Liberation of Jander Sunstar

Castle Ravenloft Board Game Adventure

In the mist-shrouded land of Barovia, the ancient vampire Strahd von Zarovich rules from within the haunted stone halls of Castle Ravenloft. Anyone may enter his domain, but leaving is another matter entirely ...

Long before I had the honor to know and work with Tracy and Laura Hickman, I fell in love with their gothic horror addition to Dungeons & Dragons, an adventure module for 1st Edition titled Ravenloft. It was D&D's answer to Bram Stoker's Dracula, and while the similarities are intentional I believe Strahd has emerged as his own distinct and darkly fascinating character. I experienced Ravenloft first as a player, then ran it as a Dungeon Master to the delighted horror of my players. And while my gaming journeys have taken me far and wide, every so often I find my way back to the shadows of the vampire lord's castle. Like everyone else under his thrall, I can never truly escape. I've run multiple campaigns set in the Domains of Dread—including converting the original adventure to D&D 5th Edition only to learn an official product would soon do the same thing.

When Ravenloft was expanded into a full setting beyond Barovia, my sister Stacy and I eagerly consumed the early tie-in novels. And while there are several wonderfully horrific titles in the series, a favorite remains the book that launched it all: Vampire of the Mists by fellow Georgia native Christie Golden, published in 1991 when I was only sixteen years old. It had elements that could have turned me off, including a crossover with Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms and an Anne Rice-ian bromance between two male vampires. One can criticize the novel's pacing and how it integrates elements of its source material. And yet I have a ton of affection for this book, because the author poured her heart into her tragic main character and fundamentally understood the core differences between the two vampires, the elements that attracted them to each other would ultimately divide them and lead to the story's bittersweet ending. When the 4th Edition era of Dungeons & Dragons brought back the Ravenloft brand with a board game, I was inspired to create a custom scenario to play with my family inspired by Christie Golden's novel. It was fun! And then I promptly forgot about it for the past eight years, until last night I dusted off the old box for some Halloween gaming and discovered a printout of the "Liberation of Jander Sunstar" waiting for me inside, complete with coffee stain. The mists of Ravenloft had lured me in once more, and now I'm dragging you with me.

I've written so many nerdy things I've forgotten some of them! This morning I snapped pictures of those old pages, used a free OCR app to grab the text, and quickly reconstructed the original document. Then I fired up Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor and opened up my layout software. The result is a one-page scenario for the Castle Ravenloft board game for all to freely enjoy. If you dare to enter Strahd's castle, be sure to let me know if you freed Jander Sunstar from the control of Count Strahd or if your party is yet another group of adventurers to fall victim to the terrors and treachery of the master vampire's home.

>> Click here to download the adventure in color! <<
>> Click here to download a printer-friendly version in black-and-white! <<

Jander Sunstar Fan Art by David Metzger

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