Why Strahd?

[Tommy Brownell]

Pardon if this is beating a dead horse, but I've never been in the position to just discuss Ravenloft before...=P

Strahd really seems to be the central figure in the Land of the Mists. Almost literally, given Barovia's placement. The Core formed around Barovia. The Land's power seems linked to the artifacts of Castle Ravenloft. Why Strahd?

Surely he wasn't the first person to murder his brother over his would be sister-in-law. Surely he wasn't the first person to willingly bargain his way into undeath. Strictly speaking, taking the lords for what they are and discounting interference from the Dark Powers, he's not the most powerful...frankly, he doesn't even come across as the most evil.

So...why Strahd?

In a sense, to me he seems to be the most at ease in his position as a Darklord. I even have a hard time buying him as Chaotic Evil, despite his domain's weak government. Just seems a tad too noble to be CE.

Anyhow, it all boils down to one question for me: Why in the blue blazes did they pick Strahd?

[ScS of the Fraternity]

Has to be Strahd simply due to the history of the setting. Ravenloft began with Strahd - which at the time was not a demiplane but just a village and a castle. The setting progressed from there - each adventure being a sequal to the first Ravenloft - thus relating to Strahd. It wasn't until later that the Ravenloft series was made into its own setting.

That's the real world explanation, but as for a game explanation I think of it as a matter of the right person at the right time. Strahd possessed the qualities that would make a man who could live forever, chasing a woman who will never be his. He's smart enough to survive the challenges of Azalin, Soth and Inajira, but too arrogant to change his evil ways.

[Jester of the FoS]

Oh, and Strahd is Lawful Evil last time I checked....

[Ivana_Boritsi]

Strahd is indeed CE. Look in Gaz I.

Plus, he's CE in the original module.

[Jason of the Fraternity]

Strahd really seems to be the central figure in the Land of the Mists. Almost literally, given Barovia's placement. Why Strahd?

Stephen already covered this very well, but I would agree that Strahd fits mostly due to real-life history of the setting. The adventures were written to follow-up the original, and the setting developed from there.

Oh, and Strahd is Lawful Evil last time I checked....

I don't remember about Strahd's alignment in the original module, but Ivana is correct about Strahd's alignement being Chaotic Evil in Gazetteer I. Strahd is also listed as Chaotic Evil in Secrets of the Dread Realms. It was in Domains of Dread that I remember Strahd being listed as Lawful Evil.

Although I preferred him being more lawful than chaotic, the debate has been covered before.

[Jester of the FoS]

Well, guess the book that was atop my stack...

[Tommy Brownell]

Yeah, I meant to include something in my original post about him being the central figure because of the original module and the evolution from there, but I was really going from an in-game standpoint..=)

Right place at the right time works, I suppose...but ScS's comments about being smart enough to survive the other challenges but too arrogant to change his ways kinda says what I was thinking. Strahd doesn't seem to chaff in the borders of Barovia the way some others do. He's not haunted by lost power (Azalin) or memories about how great he was (Soth)...his is love (or lust), pure and simple, and I guess the difference is that he could easily rationalize that Tatyana would keep slipping through his fingers even if he were free to leave Barovia, thuogh h's certainly no less tormented every time it happens. To kep usiong the Azalin and Soth examples, Azalin knows that lichdom doesn't work the way it has for him in Ravenloft. Soth knew that, even after he fell, he was a powerful and respected warrior with his company of Death Knights...Strahd never had Tatyana.

My starting this thread is tied in with the other thread I started (To Kill A Darklord) because I'm thinking of putting another big cataclysmic event together involving Azalin manipulating various Darklords...and I'm somehow seeing Strahd as Ravenloft's most powerful weapon to block him. Of course, the PCs at this point wind up as agents of the Dark Powers in the sense that they (with Strahd's very aloof assistance) have to keep Azalin from succeeding, and I'm trying to make sure I understand Strahd's motivation to stop Azalin from succeeding outside of "Man, I never did like that Azalin. I'm just gonna cut off my nose to spite my face!"

Hm. I don't know if I'm making much sense here at all...=P

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Don't forget that Strahd wasn't the *only* person involved in Ravenloft's origin story. The fact that Sergei and Tatyana both seem to have been a cut above the norm, in the depth of their goodness -- at least, considering the Tatyana-duplicates' consistent gentle nature and piety in the face of repeated, horrible deaths, that seems true for Tatyana -- and the genuine love they'd shared was so much more pure and selfless than Strahd's self-serving obsession, may have done a lot to push Strahd's not-that-unusual crime into the "Acts-Of-Ultimate-Darkness" category. Certainly, an easy chance to strike down two innocents with such potential to be a positive influence in the world might've helped attract the DPs' malign attention to Strahd, out of all the available candidates for "Darklord #1". :-/