How I Ran Valachan (5E/Chakuna version) including the Trial of Hearts in my 5E Ravenloft Campaign

How I ran Valachan - as depicted in 5th edition's Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (so Chakuna as the Darklord instead of Urik, etc.) - as part of my ongoing D&D Ravenloft campaign. I cover what resources, maps, music and random encounters I used for Valachan, and go over everything I did when I ran it, split into three main parts: pre-Trial (the PCs arrived, visited Shuaran, and did a few quests), the Trial of Hearts, and post-Trial activities (including meeting Urik, visiting Castle Pantara and Yaguara's Heart, defeating Chakuna, and escaping Valachan). 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:53 Spoilers for other 5E content 00:04:21 Resources 00:08:08 Maps 00:09:04 Music 00:11:08 Random encounters 00:12:29 The hooks I used 00:15:59 Adventure setup & overview 00:16:48 Arrival into Valachan 00:17:22 Shuaran Village 00:21:48 Jungle travel 00:22:40 Quest #1: Wreck of the Helbenik 00:24:08 Quest #2: Yakum Beach 00:25:01 Quest #3: Hidden Shrine of Tamoachan 00:30:52 Finding van Richten & Oselo Village 00:35:08 Meeting Chakuna & drafted into the Trial 00:38:02 Pantara Lodge, Trial rules, & other participants 00:43:04 Trial of Hearts 00:54:23 Post-Trial, back at Pantara Lodge, & meeting Urik 00:58:59 Castle Pantara 01:06:07 Yaguara's Heart 01:10:17 Chakuna battle 01:12:18 The heart ritual & Urik's escape 01:16:55 Escape from Valachan & Urik's demise 01:20:46 Outro Follow me on Bluesky! https://bsky.app/profile/dmofthemists... Support the channel by becoming a member:    / @dmofthemists   RESOURCES 📚 The two Valachan-focused Mist Hunters modules, which cover the Trial of Hearts: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/3866... & https://www.dmsguild.com/product/3873... Fanmade expanded map packs for those two Mist Hunters modules: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/4134... & https://www.dmsguild.com/product/4141... Valachan: Hunter's Moon - I didn't use this much but it was good for flavor: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/4116... The moon puzzle I used for when they were outside Yaguara's Heart: https://puzzling.stackexchange.com/qu... (it's the highest-upvoted answer) PhD&D's Valachan video (which I mentioned in this video):    • Let's make VALACHAN in 5e!   I also mentioned my own DMsGuild resource, The Second Tarokka Reading: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/4692... And here's a sort of 'text' version of this video, an old Reddit post where I talked about my plans for Valachan:   / how_im_running_valachan_5e_chakuna_version   MAPS 🗺 The map & art I used for Shuaran:   / jungle_village_battlemap_concept_art_for   Map of Shuaran's wooden cages:   / jungle_hut_with_cages_21x21   Fanmade recreation of the Ghost of Saltmarsh appendix shipwreck:   / wreck_of_the_marshal_appendix_30x40_cranki...   Harpy island nest map:   / the_rocharpy_nests   Jungle shore map (used for Yakum Beach):   / jungle_shore   The map I used for Oselo:   / jungle_tree_houses_30x30_jungle_adventure_...   Pantara Lodge map:   / pantara_lodge_valachan_demiplane_of_dread_...   The map I used for Kiru Island's shrine (Trial of Hearts finale):   / 23x16_an_ancient_stone_stage_in_the_heart_...   A map (made by me!) of Castle Pantara, based on the old Valachan adventure Felkovic's Cat:   / a_basic_not100complete_map_of_valachans_ca...   Yaguara's Heart (outside):   / new_czepeku_battlemap_jungle_temple_entran...   (note: I believe the nighttime and 'door open' variants are available via that mapmaker's Patreon) Yaguara's Heart (inside):   / yahuaras_heart_valachan_demiplane_of_dread...   Music credits (for during this video): "Invisible Mountain", "Rope Bridge", "Battle of the Amazons", "Dungeon Collapse", "Jungle Shaman", "Submerged", "Lost Mine", "Jungle Ruins" and "Rat Battle" by Tabletop Audio; licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... All images, logos, etc. are the copyright of their respective creators, the vast majority of which will be from Wizards of the Coast, as per their Fan Content Policy.