Strahd - fact or fable

[Bluebomber4evr]

Over the years, I've seen lots of OOC comments by people who think they know how Strahd should or shouldn't act, based on...well I don't know what they base some of these comments on. I spent a long time researching the character to make sure he was presented accurately. I've decided that it's best to define some of these things so these erroneous complaints stop cropping up. 

#1 "Strahd kills all high-level characters"

Fable.

Levels in D&D are an OOC mechanism. There is no spell or magic item that reveals a character's level to another character. If Strahd deals with a character, it is because of what your character has done, not their level. A 20th level fighter who minds his own business will go unnoticed, while a level 1 paladin preaching the toppling of Strahd's tyranny will be hounded.

#2 "Strahd hunts down mages"

Fable.

Generally speaking, Strahd has no interests in a wizard or sorceror unless that character is somehow directly a threat to him or offended him somehow--and just being a mage in and of itself isn't enough to do either. Canon sources also have Strahd approaching mages with new magic, but since the creation of new spells is out of bounds with the NWN engine, this isn't going to happen in PotM. Strahd doesn't care if your wizard can cast Power Word: Kill; he already knows it and it wouldn't work on him anyway. But if your wizard decides to off the burgomaster of Vallaki with the spell and set himself up as the new ruler, then there'll be hell to pay.

Of all the D&D classes, though, it is the paladin that is most likely to draw Strahd's (or any other darklord's) ire.

#3 "Strahd kills anyone more powerful than him"

Fable, for the most part.

Strahd is not so insecure or paranoid to kill off anyone more powerful than he is. In fact, he's so arrogant he's likely to underestimate most PCs and assume he's more powerful than they are. As he is a genius, he is capable of recognizing beings of equal or greater power on occasion. In these cases he usually will form an alliance (or uneasy truce), though he is likely to betray them later if doing so will benefit him (and even then, only if it's a loophole in the agreement he can exploit). Even those with greater physical power than Strahd are seen as dim-witted tools that he can manipulate. If Strahd is forced to admit a foe is greater than he is, he's willing to simply outlast his enemy.

[Bluebomber4evr]

Another misconception I've noticed:

Vallaki's Guards are not Strahd's personal guards. The Vallaki guard and militia are under the direct authority of the Burgomaster of Vallaki, Nicolai Ionelus. Strahd appoints burgomasters and boyars to rule as they see fit, so long as they have every gold piece of their required taxes when Strahd asks for it and they enforce the few edicts Strahd issues (such as not harming the Vistani, etc.).

[ThAnswr]

Strahd - fact or fable

I've got my money on fable.   

[herkles]

He has lived much longer than any man should, and it is wldely recognized outside of barovia that Strahd is a vampire.

question: by that quote, is it fare to say that any educated PC in the core from a place with education and a belief in vampires, such as say Borca or hazlan, would know that Strahd is a vampire?

[Norture]

I've wondered about that actually. Zach has been told IC by a few people that Strahd is a vampire, and I don't know if it's actually public knowledge at all or if RPing knowing that is carrying on metagamed info or what.

[puckwolf]

There are characters who legitimately know Strahd is a vampire, however it's certainly not something anyone should recite publicly in Barovia.

[Valerio Umberto]

I know that in Borca for example they are ware of the rumor but dismiss it by & large as backwater stupidity.

Keep in mind, Strahd seems to take some effort to conceal what he is. This is why I imagine there have been 11? 'Strahds", he impersonates his descendants. Since it's an era without camera or television I would imagine to the general person it's an easily believed deception. Few if any people (even player side) have sceen Strahd for extended periods of time if it at all. It's also entirely reasonable and easily believed that his descendants would bear a striking resemblance.

[Exordium]

He has lived much longer than any man should, and it is wldely recognized outside of barovia that Strahd is a vampire.

question: by that quote, is it fare to say that any educated PC in the core from a place with education and a belief in vampires, such as say Borca or hazlan, would know that Strahd is a vampire?

Most likely, yes.

Whilst it's true that some in Dementlieu, Borca and such regions would dismiss rumors of Strahd's vampiric nature as mere fable, there are also large amounts of those who recognize it as truth. Strahd is not a liked person in Barovia and equally so outside of Barovia. He's much more feared, hated or rumored about than someone who would just be "another ruler of far away land"... Particularly when Barovia happens to be in central position what goes to trade routes.

[Winter83]

If I hear a PC saying that Strahd is a vampire I'll simply ignore it. Very few people know it ICly, and most rumors are just metagamed assumptions brought into the IC rumor network...

you know how it is:

--- A player know something but forgets that his character does not (clear meta) --> he tells is to person 1 --> person 1 tells it to person 2 (IC knowledge based on meta). Same happens on many issues.

[Exordium]

If I hear a PC saying that Strahd is a vampire I'll simply ignore it. Very few people know it ICly, and most rumors are just metagamed assumptions brought into the IC rumor network...

you know how it is:

--- A player know something but forgets that his character does not (clear meta) --> he tells is to person 1 --> person 1 tells it to person 2 (IC knowledge based on meta). Same happens on many issues.

That's very poor form, it's not true that Strahd remained unknown as a vampire. Multiple organizations inside Barovia know his true nature, including (but not limited to) Dawnslayers, Ba'al Verzi, Keepers of the Black Feather..

On top of that, many works of literature tell of Strahd's vampireness. There are also clues spread all over and rumors to be heard that hint to this direction. Due to these factors, two of my PCs were well aware of this fact for over a year before I became a DM. I don't consider it very fair to be assumed that I metagamed the information when there has been long-spanning IC reasons to these conclusions.

EDIT: By rumors I refer specifically to NPC-to-PC rumors.

[Valerio Umberto]

That's true, Van Richten's Guide to Vampires has a pretty detailed story of Strahd's vampirism as told by a bard I believe near the beginning. I suppose it boils down to what your character is personally exposed to, and what your character would personally believe given the rumours and evidence available.

[Winter83]

And I don't wanna know about it!!! [screams]


Leave my toon the illusions that Barovia has a fair and honorable 'living' ruler. 

[Norture]

And I don't wanna know about it!!! [screams]


Leave my toon the illusions that Barovia has a fair and honorable 'living' ruler. 

Then choose to not believe it, and tell the person spreading such untruths as being slanderous!

[Ternce]

When our dwarf crew stumbled on all that stuff that told everything there was to tell on Strahd, it simply gave us more incentive to mind our own business.

[Bluebomber4evr]

And I don't wanna know about it!!! [screams]


Leave my toon the illusions that Barovia has a fair and honorable 'living' ruler. 

Barovians hate him even if they believe he's human, and virtually none of them believe he's either honorable or fair.. They know he's been alive for far longer than a normal human lifespan, and that the last few "Strahds" have just been him pretending to be his descendents. They also know he dabbles in magic and attribute this to his unnaturally long lifespan. The fact that he also has a cadre of magic-using enforcers in his family known as the Tyrant Mages also doesn't improve his appeal amongst Barovia's populace (ever wonder why magic's not illegal in Barovia? This is why). Then there's the incredibly high and unfair taxation rate, his brutal methods of dealing with insurrection....really, finding out he's a vampire wouldn't faze Barovians much if they found out the truth, but they'd refuse to believe that the current Strahd, vampire or not, is the same as their beloved Strahd I.

And outside Barovia? Yes, it's well-known he's a vampire. Van Richten's Guide to Vampires does indeed detail exactly how Strahd became a vampire and the book is widely published throughout the Core. For this reason Strahd has outlawed the books in Barovia, most likely to keep his subjects from learning things that might be effectively used against him.

[Badelaire]

When defeated in singular combat he's also compelled to say "BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM AND DESPAAAAIIIIR!" then turns into some demonic creature before being beaten again and again by the same bloodline of vampire hunting, whip-wielding dominatrix's. Fact.

[aprogressivist]

When defeated in singular combat he's also compelled to say "BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM AND DESPAAAAIIIIR!" then turns into some demonic creature before being beaten again and again by the same bloodline of vampire hunting, whip-wielding dominatrix's. Fact.

Pics or it isn't true.

[The Prophet of Lies]

When defeated in singular combat he's also compelled to say "BEHOLD MY TRUE FORM AND DESPAAAAIIIIR!" then turns into some demonic creature before being beaten again and again by the same bloodline of vampire hunting, whip-wielding dominatrix's. Fact.

HUUUUMAAAAANNNSSSS.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMTizJemHO8[/youtube]

[BalorVale]

So Does Strahd openly know about the Keepers or thier Leader TwohundredSummers? Or is this a mystery to even him?

[Exordium]

So Does Strahd openly know about the Keepers or thier Leader TwohundredSummers? Or is this a mystery to even him?

Blue certainly has more lore on this, but Domains of Dread mentions that only 5 people know who the leader of the Keepers is and all of the 5 are members themselves.

It also hints that Strahd doesn't know of their activities or memberhood and that Keepers never face Strahd's minions with their actual members, rather employing mercenaries and such.

But I'm sure there's more to this found in the canon novels and other supplements.

[Bluebomber4evr]

If Strahd had the slightest inkling that the Keepers existed he'd annihilate them in an instant. That he doesn't know about them despite his numerous Vistani spies is a testament to their extreme caution.

[Exordium]

If Strahd had the slightest inkling that the Keepers existed he'd annihilate them in an instant. That he doesn't know about them despite his numerous Vistani spies is a testament to their extreme caution.

Is this same true for Dawnslayers, that Strahd doesn't have slightest inclination to their existence?

[EberronBruce]

I think if it was true for Dawnslayers, then he would just wipe out the Moringlord Cult all together and rid of his problem. And then make it a law that anyone caught worshiping any sun deity will be executed. No questions asked. It is in the dogma of the Moringlord to destroy undead.

[Norture]

There's a book in game about a Morninglordian addressing a Lawgiver. The Morninglordian says their goal is to provide hope, and that the Lawgivers just do not understand the situation in Barovia where so many people are being oppressed by a tyrant, and therefore it's important for them to keep the message of hope alive. If they're aware he's a vampire, it's still perfectly reasonable for them to not raid the castle. What would that do to the message of hope? It'd breed resentment to the church, unrest, anarchy, all sorts of terrible things. Barovia also has a huge amount of lesser undead that harm everyday people, it's not like there's a shortage of work.

[Bluebomber4evr]

There is a difference between the Dawnslayers and the Keepers--the first is devoted to destroying vampires in general, the second is devoted to destroying Strahd specifically.

The books don't say one way or the other whether Strahd is aware of the Dawnslayers or not, but it's possible his arrogance allows them to survive--Strahd is arrogant to the point of underestimating his opponents, so he might just assume that the Dawnslayers are no real threat. Then again, Gazetteer I describes the Dawnslayers' Midnight Clarion as a "jealously guarded secret" so it may be that they, too, are underneath Strahd's radar.