It’s common for many people to stack the deck for Tarokka readings, given that some results are less than stellar. For Strahd’s Enemy, the Darklord (King of Spades) is regarded as particularly undesirable given that it prevents the party from gaining the aid of any allied NPC. But what if the Darklord card created an alternate outcome, where the PCs do gain an ally? But not just any ally, but one who is a Darklord from another domain?
But Barovia’s borders have been closed by the Mists for centuries! How does that work out? Well, the Darklord in question doesn’t have to be present physically…
Darklord (King of Spades): “Look for the machine with a far-away visage at the bottom of the greatest lake. The machine’s wielder will pledge to help you fight the Devil.”
Background: the Dilisnya dynasty of Borca are a powerful family who still bears a grudge against the miseries wrought against them by Strahd von Zarovich. Ivan Dilisnya, one of Borca’s current darklords, has made use of various clockwork devices and servants to make up for his aging form. Making use of obscure magics and Vistani scouts, he learned of Barovia’s current climate and found ways to scry the people and places there. The Ba’al Verzi are no longer around, but Ivan knows that the corpse of his ancestor Leo Dilisnya is under guard by Strahd’s servants and seeks to have them recovered.
To that end, Ivan built a nimblewright agent, a construct of peerless speed and swordsmanship to operate in Barovia. Its faceplate has a two-way scrying glass visor on it, not unlike a modern television or computer screen, which Ivan can magically choose to show whatever illusory image he desires on the nimblewright's side. But the construct was heavily damaged during a failed infiltration of Vallaki, and currently lies inoperable at the bottom of Lake Zarovich. The machine can be repaired by 300 gold pieces worth of replacement parts by anyone proficient with Tinker’s Tools and/or an appropriate magical knowledge or background (Fabricate spell, Forge Domain, Artificer class, etc). Gadof Blinsky, Exethanter, Victor Vallakovich, the Abbot, or a similar character can help repair the nimblewright. The Keepers of the Feather or the Vistani may have specialists among their people to help with this as well. Although in the Vistani’s case, they may recognize the nimblewright and not want to risk Strahd’s wrath save for a significant favor such as finding and saving Arabelle.
Retrieving the Nimblewright and Side Quests: The nimblewright was ambushed by the vampire spawn in Vallaki’s coffin shop, who noticed the construct sneaking about town. Not recognizing it as one of Strahd’s minions, they attacked, forcing the nimblewright to retreat. Only partially understanding lore of vampire weaknesses, Ivan commanded the construct to take refuge in Lake Zarovich to evade them, and soon the machine became inoperable due to water damage of its interior parts.
Due to this, repairing the nimblewright can serve as a clue for PCs looking for the bones of St. Andral as Ivan is aware that there are vampires in Vallaki. It is possible through this sidequest that the PCs may mistake the bones of St. Andral for Leo Dilisnya. However, Ivan will quickly spot an irregularity in the bone structure that doesn’t map to what is known about his ancestor.
PCs have opportunities to learn about the nimblewright via several ways: one is if they get on Lady Fiona Wachter’s good side, who through one of her imps learned that a rogue construct was lurking around town and escaped north. The construct also visited Gadof Blinsky in hopes of repairs, attempting to pass off damaged limbs as prosthetics without showing their whole body, and Blinsky has one of the replaced pieces in his possession which can serve as a scrying vector or means of tracking down the nimblewright. PCs can also track the nimblewright’s path to the shores of Lake Zarovich, and learn from one of the people who live nearby (Bluto, the dusk elves, or Vistani) that they saw a cloaked person walk into the lake and never surface and point out the specific stretch of shore. This last part can be particularly pertinent if the PCs mention the Tarokka reading result of machines or other things at the bottom of the lake.
As for physically reaching the nimblewright, the PCs need some means of swimming to the bottom and retrieving it. Curse of Strahd doesn’t specify the lake’s depth. Via quick Googling, the average depth of a lake is 30 feet (around 9 meters) although much larger lakes such as Lake Superior (the largest in the world) can be 483 feet (around 147 meters). The much smaller but still large Lake of the Ozarks has a maximum depth of 130 feet (around 40 meters), so we’ll go with that. Ideally a PC capable of carrying around 250 pounds (nimblewrights are made of wood and metal but of lightweight construction) can hold their breath long enough to dive in and out. Otherwise, the Water Breathing spell can provide a safe egress, although the spell doesn’t show up anywhere in the module either as a potion/scroll or for an NPC to cast. If the PCs don’t have any classes which can cast this or contain races that can breathe underwater, certain NPCs such as Rictavio or Victor Vallakovich may know the spell and be willing to help out in exchange for money, a favor, or the kindness of their heart depending on the NPC in question.
Once the nimblewright is repaired, its scrying visor will light up to reveal a richly-appointed room full of clockwork gears embedded into the walls, with carpets of exotic beasts lining the floor and toys of all kinds scattered haphazardly throughout the room. An emaciated man suspended in a mobile bed with pincer-like legs is busy playing with one of the toys, but his attention is caught by a shrill beep ringing out three times. Quickly piloting the bed over to the visor, he will excitedly ask who found and repaired his “most precious of possessions.” Ivan is well aware that the Dilisnya name is not regarded fondly in Barovia, so he may not be entirely forthcoming with the PCs depending on their answers and possibly the appropriate use of interaction skill checks on both sides. Once he’s certain that they’re no allies of Strahd, Ivan offers to “lend” the nimblewright to their aid.
Ivan Dilisnya’s two major goals in Barovia are to recover the bones of his ancestor Leo Dilisnya and to defeat Strahd. He doesn’t know the locations of the bones save that they’re somewhere in Vallaki, and he correctly suspects the Wachters of knowing their location. If the PCs manage to recover the bones, Ivan will be ecstatic and direct them to a dead drop around Krezk near the Misty Border. Once they do so, a Vistana who has no fondness for Strahd will pick it up and deliver the bones to the Dilisnya estate in Borca. Over the next few days (1d3 or DM’s discretion) Ivan will deliver a rare magic item to the PCs as compensation. Ideally the item should be in line with Ivan’s nature, being clockwork and/or poisonous.
If Not the Fated Ally: Ivan and his nimblewright can still be a plot point in Curse of Strahd, although in this case the Borcan nobleman will be less likely to work with the PCs long-term. Sensing that overthrowing Strahd won’t be so easy, his first and foremost goal is recovering the bones of Leo Dilisnya, and can accompany the PCs in searching around town for this. But Ivan regards them as loose ends and doesn’t want word getting out to Strahd that the descendant of one of his hated foes has retrieved his ancestor’s remains. The “dead drop” in Krezk will have a rare magic item, but also bear false treasures which are a pair of folded-up iron cobras (Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes) that will come to life and attack the PCs.
If the PCs end up tipping off the nimblewright’s nature to Lady Fiona Wachter or one of Strahd’s other allies (or destroy it themselves), the vampire count will at the very least acknowledge they’ve been useful in helping him deal with another one of his foes. Unless the PCs have angered Strahd too much (like if Ireena dies or reunites with Sergei), he will give them a precious diamond worth 1,000 gold pieces as a reward. This can be used as a material component for a raise dead or multiple castings of the greater restoration spell, which can be useful. But on the other hand, it can serve as a useful scrying vector for Strahd.
Roleplay Notes: As the darklord of another domain, Ivan is very much evil-aligned, and an immature manchild to boot. As such, he can be an uncertain ally like the other morally-deficient choices for Strahd’s Enemies. At most, he doesn’t care about civilian casualties, viewing the common folk of Barovia as but potential sources of tax revenue for an eventual conquering at best, or as assets of the hated Von Zaroviches that must be destroyed at worst. For example, if the PCs infiltrate Wachterhaus with him, Ivan will have no qualms using the nimblewright to kill Lady Fiona Wachter, her cultist followers, the imps…and even the civilian staff members in order to retrieve Leo’s bones!
Ivan will also be reluctant in doing quests or helping others out of the kindness of one’s heart, but will relent if it means the PCs abandoning him or the task can be justified as part of a greater means in defeating Strahd. Basically he should be like Morrigan from Dragon Age Origins: of a broken moral compass who frequently disapproves of taking the high path, but tolerates staying in the party due to there being strength in numbers.
As for the nimblewright’s constructed nature, it can pass for a humanoid while wearing clothing, and its scrying visor can be altered to appear like a human face; Ivan is fond of using it to appear like a younger, more handsome version of himself.
Stats: Ivan Dilisnya’s nimblewright uses the statistics as the monster of its type (see Waterdeep: Dragon Heist) but with the following changes:
- Its mental ability scores use Ivan Dilisnya’s stats: Intelligence 12 (+1), Wisdom 14 (+2), and Charisma 16 (+3). This changes Perception and Passive Perception to +4/14.
- The nimblewright is proficient in Deception (+5), Insight (+4), Intimidation (+5), Persuasion (+5), and has expertise in Stealth (+8) and the Poisoner’s Kit.
- Ivan Dilisnya can look through and speak through the nimblewright’s scrying visor. Anything that blocks or affects scrying can interfere with this sensor. In such a case, the nimblewright can act autonomously but loses the mental-based skill and tool proficiencies of its piloting Darklord.
- Add Clockwork Crossbow to Actions, which can be used in place of a dagger for Multiattack. +6 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d6+4) piercing damage.
- Bonus Action, Poison Dispenser (3/long rest): The nimblewright coats one of its weapons or its crossbow ammunition in a special poison. For the next minute, all attacks with that weapon deal an additional 2d6 poison damage.
But I Like the Old Ivan! Not all fans of the Domains of Dread are fond of the new canon in Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. For those people, Ivan’s backstory and personality can be altered just a bit. Instead of an aging manchild fearful of isolation, classic Ivan’s curse is being unable to find joy in life’s simple pleasures. The use of a remote-controlled nimblewright merely exacerbates this: like someone playing a video game, there is a detachment from the “real thing.” Ivan will never feel the personal satisfaction of sinking a stake into Strahd’s heart, nor feel the life-and-death adrenaline rush of locking blades with Rahadin or the vampire count’s other servants. Even should the party become famed throughout Barovia, they will get much of the glory, and many will find it hard to believe that a mysterious cloaked construct is a dainty Borcan aristocrat. The more invested he gets in piloting the nimblewright, the more he has to neglect other duties of state; he can leave the construct on “auto-pilot,” but that means taking his eyes off the party. And he certainly isn’t going to delegate its function to a servant, not when the stakes are so high!
5e Ivan has the convenient excuse of a man trapped in a self-created world, but classic Ivan is a man who keeps a pulse on societal trends via extravagant dinners and parties. As the campaign goes on, this can be reflected in Ivan increasingly leaving the nimblewright on autopilot, going silent at inconvenient times only to come back sounding tired, exasperated, and/or distracted. The nimblewright doesn’t sleep, but Ivan does, and the more modern phenomenon of hours-long streaming isn’t a commonly mastered art. Piloting the nimblewright during a tense and fast combat is one thing; imagine trying to remain attentive during hours-long overland travel!
During the first few adventures Ivan comes off as charming and dedicated, eager to use the party to defeat Strahd and taking notes on things as they travel. But as the campaign goes on and his curse kicks in, that motivating spark begins to erode and the party gradually sees the real Ivan.
