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.