Ravenloft Archive Part 8: Virisa

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Virisa

By A. Lafond

Website: Alanik Ray's Library

The Land:

The island of Virisa lies in the Sea of Sorrows, just 30 miles south of Blaustein. Virisa is quite large, spanning roughly 50 miles east to west, and about 40 north to south. There is one large river, named for the island, that extends nearly two-thirds of the way inland, originating on the southwestern shore, winding its way roughly northeast. At the end of the river is a small lake, only 5 miles long and 2 wide. The city of Virisa lies at the shore of the lake where it meets the River Virisa. The town of Telgen lies on the other end of the river, where it opens out into the Sea of Sorrows.

The rest of the island is scattered with various small villages, and contains a lot of farmland and open plains, with only two small forested regions. These are the Forest of Screams, named only recently for the acts Willem has performed there, and the Shifting Woods, so named for the great number of people who've lost their way in this forest, several never returning again.

There are a group of hills, known as the Ducan Hills, in the northeast. An unnamed river originates from these hills, flowing out to the east. Several mining villages lie on this river, along with some farms out beyond the hills. In the southeastern region of the island are the Virisan Plains. These plains are where the various herd animals roam, as well as roughly 500 shepherds who have taken up herds of horses, cows, or sheep. No villages exist here, since the shepherds roam with their herds to new pastures regularly. The villages along the shores of the Sea of Sorrows are fishing villages. Another river flows out of the Sea of Sorrows from the north, flowing inland, along which many more farms are built.

The city of Virisa is a relatively large walled city, with a population of just over 11,000 residents. It is the center of civilization on the island, ruled by the mad Lord Willem Ducas with an iron fist. There is a small port here, where merchant ships from abroad dock, coming upriver from Telgen. The taxes here are fair, and the level of education above average, making it a suitable place for many to live, if one doesn't mind the screams that can be heard from the keep up on the cliff overlooking the city. Two other advantages are that there is much less crime here, as well as the promise from the lord that the people of Virisa will not be harvested for dinner.

Telgen is the only other settlement of any great size on the island of Virisa, having a population of 2,000 citizens. Although not as large as Virisa, it has a larger port, a better economy since all merchants from abroad dock at Telgen, and one does not have to listen to the screams of humans being cooked alive. However, there is more crime here, and this town is not under any form of protection from the lord's cannibalistic practices. Most have just given in to it and counted this possibility as just something that happens, like earthquakes or hurricanes.

Due to the scarcity of forested land, the majority of meat comes from the horses and other plains-dwelling animals on the island, as well as various farm animals. There are many farms dotting the island, from which many of the lord's victims come. The population of the island is divided roughly in half between the towns and the villages, with a total population just a bit over 20,000 people. With 11,000 between Virisa and Telgen, and about 500 shepherds on the plains, that leaves roughly 9,000 among all the villages. About 1,000 of these are from the fishing villages, 300 from the hunting villages (one by the Shifting Woods, and three by the Forest of Screams), 200 from the mining villages, and the other 7,500 are farmers.



Cultural Level:

Medieval.



The Folk:

The total population of the island remains at just a little over 20,000. The people of Virisa are dark-haired and have darker eye colours. Hair colour ranges from black to (very rarely) a coppery red colour, while eyes tend to be hazel, brown, gray, and the like.

Occasionally, due to mixing with outsiders, a lighter-haired child may be born. Most of the people are well tanned, the farmers moreso than the city dwellers.

The people are divided into several classes. The farmers make up the majority of the lower classes, although the few criminals that manage to survive in Virisa also fall into this category. There are no beggars, for they are quickly rounded up and put in the lord's pens, where all future meals are kept. The shepherds, the fishermen, the miners, the hunters, and the farmers all belong to the lower classes.

The middle classes consist of merchants and other well-to-dos. This class is relatively small, though there are quite a lot of merchants who come in from other lands to trade with the people of Telgen and Virisa. Few merchants from abroad ever learn of the habits of the lord, and those who do learn of this do not live for long. As such, no outsiders are allowed any farther inland than Telgen on the Holy Day. Lord Ducas' personal soldiers make sure of this.

The upper class citizens consist of Lord Ducas, his three sons and his daughter, his personal loyal followers, and his chefs. It has long been known that if you are a good chef, you can make a rich living cooking for the lord. All personal chefs of the lord are granted protection from being eaten themselves, and are paid richly. However, if one ever displeases the lord, they are known to disappear very quickly.

Lastly, there are the Disciples. Dressed in black chain mail armor, white skull-faced helmets, spiked gauntlets, and long, wicked blades, they are an order of warriors devoted to the Lord Willem Ducas. They are of a class all their own, a force of semi-religious soldiers fanatically loyal to the lord, willing to commit even suicide if the lord wills it, trained to believe the lord to be their god. Though the lord had only 100 men in this force when he assumed lordship of Virisa 32 years ago, their numbers have long since grown, for every parent must give up their first-born son to the lord within one year of the child's birth.

In the past 20 years, the lord has expanded this to include daughters as well, for he has learned that, when trained properly, they can be even more ruthless than men. Lord Ducas' army now numbers well over 1000, with about 35% of them women.

Having literally spent their whole lives being trained to be soldiers, they are completely ruthless, cold, unemotional, and fanatically loyal. The perfect soldiers. It is these soldiers who keep the populace in line.



The Law:

Ever since Lord Willem Ducas has assumed lordship of Virisa, the law has changed quite a lot from the way it was when his parents ruled. Captured criminals are no longer kept in dungeons, but are instead put into pens, where they become livestock for the lord and his men. However, there are the luxury suites, that are used for keeping those who are to participate as the hunted for The Great Hunt. Wanting them in prime physical condition, Lord Ducas pampers them, which includes fine living quarters. Of course, they're never allowed anything beyond food and clothing, to prevent them escaping, and are heavily guarded by Willem's top Disciples.

Basically, The Great Hunt has been a tradition for 30 years, only 2 years after the domain was formed. Each year, new guests of honor are found, chosen by the darklord. Though he often chooses months in advance, he sometimes chooses even as close as a couple weeks before the Hunt, and those of his prisoners who have been chosen are never revealed to the people until the day of the hunt. This always is a topic of conversation as the day approaches, as many lay wagers on who, among the prisoners, will be selected to participate. Of course, they never speak too much of it, for strangers may wonder at what they talk about. As far as outsiders ever know, it is an annual tradition where several prisoners are selected to attempt to escape the island. If they escape, they go free, if not, they are executed. Though natives know the truth, outsiders do not. Those who fail become the lord's dinner. And so far, he's had a great feast for 30 years straight.

Also, all families must give up their first born child to the lord before they reach a year in age, where they are then trained to become Disciples. They enforce the law with ruthless efficiency, keeping the people in line through fear.

For all purposes, in Virisa the law is Lord Willem Ducas. He can change the law whenever it suits him, and none can stand up to him, keeping him the supreme ruler over Virisa.

At present, the lord has made it illegal for weapons to be carried, which makes it easier for his men to sieze others as livestock.

Merchants and visitors from other lands are still allowed their weapons (allowing the Disciples to distinguish them from the citizens), though they must be limited to only one, and that weapon must be peace-bonded. Weapons not able to be peace-bonded must be turned in to the Disciples until they leave, or kept on the ship.

The only priests allowed in Virisa must worship Ducas, and are as loyal to him as the Disciples are. It is illegal to practice sorcery in Virisa without the lord's personal permission.



Native Player Characters:

No player character from Virisa may be priests or wizards, since the priests are thoroughly evil, and the wizards exist only among the lord's personal followers. Fighters are the most common, though it is conceivable for thief characters to exist as well, though they are likely from Telgen, since crime is almost nonexistant in Virisa. Bards also exist among the people, making this a possibility. Rangers, gypsies, and psionicists are all extremely rare on Virisa, though not completely nonexistant.

All PCs native to Virisa automatically pass any horror checks required due to acts of cannibalism. If they must witness events where humans (or demihumans) are devoured by various beasts (ghouls, some werebeasts, etc), they receive a +3 bonus to their horror checks. Additionally, any native PC who has the cooking NWP (or who later learns it) automatically receives a +4 bonus to the proficiency check.

Personalities of Note:

An underground force has begun to form in the town of Telgen, consisting of men and women against Willem's rule. They take great pains to hide their presence from the lord and his Disciples, and try to find ways of usurping Willem's rule and disposing of him. As yet, they have not learned the secret of how to kill him, for they are aware of his ability to regenerate from even the most grievous of injuries. The leader of this force, a woman by the name of Amelia Celane, is a Knight of the Shadows. As yet, Willem is unaware of her presence, for she tends to remain in hiding, so the Disciples have no chance to recognize her.



Encounters:

Plains -- Very likely to run into the shepherds, with their herds.

Sometimes, one may run into a patrol of Disciples, but this is very rare.

Forests -- The Forest of Screams is a normal enough forest, containing various woodland creatures that the hunters of the nearby villages hunt to bring to market. The Shifting Woods generally meets with hostile woodland creatures along the lines of werebeasts, ettercaps, and the like. There are natural creatures here, too.

Sometimes (5%), one may run into a hunting party from the nearby village. These people are the only ones brave enough to face the dangers of the woods. They tend to provide the more exotic meats to the market in Virisa or Telgen.

Hills -- These hills are mostly just low, grassy hills, with a small rocky region towards the center. It is from this central region where the best mining is, thus encounters in this region occur mostly with members of the mining operations in this area.



Lord Willem Ducas

(Darklord of Virisa)

10th-Level Human Fighter, Lawful Evil

Armor Class: 4 (9 unarmored)
Movement: 12
Level/Hit Dice: 10
Hit Points: 71
THAC0: 11 (+1 with shortsword, +1 for strength)
No. Of Attacks: 2 (with shortsword)
Damage/Attack: 1d6+3 (shortsword) or by weapon (+1 for strength)
Special Attacks: Specialized in shortsword, single-weapon style specialization (1 slot -- +1 bonus to AC when using this style)
Special Defenses: Cannot be killed normally (see below)
Magic Resistance: Nil

Str 17; Dex 10; Con 15; Int 17; Wis 8; Cha 16



Appearance:

Willem is a large man, both in height and strength. Although he is an old man at 61 years of age, he still appears to be a young man, appearing to be only 29 years old (*). He stands at 6'5", and weighs in at over 200 pounds. He has dark black hair and steely-gray eyes.

His face is unmarred, having spent his life as a wealthy noble. He keeps his face clean shaven, and his hair is worn in a single ponytail.

Willem is usually not seen wearing any sort of armor, for he often acts the part of a noble, wearing rich clothing in a rather pompous style of dress. However, when he does dress for battle, he wears a suit of chain mail armor and carries a shortsword. The shortsword is sometimes also seen on his belt when he is not dressed for battle, but this is usually only seen at ceremonies where he is making a public appearance.



Background:

Willem was born into a wealthy noble family, who ruled the city of Virisa. The family holdings, a small keep overlooking the city from a short cliff to the north of town, was a large enough place that he could do pretty much whatever he wanted without his family knowing about it.

As he grew older, he began to pick on the weaker children, for he was unusally large for his age, and made full use of this advantage. He learned at a young age that size and strength can quite often get you what you wanted, and that others can do very little to stop you. He enjoyed beating up the other children, a fact which made things quite difficult for his parents, who tried to control him, and often chastised him for his behaviour.

By the age of 14, he had learned to keep things quiet, so his parents don't learn of his actions, so he began to threaten those he beat on with promises of death if word gets out. As a result of this, it eventually happened that he killed another person. He hid the body in the river, which caused quite a scandal a week later when the body was found. However, no fingers pointed Willem's way, and he got away scot free. Willem realized how easily things could have turned against him, so he decided to destroy the bodies in the future. Thus, the next time he killed, he took the person out into the woods near the city, and tied him to a steel pole he had driven into the ground. Then, after gagging him, he set the man on fire.

He calmly sat there and watched, as the man burnt to death, feeling an odd sense of power in taking the life of another man. As he sat there, watching, an odd thought struck him. He got up and, while the man was still alive, writhing in agony, Willem took his knife and cut the man's arm off. He then began to eat the man's flesh, as the man was forced to watch.

This went on for several more years, with a handful of people disappearing mysteriously, along with a large number of newborn children. Some feared some sort of powerful beast hunting those who strayed too far out of town, others thought it simply murder.

Eventually, however, at the age of 29, Willem was discovered. Someone had found his secret spot out in the woods, and saw Willem kill a man and eat him. Word soon got to Willem's parents, who were horrified at this news. They confronted him about this, hoping what they were told wasn't true. They told Willem what the man told them, who was also present to confirm his story. Willem struck his parents, knocking them out cold. Then he beat the other man nearly to death, and dragged all three of them out to the woods, where he tied them all to the stake and burnt them all, this time without any gags. It was at this time, as Willem dined on the flesh of his own parents, that the mists claimed Willem, including Virisa and the island it was built on, which included several smaller villages and a second small town known as Telgen. Willem was 29 years old when he was drawn into Ravenloft, in the year 719 on the Ravenloft timeline.

With his parents dead, the rest of the people, still not knowing what had happened, made Willem lord of Virisa. The people had come to love him, for he had long since kept his darker dealings secret, and seemed to the people as the epitome of a good ruler. However, once they made him lord, he began a rule of tyranny, keeping the people in line through fear. He chose his most loyal supporters to be his personal bodyguards. He formed his own personal garrison of fanatically loyal warriors, trained from birth to be fearless warriors and brutally efficient. These he had stolen from their cribs before even a year old, and the oldest of them were now 15 years old. They were all strong warriors, who betrayed no emotion at any time. With this new force, numbering well over 100 men, he could keep the populace in line.

He made demands on the people, requiring each family to give up their first-born sons to his personal training regime, before they even reached a year in age. Through this, he would ensure a constant supply of loyal soldiers. His cannibalistic tendencies came out in the open, which he used to keep fear in the peoples' hearts, and so they would know their fate if they broke the law. Those who stayed within the law, and who served him faithfully, would be spared their place on the dinner table, instead leaving that fate to those from the surrounding villages and the town of Telgen.

Willem began to have the people cooked in the courtyard just outside the keep, instead of in the woods, and the citizens of Virisa eventually grew accustomed to the sounds of screaming emanating from the keep every week, when a new person was cooked.



Current Sketch:

Although Willem used to cannibalize others as revenge, and for the sense of power he received in doing so, he now no longer feels the power he once did. Coupled with this is the fact that he always feels the pain of those he eats. Whenever he eats a new victim, the next day he always feels the pain they felt as they were cooked. However, he has long since lost the will to stop eating the people, for although it causes him great pain, and no longer gives him the sense of power he craves, he has discovered a side effect that has persisted since the day the mists swallowed him -- perpetual youth. As long as he continues, he will not age a day.

Too obsessed with this to ever stop cannibalizing others, but always forced to feel the pain, he has been driven slowly insane. He has felt the excrutiating pain of a slow death a thousand times over, and yet lives. Though his men are fanatically loyal to him, the people grow more scared every day of his increasingly mad nature. In his insanity, he has decided that everything will finally be set aright again if only he manages to capture, and eat, one who is worthy. He constantly hunts for someone who is skilled enough to elude him, for only someone this skilled can provide him with the sense of power he craves. Thus, he invented The Great Hunt, an event he calls once each year. He selects from his prisoners the best of the best, and personally takes a hand in their care and feeding, making sure they are at their healthiest when he sets them free. The rules are simple -- they get caught, they are eaten. But if they make it to the shore and off the island, they go free. So far, none have escaped the island in the 30 years since the Hunt began. On the day of The Great Hunt, when those set free are captured by Willem personally, the victims are dined on by Willem and those closest to him. The Great Hunt has existed for 30 years. It was on the first Great Hunt that he discovered his inability to close the domain borders. He believes it has something to do with his promise that the victims will be allowed off the island if they manage to escape. The Great Hunt is an event that spans an entire week.

During the rest of the year, two people are cooked each week, prepared in whatever manner Willem decides upon that week. That day has been declared as the holy day, and Willem always gets first pick, with his followers getting the lesser cuts. Enough is saved for Willem for the rest of the week, although the rest of his men must dine on lesser animals on those days. Only on special occasions is this format broken, such as his birthday, the anniversary of his attaining lordship, and when receiving important visitors, as well as the day of The Great Hunt.



Closing the Borders:

When Willem decides to close the borders, any who attempt to leave the domain find a horde of ghouls rise up out of the sea around the island and come to shore, attacking any who attempt to leave. The ghouls that attack those attempting to flee when the borders are closed instead attack to paralyze or incapacitate, then bring the characters back to the lord. If paralyzed by the touch of these ghouls, a character can never again regain control until he reaches the courtyard of Willem's keep.

The only exception to this is on the day of The Great Hunt, when Willem is unable to close the borders. On this special day, Willem must stop the person from leaving by his own devices.



Combat:

Although skilled in several weapons, Willem favors his shortsword, a weapon worn only by the nobility in the world he hails from. In addition to the shortsword, he also skilled in the use of all other blades and bows. He wears chain mail armor when prepared for battle, and is skilled at using his free hand to help block blows (+1 bonus to AC) if it is free.

Willem now has superior tracking skills. He is an infallible tracker, and can move at his normal movement rate while tracking under normal circumstances. Attempts made to conceal tracks or take hard to follow routes instead simply apply a modifier to Willem's movement rate while tracking. (Determine all tracking modifiers, according to PHB. Divide result by 3, rounding down, to find by how much his movement rate is reduced. -6 penalty for non-rangers does not apply in this case. His movement cannot, however, be increased.)

Willem can be killed on any day, but only by those declared to be his dinner, and only in the courtyard, or wherever they are to be prepared. However, if it is not after The Great Hunt that Willem is slain, he can restore himself to life by assuming the body of one of his Disciples. From this point, the body will gradually change to Willem's original form (2 months), and he will be the same as he was before. Only if slain by those who have been captured on The Great Hunt is he unable to assume a Disciple's body.

However, even slaying him on other nights, forcing him into a Disciple's body, is a minor victory, for he is unable to do anything during those 2 months, for the pain of the transformation is too great for him to do any more than lay on his bed, contorted in pain.

During this time, no humans are ever cooked.

* This would make his date of birth be 690 on the Ravenloft calendar, although he wouldn't have been taken by the mists until the year 719. Thus, Virisa would have been an existing domain since the year 719 on the Ravenloft timeline.





Disciples of Virisa

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any/Any

FREQUENCY: Very Rare/Common (in Virisa)

ORGANIZATION: Troop

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Any

DIET: Cannibalistic

INTELLIGENCE: Very to genius (11-18)

TREASURE: Varies

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

NO. APPEARING: 11 (10 plus sergeant)

ARMOR CLASS: 5 (10)

MOVEMENT: 12

HIT DICE: By level

THAC0: By level

NO. OF ATTACKS: By level

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1d8 (longsword)

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below

SPECIAL DEFENSES: See below

MAGIC RESISTANCE: See below

SIZE: M (5'0" to 6'8")

MORALE: Fearless (20)

XP VALUE:

1st level 420

2nd level 975

3rd level 1400

4th-5th level 2000

6th level 3000



Appearance:

The Disciples, a group of humans raised from birth to become the personal army of Lord Willem Ducas, are a ruthless and bloodthirsty bunch. No Disciple is ever seen in public without their uniforms, which consists of black chain mail armor, closed-face helmets painted white with a face-plate shaped as a skull, spiked gauntlets, and Virisan livery underneath. Over their chainmail they wear a black tabard displaying the Ducas family emblem. On their belts they carry long, wicked blades, as well as a dagger for backup. Some are seen with light crossbows in addition. In a single troop (consisting of 10 soldiers and their sergeant), there are usually at least four carrying crossbows.

Underneath their armor, the Disciples are just regular men and women. However, as they have been raised from birth to be soldiers, they are nowhere near average. They have cold, emotionless eyes, short-cropped hair (men) or braids (women), clean-shaven faces, and a well-defined musculature. All the Disciples are quite strong and healthy, for those who aren't are culled. They are also trained to understand a wide variety of battle tactics, and are usually quite intelligent. Every Disciple has a strength score ranging from 16 to 18/00, and a constitution score ranging from 15 to 18. Their intelligence ranges from 11 to 18, with the more intelligent receiving the higher ranks. (Though there are some of high intelligence among the lower ranks who just haven't been discovered yet.)

The Disciples are fanatically loyal to their lord Willem, and would willingly sacrifice their own lives if he asked them to. This bond with their lord is so great, they are actually capable of minor spell-like abilities. However, their ability to draw on their faith in the Lord Ducas is nowhere near as great as the Ducan Priests.



Combat: The Disciples are all skilled warriors, trained strictly in the fighting arts. Every Disciple has all the abilities of a fighter of the appropriate level. Every Disciple, at 1st level, is trained in the same weapons: longsword, dagger, and crossbow. Each Disciple is proficient in the use of these weapons, with specialization in the longsword. Their non-weapon skills vary, but the more common ones are blind-fighting, endurance, horse riding, hunting, running, swimming, and tracking. As they progress, most tend to increase their skills in the weapons they already know, while a few will practice other weapons.

A Disciple's hit dice, THAC0, and number of attacks are all dependent upon the level of the disciple. As mentioned above, they all have the hit dice and THAC0 of a fighter. Number of attacks for a 1st level Disciple will be 3/2 with the longsword, and just one attack/round with either dagger or crossbow. A higher level Disciple of at least 7th level will have a higher rate of attack, as per the Player's Handbook. All Disciples start at 1st level with maximum hit points, as a result of the rigorous training regimen they go through for the first several years of their life before becoming full Disciples.

In addition to their fighting skills, all Disciples have the following innate spell-like abilities, usable once/day unless otherwise noted:

Cure Light Wounds (3/day)

Light (2/day)

Cloak of Bravery (on self only)

Detect Lie

Free Action

All of these abilities function at the minimum level necessary for a priest to cast it, or at the Disciple's current level, whichever is greater. Lastly, all Disciples have a degree of magic resistance. Because of their fanatic loyalty to their lord, they are immune to any type of mind-affecting magic. This includes spells such as charm person, fear, and emotion, to name a few. They can still be held via hold person, and they can still be affected by beneficial charms, such as cloak of bravery.



Habitat/Society: The Disciples are a group of humans bred for combat since their youth. They are the first-born child of every family, given to the Lord Willem Ducas within a year of their birth. Those who refuse to give up their first child usually disappear shortly afterwards. The training program begins as early as within the first year of their life, during which time they are fed various nutrients and raised to be prepared for the training program when they become old enough to start. As they grow older, they are trained in their fighting skills, battle strategy, loyalty, how to control their emotions, and other such things that make them what they now are.

They are also trained to know the truth about cannibalism (as Lord Willem Ducas sees it), and are fed human meat on special occasions.

By the time the training program is complete, the child has become a cold-hearted killing machine, fanatically loyal to the Lord Ducas.

At the age of 15, the child becomes a full Disciple, and joins their ranks. At this point, he is considered to be an adult.

The size of the Disciple army is now well over 1000 men and women, with about 35% of these women. The breakdown of the army according to level is shown below.

1st level 50%

2nd level 30%

3rd level 10%

4th level 5%

5th level 2%

6th level 1%

7th+ level 2%

A standard troop of Disciples consists of 10 soldiers and a sergeant. The soldiers usually consist of 1st or 2nd level Disciples, while the sergeant is usually from 2nd-4th level. Any Disciple of greater rank than this is usually not a part of a troop, instead being a part of the upper hierarchy of the army. The troop of 11 men is the standard patrol unit, found both within and outside the cities.

From time to time, situations will arise where a Disciple has to be sent off the island of Virisa and to the mainland. Usually, this is to capture somebody specific, or to gather information, or sometimes to make diplomatic missions. Because of this, a Disciple can be encountered off of Virisa, though they are very rarely encountered. During such times, Lord Ducas will usually choose a Disciple whose service has been exemplary, for such a mission is usually a high honor. The reason for this is because the depopulation concerns do not apply to them on the core, for the population there is sufficiently high to support that Disciple's diet of human meat. Sometimes the Disciples will duel (non-lethal) for the honor of being the one selected to travel to the core.



Ecology: The Disciples consider themselves to be on the very top of the food chain, above all the regular humans. This is the way they view their cannibalistic ways. They view the lesser humans pretty much the same way most humans view a cow, a horse, or a pig.

However, they are also aware that eating solely human meat will eventually result in depopulation, a fact driven home by the Lord Willem Ducas. Thus, their diet usually consists of the meat of lesser animals, saving human meat for special occasions. Only the most influential of the Disciples has a diet consisting solely of human flesh. These Disciples are Willem's closest aides.