Since this is my main blog (you can check out my WoD side gig here), I thought it'd be wise to pin an info blurb since most of y'all have no clue who I am!
Update 6/2025: I graduated š and have semi-returned to the demiplanes through a VtM Dark Ages x Ravenloft crossover side gig.
UPDATE 8/2024: Currently a full-time student juggling a thesis and the post-grad application gauntlet. Not currently DMing for Ravenloft (or DnD in general) and likely will not be back in the demiplanes any time soon š
('keep reading' for details)
Blog Quicklinks:
Let's Flesh Out Barovia [Series]
Parts: one, two, three
Let's Flesh Out Strahd [Series]
Parts: one, two, three*, four*, five
Miscellaneous
ā¦ Guide to Evil Aligned Ravenloft
ā¦ I, Strahd: Subversion of Fantasy Romance
*indicates privated content. see below for details.
āØAbout me, info dumpāØ
Forever DM since I started playing DnD in 8th grade.
CoS was the first module I DMed and I've been in love with Barovia ever since!
I've run CoS by core once, modified 5e CoS... four times now? And run a pure Ravenloft game off 2e lore with 3 parties in the campaign, and a CoS game off 2e lore! (TL;dr: I've been around the block way too many times)
I'm of Hungarian/Polish/Romani descent with a cocktail of more pasty pale in there because the sun and I don't get along (so ofc Barovia has a special place in my heart by default)
I am a 2e lore gremlin! I cannot stress this enough! I have had some misunderstandings recently on where I stand, but 2e and anything NOT 5e is what I will refer to for 99% of my lore and takes (unless its Victor, he can stay).
I have a very open hatred for 5e's CoS module! I am happy to discuss this, but know that I despise it with every fiber of my rather small being. It is horrid compared to older editions, and Tracy Hickman can suck itāØ
I'm also a veteran Storyteller for Vampire: The Masquerade! If you like ravenloft, I highly recommend grabbing a 20th or Revised edition source book and checking out the World of Darkness for yourself! (I've also got a VtM/WoD side blog here)
UPDATE 8/2024 Cont.:
[1] - Absence from community
[2] - Why some of the essay posts vanished
I'm currently taking a huge break from DnD overall. Here's why:
I hit DM burnout.
My fantastic (non-toxic) players hit dnd burnout.
Summer 2021 - spring 2024 was a marathon of groups and campaigns folding due to toxic people lurking in each of my various, otherwise completely fantastic, player groups.
Unfortunately, this was largely due to the ambitious undertaking of running multiple parties in the same overarching world together, with each party's actions impacting the others' to some degree. (all parties were working for strahd and each was tackling a different task for him in a different demiplane).
Because of the interconnective nature of the mega-campaign, toxic players' actions were amplified became more destructive as a result. Further, players who may have been difficult but benign in an isolate group quickly became overtly toxic due to the echo chamber effect of bad vibes bouncing off of other 'difficult' players in other parties. It's easy to deal with one slightly troublesome player. It's hard to wrangle multiple that are creating a feedback loop across 3 semi-interconnected groups.
So, for any DM considering attempting something this ambitious, use this as a cautionary tale. (also you're free to DM me if you have logistical questions, because I have some infrastructure and tips on how to juggle this on the admin side of things.
Hey Catslug, WHERE DID THE POSTS GO???
Calm down, they're not gone for good.
I have privated several of my essays containing mental health related topics. I have also privated a good bit of my older content.
Why, you may ask?
I'm applying for post-graduate programs in the mental health field. Everything I wrote was done as a wide-eyed undergraduate eager to apply what I learned to the ttrpg setting I love. I still stand by my analyses (even if the writing is mid), but i'm privating the essays for the sake of professionalism. I have backup copies of everything, however, if anyone is in dire need of a re-read.
Some of my older content is directly related to some of my toxic ex-players. I don't really enjoy seeing it on my blog and decided to mothball it for the foreseeable future.
When it comes to the essays, I went into them knowing many would, one day, need to be privated. I'm just glad they were helpful resources for DMs, fanfic writers, and fans during their run on tumblr. Thank y'all for the support, the great discussions, and awesome feedback over the years. (and for enduring my wordy prose)
God this is such a mood. I had a stroke when I stumbled across the book, and was so relieved it wasn't cannon. Lord of the Necropolis also would have completely destroyed the mystery behind The Dark Powers in 2e if it was cannon, so, thank god TSR decided to strike it... even if I do miss the extra Azalin content.
(I thought Iād share playersā favorite OOC game to play, courtesy of our campaign quote list)
"Naughty clerics get sent to the bottom of the lake."
"Touch me and you loose a hand."
"Slaughtering the weak is my favorite pass time,"
"Are you going to make Borca great again?"
"Spit it out. Or I can drag it from your skull. Nothing stays hidden for long."
"You have the charisma of a potato."
[Link to part 1]
(answers below for folks genuinely curious)
Who actually said what (from part 2)
1 -> The DM
2 -> Both, honestly
3 -> Strahd (he was joking. Slaughtering the incompetent is his real favorite pass time)
4 -> The DM
5 -> Strahd
6 -> Strahd
(I thought Iād share playersā favorite OOC game to play, courtesy of our campaign quote list)
āI tend to be somewhat vindictive when caught on a bad day.ā
āBrooding is very important to my self careā
āThe world is full of disappointments. But that doesnāt mean I canāt be mad about its inefficacy.ā
āWhat is your deepest fear? [ā¦] Thatās stupid. Pick again.ā
āYou can be self destructive in other ways. You simply arenāt thinking creatively.ā
āI too get angry at small children, contemplate their doom, and then find them utterly amusing all in the same evening.ā
āYou underestimate my peerless ability to self-isolate.ā
āPersonally, sleep deprivation is my drug of choice.ā
āThe control issues are bad, but Iām far too controlling to give them up.ā
āI say this with the deepest kindness I can muster: did you simply lack human contact for an extended period of time? Were you, perhaps, raised by wolves?ā
Here're the answers (and context) for those who were curious;
Who actually said what (from part 1)
1 -> Strahd (self explanatory)
2 -> The DM (What? It is-)
3 -> The DM
4 -> Strahd (Asking a player what their fear was. Player said 'living forever' was their greatest fear. Obviously that was unacceptable. Immortality is nothing in comparison to the agonies of the true horrors of the demiplanes.)
5 -> Strahd (He may be interesting as an ally but nobody said he was a healthy person to be around... same goes for the DM, judging by the quotes they've churned out.)
6 -> The DM (Said in reference to something happening in game.)
7 -> Strahd (self explanatory)
8 -> Strahd
9 -> Both, honestly (You don't become the first Dark Lord without control issues... and you don't become a ravenloft 2e "forever DM" without them either.)
10 -> Strahd (A discussion with a CHA 7 druid PC went very poorly. But, instead of killing the kid, the man managed to baffle Strahd enough not to simply chuck him off a cliff)
To further augment @thecatslug's Fleshing Out Barovia posts on regional costume and bloodstone... two words: coral necklaces.
Also: that embroidery. *swoon*
This page specifically goes into detail about coral necklaces as a Ukrainian folk ornament, but I'm seeing it a lot in Polish folk costume and other Slavic cultures. The jist of it is that these necklaces could be a display of wealth (the more strings, the more well-to-do), and more vibrantly red beads communicated health and vitality.
I think it could be very cool to use bloodstone in place of coral in Barovia. It would definitely tie into the regional inspiration well.
(Someone ought to draw our dear Tatyana with a healthy dowry of red beaded necklaces is really all I'm saying.)
Bonus! Coral beads were also a symbol of protection and status in Western Europe, although Renaissance paintings generally depicted only one or two strings worn at a time.
thinking about the poll/post (that i cant find for some reason help id link it here gfjdghfd) asking about if strahd would be a vampire ascendant and i decided to ramble about it along with other random things because dont mind if i do indulge!! hehe
shoutout to @/thecatslug for inspiring me to colorcode my rambles because oh my god i love colors. also sorry the color code might not make sense its just syrips color coded my brain likes it gfdgdfg
ravenloft / bg3 spoilers below:
so, im not sure if the question meant 'would strahd be considered a vampire ascendant' or if it meant 'could strahd become a vampire ascendant', so i decided ill try to answer this: would strahd be considered a vampire ascendant? sorry if this wasnt the original question i just wanted to ramble honestly
before we get into the fancy nitty gritty stuff, let's take a look at the details of four main things apparently i cant count heh, get it, count? anyways im not fixing that four sorry numbers are hard
Vellioth the Martinet
Baldur's Gate's Master Vampire List
The Black Mass Scroll As A Whole
Cazador and Jander (what?)
Strahd
-----
Vellioth the Martinet
so, random fun theory that no one asked but i just wanna ramble it. did you know that 'vellus' means fleece or wool?
just gonna leave this here. unrelated to anything else btw i just wanna ramble it.
random wiki stuff:
"vellus / villus / veillier = fleece, shaggy tuft hair, wool
villi = in france, to watch over
martinet = wikipedia: 'in English, the term martinet usually refers not to the whip but to those who might use it: those who demand strict adherence to set rules and mete out punishment for failing to follow them.'
vellus hair = 'peach fuzz'"
type/shape/texture: curly to kinky; 'shaggy/woolly sheep' texture
anyways back to the actual stuff.
... hi.
so! the narrator/cazador describe Vellioth as 'ancient', or at least they call his skull ancient? which is very strange to me for two main reasons. Vellioth isn't old. and i know, 'but syrips, you say everyone isn't old because strahd's a big old dusty super elder!.' and yea. hehe youre right. but for now, just remember this - Vellioth was Baldur Gate's Master Vampire from 1204 DR to 1276 DR. this will be important in a moment, not even because of the age, but because what ill describe below.
-----
Baldur's Gate's Master Vampire List
so. one thing that i see thrown around a bit, is that people may assume that the vampire list left by Lady Incognita is based on birth and death or other stuff, but! i will clarify it a bit:
the title of Master Vampire does not mean the previous one's destruction or death. it only means their defeat upon someone else taking the throne. sure, they may occur at the same time, but one can take over without killing the former.
the master vampire list is a self-proclaiming title, and one that others can attempt to contest
each city/point of interest has their own master vampires fighting in their own little territories. we only see those of baldur's gate. not of waterdeep. not of other towns or cities or locations. if you're feeling the vtm clan vibes/drama, then youre absolutely right! cazador penpalling another master vampire to brag about his master vampire status in baldur's gate is both him bragging and him potentially preparing to claim other places once he ascends
the master vampire title gives no actual vampiric, magical, or physical power. it's an entirely a social construct, in the most literal way possible. it provides social influence, social intimidation, etc. but, it's just like putting on a mundane tiara. grats, i guess.. its shiny at least-
anyways, this stuff is mostly put down just to say - nothing about this "Master Vampire" status is about ascension, power, and/or 'special abilities'. it's a moot point/status. which leads to why the master vampires need other ways to gain power.. which is why.. woah! cool transition to-
-----
The Black Mass Scroll As A Whole
if you got this far then thanks for reading. sit up and hydrate because it's time to talk about the black mass and why you need to be in tip top shape for reading this part. ahem:
the black mass scroll is not just one ritual, it is a collection of Vellioth's schooling, a list of rites/rituals, details of soul, divine (good, neutral, and evil) magic, and the methods of manipulation of the soul, divinity, and magic.
tl;dr - the black mass scroll is a list of lists. a collection of collections. the black mass scroll is.. an archive!
one could say it is massive. heh. anyways yea, the mass is a double meaning - a mass in the ritual sense, but also the meaning of 'a bunch of somethings.'
why is this important though? well. because this black mass has 'all the ways death can be turned to one's advantage or made more interesting', such as 'The Rite of Perfect Slaughter' and the 'Rite of Profane Ascension.'
so, let's talk about the Rite of Perfect Slaughter, which is actually fairly easy - Cazador killed Vellioth in the Rite of Perfect Slaughter. yet, Vellioth, who should be 'dead,' is recalling this. we should note, both of these people are undead. and undead death doesnt always work in the same way as complete removal/destruction. literally look at the other undead/'dead' in bg3 itself. look at those who 'died' in ravenloft. yet, some return, despite being 'killed' in the human perceived way.
either way, all we can confirm, based on this Rite of Perfect Slaughter, is that it removed Vellioth's authority/status as a Master Vampire. that is literally all the information we have right now. anything else is speculation, theory, or even deception by an undead or someone affiliated. which makes me wonder, who came up and formed that name, the "Rite of Perfect Slaughter"? cazador and vellioth both have a distorted view of what 'perfection' means, and we've seen cazador lie/hide information that will work against him. and also, Vellioth was laughing as cazador did the Rite on Vellioth. why didnt cazador and astarion laugh together when astarion performed the Rite of Ascension? because cazador didnt want the rite used on him. i guess the point of all of this is, who originally discovered or created the Rite of Perfect Slaughter? because, we dont know! for all we know, Vellioth couldve wanted to be 'killed' to give his soul to someone else, to preserve his vampirism/unlife or something. afterall, the black mass has 'all the ways death can be turned to one's advantage.' it doesnt say by who benefits from it. but anyways. the origin isnt really relevant for this, i just wanted to point out that these Rites are all a various and mixed collection of times, rituals, affiliations, and intentions - most that we dont even know fully, if at all of who benefits from it. and, considering we dont even know what some mean, or who made them, the original people who discovered them may not even be Cazador or Vellioth.
why? or how?
because, the line Astarion says when he picks up the Black Mass Scroll: "[Cazador] stole everything, even [Vellioth's] precious rules."
it doesnt matter who made the rites, rituals, weird strange description/stuff. all that matters is that Cazador has the entire bundle of stuff that is from previous vampires and creatures. and, the symbolism that Astarion picks it up and takes it, means the collection of potential power - of The Black Mass Scroll - Astarion is the current inheritor of potential power.
-----
Cazador and Jander (what?)
now, reader. you might be like. 'syrips, what does this have to do with if Strahd is considered a vampire ascendant? why is jander being brought in here?? im so confused, just answer the question about strahd!' well, too bad! you gotta wait! into the sealed tomb with leo dilisnya you go!
anyways! what we learned so far (as well as random rambling cuz why not):
cazador literally takes things that aren't his
cazador learned this from 'ancient' vellioth
Vellioth become a master vampire at 1204 DR of baldur's gate
Cazador became one at 1276 DR of baldur's gate
but! let's take a quick look and compare this to our beloved Jander Sunstar's lore:
they are incredibly weak when compared to an already existing Jander and strahd, as Anna has existed on the sword coast beginning around 970 DR
not only does time work differently in barovia, but in Toril / DR time, strahd already exists at this point as The Vampire. he is already the ruler of barovia, as well as the center of attention in the domains of dread
time isnt really important here, but its worth noting this because of Jander. not only did he kill his vampire master (which can be considered a 'vampiric ascension,' as you break the chains and limits of your master and are now free to grow in vampiric abilities), but he literally wielded an ancient and holy relic that vellioth and cazador could not even imagine to do.
and, not only did Jander do that, but he challenged the cause of vampirism and was brought by the mists into barovia. he was a candidate to challenge the master, founder, and origin of vampirism - strahd. Jander had the potential to ascend. to break free from the true master and curse, of The Vampire.
anyways, jander (and astarion) is a great reference character for vampire ability when comparing vellioth and cazador to jander/strahd.
but yea. tl;dr - jander makes vellioth and cazador look really pathetic. like baby levels pathetic. vampire ascension is about going 'backwards/upwards' on the vampiric bloodline tree, gaining your agency back so that you can climb up the ranks to more 'potent/ancient' generations. basically, it's about being free to go as far/deep as you can attempt. ascension is not about 'the removal of weaknesses', it's about 'the reduction of vampiric inferiority'. and, being unable to be in the sun is not of inferiority. they can go in the sun, but it will hurt. what one cannot do without suffering, teamwork, pacts, and/or luck, however, is breaking their seal on the master they're forced to be inferior to. even in the cazador fight, the only thing that saved astarion was literally the tadpole helping to reduce his inferiority with cazador. on a side note, vellioth laughing at cazador during the rite of perfect slaughter makes me believe that vellioth benefitted and only caused cazador to descend deeper, instead of ascend.
anyways. back to cazador. the only way that he can reduce the vampiric inferiority (as well as ascend himself) is for him to confront more and more ancient vampires, you know. like what jander attempted. but, cazador doesnt want to do that. instead, he works with an archdevil to attempt a cheap temporary bandaid/loophole around the wrong problem. instead of focusing on his own inferiority complex heh pun intended, he focuses on how to get a tan and how to be less thirsty..? like. what? either he has no idea what hes doing, or he believes removing all weaknesses and flaws will make him a more perfect vampire. what a silly head.
Immortality is your gift, but darkness is your prison and hunger its gaoler.
syrips translator: you can't be out in the (sun)light, and your hunger imprisons you because youre in denial of how to manage your vampirism.
The Rite of Profane Ascension will release you. Walk in the sun. Suffer not from hunger. Grow your power beyond anything you imagined.
syrips translator: with just 7 payments of 999.99 souls, you too can remove the ailments of sun allergies and midnight cravings! call now to receive your 'ascension' kit!
A pact has been made with the Lord of Hellfire. Deliver unto him seven thousand souls, each bearing an Infernal mark, and you shall be free of your chains. You shall know true power.
syrips translator: -fast disclaimer speak- your sun and anti-hunger status is not actually included or garaunteed. you are agreeing to the terms and conditions that you are only receiving the kit to build and perform the sun and anti-hunger ritual. 'free of your chains' is only used to describe the 'chains of darkness and hunger' and nothing else. purchase not necessary to be 'ascended.' call now and begin your journey!!
Deliver the souls.
syrips translator: i really dont care who gives me the souls. just gimmy. thanks
Speak the words.
syrips translator: okay the actual pact is below. everything else was just to hype you up and was just the advertisement, hehe! anyways. anyone who says the ritual below with the right components is all i care about. because the stuff below is the actual trade. and no, you didnt get scammed. this isn't a vampire ascension, it's just an advertisement targetted towards a vampiric audience. you read the terms and conditions correctly, right? silly guy.
Ecce dominus,
syrips translator: "(google translate) Behold, the Lord" / 'uhh hi -opens trade window-'
Has animas offero in sacrificio,
syrips translator: "(google translate) I offer these souls in sacrifice," / -puts 7k stack of souls in trade window- 'here's the actual trade that you wanted -presses confirm trade-'
Nunc volo potestatem quam pollicitus es mihi.
syrips translator: "(google translate) Now I want the power you promised me." / -presses accept- so this trade goes against the ToS but.. youll give me the power i asked for, right?... oh thank god i was so afraid. illegal ingame-to-irl-currency trades are so scary.. thank god, or thank meph in this case haha get it- oh okay im leaving.. s-sorry.. thanks..-
-----
Strahd
wooo hooo! we made it back to the original question!! we did it!!
now, lettuce answer this question that we we've been waiting on for so long. i dont want to leaf you hanging.
would strahd be considered a vampire ascendant?
big drum roll! bhrrrbhrbrhbhrr!!
-cough-
..
no.
...
-leaves-
-returns-
okay so. why isnt strahd considered a vampy ascendant?
well, before we talk about that. let's consider what a 'vampire ascendant' is considered, by Vellioth, Cazador, and the Rite of Profane Ascension's terms:
an 'ascended vampire' is just one who has the ailments of sunlight and hunger removed by the process of this specific ritual. remember that line i said of a Master Vampire being a moot point? well.. to burst the blood bubble, the "Ascended Vampire" line isnt a literal 'vampire ascension'. it's also a moot point, in its own way. but not as mooty, it's more of like a half-truth. like something an archdevil would do to tempt someone into doing something for a small dose of infernal - not raw vampiric - power in return. take note that nowhere in the actual ritual lines does it talk about ascension, let alone vampiric ascension. all it talks about is to say the words 'you made a promise.. i hope you keep it..pls gimmy Infernal powers..'
you know how raphael is making a deal with you and how off it feels? that's because youre not ascending when he mutes your tadpole. he's just using his abilities to manipulate/mold something in you with his powers. that's how this ritual also is. it's just a half-truth, unempathetic advertisement, masked as a pact so that the one who does it feels satisfied, despite the archdevil just receiving much more power than the one who sacrificed all the souls.
but, let's say this ritual is legitimate, and one does 'ascend' by the archdevil's abilities to remove the ailments. so, they are technically 'rising,' in a way. they are becoming a 'stronger infernal-gifted vampire' because of less weaknesses. but, what are they trying to ascend to? what is the purpose of removing all of these weaknesses? why go through all of this?
because. they hunger. they want power. they want true immortality. they want to remove all weaknesses in mortal life and immortal unlife to have free agency, without inferiority to anything. they want to be able to transcend time, space, and death, to be on a level of the highest peak of vampirism.
and, of course. who would that be? who would be the most ancient, powerful vampire, cursed and imprisoned by their own success in achieving what other vampires can only dream of?
who was imprisoned not from failure, but from succeeding too well that something else had to intervene?
anyways, as much as i love stroking strahd's ego LOl i keep going tho, his novel-canon potential is severely higher than the CoS potential. but, through all the modules, novels, and other media, it's still heavily implied that strahd's major weakness is tatyana. if he had tatyana, or felt he was losing the chance to pursue her, if he lost this weakness, he would unironically be scarily unstoppable. the only thing stopping strahd from being a huge dictator or even more power-hungry tyrant is literally because of his obsession/'curse' with wanting to have a bae. which i find very hilarious but focus syrips that part isnt the point-
anyways. tl;dr - strahd has nothing to ascend to. he has no vampire that he's inferior to. if anything, he wants to descend. he wants to be 'less' of what he is now, to be with tatyana. or, to ascend tatyana to his vampiric level. it's his entire curse. and, because of this, he also cannot descend. if he does, he will either lose himself, or he will lose tatyana. and he will not dare to risk that.
he also has nothing that he has or can ascend from. he is the 'original'. at most, he just ascended from 'himself.' but, that's not really an ascension more than just a transition. (and, moving from the material plane to the domains of dread kind of shows that he's not really ascending/rising, more than he's just moving into a warped/slanted plane that operates differently in time and space.) and, unlike in the Rite of Profane Ascension, strahd used himself (and everything affiliated to him) as both the component and result, because no other method existed. he is the origin and reason that rites/methods to 'becoming a more powerful vampire' even exist. he's the reason that vampires exist. when strahd says he's the ancient and land, he's not just saying it for the cool monologue phrase even though we all know he totally enjoys saying it everytime. he's also bluntly saying, 'i am the ancient because i, with barovia, transcend time. i am the land because i, with barovia, connect with the domains of dread. and, the domains of dread, connects with all planes. i am beyond 'a vampire.' i, strahd, am the concept and definition of the vampire.'
everything that all vampires do, by definition, are mock versions, mock attempts, and mock methods that strahd has already mastered, influenced others to do, or that he has knowledge/creation of. everything all vampires do, is attempting to do what their masters had done. with every new spawn, they start at the bottom, trying to climb to their master's level. and even more rarely, attempting to climb to their master's master's level. but strahd is at the top of the MLM vampire pyramid. he has no master to climb up the ranks to. he's already the CEO, founder, etc. (idk how business works), he can't out-climb himself. -strahd pompous voice- 'ouhhh.. it's so lonely being at the top, ouhhh..' but anyways, he can ascend or assist others, since he's a patron. but most power-hungry vampires wouldnt want to do that, especially because they're probably trying to climb up just to compete or be on strahd's vampiric level. and yet, asking strahd for ascension is incredibly easy - all it would mean is making an eternal pact to always be subservient and inferior to strahd.. he'd gladly ascend you, you'd have the potential to be superior to all other vampires.. the only one above you would be personally him. and.. suddenly, a deal with an archdevil who doesnt care about the pettiness of vampire superiority, kind of sounds safer in comparison now..-
or idk. i could be wrong. just a ramble i had fun doing. hehe ty for reading
references/sauces:
bg3
bg3 wiki
wikipedia
wiktionary
google translate
ravenloft novels/modules/games/media/editions from like everywhere
(I thought Iād share playersā favorite OOC game to play, courtesy of our campaign quote list)
āI tend to be somewhat vindictive when caught on a bad day.ā
āBrooding is very important to my self careā
āThe world is full of disappointments. But that doesnāt mean I canāt be mad about its inefficacy.ā
āWhat is your deepest fear? [ā¦] Thatās stupid. Pick again.ā
āYou can be self destructive in other ways. You simply arenāt thinking creatively.ā
āI too get angry at small children, contemplate their doom, and then find them utterly amusing all in the same evening.ā
āYou underestimate my peerless ability to self-isolate.ā
āPersonally, sleep deprivation is my drug of choice.ā
āThe control issues are bad, but Iām far too controlling to give them up.ā
āI say this with the deepest kindness I can muster: did you simply lack human contact for an extended period of time? Were you, perhaps, raised by wolves?ā
āvampire as abuserā is such a unique tracy hickman take that it is so wild the amount of people within the cos / dnd fandom who just eat up his foreword without critical thought and why he might be pushing such a fixed agenda heās a mormon.
anyway, the vampire motif is complex and has been constantly in flux and reworked since the nineteenth century. it is specific to the cultural, historical and personal experiences of the authors of vampire fiction where no singular vampire figure exists and there is no set canon. the nineteenth century vampire motif can be for famine, aristocracy / class divide, anxieties surrounding migration and āthe otherā, disease, life and death, oral sadism, fame (byron), the ānew womanā, eroticism, sexuality, addiction, menstruation, blood as guilt, war, necrophilia etc. and yes, there are precursors for the vampire who can love.
while its current contemporary mutations have shown a departure from the earlier vampire motifs (like humanization), its appeal has always been in its adaptability and flexibility because they are the personifications of the human condition. fear, anxiety, love and hate in all their varied and diverse forms. hickman is full of shit and should read a book.
The forward to 2016ās Curse of Strahd (CoS) module now makes me almost irrationally angry. CoS got me into the world of Barovia, but was quickly left behind as I discovered the rich world of AD&D 2eās Ravenloft setting. Now, looking back over my old 5e source book, I canāt help but sour at how so many characters have been stripped down and minced into Walmart versions of the 2e NPCs I came to know and love.
(In this Essay I will: point out the queer erasure, literary reductionism, and patronizing commentary that lowkey warps 5e CoS for the worse, thanks to Hickman's forward)
(Thank you @tatyanafederovna for the OG post which reaffirmed that I'm not totally crazy for hating Hickman's stuff)
āā¦ But the vampire genre has taken a turn from its roots in recent years. The vampire we so often see today exemplifies the polar opposite of the original archetype: the lie that itās ok to enter a romance with an abusive monster because if you love it enough, it will changeā (CoS, p. 4).
Tracy Hickmanās forward in CoS irritates me for many reasons. As a Slavic person, it irritates me to see someone pontificating about the literary history of vampirism in such sweeping, mildly condemning, strokes. Granted- my cultural gripes^ are namely me being petty, but the disgruntled point still stands.
However, as a queer person, I am especially irked by multiple paragraphs devoted to stripping down Dr. John Polidoriās works to merely: āWell his (and modern) vampires are based off lord Byron who was icky and bad.ā
āā¦ [Polidori] was Byronās personal physician, and the first so-called āromanticā vampires under Polidoriās hand were actually modeled after Lord Byron. Byron- like the fictional vampires that he inspired, from Polidoriās Lord Ruthven down to the penultimate work of Bram Stoker- was a decadent predator, an abuser hidden behind a romantic veil.ā (CoS p. 4)
For those not in the know, Lord Byron was a scum bagā¦ but a bisexual scumbag. But beyond this, implying that Polidoriās works are merely Lord Byron in fangs, making his monster only representative of abuse, is exceedingly reductionist. After all, a central theme of vampiric media from the Victorian period is sexuality (homosexuality, to be specific).
Hickman glosses over a very rich history and thematic undercurrent of this genre of media, effectively shoving it in the closet, in favor of simply equating its foundations with bland points about abuse.
Speaking of which, as a person whose lived through abuse, it irritates me to see Hickman pontificating about the wrongness of such actions; to see someone preaching to an infantilized reader that, in fact, Edward was really creepy to Bella. That the notion of āI can fix himā is toxic and bad.
Woah.
Shocker.
I could go on with my rant but Iāll keep things succinct to spare yāall. But, all in all, the entire forward reads as a preachy admonishment to any DM (or player) who dares think of its core NPC as anything beyond āicky bad abusiveā.
In under a page, Hickman single-handedly drags us back in time to the one-dimensional villains of yore under the thin pretext of being somehow progressive or, dare I say, āwokeā.
And, unfortunately, this stilted dichotomy pervades the CoS module going forward. Because the module itself does borrow from older editions, we see glimpses of the nuance and depth of yore. Depth which makes it difficult to wholly dislike Strahd as players and DMs. But the module shoots itself in the foot enough so that, in the end, the creature I term as ā5e Strahdā is often left a strange, far angrier and more childish, version of the 2e NPC Iāve come to adore.
(Adore as a villain I get to run, mind you. The manās a monster no matter the edition, but heās a very different flavor of monster between the modern incarnation and P.N. Elrod's 2e Strahd)
Please let me make something clear: I am not here to condemn those who enjoy 5eās CoS module. I myself have run the module over 5 times. It was the first DnD module I ran as a fledgling DM, making Strahd my very first full-blown BBEG. I owe a great deal to that now-tattered, dog-eared, and slightly blood-stained hardback book. Through running that module, Iāve made my closest friends.
So, it is because I love this module- this setting- this- fucked up fantasy world- that I am so critical of it. 5e CoS was my gateway to 2e Ravenloft, which opened up a rich world that I wish WotC had better adapted to 5e.
CoS is, in my opinion, among the best 5eās modules have to offer. Tomb of Annihilation was fun as all hell, but CoS made you wanting to come back for more. CoS also has a decent amount of stuff which I am glad was added to the ravenloft toolbox. To me, the demiplanes would be utterly incomplete without the likes of Victor Vallakovich, Rahadin, and (of course) the beloved Blinsky.
(Say it with me kids: āIs no fun, is no Blinskyā)
However, of the Ravenloft pantheon, CoS (and Van Richtenās Guide to Ravenloft) doesnāt hold a torch to its dozens and dozens of predecessors. And a big reason as to why it doesnāt hold a torch, is because of Hickmanās forward- and the warped narrative sanitization the rest of the book echoes throughout.
(Please note: Iām not saying that the forward is the only thing that messed with the book. Instead, Itās more a very blatant symptom of the sentiment that diseases how WotC adapts Strahd in 5e)
At the heart of every demiplane of dread is a dark lord. If you alter the dark lord, the demiplane and game surrounding it will warp as well.
Further Reading/Sources:
Here's a great thesis on queer history through vampiric literature.
There's so many ways to pick apart the book I, Strahd. It's a gold mine of essay-fodder.
But, here, I examine how Strahd+Tatyana's narrative flips fantasy romance tropes on their heads, and gives us a tragic critique on these tropes as a whole.
(If you want idea for narrative nuances to add to your games, you may especially want to take a peek.)
(If you simply also like Ravenloft lore and picking apart why Strahd is a hot mess, then you're in good company below.)
Imagine a paladin returning from war to the home town heād fought to save. Imagine this paladin falling in love with a woman who represents the innocence and beauty he lost during his quest to save those he was sworn to protect. She is kind to the core, and still sees good, sees beauty, in a world the paladin thought broken long ago.
He falls for her, softens, and begins to dote on her. He brings her flowers on a summerās eve and finds himself happy for the first time in so many years whenever she is near.
And yet- when time comes to ask for her courtship- he finds she has fallen for a man who has never seen the likes of war. A spoiled, naĆÆve, fop.
(If this sounds like the plot of Pretty in Pink, then youāre spot on. That film also follows this trope to a tee.)
This is a tragedy to us, a study of manās sacrifice being rejected. How, despite all he has given, he could not be happy in the end. Or, if our paladin, our hero, did āget the girlā, itās seen as a love story. It shows how the paladinās merit does get rewarded, how fulfilling his role nets him a happy ending.
I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire by P.N. Elrod takes this trope, this literary perception, and gives us a very bleak (almost darkly satirical) spin.
Strahd (especially in the book) is not a likable person. He is blunt, empathetically deficient, perpetually irritable, and an all-around cynical grouch. And his tale is framed in the least flattering light imaginable; his own, very bitchy, words.
And this is where P.N. Elrodās subversion of the narrative trope begins. Elrod has effectively taken away the familiar framework, shattered those rose-colored glasses. Instead of presenting us a third-person narrative of a palatably war-weary soul, she gives us this empathy-zero, paranoid, asshole who forgot how to smile ages ago. In essence, we got someone realistically fucked up.
Yet, we are still in the realm of fantasy. Of magic, monsters, demons, and happy endings. The character strives to make the same journey as his counterparts of similar worlds. He finds a girl who represents that innocence lost and seeks to win her heart.
Except, this is a story of twisted realism. Yes, the drive to follow such a narrative arc and conclude the happily ever after, or sanitized heroās tragedy, reigns supreme. But the āheroāsā personality, his actions, and the fallout are not bound by any deus-ex-machina rose tinted pallatability.
A very real, flawed, person is made to follow the narrative, and fails, miserably. Not only fails, but leads to a cataclysmic disaster which effectively fucks over everything heād spent a lifetime regaining and protecting.
I, Strahd shows us what actually happens when a man follows this narrative trope in high fantasy. It critiques the absurdity of thinking that such a mindset could bring a happy ending for any involved, or that the tragedy that ensues would be anything remotely close to romantic.
Strahd condemns the country heād fought for to a hell of his own making. His quest to complete that destined arc leads to the brutal death of the woman, of the innocence, his narrative role says heās supposed to claim. The tragedy that ensues isnāt the sanitized sorrow of similar tales, but years of deep depression and isolation. Itās not pretty. Not pretty at all.
And itās uncomfortable, as readers, to watch unfold. Some are quick to remedy this tale with headcannons of the pair reuniting. Others quickly jump to sweeping condemnations of the idiot who got himself into this mess. Yet both of these are merely mental Band-Aids to try and reconcile the discomfort of watching a trope we should know, completely fall to ribbons.
I am not going to waste my breath with a lengthy disclaimer on how Strahd is an awful person and that I understand that. Because this āessayā isnāt about the nitty gritty of the fateful series of fuck-ups that gave us Ravenloft. This essay is a look at how tropes and narratives are subverted and picked apart by I, Strahd. So please, save your fingers, and keep critiques of me not tackling this- at bay. (In the future, I will possibly do an in-depth post examining his morality and culpability. But that post is not now.)
P.N. Elrod lays bare how flawed and, frankly, dangerous the narrative of male-centric works-righteousness romance is. The woman, the damsel, in the story is reduced to a cardboard cut-out by the narrative trope, and then brutally dies. The trope kills her, metaphorically, and pretty damn blatantly.
The man, the āheroā, in the story self-destructs and plunges himself into his own personal hell. The trope destroys him, also metaphorically and exceedingly blatantly.
Itās a heavy handed point to make, but the point hits home; the trope is lethal to women.
And it is also exceedingly damaging to men.
If the story ended there, with Strahd locked in eternal depression (or ending his life) surrounded by the shambles of his world, I, Strahd would still be a very poignant critique such fundamentally flawed romantic tropesā¦
But, it doesnāt end there. Instead, the cycle, the drive to complete this rose-tinted trope, begins anew. Tatyana reemerges, in different faces, different forms, lifetimes apart. He strives to either win her heart, or conclude his arc in a sanitized tragedy- for both paths will reach the same tropey conclusion we are supposed to see.
And he never does.
Unlike heroes in other tales of this sort, heās realistically flawed and written to be an actual person. Heās not a knight in shining armor. Heās a cynical, empathy-deficient, introverted jackass. Heās cynical and empathy-deficient because heās seen the worst mankind has to offer in war, and is realistically unpleasant because of that. Heās an introverted jackass because introverted jackasses exist. Because thereās no actual laws against introverted jackasses being stuck in such a narrative role.
(And may I say, itās refreshing to see fellow introverted jackass representation)
What makes I, Strahd unique, however, is that Strahd is a person too. And, in all honesty, thatās not something we see very often. Heās not a sanitized and likable hero, but heās also (letās admit) not a completely despicable and bland ābad guyā.
Elrod makes both of them people, which brings a complete picture of a nightmare. A full critique of the dangers of such narratives in our modern tales. And we get to see the nightmare played over, and over, and over again.
Iāve steered away from using preachy or āpoliticalā language thus far, but the crux of this āessayā does come down to a final point in that general area. Because art, more often than weād care to admit, imitates life. Many stories we have told have been framed by the roles we are āsupposedā to fill, and the arcs we are āsupposedā to complete.
In the trope we examined today, male heroes are āsupposedā to claim a woman, their āsalvationā, and if rejected, are shown they will be reduced to ashes. Women are āsupposedā to be innocent damsels and must embody innocence and salvation for the man and are terrible little fools if they turn the hero away. Assuming the narrative even gives the woman enough nuance to actually be semi-admonished by the audience for such a rejection.
P.N. Elrod shows us the realistic folly of such a trope to disastrous proportions. She takes this tropey daydream and makes us watch as her story reveals the nightmare for what it is; a cycle of horror, pain, and increasingly depressing journal entries.
(If you read this far, congratulations! Have a cookie šŖ
My quick final disclaimers, are that this is simply examining how tropes are used and subverted. I'm not getting into the personal morality of characters and their actions, nor am I condoning them. This is an overview, in the end, of narrative structure.
Also, I am writing this examination of mens roles in tropes as a queer afab person. I don't have a dog in this fight, so, supposedly that makes this vaguely more objective.
(For followers or folks who saw me around and then didn't for like 5 months- Hi, I'm alive! I just don't have time to write during the academic year.)
For those of you whoāve romanced Strahd, what gender was your PC?
Female
Male
Non-binary
Gender Fluid
Voting ended onJun 24, 2023
Iāve run Ravenloft many many times and Strahd has always ended up with male and gender fluid PCs. So color me curious as to where yāall usually fall šāØ
The mental image of Strahd staring in abject horror at WoD has been living rent free in my head for weeks now.
Iām running a short chronicle for my Ravenloft groups during the last few weeks of school. Itās certainly a jarring change for players used to a competent vampiric overlord.
WoD Cainite society is a dumpster fire. And I say that with the utmost affection. Itās a horrid mess, but itās our horrid mess.
