![[StrahdVonZarovichPathfinder.webp]] ![[StrahdStats.webp]] # Strahd von Zarovich _Vampire Darklord | [[Dark Powers]] | [[Castle Ravenloft]]_ ## Summary The immortal ruler of [[Barovia]], a vampire who has hunted the reincarnated soul of his lost love across a hundred lifetimes — most recently [[Ireena]]. The party killed him in [[Krezk]], but his death freed nothing: his brides tried to seize Barovia, [[Azalin Rex]] moved to conquer it, and echoes of him lingered in the land. In the campaign's final hours the party met him again as his human self, pulled from the past, and refused to let history repeat. Strahd never got Ireena. %% ## Now _Concluded._ Killed in Krezk in the mud. Recurred afterward as a self-made illusion in [[Castle Ravenloft]], as echoes bound in the [[Heart of Sorrow]] and at Argynvostholt, and finally as his grief-stricken human self at the [[Amber Temple]], where the party denied [[Vampyr]] the chance to remake him. ## Appearance A pale, aristocratic man in dark finery, ageless and coldly handsome. His face appears vast in the storm-sky when he wishes to be seen; his voice carries command even through illusions. ## Personality Certain he is always in control, and mostly right until the party proved otherwise. Courteous when it costs nothing, cruel when crossed, and possessive above all — Ireena is not a person to him but a thing owed. He mocks resistance, offers bargains he expects to win, and treats Barovia as his by right. His obsession is his one true weakness: it makes him predictable, which is exactly what bored [[Baba Yaga]] into rewriting his story. ## Quote _"She's mine."_ ## Connections **[[Ireena]]** — obsession; the reincarnation of [[Ireena|Tatyana]], the woman he loved. **[[Sergei von Zarovich]]** — younger brother, whom he murdered to seize Tatyana. **[[Rahadin]]** — most loyal servant, as close to him as a brother. **[[Sasha Ivliskova]]** — first bride; declared herself Vampire Lord after his death. **[[Madam Eva]]** — half-sister, who longed to grant him the release of death. **[[Exethanter]]** — the lich who performed the ritual that made him the first vampire. **[[Azalin Rex]]** — one-time ally in Barovia who betrayed him. **[[The Abbot]]** — the angel who believed he could redeem him. ## Background **The warlord.** Strahd conquered Barovia as a mortal and grew bitter as he aged, terrified of death. He fell for [[Ireena|Tatyana]], who loved his younger brother [[Sergei von Zarovich]]. **The pact.** To win immortality and Tatyana both, Strahd made a bargain with the [[Dark Powers]], guided to the [[Amber Temple]] and the lich [[Exethanter]]. On Sergei's wedding day he murdered his brother and drank his blood to seal it. Tatyana threw herself from the walls of [[Castle Ravenloft]] rather than be his. **The curse.** Strahd rose as the first vampire and the first darklord, cursed to rule Barovia forever and to pursue Tatyana's reincarnated soul without ever winning it. [[Ireena]] is the latest reincarnation. Unknown to Strahd, his entire fall was authored by [[Baba Yaga]] to produce the first Domain of Dread. **Death in Krezk.** Arriving on his Nightmare to claim [[Ireena]], Strahd was banished from his mount, pinned by grapples and Counterspell and the sunlight of the [[Holy Symbol of Ravenkind]], and killed by Fabio in the form of a giant ape. The ground shook and the sun came out. His death solved nothing — it only opened Barovia to his rivals. ## Secret Strahd hedged his own mortality. He seeded echoes of his consciousness across Barovia — in the [[Heart of Sorrow]] and at Argynvostholt — any of which could seed his return. The party hunted these down after killing him. His deepest secret is not his: the whole tragedy was [[Baba Yaga]]'s design, and he was never the author of his own damnation. ## Stats **Base:** Strahd von Zarovich (Curse of Strahd), the module's signature statblock. CR 15. See the embedded StrahdStats reference above. Killed at level in Krezk; later encounters were his human self (a mortal warlord, no vampire abilities) and non-combat illusions/echoes. %%