#castle ravenloft

[marion-ettes]

I’ll leave my love between the stars

Dw Ireena, all of the Taty reincarnations suffer a Labyrinth (1986) dream at some point! Stay strong!!

I have endeavored to design a Fem strahd for this piece! While I really love all the countess strahds, I kind of envision her super 80’s and andro. therefore she kind of fits into the goblin king aesthetic lmao. Giving Strahd a fucking wolf cut may be considered heresy but so be it.

this can be a ship post if you want, personally i dont but i understand the desire for toxic age gap yuri. I understand. I do. and i won’t judge

Btw 7 hour canvas time 😛

[theravenloftwanderers]

🥀 𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕾𝖙𝖗𝖆𝖍𝖉 - 𝖄𝖊𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖒𝖊𝖒𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖑𝖊- 🥀

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Strahd, LEAVE HER ALONE BRUVVV.

[koactus]

Life in Barovia

The NPCs for our campaign are customized/designed by my friend ardhamera :> I love her versions of Rictavio, Adrian Martikov, Strahd von Zarovich, and The Abbot.

[ljs98art]

Over and over, the cycle begins again

~

My piece for the Memento Mori Curse of Strahd Fanzine vol 2 @strahdzine !! This was so fun to draw and so cool to be part of!!

[nautilusdrake]

My finished pieces for @strahdzine Memento Mori, Volume 2! This was my first zine and I had a lot of fun🦇

—

“I will not apologize for any out of place expression,” Strahd murmured, “I did say I wasn’t feeling very well.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll survive,” Tatyana teased as she patted his arm, “You’re never happy anyway.”

“And there’s no point in starting now.”

Sergei laughed and rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, while Tatyana failed to hide her smile. She brushed off her wedding gown and folded her hands over her lap.

Strahd stepped a little closer, at the artist’s request, and placed his own hands behind his back before shifting on his feet. He definitely seemed less than comfortable, but even as they all settled into their poses, a small smile pulled the corner of his mouth.

It was faint and timid, but it was there, and the sight made Sergei grin.

[thecreaturecodex]

Strahd von Zarovich

Image from The Young Adventurer's Guide © Wizards of the Coast

[Why Strahd? Name recognition. Ravenloft is the rare example of a module that spun off into a whole campaign setting, one of D&D's most popular adventures, reprinted and remixed endlessly. When WoTC decided it was time to release one of their hardcover books in a deluxe form, with more props and less racism, which did they pick? Curse of Strahd, of course! I myself have been a player in no less than three separate attempts to run a version of Ravenloft, and I am an eternal GM. So maybe it's a bit of sampling bias, but I suspect that Strahd might be the most encountered boss monster in all of D&D.

My version takes that and runs with it, making it a meta-interpretation of how many different versions of Strahd there are. This is built in: in the original I6 Ravenloft, Strahd's goals are determined randomly, by Tarokka reading. The Curse of Strahd revamp talks about how Strahd has multiple personality facets that come through at different points in play. And my latest (and most successful) Ravenloft GM made his Strahd a David Bowie caricature, making him a cultural shapeshifter in addition to a literal one.

While doing the research for this entry, I went down a rabbit hole about the intent of Tracy Hickman in his creation of Strahd and the Reincarnated Love trope of vampire media. If you want to read more, check out the writeup on the Patreon]

Strahd von Zarovich CR 15 LE Undead This tall man has pale skin, dark hair and a strong brow. His ears are slightly pointed and his expression is one of disdain. He wears the finery of a nobleman in red and black.

Strahd von Zarovich was a human warlord who turned to necromancy to assist him in his wars of conquest. He cleaved out a domain in a fog-shrouded valley and named it Barovia after his late father, the only man he ever truly respected. He desired a woman named Tatyana, who instead fell in love with Strahd’s brother Sergei. Strahd murdered Sergei the morning the two were to be wed, drank his blood, and Tatyana threw herself from the parapets of Castle Ravenloft rather than succumb to Strahd’s advances. Strahd was shot down by his own castle guards, but rose as a vampire, and Barovia became a cursed land of evil, cut off from reality by walls of dread mist.

All of this happened. Once. But Strahd von Zarovich has lived, and died, a million times. There have been a million different Barovias. Strahd is the ultimate pawn of fate, doomed to forever lament his lost love, covet women who look like her, and invite adventurers into his domain to test them and see if they are worthy of becoming his inheritor (none have ever succeeded). Every time he is slain, the mists part, Barovia rejoins the world it was cleaved from, and a new Barovia complete with a Strahd and a Castle Ravenloft forms on a different planet. Strahd has distant memories, like mostly forgotten dreams, that all this has happened before and all this will happen again. His tactics and personality may reflect events of previous incarnations, and no two Strahds are quite alike. Additional evidence that this is all a strange game are apparent to those who would seek them out. All incarnations of Barovia are littered with tools that tell Strahd’s history and penetrate his weaknesses; the sun blade once wielded by his brother Sergei, the Holy Symbol of Ravenloft capable of radiating true sunlight, and the Tome of Strahd, his own self-pitying memoir. The locations of these items, as well as the location in the castle where Strahd will stand and fight, can be foretold in divination cards. There is always a fortuneteller willing to consult the cards for the adventurers who oppose Strahd, although her true nature and motives may change from incarnation to incarnation.

Strahd is the undisputed master of Barovia, and keeps tabs on any outsiders through both magic and mundane spies. He arranges for encounters to test his “guests” and their capabilities, planning his own tactics around theirs. The spells listed in the statistics below are his usual preparations, but the spellbooks kept in Castle Ravenloft grant him access to every wizard spell of 5th level and lower in the Core Rulebook, and more besides. He may meet his enemies outside the walls of Castle Ravenloft, but his castle is his redoubt and he prefers to fight there. Even inside Castle Ravenloft, Strahd makes hit and run attacks, hoping to weaken enemies over time so they are easily dispatched or enslaved when he so chooses. Strahd knows his own weaknesses, and targets enemies who wield the sun blade or the Holy Symbol of Ravenloft above all others. Strahd will fight to his destruction only where and when the cards demand it, and even then he may return to life—Strahd’s coffin is well concealed and well guarded.

Strahd von Zarovich CR 15 XP 51,200 Variant dread lord human vampire fighter 1/wizard 5/eldritch knight 7 LE Medium undead (augmented human) Init +9; Senses darkvision 120 ft., Perception +22 Defense AC 28, touch 18, flat-footed 23 (+5 Dex, +3 deflection, +6 natural, +4 armor) hp 182 (8d10+5d6+91 plus 26); fast healing 10 Fort +14, Ref +13, Will +14; channel resistance +4 DR 10/good, magic and silver; Immune undead traits; Resist cold 10, electricity 10 Defensive Traits vampire rejuvenation; Weaknesses landlocked (Barovia), trapped, vampire weaknesses Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee +2 longsword +19/+14 (1d8+9/19-20), slam +13 (1d4+5 plus energy drain) or slam +19 (1d4+12 plus energy drain) Special Abilities all-seeing, beast mastery, blood drain, children of the night, command undead (9/day, DC 22), create spawn, dominate (DC 22), energy drain (2 levels), magical mastery, physical mastery Spell-like Abilities CL 15th, concentration +21 (+25 casting defensively) 3/day—clairaudience/clairvoyance (anywhere in Barovia), speak with animals, speak with plants, stone tellSpells Prepared CL 12th, concentration +18 (+22 casting defensively) 5th—cloudkill (DC 23), mind fog (DC 23), shadow evocation (DC 23), waves of fatigue4th—dimension door, enervation, fear (DC 22), greater invisibility, scrying (DC 22) 3rd—fly, haste, ray of exhaustion (DC 21), suggestion (DC 21), vampiric touch (x2) 2nd—blindness/deafness (DC 20), detect thoughts (DC 20), eagle’s splendor, false life, fog cloud, mirror image, see invisibility1st—comprehend languages, disguise self (DC 19), expeditious retreat, mage armor (x2, one already cast), ray of enfeeblement (x2, DC 19) 0th—detect magic, message, open/close, read magicArcane school—necromancy; Opposed schools—abjuration, evocation Statistics Str 24, Dex 21, Con -, Int 22, Wis 12, Cha 22 Base Atk +10; CMB +17; CMD 36 Feats Alertness (B), Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes (B), Command Undead (B), Dodge (B), Improved Initiative (B), Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes (B), Mobility, Power Attack, Scribe Scroll (B), Spawnlink, Spring Attack, Toughness (B), Weapon Focus (slam), Weapon Specialization (slam), Whirlwind Attack Skills Bluff +22, Climb +18, Disguise +18, Fly +18, Intimidate +18, Knowledge (arcana, nobility, religion) +19, Perception +24, Sense Motive +24, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +22; Racial Modifiers +8 Bluff, +8 Perception, +8 Sense Motive, +8 Stealth Languages Common, Draconic, Giant, Infernal, Necril, Shadowtongue, Vistani SQ arcane bond (ring), change shape (bat, dire bat, dire wolf or wolf, beast shape II), diverse training, gaseous form, one with the land, shadowless, spider climb Gear +2 longsword, ring of protection +3, cloak of resistance +3, lesser metamagic rod of silent spell, bead of force, ring of counterspells, spellbooks Special Abilities Beast Mastery (Su) When Strahd uses his change shape, he can take the form of a regular bat or dire wolf in addition to the usual forms allowed to a vampire, and can use change shape as a move action. Magical Mastery (Su) Strahd draws magical power from his domain. He treats hiss caster level as 2 higher for the purposes of spells and spell-like abilities he casts, and the saving throw DCs of such spells and spell-like abilities increase by 1. One With the Land (Su) In addition to the usual effects of this ability, Strahd can enter any dwelling in Barovia as if he had been invited. Any vampires or vampire spawn he controls still need to be invited; Strahd can invite them in himself only if physically present. Physical Mastery (Su): Strahd draws strength and deftness from his domain. He gains a +4 profane bonus to his Strength and Dexterity, and an additional 2 hit points per hit die. Trapped (Ex) Strahd is unable to leave Barovia by any means, mundane or magical.

[silvisays]

i was told that we will get to have dinner at a fancy castle with a certain Count so here is Silvi in her evening gown! i hope there is cake..

also if it wasnt clear, silvi may or may not be part of a certain reincarnation cycle for a certain someone. shhh. thats just between us. if any of my co-players see this no you didnt

[oldschoolfrp]

"The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner. You are invited . . ." (Dana Knutson cover for AD&D 2e Ravenloft adventure RM4: House of Strahd, TSR, 1993) Tracy and Laura Hickman's classic Strahd adventure was expanded and updated for AD&D 2e by Bruce Nesmith. New variable goals for Strahd make the adventure more unpredictable, and optional updated statistics make Strahd a more powerful genius-level undead opponent.