Mad idea: The etymology of a Darklord

[thekristhomas]

That's an unusual take on her.

Could be cool!


I always liked Katrina, possibly because I actually played the adventure where she was introduced. Indeed, that was part of one the first AD&D 2E campaigns, quite possibly the first, I played in.

If I was an investigator, Like S in the gaz series, I might well suspect that Katrina is the true dl, based on the fact that so much of both Mordenheims and Adams activities are centred around her, also despite seeming on the edge of death, she never actually dies! This is an interesting point because Mordenheim and Adam are linked into this whole mutual regeneration thing, where they can only theoretically be killed together, while Katrina (assuming she's not a messed up third wheel in the suicide pact) seems to be truly "non-dying" like many other DLs.

So consider this as a possibility, what if some of the Mordenheim/Adam backstory is actually the result of Katrina's lies to/manipulation of the pair?

Did Adam really have "unnatural" feelings towards Katrina? Or was this lie an attempt to stir violent jealousy in Victor?

Maybe Adam had reason to think his feelings were reciprocated? While Victor was busy did Katrina flirt with/seduce Adam hoping to bend him to her will?

Was Katrina truly barren? With the right herbs taken in secret this might have been Katrina feeding Victor's obsession with creating life.

Did Katrina truly dote on Elise? or was the foundling merely a pawn?

Just some ideas

EDIT:

I've realised that it was Elise that Adam had "unnatural" feelings for, but still, we only really have this being reported by Katrina

[thekristhomas]

To link this in with the original post, rather than derail my own thread, maybe Katrina is actually Virginia Weathermay!

Saved from the clutches of the Creature Strahd in the finale of I10, maybe Virginia was also whisked away by the mist and "witness relocated" much as Victor was, given new memories, false history, they again met, they again fell in love as they were always destined to do.

Except, Virginia had been tainted by her nocturnal encounters with the Creature, he had been on the verge of turning her into his bride before he was defeated, and in other circumstances she may well have turned into a Vorlog (I think that's the right name). But the mists "rewriting" her placed the taint within her personality. Now she was a manipulator driven to push Victor along his mad path by dreams of creating "the perfect man" (in a subversion of the Vorlog's attempt to "recreate" their intended)

[ewancummins]

To link this in with the original post, rather than derail my own thread, maybe Katrina is actually Virginia Weathermay!

Saved from the clutches of the Creature Strahd in the finale of I10, maybe Virginia was also whisked away by the mist and "witness relocated" much as Victor was, given new memories, false history, they again met, they again fell in love as they were always destined to do.

Except, Virginia had been tainted by her nocturnal encounters with the Creature, he had been on the verge of turning her into his bride before he was defeated, and in other circumstances she may well have turned into a Vorlog (I think that's the right name). But the mists "rewriting" her placed the taint within her personality. Now she was a manipulator driven to push Victor along his mad path by dreams of creating "the perfect man" (in a subversion of the Vorlog's attempt to "recreate" their intended)

Katrina or Elise?

[thekristhomas]

Well if Elise was Virginia then who would Katrina be?

[ewancummins]

Well if Elise was Virginia then who would Katrina be?

I dunno.

Maybe you are right, maybe it should be Katrina.

Either way, I like you idea of connecting Mordenheim with the Alchemist.

[thekristhomas]

Had a thought, if Elise was Virginia, pure and untainted and transformed into a child, then Katrina could be Miss Ardent (can't remember her first name) tainted by being the Creatures host (depending on how you run I10), in this version then Katrina's evil plans are motivated by a subconscious need to punish Victor/the Alchemist as she holds him ultimately responsible for her fate.

Or if you prefer both to be goodies/victims, then it still works just without any taint

[thekristhomas]

I've just realised that I've been getting confused between Eva, the foundling girl, Elise Mordenheim nee Brandthofen, bride of Mordenheim and Katerina von Brandthofen, Elise's relative who comes to save her in BoC.

In previous posts exchange the name Katerina for Elise and Elise for Eva, and it should make more sense

[The Giamarga]

Excellent thread! I love tying I10 into the history of the core. Even though I'm not very familiar with its details myself.

Did you guys read the Bait This Hook posts for Katrina? My backstory for Katrina has her being LG in the beginning but getting corrupted. Similar to the post-Apparatus Alchemist, who starts out LG and if he's really Mordenheim falls to LE.

Also what does Katrina's etymology tell us? Brandthofen ~= burnt home/homestead maybe? What could this mean?

And what about first names? Victor is clear. He's the victor who came out on top from the apparatus. LG, free from Ravenlofts clutches. ...until they got him back in.

For Katrina , the etymology pages tell me it's a variant of Katherine which among other things (Greek origin derived from Hecate, or something about torture go figure.. ) could mean the PURE.

Is Strahd's Tatyana somehow in I10?

Also about Strahd/Mordenheim being separated halves from the Alchemist:
Strahd is a warrior and arcanist while Mordenheim is a scientist and decidedly non-martial almost a pacifist.
Strahds central theme is emotion, Mordenheims is intellect.

[thekristhomas]

Is Strahd's Tatyana somehow in I10?

It has been suggested that Virginia Weathermay might be an incarnation of Tatyana as she may be the focus of the Creature Strahd's attentions.

However, Virginia does not look like Tatyana, which most of her incarnations do so I think not.

Although, if we were to try and force Tatyana into I10 then we might look at Virginia's best friend, Mistress Ardent. Her backstory states that she was discovered, unidentified and apparently amnesic, by Lord Weathermay on the banks of the Arden River. You may remember that the backstory for Ireena Kolyana, the incarnation of Tatyana from I6/House of Strahd, is remarkably similar, which might lead one to suspect a connection...

[The Giamarga]

Sounds like her. I need to read I10 thouroughly one time.

Are there any insight in Legacies of Blood re: Mordenheim?

Did you guys see Rogold's thread about I10 here?and the prepared PCs stat update here? (Interestingly one of the PCs, the gnome trickster could very well be currently alive.)

[thekristhomas]

Are there any insight in Legacies of Blood re: Mordenheim?

IIRC LotB puts forward a fully grown Eva as the scion of Mordenheim. She somehow survived the fall, and suffering from amnesia (how queer! that makes three!) developed into a formidable scientist in her own right.

So the Tatyana cognate in the Mordenheim tale would seem to be Eva