The only real changes to the original description appear in Curse of Strahd : The read-aloud text is tightened up a bit, and the shattered window of location K25 gets mentioned.

The mechanisms for manipulating the drawbridge and portcullis are under Strahd’s magic control. The front door is open, but there are paths around the sides of the keep for contrarian adventurers to explore.Īfter the heroes enter the keep itself, the drawbridge will rise and the portcullis will fall, trapping the players inside. Here, the editions all agree that there’s lightning and thunder above, and “a light drizzle begins to fall,” but we’ll see that the books’ descriptions of the weather diverge after we get inside. Front CourtyardĪs you approach the castle, there’s a lot of atmosphere and not a lot of actionable information.

Here’s the analysis of the stuff you see before you get to the castle.