Details
- Confidence: sourced from GM Assistant data
- First seen: Session 001 - Welcome to Barovia
- Last seen: Session 004 - Death House
- Sessions: 4
- Rooms described: 26
- Type: building (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred)
- Part of: Barovia (inferred) (basis: Jon’s Obsidian notes (parent_id))
Description
- S1: A tall, three-story brick row house with a gated portico and oil lamps hanging from chains. Despite its eerie surroundings, the interior is brightly lit and features opulent marble and mahogany furnishings, though unsettling carvings and strange mysteries lurk within. The sign above the gate reads ‘Durst Manor’.
- S4: An accursed, seemingly sentient house that reacted with physical rage as the party defeated the flesh mound and attempted to escape, with bricks falling from the ceiling and the portcullis slamming shut.
Features
From Jon’s Obsidian notes (inferred).
- Tall, three-story brick row house with a gated portico and oil lamps hanging on chains
- Every window blazes with light despite the dead surroundings
- A shrieking iron gate guards the portico; a sign above the gate reads ‘Durst Manor’
- Coat of arms: a stylized golden windmill on a red field
Rooms & Areas
Main Hall (S1)
A wide hall in Durst Manor with wood-paneled walls, a black marble fireplace, and a sweeping red marble staircase. The ornate wall carvings of vines and nymphs hide macabre images of starving people upon closer inspection.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Wood-paneled walls carved with vines and nymphs — hidden images of starving men, women, and children woven into the pattern
- Black marble fireplace with a longsword mounted above it
- Sweeping red marble staircase leads up into darkness
- Portraits of stony-faced aristocrats line the foyer
Dining Room (S1)
An elegant room in Durst Manor featuring a carved mahogany table set for eight with a crystal chandelier above. A warm, resplendent feast of meats, fruits, and cheeses was found laid out as if guests had just stepped away mid-meal.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Carved mahogany table set for eight
- Crystal chandelier above
- A warm, resplendent feast — meats, fruits, cheeses, crystal goblets — served as if guests had just stepped away
- Impossible feast: see Kitchen (cold oven, empty pantry)
Kitchen and Pantry (S1)
A tidy kitchen in Durst Manor with a stone oven, a dumbwaiter, and a pantry whose shelves hold only empty burlap sacks — a stark contrast to the warm feast in the dining room. A dead rat was found behind a crate.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Tidy kitchen with a stone oven (cold), a dumbwaiter, and a pantry
- Pantry shelves hold only empty burlap sacks
- A dead rat was found behind a crate
- Contradicts the ‘fresh’ feast in the dining room
Hunter’s Den (S1)
An oak-paneled room in Durst Manor decorated with a mounted stag’s head, three stuffed wolves, padded chairs draped in animal furs, and a cask of wine. Two locked cabinets were found to contain crossbows and a deck of playing cards.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Oak-paneled room with a mounted stag’s head and three stuffed wolves
- Padded chairs draped in animal furs
- A cask of wine
- Two locked cabinets (picked by Kaelis) holding crossbows and a deck of playing cards
Durst Manor - Second Floor Hallway (S2)
An open hallway lit by oil lamps featuring a fireplace with a family portrait above the mantel and four suits of armor with wolf-head helmets.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Oil lamps casting warm but uneasy glow
- Fireplace with wood-framed Durst family portrait above the mantel
- Four suits of armor with wolf-head helmets clutching spears
- Items noted here: Durst Family Portrait, Wolf-Head Armor
Conservatory (S2)
A large room with gossamer drapes, stained glass wall hangings depicting musicians, a harpsichord, a large harp, and alabaster figurines on the mantelpiece — some of which depict skeletons.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Gossamer drapes and stained glass wall hangings depicting singers and musicians
- A full-size harpsichord that appeared to have been playing itself before the party entered
- A large harp
- Alabaster figurines of well-dressed dancers on the mantelpiece, some of which are actually exquisitely carved skeletons
- Items noted here: Harpsichord, Alabaster Figurines
Library (S2)
A room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves containing hundreds of rare tomes, featuring a mahogany desk, a rolling wooden ladder, and a lit fireplace. A secret switch hidden among the books opens a concealed room.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed with hundreds of rare and ancient tomes
- Rolling wooden ladder for reaching highest shelves
- Mahogany desk with a hidden compartment containing an iron key
- A book with a blank spine serves as a secret switch to reveal a hidden room
- Items noted here: Iron Key
Secret Room (S2)
A hidden chamber behind a bookcase in the library, containing rare tomes and a heavy wooden chest rigged with a poison dart trap that had already claimed a previous adventurer.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Thick with dust and shadow
- Shelves packed with tomes
- Heavy wooden chest with clawed iron feet against the far wall
- A skeleton in leather armor, killed by poison darts, half-submerged in the chest lid
- Items noted here: Strahd’s Letter, Heavy Wooden Chest, Clerical Scrolls, Deed to Durst Manor, Deed to the Windmill, Signed Will, Black Leather Tomes
Servants’ Quarters (S2)
A modest room with mattresses, chests, a dumbwaiter, and aged uniforms. Unlike the rest of the house, this room shows clear signs of long disuse.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- A pair of mattresses and some chests
- A dumbwaiter in the corner
- A closet with aged, old-fashioned uniforms
- Clearly long abandoned, contrasting with the maintained rest of the manor
Third Floor Balcony (S2)
A dusty, cobweb-filled balcony on the third floor of Durst Manor, covered in cracked surfaces and lacking the luster of the lower floors. It was the site of an ambush by animated black plate armor.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Cobwebs on every surface, thick dust on floors
- Cracked and faded woodwork, contrasting sharply with polished lower levels
- A suit of black plate armor that animated and attacked the party
- Encountered here: Animated Armor
Nursery (S2)
A room containing a crib with a black shroud, haunted by the specter of a grieving nursemaid mourning a dead infant named Walter.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- A crib draped in black
- Haunted by the specter of the nursemaid
- After the specter was defeated, the crib contained only an empty blanket
- Encountered here: The Nursemaid
Storage Room (S2)
A dusty closet filled with old linens, bars of soap, and an animated broom that attacked Leoberos before being destroyed.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Old linens and cobwebs
- Bars of soap
- Previously contained an animated broom
- Encountered here: Animated Broom
Bathroom (S2)
A room with a wooden tub with clawed feet and a rainwater collection system feeding a barrel via a spigot.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Wooden tub with clawed feet
- Rainwater collection system
- Barrel fed by a spigot
Master Bedroom (S2)
A burgundy-draped room containing a four-poster bed, a tiger-skin rug, a vanity with a silver jewelry box, and the hanging remains of Gustav Durst. All windows are bricked over, and a secret rotating mirror conceals a staircase to the attic.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Four-poster bed with canopy (from which Gustav’s remains hang)
- Burgundy drapes covering bricked-over windows
- Tiger-skin rug in surprisingly good condition
- Vanity with silver and gold jewelry box
- Large mirror mounted on a hinge, concealing a staircase to the attic
- All windows and balconies bricked over
- Items noted here: Silver Jewelry Box, Gustav’s Suicide Note, Tiger Skin Rug
- Encountered here: Gustav Durst
Attic (S2)
The uppermost level of Durst Manor, accessible via a secret staircase hidden behind a rotating mirror in the master bedroom. The party’s next destination.
Features (Jon’s Obsidian notes, inferred):
- Accessible via cobweb-choked staircase behind the master bedroom mirror
Durst Manor Attic (S3)
A dusty, cobweb-choked level of the house containing several rooms, including a padlocked nursery, a spare bedroom with a creepy doll, and a storage room hiding grim remains. A secret door here leads to a spiral staircase descending all the way to the basement.
Children’s Bedroom (S3)
A room in the attic featuring bricked-up windows, two small beds, a toy chest painted with windmills, and a dollhouse that is a perfect architectural replica of Durst Manor. The skeletal remains of the Durst children were found here.
Attic Storage Room (S3)
A cramped room packed with old furniture draped in dusty white sheets, containing a wooden trunk near an iron stove that held the skeletal remains of a young woman with multiple stab wounds.
Durst Manor Crypts (S3)
A dark, subterranean level of the house containing stone pedestals and coffins for the Durst family members, including Rose, Thorn, Gustav, and Elizabeth. The party laid the children’s bones to rest here.
Preparation Chamber (S3)
A grim basement room with a plain wooden table and benches, where moldy humanoid bones are strewn across the dirt floor, suggesting past sacrificial rituals.
Summoning Chamber (S3)
A dark basement room festooned with moldy skeletons hanging from rusty shackles, featuring a wooden statue of a gaunt pale-faced man with a wolf at his side, holding a smoky gray crystal orb. Removing the orb triggered an attack by shadows.
Private Dining Lounge (S3)
A dusty room with a chandelier suspended over a table, two high-backed chairs, and empty clay flagons. It served as the site of the confrontation with the ghast of the manor’s matron, who burst from the walls to attack.
Matron’s Chamber (S3)
A room containing a large wood-framed bed with a rotted feather mattress, a wardrobe filled with old black robes, iron candlesticks, an open crate of torches and candles, and a footlocker containing the party’s loot.
Durst Manor Basement — Reliquary Stairwell (S4)
A stairwell lined with niches and alcoves containing various macabre trophies and cult relics, including vials of blood, a severed finger, a dragon’s tooth wrapped in silver wire, a shard of amber, and other disturbing items.
Durst Manor Basement — Cell Block (S4)
A musty area containing several jail cells with rusty shackles and the skeletal remains of former prisoners. A secret door hidden within the cells led the party to the sacrificial chamber.
Durst Manor Basement — Sacrificial Chamber (S4)
A large, roughly 40-by-40-foot flooded room featuring a raised dais, a blood-stained altar carved with gruesome depictions, and chains hanging from the ceiling. Thirteen shadowy apparitions haunted the ledges, and a flesh mound rose from a mound of refuse in an alcove.
Relationships
- Quests & threads: Lay the Durst Family to Rest, The Lock of Auburn Hair, The Monster in the Basement
Appearances
- Session 001 - Welcome to Barovia (2026-04-01) (as ‘Dining Room’, ‘Durst Manor’, “Hunter’s Den”, ‘Kitchen and Pantry’, ‘Main Hall’)
- Session 002 - Durst Manor (2026-04-15) (as ‘Attic’, ‘Bathroom’, ‘Conservatory’, ‘Durst Manor - Second Floor Hallway’, ‘Library’, ‘Master Bedroom’, ‘Nursery’, ‘Secret Room’, “Servants’ Quarters”, ‘Storage Room’, ‘Third Floor Balcony’)
- Session 003 - Durst Manor (2026-05-13) (as ‘Attic Storage Room’, “Children’s Bedroom”, ‘Durst Manor Attic’, ‘Durst Manor Crypts’, “Matron’s Chamber”, ‘Preparation Chamber’, ‘Private Dining Lounge’, ‘Summoning Chamber’)
- Session 004 - Death House (2026-05-27) (as ‘Durst Manor’, ‘Durst Manor Basement — Cell Block’, ‘Durst Manor Basement — Reliquary Stairwell’, ‘Durst Manor Basement — Sacrificial Chamber’)