic setting. Their prices vary, with some more powerful items being underpriced to reflect a shop owner’s inexperience with the supernatural, and some are overpriced, be it due to fancy designs, name recognition, or lack of competitive prices. A few items have plot tie-ins to other places and characters in the module, serving as either a hook or a callback, while all items have italicized text that serve as an in-character description of the item. Each item has color artwork to go with it, and they all are presented in a card format which make for neat little handouts at the gaming table.*Yet most are not particularly powerful.Like Mimsy’s, I won’t review every item here, instead highlighting the more interesting and notable ones.Argynian Plate is a suit of half plate that glows silver in moonlight. At 93.88 gold pieces, it’s a steal for medium armor-using PCs.Bloodriver Quiver is crafted from a monster’s skin, and those who wear it can communicate with the beast’s spirit, although only via emotion that invariably gets some form of anger as a response.Cracked Stone is a super-cheap arcane focus priced at 8 copper pieces, but whenever you use it to cast a spell there’s a 1 in 20 chance it violently breaks, causing a wild magic surge and dealing 1d4 force damage to the user.Ember is a semi-functional sword that was once broken and tied back together with string. It’s 0.13 gold pieces, but explodes as per the Fireball spell on a critical hit.Exploding Pine Cone costs 62.2 gold pieces, and is a thrown weapon that explodes in a 20 foot radius dealing 5d6 piercing damage.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/eGZ2cIU.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Jar of Eyes is a pretty macabre purchase at 5.92 gold, but they frantically move and flit about whenever an invisible or ethereal creature is within 100 feet of the jar.Magpie is just a regular dagger at 2.7 gold, but it's italicized text has a lore entry on how Barovia appears to lack birds other than ravens, and the belief that other species turned their feathers black to mourn the death of Queen Ravenovia.Mandrake is technically a creature embedded in a pot. At 9.33 gold it’s an incredibly potent yet dangerous item, for when plucked its scream has the effect of Power Word Kill against the nearest living humanoid creature within 10 feet. The mandrake dies upon screaming, making it a one-use item. As it only targets living humanoids, this allows for some creative applications, like a wildshaped druid pulling it out with their animal teeth safely.Ritual of Life is a spell scroll of Raise Dead whose text is a prayer to the Mroninglord. At 2.7 gold it’s a super-cheap way of gaining access to a powerful spell in the module.Scratched Shield is slightly more expensive than a regular shield at 11.02 gold, but it’s tried and tested against the various beasts of Barovia. Its +2 AC becomes +3 against bite and claw attacks.Skullface Shield has the skull of a monster on it, granting the wearer advantage on Intimidation checks. The skull breaks if a creature scores a critical hit against the wearer, causing it to become a normal shield. It’s expensive at 75.6 gold, but good for a PC that uses the aforementioned skill.<img src="https://i.imgur.com/z18h7ba.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />Suspicious Meat is meat of an unknown kind on a bone, costing 0.28 gold. It has a strong aroma for ghouls and other creatures that feed on dead bodies, and if thrown such beings will run after it, making it a good distraction.Svalich Mask looks like a frowning tragedy mask, but carved out of wood. It costs 3 gold and makes the wearer invisible to plant creatures. A great benefit to have for PCs visiting the Wizard of Wines or Yester Hill.Ugly Boots are waterproof, although the text notes that Barovians are prone to stealing such shoes off corpses because a sturdy pair can last their entire life. Which is shorter than usual on account of the land’s many dangers.Witch’s Spellbook is a steal at 8 gold, containing 5 thematic spells, 3 of which are 1st level (Ray of Sickness, Sleep, Tasha’s Hideous Laughter), and 2 of which are 2nd (Alter Self, Invisibility). I particularly like the flavor text, saying that it “smells of musty cats, waking up at 3 AM, and the faint suspicion that your goals have escaped.”Yrrgarian Shard is a handaxe with an eye-like amber embedded in it. Touching the haft gives the wielder the sensation of something calling them to a secret hidden deep in the mountains.Overall Thoughts: Barovian Things help make trips to shops a tad more interesting with new items. While in conventional campaigns quite a bit of the more powerful items would be wildly underpriced, the lack of significant money and valuable treasure in Curse of Strahd helps mitigate this while also reflecting the domain’s impoverished nature. Even for items with no special abilities, the flavor text and graphics can still make them stand out enough to be appealing, and I like how several of them drop subtle hints about other elements in the adventure. The only item I’d be seriously reluctant to include is the Ritual of Life, for it makes resurrection feel a bit too easy to come by, even if it’s the only one besides Van Richten’s scroll in the module. The Mandrake Root was the other one, but upon further reflection the Humanoid foes in Curse of Strahd tend to not be all that dangerous: the most deadly foes are other creature types, so its most ideal use in a campaign would be something like using it to one-shot one of Vallaki’s nobles or the druid/werewolf leaders.Join us next time as we check out a variant side quest for curing Mordenkainen’s Madness in Behind Tser Falls!</blockquote>

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