Return to Ravenloft Adventure 5: Vanimir's Moving Castle Part 2

 

"After a brief and much needed rest, your heroic party gathers once again for one final mission:

An assault against the dark forces of Castle Ravenloft!

But, as expected, going up against Vanimir Von Bludhaven, a direct descendent of the legendary Strahd Von Zarovich, will be your most daunting mission yet. 

The new Master of Ravenloft has imbued the castle with arcane magic and the walls, dungeon floors and rooms keep shifting and changing. 

With full control of the castle, Vanimir also seeks to complete the Rite of Blood by reclaiming the vampiric essence of his forefathers from the crypts and making him an even more powerful adversary. From deep within these crypts, he is able to summon powerful attacks, mesmerize his opponents, transform into a swarm of bats and command an army of monsters - all ready to do his unholy bidding.

Vanimir and his legions hope to stall your attempts long enough for the sun spell holding Barovia to finally break so that he may unleash his hordes on the village and sieze dominion over the lands once more!"

The final adventure in the Return to Ravenloft series is also, understandably, the hardest. Which is why the recommended number of players is 3 and up and you get two healing surges per player, a bonus healing vial and a bonus scrimshaw charm. If you want more of a challenge, then drop the number of surges to suit your comfort level. Note: Your heroes will all probably die once so keep that in mind. 

The first three quarters of the game will be more of a find-and-seek adventure as you try and hunt down the elusive Vanimir Von Bludhaven, the last descendent of Strahd and heir to the throne of Ravenloft. You'll be searching for Crypt corner tiles which, like in Adventure 4, will trigger some arcane machinations and tile movement. You will also square off against a mini boss at each of the first 3 crypt corners so ensure you are adequately prepared. Keeping with the theme from the OG Ravenloft, you also need to destroy coffins where and when you can on each of the crypt tiles placed - else, when you do face off against Van, you will be in for a world of pain with a virtually indestructible vampire.

Vanimir is a tough boss level type villain but, for a vampire, he is also a bloody coward (no pun intended). As soon as he gets to a lower HP he will assume a bat form and fly off to another crypt to stalk gloomily and depressed. You then have to defeat him in bat form before he transforms back so you can finally finish this. Have fun playing and let me know in the comments how it all pans out. Good luck!

Bat Form token