Ravenloft Companions – Volume Three

Today we’re deep diving into the NPC companions: Kasimir Velikov, Vasilka, Sir Godfrey, and Stella Wachter!

In the video below, I discuss the motivations behind each of these characters deciding to accompany your party, how to gain their trust, as well as the pros and cons of having them around. Not all allies are created equal, as you’ll see!

If you want all five of these allies’ information in written format, check out the full color PDF over on our Patreon. I’ve included a sample ally down below as a preview for you!

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Sir Godfrey Gwilym

Ghost (King of Hearts)

Sir Godfrey is one of the revenants at Argynvostholt, sworn to the unfulfillable quest of ending Strahd. His love for Vladimir is all that keeps his mind and soul—and those of other revenants—safe from oblivion.

Sir Godfrey’s Motivation

Sir Godfrey is sworn—and cursed—to oppose Strahd. With the exception of his love for Vladimir, this is the only motivation in his revenant mind. Nothing else in the world matters anymore.

Earning Godfrey’s Trust

Sir Godfrey immediately feels the inevitable pull of fate when he lays eyes on the party. He recognizes that they are his best chance of finally ending Strahd, and lifting the curse on him and his fellow knights. However, he is not ready to leave Argynvostholt to accompany them on his final mission before putting Vladimir Horngaard, the love of his life (and unlife), to rest.

The characters must help Sir Godfrey, and the other four revenants who have not yet succumbed to Vladimir, with their unfinished business in order to break the seal to the mausoleum of Argynvostholt (see the Argynvostholt chapter of this guide). Argynvost’s skull (which, if you’re following this guide, can be found in Berez instead of Castle Ravenloft), can then be returned to light the beacon and put Vladimir and the other revenants to rest. In that case, only Sir Godfrey remains, and will stay with the party until Strahd is dealt with.

If the characters fail to help the revenants and Vladimir asserts full control over them, Sir Godfrey still leaves with the party, as there is no more hope left in him to oppose Vladimir’s hate. In this case, however, he retains his brooding personality for the rest of his un-life (see below).

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Weals and Woes

There are several possible advantages to having Sir Godfrey in the party:

• So long as Strahd is not destroyed, Sir Godfrey is, as a revenant, invincible. Even if he is “killed”, his spirit just possesses another body somewhere in Barovia (see chapter 7, Revenants of Barovia). It might take him a day or two to locate the party after that, but he’ll always be back. Sir Godfrey is very matter of fact about this, as he has experienced it many times before. This perfectly qualifies him for particularly suicidal missions.
• In addition to dishing out respectable blows (don’t forget, he is no standard revenant who uses his bare fists but wields a greatsword that deals 2d10 + 4 damage on a hit!), Sir Godfrey is a strong paladin spellcaster with access to multiple smite spells to further bolster his damage output. He even has a few utility and control spells at his disposal, notably dispel magic and command.
• Sir Godfrey has sworn vengeance on Strahd, which means he knows exactly where he is, at all times, via his Vengeful Tracker feature! This also means that his bonus damage of 14 (4d6) per hit triggers against Strahd.

Just as Sir Godfrey’s presence can aid the party, he might be trouble in some situations:

• If the characters don’t light the beacon at Argynvostholt, Sir Godfrey remains so locked into his need for vengeance that his alignment remains evil. This rage blinds him when the group faces Strahd, and he is bound to rush in blindly. The worst that can happen to him is that he comes back by possessing another corpse—and he just cannot give up even an outside chance of ending his centuries long torment by striking against Strahd whenever and wherever possible. His recklessness may put other party members in undue danger, however.
• Sir Godfrey is not going to be accepted in any polite company, due to his clearly undead visage. Not even him turning back to good, if the beacon at Argynvostholt is lit, can change this.