Reconciliation Falkovnia

This proposal takes the proposed changes to Falkovnia by the 5th edition of the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game, and attempts to combine them with the Falkovnia that had become known during the 1st through 3rd editions.

The Actor

Consider that Vladia Drakov is a daughter of Vlad Drakov, rather than a counterpart to him. Being unwilling to accept a traditional woman's role as these are seen in Falkovnia, she strikes out on her own and becomes a mercenary captain just as her father was, having the goal of becoming powerful and respected in every sense, and establish herself as ruler of her own land.

The Fall

Having indulged in the worst excesses of the Drakov bloodline in domains far from the Core, Vladia finally decides that she is ready to fulfill all her ambitions and returns to Falkovnia. Although Vlad Drakov is not happy about his daughter's "unnatural" behaviour, he grudgingly arranges for festivities to welcome her home and celebrate her conquests. In violation of the sacred laws of host and guest, as well as the bonds of blood, Vladia turns the welcoming parade into a bloodbath as she launches her innermost guard against the Talons and all the Falkovnian citizens who came out to witness her triumphant return. She crosses blades with her father herself, intending to murder him and claim his throne... but these violations of ancient and unspoken laws, on top of her acts of carnage elsewhere, have sealed her fate as the Dark Powers whisk her away to her doom.

The Gaol

Vladia is Darklady of an extension of Falkovnia, wedged between her father's lands and Darkon. Her land is still plagued by the ravenous zombies described in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, but these are not her only concern.

Vlad Drakov is furious about his daughter's betrayal and wants her dead. He also still wants to get at Darkon. Falkovnian troops regularly come pouring into Vladia's territory, with those who die on the field of battle soon rising as more cannibal zombies.

Vladia has been forced to negotiate with Azalin Rex, so as not to be stuck between two fronts, and also to receive some help to keep the zombies under control. Azalin is either unable or unwilling to simply wipe these rogue undead out, but he has been providing Vladia with the aid of Clerics; the Eternal Order is now well-entrenched as the state religion of Vladia's lands, no matter how much she despises them.

Vladia is cursed not to see her victims in the faces of the dead, but to be unable to fight the battle she had been craving for years; the fight against Vlad, face to face and blade to blade. She is forced to ally with Falkovnia's oldest enemy, which has earned her much scorn. Worse, outside those in the know about the nature of the Demiplane of Dread, no one realizes that she is the ruler of a separate land; the common people have forgotten her foul deeds and triumphs, and it is commonly believed that she had received a land grant from her father, only to turn against him and ally with his enemy like an opportunistic traitor.

Vladia is seething for a chance to prove herself and seize power over all Falkovnia so she can rid herself of the association with Darkon - but that chance will never come. Instead, she must wage war in the arena of politics through diplomacy and espionage, and the battles she wages against rogue undead and her father's troops are the only outlet she has for her mounting frustrations.

Consequences

Falkovnia is larger than it used to be, but the common people do not realize this. Vlad Drakov is even more obsessed with driving his troops north, but now Darkon has a fairly strong foothold on his very doorstep, one whose own standing army is easily as ferocious as his own. Vladia is seen as an unfilial daughter, but also as a cunning diplomat, who has been making overtures to the Treaty of the Four Towers, offering her support to a pincer attack on her father, as well as a haven for spies. The political situation of the northern Core has become much more complex.