Ruins of Berez

The Ruins of Berez are one of the bleakest and most tragic locations in Curse of Strahd. What was once a humble riverside village has long since been swallowed by swamp, fog, and grief. In its place stands a drowned wasteland of sagging cottages, stagnant pools, black flies, and half-buried memories. At the heart of this decay lurks Baba Lysaga, one of Barovia’s most dangerous and mythic villains, whose presence transforms Berez from a haunted ruin into a living nightmare.

This chapter blends tragic history, swamp survival, supernatural horror, and one of the most memorable boss encounters in the campaign. It is a place where the past still festers in the mud, where sorrow refuses to rest, and where the land itself seems to resent the living.

Lore of Berez

Long before Ireena Kolyana, there was Marina, a peasant girl from Berez whose beauty and spirit reminded Strahd of Tatyana. As with every echo of that lost love, Strahd became obsessed. He seduced Marina in secret and began to feed upon her, intending to make her his own. But before she could be transformed, Marina was killed by her own people—specifically by Burgomaster Lazlo Ulrich and Brother Grigor, the village priest, who believed death was the only way to save her soul.

Strahd’s vengeance was immediate and absolute. He slew the priest and the burgomaster, then called upon the land itself to drown Berez beneath the swollen waters of the river. In time, the marsh crept in and claimed what remained. The village was abandoned, left to rot beneath mire and fog.

Now Berez belongs to Baba Lysaga, an ancient witch whose twisted devotion to Strahd and foul rituals have transformed the drowned village into her personal domain. She surrounds herself with scarecrows, sacrifices beasts in blood rites to Mother Night, and animates her hut with a stolen gemstone from the Wizard of Wines. For adventurers, Berez is not simply a ruin to be explored—it is a place where old sins, dark love, and unrelenting evil still breathe.