5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

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5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Ultramyth »

Warning! Spoilers ahead for those who have not played through Curse of Strahd!

This post is re-posted from Reddit where I didn't get much of a response, and you people know Ravenloft and Strahd's motivations much better. I am looking for ideas about how to proceed with the module where Ireena has been captured by Strahd early in the game.

Campaign background leading up to this situation...
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Well, last night, the heroes were in Vallaki. One of the players was bitten by a werewolf and that night was going to be the first night of the full moon, so the heroes have been preoccupied with lifting the curse/finding a place for the player to safely transform. They rescued the bones of St. Andral, but left Ireena at the Blue Water Inn, despite seeing that Izek Strazi has an unwholesome interest in her.

Ireena was kidnapped by Ireena while the players were out finding the bones, and they snuck into the Burgomeister's Manor to rescue her, knocking Izek out. However, the fight attracted the Baron and he called the guards. It was then that I decided it was time for Strahd to test the heroes. I had him show up in guise as Lord Vasili Von Holtz, a Barovian nobleman that the burgomeisters know is Strahd's man (Von Holtz was a cover identity Strahd used in the novel).

Von Holtz said that he saw Izek abducting Ireena from the Inn, and he sent the heroes to stop him. Because they don't want to be in trouble, the heroes went along with it, and Von Holtz bullied the frightened Baron into hosting dinner for them all.

However, because one of the party was shortly about to transform into a werewolf, two of the group excused themselves, leaving only three of the party to dine with the baron, baroness, Vasili and Ireena.

Strahd managed to charm all three of the PCs and Ireena during the dinner, although the group initially suspected that he was evil and possibly even Strahd. Afterwards, the concern was for the fate of their companion, and strangely enough, two of the players went straight to the church crypt (my addition) where the player was to transform, whilst the final player stayed behind to seduce the Baroness. None of them reacted to Lord Vasili escorting Ireena back to her room at the Bluewater Inn.

Between the werewolf transformation and one horny PC being caught in the middle of the act with the baroness in the attic by her son Victor, the angry emo mage, they forgot about Ireena, and Strahd as Vasili convinced her to come away with him, leaving in Strahd's Black Carriage.
So, now Ireena is in Strahd's clutches - my problem is what to do with them. Strahd is now going to be presumably preoccupied with Ireena now, instead of focusing on the heroes. After all, he has been without Tatyana for four hundred years, and sees perhaps hope of gaining that which he most desires. But will he turn her straight away, or try to woo her and let her fall for him?

On the one hand, he can be assured that she is his forever by turning her directly, although she does not remember her life as Tatyana, only as Ireena. Then again, does he want her to remember? After all, Tatyana rejected Strahd (well, not as much as all that if you read I, Strahd) and threw herself into the mist, although one could argue it was in a moment of grief over Sergei, and she never knew that Strahd killed him.

Alternatively, he may try to present himself as a tragic hero, distance himself from the Burgomeister's death, or reveal a horrible truth about Kolyan (real or imagined) that will turn Ireena from her adoptive family. Perhaps Strahd could twist his origin story to become more appealing to her, preying on his strange familiarity to her and taking Sergei out of the picture, blaming her original death on the attempted coup by Leo Dilisnya, or portraying himself in Sergei's shoes as the groom.

There are problems with doing this present in Castle Ravenloft... Evidence of the wedding cake, Strahd's brides, Gertruda, etc. Strahd is smart, smart enough to remove the evidence, and he has never been so close as to have a Tatyana reincarnation back in the castle.

I am running a variant of Curse of Strahd where the heroes are able to influence Barovia. I am giving opportunities to restore tainted places to hallowed places through retrieving holy relics, giving the opportunity to cure the Abbot's madness (will be an Abbess in my game), sanctify the Amber Temple, etc. This allows more and more sunlight to appear during the daytime in Barovia. I don't think the heroes will go straight after Strahd, I have left the impression that Ireena is already done for, but we will see. If they do not pursue her, perhaps Strahd will be distracted for a time with his new toy until the heroes can no longer be ignored.

What do you people think? I'd love some ideas and inspirations especially from those of you deep into the lore.

(as a side note, I have also added Leo Dilisnya back into the picture, adding a Mausoleum on the Wachter Estate where his body remains entombed.)

TLDR: Strahd, appearing as Lord Vasili Von Holtz, has managed to convince Ireena to come away with him. Strahd has Ireena in his clutches - I need help figuring out what he does with her.
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

Strahd is too smart, and has been burned too often, to do anything hasty here, IMHO. He doesn't want to risk the Dark Powers messing him up once again (though of course, they will eventually). I agree with your thoughts on wooing Ireena, rather than turning her. He doesn't want another vampiric slave, he wants to preserve "Tatyana" forever. (Of course, that's what he thinks. Considering that Tatyana never wanted him and would never want to be with him forever, he really DOES want to make her a slave, but we're talking his fantasy version of himself here...)

So yes, he's going to try to woo her before turning her, eventually probably trying to make a vampire "bride" of her, rather than a simple thrall. He's going to paint himself in the best light possible, get her to see how he's not the monster everyone thinks, order his servants to cover up any evidence of wrongdoing in the castle, etc. For inspiration, if you've watched the series Jessica Jones, he's probably just as creepy here as
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Kilgrave, trying to prove to Jessica that she can "love" him without him forcing to, while he's pretty much keeping her prisoner under threat of killing their "servants".
Basically, he's going to paint himself as the guy from Twilight, or Barnabas Collins, or Angel. When he's really Dracula, Angelus, or... well... Strahd. :)

Now, depending on what your PCs do in the meantime, you can decide how successful he is with all this. Does he succeed in gaslighting her? Do the PCs show up at the castle, see their old friend alive and well and defending Strahd? Or about to give herself to him as a vampire bride? (hmmm... Ireena ending up as a vorlog. That's interesting.) Or do you want to give her a more empowered role? She doesn't buy Strahd's lines. She sneaks about the castle when left alone, holding a candelabra while tense music plays, like any good horror heroine, and stumbles on the evidence that's been hidden, a piece at a time with mounting dread. Then she's got to play along as though she doesn't know, while looking for an escape. Does she escape? showing up at some point to steer the PCs back on track? Or does she fail and end up provoking Strahd's rage, ending up imprisoned, or turned, or about to be turned when the PCs show up. Or do you want to go all grimdark, and have her already turned, but play along with the PCs until she attacks them?

lots of ways to go with this.

Since you have this period of "wooing" (i.e. gaslighting) to work with, you can stretch it out as long or as short at you want so that when the PCs show up, it can always be "just in time" to save Ireena, or help her save herself.
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by thekristhomas »

In addition, the process of creating "brides" as opposed to vampire spawn is quite involved, containing several stages occurring over a period of time, this gives you options as to how far along in her transformation she has progressed, and as Ron points out, after a certain point killing Strahd without taking steps to break his hold on her could doom her to become a vorlog, which can be an interesting dilemma, do the PCs strike while Strahd is vunerable, dooming Ireena but freeing Barovia?
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Ultramyth »

Thank you both for the replies, sorry it has taken so long to respond, but I had a minor bout of illness.

There were some suggestions on Reddit that Strahd is beyond understanding the difference between enslaving her as a spawn and wanting her to be on his level. I thought that was a cop out and not the Strahd I imagine. I prefer the feedback you guys are giving me already.

I really like the idea of Strahd gaslighting Ireena. Depending on how long the heroes take to rescue her, the amount of days might influence how far down the rabbit hole she goes. I have made it so that the characters should try to visit Castle Ravenloft twice, once to retrieve artefacts and once again later to destroy Strahd. If they do not rescue Ireena the first time, she will probably be turned.

Anyway, Ismark has been captured by Strahd and thrown into the dungeons. He will be used as a feeding bag, but also maybe as blackmail. If Ireena does not give herself willingly, Strahd might barter his life for hers.

Strahd will do the following things.
  • Try to distance Ireena from her past with Kolyan and Ismark - they are not her true family, just her guardians.
  • Convince Ireena that she has a darkness inside of her
  • Present himself in Sergei's role - he has no brother, Strahd and Sergei are essentially one and the same character, the villain of the story is Leo Dilisnya, whose betrayal led to Tatyana believing that he was dead, and in her grief she flung herself off the balcony, meanwhile, Strahd was granted revenge by rising as a vampire, but he lost Tatyana to the mists.
  • Suggest that Strahd's darkness is due to the loss of Tatyana and that his only redemption is in finding love once again. Maybe, if she would but consider sharing her life with him, he could cast aside the great evil that drives him, and that there would be hope and light in the land of Barovia again. - This plays on Ireena's sense of duty to the people of Barovia.
  • When Ireena sleeps, Strahd awakens her with illusions showing scenes of her past life, balls and gatherings at Castle Ravenloft, with Strahd as Sergei.
  • Basically doing a total Beauty and the Beast thing until Ireena contracts some serious Stockholm Syndrome.
One aspect I might be interested in exploring though is a third option for Ireena. She has this past life debt over her head - go with Sergei (and die), or with Strahd (and die). But what if she just wants to be Ireena - not Tatyana?

I do have some other issues to sort out though. Gertruda. I introduced the group to Mad Mary, although they might have forgotten her. Gertruda is a problem. First, she is occupying the room which is most suitable for Ireena. Second, it might be hard for him to justify Gertruda if he is trying to woo Ireena. Gertruda could be a good companion for Ireena during the daytime, but then again, her naivety says a lot of negative things about Strahd, although there is a 50-50 chance it could work in her favour.

As for the vorlog idea... it would have to be the exact, exact moment. What I am considering is doing a retcon on the vorlog, and making it the bitten three times, but then you have to taste human blood to complete the transformation, and remaining a vorlog if Strahd dies.

I will be introducing a points of light theme in the campaign - restoring the bones of St. Andral, laying the ghosts of Argynvostholt to rest, healing the Abbot (it will be possible, but there are no clerics or healers in the party) of his madness, restoring the Wizard of Wines (I made the third gem be the thing animating Death House, which they got)... Each one brings the sun back to Barovia during the day.

But even as Strahd's power wanes (temporarily in his mind), he uses these events as proof that Ireena's presence is good for him and the future of Barovia.

If the heroes restore the sun to Barovia, ironically, Ireena commits herself to Strahd.
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Zilfer »

Haha! I knew that title seemed familiar! Yeah, I had seen you hadn't gotten much of a response on there. To be fair I think i'm on of the few people that browse the /dnd reddit and search Curse of strahd to see what everyone has come up with or to throw out little bits of advice here and there. I have unforunately been sick as of recent and my responses to your topic were fairly brief, I did mention why most people on Reddit seem to have "Strahd is Evil because he is Evil Incarnate!"TM

I think you did a good job coming here and asking for advice, I should have suggested it myself! XD I like your ideas and how they are proceeding in your mind. Keep up the good work, i'm sure your players will be thrilled with the game! :)
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

Looks like you've got most of it well in hand now.
Ultramyth wrote:I do have some other issues to sort out though. Gertruda. I introduced the group to Mad Mary, although they might have forgotten her. Gertruda is a problem. First, she is occupying the room which is most suitable for Ireena. Second, it might be hard for him to justify Gertruda if he is trying to woo Ireena. Gertruda could be a good companion for Ireena during the daytime, but then again, her naivety says a lot of negative things about Strahd, although there is a 50-50 chance it could work in her favour.
I read the blurbs about Gertruda in I6, ETCR, and CoS quickly and couldn't find anything about Strahd's motivations and/or plans for her. Did I miss it? It only says that he hasn't bitten her yet, but is saving her for later. I can't imagine he cares very much about her, and with the prospect of "Tatyana" suddenly appearing, I can see him casting her aside quite easily. Sadly, her most likely fate is as a snack. I can't imagine Strahd letting Gertruda freely talk to Ireena at all. As you say, if he's planning on filling Ireena's head with thoughts of how he's waited for her, his true love, to reappear, it's not going to look good to have a young and pretty naive girl hanging around the house.

If Strahd actually had any feelings for Gertruda (feelings here mainly meaning lust or hunger, nothing "good"!) I could see him making Gertruda Ireena's maid while she's there, secretly telling her that he has to pretend to woo Ireena for some ridiculous political reason well above Gertruda's comprehension. (Game of Thrones spoiler)
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See Tyrion Lannister, re: Shae and Sansa
I dunno... given Gertruda's naivete, let alone Strahd's domination power, it would be easy enough to convince her. Maybe he would do something like that, not for Gertruda's sake, but as an expedient way to make Ireena comfortable, using a "tool" he had lying around already. Or he might just kick her out of the room, and throw her in the dungeon to feed from her later. Whichever works best for your game....
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Zilfer »

I could see Gertruda being used as a tool and an example of how he 'really isn't as bad as everyone says.' Depending on how well Ireena knew people around town she might have even known Gertruda or have been friends! I imagine Gertruda being stuck in her house protected by her mother would at least allow a few friends to come by or so.

Imagine adding that string to a campaign. I mean there isn't many people in the town to interact with around both their age as far as we are aware, I think it would make sense they would know each other. Strahd not having hurt her "friend" could earn him 'bonus points' in that regard. Along with a few carefully worded responses as to why he 'saved' her from her 'abusive' mother. (Abusive in the way that it is cruel to keep someone locked away never allowed to leave their room or the house sort of way.)

What do you think of that line of reasoning? Hell, I might end up having them know each other in my campaign now that I think about it. Adds an interesting twist since most of the time Ireena has no "connection" to most of the land.
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

Very good point Zilfer! I'd been thinking of them as strangers (which they could still be, if Mad Mary didn't allow visitors) but it's certainly likely the Ireena would at least know of Gertruda.
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Re: 5E Curse of Strahd - Help, Strahd has Ireena! (Spoilers)

Post by Ultramyth »

Hmm... I doubt Gertruda has seen many people, although surely Ireena knows of her existence. The larger problem for me is simply accommodations - Gertruda is in Strahd's bedroom. There's no way that Strahd is going to have Ireena take an inferior room to than Gertruda, who Ireena could easily mistake for being the subject of Strahd's romantic intentions.

Actually, really Gertruda as a character and the Mad Mary subplot is kind of silly. I don't see Strahd's purpose in having Gertruda in the castle at all. Most likely, I will have her brought down to the prison where Ismark is already imprisoned.
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