Duke Gundar

[alhoon]

Good one Dion.

Anyway, what I read in KotBRose is Canon? I.e. he's a crazed powerful warrior eminent vampire with kids?
And what happens in the adventure where he's brought back? Isn't he detailed there or there's just "He's an eminent vampire, use VRGtVampires" ?

[IrvyneWolfe]

Good one Dion.

Anyway, what I read in KotBRose is Canon? I.e. he's a crazed powerful warrior eminent vampire with kids?
And what happens in the adventure where he's brought back? Isn't he detailed there or there's just "He's an eminent vampire, use VRGtVampires" ?

The adventure focuses more on the featured character, Professor Arcanus. A murder at his travelling show is supposed to prod the heroes into investigating him and discovering he's a lycanthrope (albeit a CG and rather begin one, but they don't know that). The truth is the murders were Gundar's doing, as one of the items on display is a set of bones with a stake in the chest. Some dumb local kids break in, remove the stake for laughs, Gundar's back... and HUNGRY. He never makes an actual appearance.

Frankly I've taken this to mean that Gundar is now officially a "disposable Dark lord" someone with Dark Lord sized power and mystique (if not the actual domain), but who you can throw at groups without the worry of having to redraw the map of the core. Also it's a fun treat for old time fans of the setting who can brag about killing a Dark Lord from Black Box days.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Anyway, what I read in KotBRose is Canon? I.e. he's a crazed powerful warrior eminent vampire with kids?

Well, all the novels are canon, save for The Enemy Within and Lord of the Necropolis (and that's only for one scene, really). So yes. More than that, it's really the only place you get solid info on him.

To the best of my knowledge, he's never gotten canon stats, not even a one-liner in Gaz I (Barovia) or Gaz IV (Invidia), neither of which even mention than he's back, unless I missed it. (the netbook has him as Chaotic Evil male human Eminent Nosferatu Vampire fighter 13, which seems a pretty good baseline. Not sure if there's a basis for making him Nosferatu, though, other than the fact that Strahd isn't one). The Black Box doesn't have much at all on him other than that he's older than Strahd (though weaker of spirit) and that he's cruel and taxes his people into poverty (especially those that have the audacity to birth daughters. ) Feast of Goblyns basically points you to the Black Box if you need to involve him, as though that's helpful at all. The Red Box unceremoniously disposes of him "off-camera." He's mentioned in Dominiani's backstory in Bleak House, but barely. Even the adventure where he's revived doesn't have much. It even includes a line saying "if he survives the adventure" or somesuch, as the PCs are supposed to confront him in his weakened state and likely destroy him.

So that netbook article was sorely needed, IMHO.

[alhoon]

Well, I think I'll quietly sweep him under the carpet and pretend he was never brought back. If I need a 13th lvl vampire warlord to throw at my PCs, I can always have the mists snatch one of my liking.

But yes, I believe the netbook article was very good. Although I don't quite agree with the aging curse.

[The Lesser Evil]

Personally, I see Gundar as post resurrection fairly weak, so he's having to start over to get some blood draining in to get to his full power. He's not used to skulking around like this, so I imagine he would have a few humiliating (and perhaps humbling) encounters that might shame him a bit to give him some contrast to his former bellicose self. So you have the great conflict within him between his evolving pragmatic need for survival and his usual id-based desire to spill blood/get revenge/show dominance that isn't quite there for Dak or Drakov.

[The Lesser Evil]

Anyway, what I read in KotBRose is Canon? I.e. he's a crazed powerful warrior eminent vampire with kids?

Well, all the novels are canon, save for The Enemy Within and Lord of the Necropolis (and that's only for one scene, really). So yes. More than that, it's really the only place you get solid info on him.

To the best of my knowledge, he's never gotten canon stats, not even a one-liner in Gaz I (Barovia) or Gaz IV (Invidia), neither of which even mention than he's back, unless I missed it. (the netbook has him as Chaotic Evil male human Eminent Nosferatu Vampire fighter 13, which seems a pretty good baseline. Not sure if there's a basis for making him Nosferatu, though, other than the fact that Strahd isn't one). The Black Box doesn't have much at all on him other than that he's older than Strahd (though weaker of spirit) and that he's cruel and taxes his people into poverty (especially those that have the audacity to birth daughters. ) Feast of Goblyns basically points you to the Black Box if you need to involve him, as though that's helpful at all. The Red Box unceremoniously disposes of him "off-camera." He's mentioned in Dominiani's backstory in Bleak House, but barely. Even the adventure where he's revived doesn't have much. It even includes a line saying "if he survives the adventure" or somesuch, as the PCs are supposed to confront him in his weakened state and likely destroy him.

So that netbook article was sorely needed, IMHO.

Interestingly, although he's mentioned as being older than Strahd elsewhere, CoTN: Werebeasts has a throwaway line of Gundar being merely an "ancient vampire" (p. 64, under Exhibits/The Skeleton of Duke Gundar)

[Zilfer]

IT'S FAKE! I KNEW IT! That skeleton's not OLD enough to be him! Unless you introduce time travel into the mix.... lol xD

[alhoon]

So the kids were right all along!
It was NOT duke Gundar! It was an imposter, half his age, with a complex to try and prove he is a legendary vampire when he's not and a burning need to prove his mettle, settle Gundar's scores etc without the power to do it.
And probably hunted\haunted by the two guys' specters, Soth-like, telling him different versions of Gundar's stories, confusing him, taunting him that he's not, that he's not even worth of Gundar's little finger etc.

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...

Actually, I like that more than actually having a legendary vampire rampage around.
I may make him as an embrace Gundar casually made and set aside. Perhaps his first bastard when he found he can have children. And then he promptly ignored him. When the spoiled brat became troublesome, Duke Gundar responded Gundary and had assassins deal with him, not even giving the Gundar-brat attention enough to deal with him personally. And the assassins staked him.
So, it's A Gundar, not the original duke Gundar. He's duke Gundar the second if you will.

[Dark Angel]

So the kids were right all along!
It was NOT duke Gundar! It was an imposter, half his age, with a complex to try and prove he is a legendary vampire when he's not and a burning need to prove his mettle, settle Gundar's scores etc without the power to do it.
And probably hunted\haunted by the two guys' specters, Soth-like, telling him different versions of Gundar's stories, confusing him, taunting him that he's not, that he's not even worth of Gundar's little finger etc.

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk...

Actually, I like that more than actually having a legendary vampire rampage around.
I may make him as an embrace Gundar casually made and set aside. Perhaps his first bastard when he found he can have children. And then he promptly ignored him. When the spoiled brat became troublesome, Duke Gundar responded Gundary and had assassins deal with him, not even giving the Gundar-brat attention enough to deal with him personally. And the assassins staked him.
So, it's A Gundar, not the original duke Gundar. He's duke Gundar the second if you will.

So nothing of Arcanus's collection was real (not including the 'ruby' which really isn't helpful if you don't have that adventure set either)?

[alhoon]

I have no idea what was in his collection, but I would say a staked vampire (Gundar or not) or a soul trapping dagger are certainly not helpful real or not.
I would say his collection is a danger to humanity actually based on those two items.

[Ryan Naylor]

I would like to point out that Gundar can still be older than Strahd while being an ancient vampire.

I'd also like to point out that an ancient vampire and an Ancient vampire are not always the same thing.



I am not however debating that if you don't like Gundar running around in your game, don't have him. I'm fine with that. Just to be clear.

[Resonant Curse]

Do you happen to know why he didn't really get a mention as being back among the unliving in the gazeteers? You would think several of the nearby Darklords would take notice of something like that. Or that his plans would be worth mentioning.

[Dark Angel]

I have no idea what was in his collection, but I would say a staked vampire (Gundar or not) or a soul trapping dagger are certainly not helpful real or not.
I would say his collection is a danger to humanity actually based on those two items.

I know one thing was Van Richten's brain (my players didn't play that adventure and were not sure if that was real or not), but the other 'aspects' are lost to me right now without the adventure in front of me. I am also fairly certain that a fanon creation exists in one of the Books or Quoths on this site somewhere. But I am fairly certain nothing was as dangerous as the aforementioned items.

[Ryan Naylor]

Do you happen to know why he didn't really get a mention as being back among the unliving in the gazeteers? You would think several of the nearby Darklords would take notice of something like that. Or that his plans would be worth mentioning.

Almost all of the dread possibilities were cut from the Invidian gazetteer because of the space constraints in Gaz IV. A lot of good material was lost because of that, from all 5 domains.

Officially, he was a human eminent vampire Ari6/Ftr10, NE, but had amnesia due to his time as a skeleton, and basically roamed the wilderness as not much more than a beast. "His mind is as cruel as ever, but preoccupied with seething revenge and hazy fever-dreams of the past. He remembers nothing specific of his circumstances, except that he was once a great ruler, and was toppled by a traitor named “Dominiani.” "

[alhoon]

Thanks Ryan!

Now, if it's not much to ask... could we get a hint of what else was cut from Gaz IV?