Gundarak Ho!

[Bloody Morgan]

Keeping with the current thread of idea-mining threads...

Is there infomation on Lyssa von Zarovich anywhere other than Gaz I? You know, that charming vampiric cousin of Strahd who keeps a manor in the patritician quarter of Zeidenburg, and took a posion that oly allows her to wake for about three hours a night? Poses as a Druidess to get people to aid her with "blood rituals" in the forest? Supports the Gundarakite rebels just to annoy Strahd, who laughs at her lots. Great belly laughs too, not his usual knowing, quiet smile.*

Most specifically, I want to know how long she has been in the city. The description in ther Gaz seems to suggest that she's been there a while, but it's not really clear. Was she there when the city was still part of Gundarak? How did the natives react to the noble foreigner? How did she fare during the four-month seige of the city by Barovian forces?

btw, I really do appreciate all the nifty ideas that come out of this forum, so thanks in advance. I'll doubtless have more questions as the first session comes closer and I panic, and I'd rather not clog the forum with useless threads, so I may post other, loosely-related questions here later.

Thanks,
Bloody Morgan

* I may have made up that last bit :-[

[Tobias Blackburn]

Lyssa shows up in the 2e products Creatures of the Night: Vampires and Thoughts of Darkness. Her first appearance was in Thoughts, where she created vampiric illithids to try to overthrough Strahd. in COTN:V, she is afflicted with the sleeping "sickness" that she's described as having in the first gazetter.

Lyssa had an odd backstory, where she artificially aged herself due to the aging attack of former beau turned ghost. She was also capable of draining five levels per attack. She could be a disgustingly difficult opponent.

When she recieved the sleeping sickness, she had not yet realized that Strahd now had portions of Gundarack under his control, so it most likely occured before the siege itself. As a result, she wouldn't have been seen much, instead spending the few moments she had awake feeding and checking up on a few things that might have needed her attention. Over time, she is regaining the ability to stay awake longer, which is why she can now venture out for the rituals.

[Bloody Morgan]

Problem is, Gaz I gives the date of Thoughts as 739, and Strahd eventually reprimanding her with the poison in 750, him being the patient sort and all. And the siege was in 740...

Thanks for the background info though. Much obliged.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Its quite possible that, after the vampiric mind flayer plot fell apart, Lyssa began to travel the core and the Mists for a bit, missing the siege completely. If a major plot like her's had just gone down the tubes, she would have probably wanted to get something else moving. After a few years of site seeing and planning, she decided to move close to Strahd and rub her existance in his face (celebrating her "turning day" and such). Unfortunately, she did not know that Strahd was now able to travel to where she had parked herself.

This might make Lyssa a better villian in a campaign, especially if some of the plans she made while travelling are coming to fruition.

[Bloody Morgan]

And that I really like. Gives me lots and lots to work with... thanks yet again!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Among the awkward elements of Lyssa's backstory is her apparent understanding of Darklords and domain boundaries, but in this case it may have worked against her: she may have thought that Strahd's annexation of Falkovnia was a political move, not an actual domain expansion. She may have expected him to be restricted by the old boundaries of his domain.

Drink deep from the well of knowledge, for a little knowledge is a dangerous thing....

[Algaris]

I'm guessing you mean Gundarak and not Falkovnia. I'm sure Vlad wouldn't be too happy, nor the rulers of Borca as Strahd's troops crossed over to annex Falkovnia.

[Tobias Blackburn]

Among the awkward elements of Lyssa's backstory is her apparent understanding of Darklords and domain boundaries, but in this case it may have worked against her: she may have thought that Strahd's annexation of Falkovnia was a political move, not an actual domain expansion. She may have expected him to be restricted by the old boundaries of his domain.

Drink deep from the well of knowledge, for a little knowledge is a dangerous thing....

In trying to bring down Strahd, she probably would have done a lot of research. The girl figured out how to become a vampire and get a ghost to age her, so I don't think its beyond the realm of possibility that she figured out where Strahd's invisible fence was.

When Strahd invaded Gundarack she would have seen it as a political move. The lord of the land was dead, and without knowledge of the inner workings of the demiplane during the turmoil that followed the Great Upheaval, she wouldn't have known that the boundaries had changed.