Fair Vallaki Town, circa 745BC (Barovian calendar)

Inspired by CRPMaps alternative Vallaki map, which you can find here: https://inkarnate.com/m/loDjo8

Creator's Notes

Map Key: Neighbourhoods by Roof Colour:

Yellow: Saint's Row.

• Primarily residential. Dominated by St. Andral's Church & related buildings.
• POIs include: St. Andral's Church, St. Andral's Orphanage, St. Andral's Seminary College. A garden is maintained on St. Andral's church grounds (as best they can), to grow food for the Orphanage & needy Vallakians.

Red: Hunter's Hill.

• Residential & businesses.
• POIs include: Vallakovich Manor, Blinsky's Toys, Heinich's Greengrocer & Butchershop, Borsavi's Bakery, the Orc Lodge



Blue: Lake District or Lakeview.

• Residential & businesses. Wide wealth disparity in businesses & residents here.
• POIs include: Blue Water Inn, Bathhouse, DeVries Jewelry, Dusklight General Store, Vallaki Public Library, primary Town Square, the Stocks & gallows.



Brown: The Stockyard or The Gutter

• Industrial section of town on the south-eastern side.
• The lowest part of Vallaki, so everything rolls downhill.
• POIs include: Arasek Stockyard, Blacksmith, Weathered Strop Tannery, Town Guard Barracks, Coffin Maker’s Shop, Blackwater Tavern, & warehouses.



Green: Highgarden

• The older, rich (mostly) residential area of town. More green space, including a public park.
• POIs include: Wachterhaus, Vallaki College of Arts & Sciences, Rising Rose Theatre, Bell & Thistle Cafe, & tailor.

Homebrew changes include:

• Vallaki is much closer to Lake Zarovich, with a largely defunct wharf & fishery. Some years before the start of the campaign, the biodiversity of Lake Zarovich was devastated by a massive (magical) storm. -> Not Widely Known: The Mad Mage of Mount Baratok directly caused this storm, perhaps unintentionally.
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• Not Widely Known: Millennia ago, long before the Mists, Lake Zarovich was formed in the large caldera of a volcano. Whatever remains of the dormant volcano is deep in the dark bottom of the lake. -> Several important Vistani cultural practices utilize ceremonial obsidian knives; for some crafters, the obsidian gathered around Lake Zarovich is considered especially spiritually powerful.
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• Vallaki has a functional bathhouse, utilizing natural hot springs. The water of the hot springs is much brighter blue and appears slightly milky compared to the dark depths of Lake Zarovich, due to the high mineral content of the springs.
• The Bathhouse has been owned & operated by the Dorakov family for generations (Danika Dorakova's family). The Blue Water Inn was built after the bathhouse, & the Inn is named for the strikingly blue hot spring water.
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• A handful of older buildings in Vallaki have some kind of hot-water heating systems to warm the buildings, utilizing the hot springs.

The Sewers of Vallaki

• Vallaki has an extensive, aging sewer system. Beneath the crackled cobble streets, you'll find a twisting maze of effluence & mysteries-- Vallaki is the oldest surviving settlement in the Barovian Valley, & its sewer system is a patchwork of expansion & repairs, most of it centuries old.
• The sewer utilizes water from Lake Zarovich. The outflow of the city's waste drains into the Luna River, severely polluting the downstream. It was somewhat less disgusting before the Great Storm (there was more biological filtration & fewer long-term clogs in the system).
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• Note: Historically (& understandably), Vallaki's sewer was a point of conflict & tension between Vallaki & Berez, especially as the settlement grew.
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• Entry points to the sewer may include: inflow/outflow pipes outside the city walls (large metal grates are meant to keep detritus from the lake out of the sewer, but the grates are damaged in spots). Maintenance hatches/manholes throughout the city include smaller manholes around the streets, & larger maintenance hatches are located out of sight in key areas for workers to utilize.
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• Note: the sewer system has, at times, been used extensively for smuggling in & out of Vallaki.
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• The Mysterious Stench of Vallaki: Since the Great Storm, sewer flooding/overflow/backup has become a more frequent occurrence in Vallaki, during periods of heavier or extended rainfall. This is especially bad in late summer, when temperatures are higher. The streets are flooded with sewage, & the smell is rancid. -> scented accessories (aromatic sachets, perfumed handkerchiefs, etc), short hems, & higher-heeled shoes have become popular among the Vallakian elite & commonfolk.



--- To Summer in Vallaki is a rite of passage among some Barovian youth (especially common for those in noble or influential families): youths come to the city, usually with a parent, guardian, or chaperone. Youths on these Vallaki excursions are expected to socialize, make connections, and potentially find a love match from outside their home community.

• Note: Though the name remains, this does not always occur in summer. Over the last decade, it has become more fashionable to spend much of Spring in Vallaki, and to leave the city before the end of Eyun (June), thus avoiding high summer & the worst of the Mysterious Stench of Vallaki

The Orc Lodge:

• An oddity in Vallaki for more than one reason, Reaver’s Base Camp, aka “The Orc Lodge”, is made almost entirely out of logs and surrounded by a short wall comprised of piled stones and several broad pillars that make up the Memorial Stone. The yard has enough room for a garden and several animals to hang (and there always are). There are always pelts and hides being stretched beneath the lodge, under cover from the elements. On most days, there’s a wolf or two being roasted over the big fire pit.
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• Reaver’s Base Camp is Vallaki’s only community center meant for non-humans. Around 250 years ago, the better part of an Orcish war band (The Soul Reavers) found their way through the mists. While weighing their options, they chose to create a base camp within Vallaki as it was, and is, the central point of civilization in Barovia.
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• The Lodge: At the time of their arrival, it was legal for the Reavers to build a lifted, multi-level structure out of logs, and it was all done without human loss of life since The Reavers ventured into the forest and got their own wood and other materials. Unlike most traditional Orcish architecture, there is very little hide or bone utilized in the build. However, the rough-hewn logs and hanging wolves (or pelts) create an atmosphere that wouldn’t be out of place in Azeroth, Toril, or beyond.
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• Memorial Stone: Most of the war band decided to stay in Vallaki, in Hunter’s Hill. Of course, not all of them were content to settle down: some Orcs went on to attempt the impossible and defeat Strahd. They were, unfortunately, unsuccessful-- and, like all Orc deaths, their names were recorded on the Memorial Stone.
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• Trivia: each of the original Reavers has their name carved into the great wooden tusks, curving out of the main entrance.

The Orc and Half-Orc Community in Vallaki

• Due to the Reavers, Vallaki has a shocking amount of Orcs and Half-Orcs, and the group receives additional, fresh infusions of Orc mistwalkers at least once every few years.
• Because they’re cut off from the evolution of main Orcish society, outside of mistwalker influence, these Barovian Orcs haven’t maintained the same sort of warrior culture, and they certainly don’t have honor duels to the death.
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• However, they are still (usually) quite tall and large and grow muscle with shocking ease—despite the average Barovian diet. As such, many Orcs still pursue traditional martial disciplines and join the wolf hunters or militia. Most of the ones who don’t tend to become farmers or craftspeople. While Orcish craft work isn’t known for ornate details or fine aesthetic, they are an excellent option for effective and brutally efficient gear.
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• Not Your Grandpappy’s Orcs -> Some Vallakian Orcs take pride in subverting common expectations. Indeed, in Barovia, unlike Toril or Azeroth or any number of other places, Orcs have a unique opportunity to live peacefully amongst humans and engage in a profound level of cultural sharing. There have even been a few notable Orcs who married into prestigious families (though never to the heir of a family line).