It’s nigh impossible to talk about Ravenloft without mentioning Strahd von Zarovich, the most infamous Dracula in all D&D. Sorry, Astarion.
“I am ancient, I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I am not dead. Nor am I alive. I am undead, forever.”
So begins the Tome of Strahd, a book dedicated to the life of the dark prince of Barovia, Strahd von Zarovich. Von Zarovich is probably the most infamous vampire in all of D&D. After all, he’s the whole reason Ravenloft exists. The realm of Barovia and the mists of Ravenloft were practically created around this brooding, gothic villain.
But he was once a man. Mortal as you or I. How did he become the tortured Darklord of Barovia? Why was he ensnared by the Mists of Ravenloft? Like some kinda Disco Elysium, feudalism killed him, but it was love that did him in.
Feudalism Killed Him – But Love Pulled The Trigger
Before he was a darklord of Ravenloft, Strahd was a prince and conqueror. A combination that makes for a roiling kettle of internal emotions, often expressed through pride and desire. In this case, Strahd and his brother, Sergei von Zarovich, drove out the bandits and marauders who made their homes in the valley of Barovia. Then they settled in to rule. And Strahd might have just been a prideful noble with a wrathful streak, but love did him in.
Because Strahd was jealous. Envy, masquerading as love, ate at his soul. For Strahd became obsessed with his brother’s wife, the beautiful Tatyana. In one so used to ruling by conquest, Strahd began to feel as though she was his.
So Strahd did what anyone who is used to taking what they want by force would do, and slew his brother and took his wife. Some say that this jealous act was enough to damn him; others say that the elder von Zarovich had made a pact with Dark Powers for immortality. Either way, after the murder of Sergei von Zarovich, his wife, Tatyana, took her own life, and Strahd was turned into a vampire.
Ruler of Ravenloft
Strahd’s dark transformation led to massive changes for the gothic valley. The whole land was swept into the Mists of Ravenloft. There it now resides, cut off from the rest of the Material Plane. And Strahd himself is trapped within forever, doomed to repeat an endless cycle as he eternally seeks out the soul of Tatyana.
Perhaps one day she will be reborn, and he will be reunited with his lost love. But. In the meantime, he became a plague upon Barovia and its people. An absolute tyrant, he preys upon the unsuspecting but also delights in inviting guests up to his castle for dinner. After all, he was once a prince, even if he now is a vampire.
And what a vampire. Strahd is more capable than most. Like all vampires, Strahd can change his shape, using an action to polymorph into a bat, a wolf, or a cloud of mist (which is immune to all nonmagical damage). He uses this ability to stalk the lands of Barovia.
But the Mists (and time) have given Strahd even more strength. And that strength, like many things in D&D, is magic. Strahd is also a 9th-level wizard and can cast spells that allow him to render his enemies unconscious, turn himself invisible, and, if need be, fireball anyone and anything that gets in his way.
The Darklord of Barovia is a shadow on the land, but he longs to be reunited with his lost love. Wary adventurers may be able to exploit his most burning desire. But if he was willing to murder before, now that he is an immortal monster, there’s no telling to what lengths Strahd might go to once again be with the love of his life.
Or what he might do if he finds out what Tatyana truly thinks of him…
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