Yester Hill Guide | Running Curse of Strahd 5e

The druids of Yester Hill are an abomination! Follow this guide to spice up the summoning ritual of Wintersplinter and show your players the darkness of Yester Hill!
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This guide for Curse of Strahd modifies the Yester Hill druids' summoning ritual, and adds background to the druids themselves. No longer are they faceless enemies, but rather an offshoot of the proud Kavani tribe. Their ritual has been recentered around the Gulthias tree, and now requires a sacrifice of blood! We've also added a couple of captives from the Wizard of Wines that the druids are using to fuel the ritual, and to gain the secret of the Martikovs' shape changing abilities. The Blood Spear of Kavan now takes on a much more important role in the story, as well!

[@shorebird-y]

"She's on her knees in front of him..." Oh no "...and he's holding her by the jaw, forcing her to..." OH NO "...look at the effigy." WHEW, oh thank god....

[@Dr.OpBear]

Thank you for making us aware of your good boy

[@CireLepeod]

"Your intrepid heroes will track it down and kill it before anything bad happens... right?" Well, my group strolled right on by the windmill AFTER they learned what was going on in there and what the pies were made from, so I don't have high hopes.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Well, at least things will be interesting.

[@strawberryqueen0382]

As one of the playtester DMs for this add on this was incredibly well done in adding depth and meaning to an encounter that in the original module was just a combat battle that you needed to get a McGuffin at in the end. Making a hostage part of the equation makes the party have to think about how they are attacking this encounter in a way my party hadn’t done before in the game. Personally I recommend running Davian as the hostage since his relationship with Urwin will make the party care.

[@ItalianDrummer88]

I'm still studying the book and everytime i finish reading a chapter i come here to watch your video guide about that chapter, and everytime i say.... "damn, he's right, this way is much better" :D i will introduce most of your content into my future game, THANK YOU for being so inspiring!

[@daitokuji8327]

I love this update! I am running CoS right now and have one of my PCs tied into claiming the spear and destroying the Gulthias tree. taking on the changes you propose here will make that quest arc much more satisfying and meaningful thank you 😊

[@Nethar6]

My players haven't made it to Yester hill yet but they are currently on their way to the Vinery and should be level 7 by the time they finish that of (using milestone leveling). Was considering of letting them either track fleeing Druids/Barbarians from their to Yester Hill or have the Were-Ravens point them that way. If they don't go their directly and level elsewhere first I might spruce up the combat difficulty with your Blood Druid and more organized mops. But if they don't go to Yester Hill after the Vinery next or second next I will have Winter Splinter be summoned and attack the Vinery. I like having timed events like that giving the Players sandbox freedom as well as consequences for their actions. I like the idea of Kavan's spirit bestowing the spear on a PC, don't have a Barbarian in the group but our Ranger might like it. Something I did change in my Campaign was that I included way more stone circles and had them spread out. I made it clear from both the NPC's retelling and the party's own travels that these circles are the only places where they can get a long rest when out in the open. Every time they camp outside one they get interrupted by something from the random encounter table but when making camp inside a circle the dangers come only so close. Even had Strahd himself show up and made a point of not crossing within the stone circle (he can do it but he likes to toy with the PC's like that) only talking to the players from outside. I was going to have the large Circle at Yester Hill be the power behind the protective circles and the "True Druids" of Barovia having originally created them to hold onto the power of the Land in face of Strahds corruptions of the whole land. Thereby they serve as a bridge between the Demi-Plane that is Barovia now and its past in the prime-material. The last of the "True Druids" once hoped to free the land, its people, and even Strahd himself with the promise that there is a way back. However, Strahd being Strahd did not make the necessary choice of abandoning his course and repenting, slaying the last of the "True Druids" in a fit of rage. Still, Strahd comes here, again and again, to gaze on the past, be tempted, and ultimately rejecting the way out.

[@kendonald267]

The combination of a divination wizard and a druid becoming a bear resulted in Keshgar being shoved into the maw. The ritual completed, but I’m proud with their tactics 😅

[@bt3779]

My players played the Sunless Citadel, and the evil druid opened a druidic portal in the gulthias tree there to try and escape. It came out to the Gulthias tree on Yester Hill, that is how I got them to Barovia.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

I like it!

[@Ramperdos]

I had already planned my Yester Hill session ready before this video, but I can easily snag a few things from here to add it it. Your version was actually really similar to what I had planned already, but with a few added bonuses I can now implement in there too! :)

[@briankokta]

Don't know what is better, the great content or learning how nice you are to your dog!

[@dinohuntr851]

You are an invaluable treasure!! Prepping CoS now and I am loving every single change you have recommending. Thank you for all your time and hard work.

[@tsmisowens]

Great video! I always look forward to them and they're very helpful and well thought out. I'm currently running CoS and my players just got through the Wizard of Wines/Yester Hill story arc Saturday night/Sunday morning. I used a lot of your ideas and story elements to help influence and enhance the flavor A major deviation I had dealt with my barbarian player, whose homebrew story involves him tracking down four different chieftains of wild-folk tribes that are like reincarnations or manifestations of an ancient barbarian warlord (Kavan) but in my game he goes by a different name. My player engages them in mortal combat and the victor claims the aspect of power to enhance their strength, eventually leading to a quasi rebirth of the ancient warlord, almost like an Avatar state during his rages. He met the 2nd chieftain atop the hill defending the druids while performing the summoning ritual and they had a 1v1 death match while the other players and Berserker NPCs spectated. The barbarian player almost died, but it was really cool. After fighting through a horde of druids and barbarians, meeting Strahd riding Bucephalus, and climbing to the top of the hill, the players were exhausted and ready for a long rest. It wasn't but a few moments after victory that Wintersplinter then emerged and started its rampage towards the winery lol.

[@callandunstan4249]

These videos have been such a great help in assisting me for overhauling my own prep for curse of strahd thank you so much!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Happy to help!

[@xyphious]

Thank you! You are my absolute go to channel for all things Strahd. Your timing on this couldn’t be better. First you helped me improve Van Richtens tower and now this. Much love

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Glad I could help!

[@RichardDuryea]

I did this scene in my latest COS session. 3 players plus Van Richten. I probably should have done more with the tree but the players had fun.

[@guinness5416]

Another video, another good game session. Well done! Disappointed I didn’t get to participate in the play test due to unfortunate circumstances but I’ll have faith in my luck for the next one. Good work man!

[@brenosobral9500]

In my campain I've made the Ghultias staff owner scape back to yesterhill and made ALL the druids there have one of those staffs, but the blights aroud the tree were imune to the efects of broken the staffs.

[@fearthepiggaming2998]

You get your like on this video not because of the information but because of your good boy

[@heroicfool8541]

When I was a player it was our cleric's wife that was being sacrificed. We barely made it to her in time. Of course, in our game Strahd also showed up, charmed the rogue, the rogue grappled the cleric and the she dropped a fireball on all of us out of anger. Don't mess with light clerics.

[@XvicvicX]

CURSES! I have just passed from Yester Hill... oh well, i use it for the next time XD

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

It's a great excuse to run another game!

[@Bishoptay]

Literally running Yester Hill in 3 hours. This was perfect timing! Thank you for all of your videos btw.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Lemme know how it goes!

[@Bishoptay]

​@@LunchBreakHeroes Sorry it took them 2 sessions to complete, Barovia has them afraid of everything and they RP a lot so they avoided going to the top of the hill for a while, fully searching the bottom before they headed up. So the Blood Druid fight went pretty well. He did some decent damage but they blew almost all their spell slots on him so it wasn't super dangerous, but my bard and cleric got pretty low. The bard healed herself up but my cleric doesn't ever really heal (I don't know why) so they proceeded down to save the son. Last night they did the ritual part, the bard had 2 spell slots left so she cast fireball twice at the druids ending the ritual in just 2 turns, so was fun. But at this point the berserkers went nuts, they took the cleric down turn 1 because she never healed and she ultimately died from death saves. (Taking her back to Vallaki for a res) They eventually knocked out the bard too. And my paladin and warlock barely managed to beat them. Then I had the tree come alive when they removed the son from the altar. I threw them a bone and only gave him 1/4 health instead of half since the ritual only lasted 2 rounds and it was still almost a TPK with just 38 HP on the boss. Lock went down, paladin went down. The boss only had 5 hp left and the Bard managed to hit it for 7 with her dagger. I was on the edge of my seat because if a TPK happens, it happens. But thankfully they lived, minus the cleric. Thanks again for the great videos, you have made running this so much more exciting for me and my players!

[@yetijdubw6683]

@@Bishoptay What level were they for this encounter?

[@paulcoy9060]

"The Dwuids....."

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

SACWIFICE! SACWIFICE is what bwings us togevuh today.”

[@paulcoy9060]

@@LunchBreakHeroes Maybe one of those druids is actually a bard, and some musical shenanigans will occur, like someone blowing up.

[@johnadams3800]

"No-no...dRuids!..." "Stwike him, Centuwian, Very woughly!"

[@KevShaw808]

I'm seeing that you've made new videos. Going to binge watch this series and the videos you did on Rime of the Frost Maiden. Great stuff man.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Thanks, Kevin!

[@darkmotron9237]

Really wish I'd known about this when my party arrived at yester hill a week ago because this sounds great

[@paulmiller6431]

These are some great ideas!! Thanks for sharing! Love your videos !

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

You are so welcome!

[@arifike]

My party ignored my warnings about the ritual, kept getting delayed by various distractions after the winery and focused on attacking the berserkers and blights instead of dealing with the spear of kevan or saving the boy. So the ritual was obviously a success. They then took a long rest and didn’t even try to track it down even though I had stephania tell them exactly what it’s plans were and where they could chase it down. My party is only really after items and leveling up and care very little for anyone in barovia. 🤷‍♀️

[@gawby]

This video popped up exactly when I needed it. Another amazing video!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@danielvangool1461]

Ran this for my players. The ritual was a blast to run, Claudieu made it out with 5 exhaustion points. He was barely alive😄 Wintersplinter was summoned, despite our rogue using not one, not two but THREE rerolls to stop a berserker from jumping into the maw and finishing the ritual. (The initial roll, Luck, and inspiration all failed) If the Paladin had not removed the spear from the statue, Wintersplinter would have destroyed them. As is, the party made it out, beaten and bruised. Interestingly enough, they didn't destroy the Gulthias tree👀 They took some sap from it and left. I'm not a fan of backtracking, so I'll mention that the blight attacks haven't stopped for now. Great guide😎 on to Krezk next!

[@pectelance5975]

Had the ritual almost done, monk jumped up passed alot of skill checks and ripped the gem out of it.... damn dice gods lol ill be sure to use this guide next time

[@PyramKing]

Really like your stuff and a huge help for my own CoS campaign - which I am now streaming. I just became a Patreon member. |Thank you.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@felixrivera895]

Mm. So my party kinda ignored the problem that the Druids of Yesterhill posed for the Martikovs. So I let Wintersplinter destroy the winery and told them about it through the Bluewater. Then the next day they noticed something big going down the fork in the crossroad leading to Krezk. They chose to ignore it, so when they went to confront Wintersplinter it was laying seige to Krezk and several groups of monsters were awaiting the destruction of the gate. The party nearly died outright trying to pick off the monsters and the Abbot had to step in to destroy Wintersplinter else lose his flock entirely. He ended up claiming the Wine Gem and is using it as "payment" for retrieving Vasilka's dress for him, even though it was literally just a magic item he picked up off the ground.

[@jorrellds6520]

I never clicked a link faster. Thank you!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

You’re welcome!

[@TheRepublic4]

Love the video keep up the good work!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Thanks! Will do!

[@equals111]

Dang it, we just did Yester Hill 2 days ago! Still a great video!

[@UberBri]

He is ancient, he is the land. He is ancient, he is the land.

[@CNBEARD]

I am about 2 1/2 hours from running this. I'm so looking forward it. My players don't know what is about to happen muhahahahah. I mean I hope they have a good time.

[@chickeneverythingisfine9338]

The dog adds to the guide to be honest

[@Tiennis]

Thanks for another great video!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

You’re welcome!

[@TheWorldBelowDnD]

Love the intro! What are the plans for after CoS? Other module reworks?

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Oh, absolutely! We'll be spinning up both Descent into Avernus and Rime of the Frostmaiden!

[@TheWorldBelowDnD]

@@LunchBreakHeroes Amazing stuff! Hyped for them both!

[@jesseperry9602]

@@LunchBreakHeroes Glad to hear that! My group is planning on running both of those, and your write ups have helped me immeasurably in running CoS with your direct work and pointing me towards the wealth of community produced additions to the campaign. Even if I'm not the DM of those other two modules, I will definitely push the DM towards your work. Can't thank you enough.

[@kneerap87]

This is awesome!! Unfortunately my players just defeated wintersplinter but haven't investigated the Gulthias tree. I will probably use those bits with a random child in the maw

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Lemme know how it goes!

[@marauder7209]

Me, the GM: *prepares a good Yester Hill encounter, 3D prints models for both the Berserker/Blood Druid, and the Tree Blight, even practice some voice lines to make the spirit feel real about the place.* My players: hmmmm, gross! *goes somewhere else entirely* Me, well, sucks to be at the Winery, I guess....

[@Tibbon]

WoTC should have you write the next book revision.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

I'm down for that.

[@bahamutkaiser]

You should still pick up doggie, leg day

[@jotaxz8806]

Do you plan on doing this videos for other modules??? Maybe that new one? Really useful tips!

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Heck yes, stay tuned!

[@roanthewanderer2626]

For a minute I was like moby plays d&d whattttt

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Hey, he might!

[@Grimlore82]

What triggers the blood druid into attacking the players as they climb the effigy? Keshgarr is literally looking at the effigy... Also, in Y4 the druids will not stop chanting, relying on the berserkers and blights to keep them protected while the party attacks?

[@harrymitchell7336]

Thank you :)

[@sebastiancollins01]

I'm currently running CoS and I want to introduce the brides as dragons (the trope that is, not actual dragons... probably) but I'm coming up short. I'd like to hear your take on this.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

The brides will be coming up soon!

[@kristijanmehun2382]

I just have 1 question before joining: what is the Blood Druids CR?

[@Maxxiii1612]

So, I need advice. is Strahd still showing up and assisting the druids when the player arrive at yester hill or would that be too challenging for the players

[@aceofspades604]

Okay, the druids hate the Matikovs because of their shape-shifting ability. How do they feel about the werewolf pack? I'd imagine there'd be just as much enmity.

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

You could go with my own headcanon, where they don't necessarily know that the Martikovs are lycanthropes. Alternatively, which would you rather mess with? A bunch of birds that make wine, or bloodthirsty werewolves?

[@aceofspades604]

@@LunchBreakHeroes a very fair point, thank you.

[@jekkareznikov9769]

So what is it that Keshgar wants from Stefania?

[@SupersaiyanChristian]

Have you considered putting all your changes in a PDF and putting it on like DM's Guild?

[@paulinhomusika]

What level party(4players) is "recommended" for this encounter?

[@Kamui_p]

Isnt the CR 9 Druid too Powerfull for a Party of 5 Lv. 5?🤔 Especially if you have to deal with the Rest afterwards.

[@dylanchehebar2440]

Hey are there maps of all this stuff on your patreon?

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

No but you’ve given me a great idea!

[@dylanchehebar2440]

Lunch Break Heroes I just signed up for your Patreon, and I’m running a Return to Barovia kinda game where my players are forced to head back into the evils of Barovia to stop Strahd’s evil once more and deafest him once and for all in the Amber temple

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Thank you so much for your support!

[@YpnosGR]

Thanks! I've thrown some cash into you Patreon and I'm a little confused with this. Particularly, the location of Kavan's spirit, the spear, the effigy and Wintersplinter. The Blood Druid in Y3 next to the statue is forcing Stefania to watch Claudiu be drained of blood on the Gulthias Tree in Y4. But Y4 is quite far from Y3. Where abouts is the effigy? Where is the spear? Why use the spear instead of the gem, when they already have the gem? Where does Wintersplinter appear? Thanks!

[@YpnosGR]

Furthermore, are they trying to animate Strahd's effigy or summon Wintersplinter?

[@LunchBreakHeroes]

Thank you for your support! The Gulthias Tree's roots are winding from area Y4 to area Y3. The blood druid is making Stefania watch the roots pulse with her son's blood up and around the effigy in Y3. The spear is jutting out of the effigy's chest. We're using the spear as it is a more compelling narrative item, and was underutilized in the module. Wintersplinter appears out of the effigy, as written in the module.

[@littlecoffeebean6744]

If your party has no AOE (we were new so we have a Paladin, a rogue and a fighter (me), how would you go about fighting all the blights ?! We always have so much trouble and every fight is almost a TPK because of them.. any tips? Especially for Yester hill? 😫

[@littlecoffeebean6744]

We have tried taking advantage of the land by burning grass and such but sometimes that is not available no we are at a total loss and it is un winnable most times. Our DM usually makes something happen at the last minute so we don’t have a TPK... 😒

[@BlakeBrown]

Why don’t the martikov’s come help in raven form?

[@brentross9233]

I'm considering making Strahd a Lich, which I think makes more sense with the Amber Temple, with Druid powers instead of Mage, which ties in better with Yester Hill.

[@georgesarreas5509]

I actually really want the players to fight wintersplinter . And THEN face the tree. Just hoping someone dies and I can get the more involved with the land

[@markmatejovics7369]

How hard would this be for 6 beginner players of level 5?

[@nathanaelreed9752]

What about Strahd? Is he present?

[@efil4zaggin743]

No😊