Strahd
Count Strahd Von Zarovich
The lord of isolated and dreary Barovia, Strahd von Zarovich was as powerful in life as he now is in death. His family long ago ruled the human kingdom of Svitar (which no longer exists), but now Strahd alone lords over a small valley displaced from space and time.
For centuries, Strahd pretended to be a mortal man ruling the valley--or more accurately, a long line of mortal men. To this end he took "wives" to birth the next Strahd in the line. Up until about 40 years ago, this farce went unchallenged. Then, a party of adventurers entered Barovia with the intention of freeing it from its miserable existence. They uncovered the truth of Stahd's existence, and "killed" him. When he rose again a year later, he saw no reason to continue the lie of his previous existence and has made no further efforts to hide the truth of his undeath.
Strahd's rule over Barovia has been strict. He demands taxes from all burgomasters, adherence to his laws, and his wrath is draconian in the event that he is disobeyed. In fact, two entire towns have been destroyed as a result of the burgomaster or the people disobeying him.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
In life, Strahd von Zarovich was a respected and decorated soldier. He was born in the long-gone human kingdom of Svitar, which was known for its military prowess and religious fanaticism. His father, Count Barov, was a decorated military leader. Barov was a cold man who found delight only in war and conflict. His two eldest sons, Strahd and Semyon, were enlisted in the military at the age of seven. The older, Strahd, served his father directly as a squire. From a young age, all Strahd knew was violence and pain, and he was told this was his inheritance. Svitar was often at conflict, particularly with Nortenia, a country bordering it to the north.
The Countess Branwen, didn't care for the battlefield, and mourned what she considered the "loss" of her two eldest sons. She kept her youngest son Sergei, at the time only a boy, close to her side away from the battlefield. Strahd grew envious of the love and attention Branwen visited upon his youngest brother, and even when he might have been permitted to stay home, chose to stay away on crusades for a long period of time.
When Strahd was just twenty, Svitar was invaded. At this point, he was a general in the Svitaran army, Semyon a soldier, and Sergei still a babe. The war was long and bitter, and the Nortenians took more and more of Svitar under occupation as the years went on. Count Barov died defending the capitol while Strahd was occupied elsewhere, and the Countess and Sergei took shelter in a Grand Temple of the Morninglord, able to occasionally send letters to Strahd.
Strahd fought the Nortenians for many long years. Eventually, he fell back to a nameless valley in the mountains where his mother had been born, with the intention of taking it back from the occupying Nortenians
Strahd was eventually able to triumph over the pursuers. Having spent much of his youth and what little free time he allowed himself in the valley, he was far more familiar with the land and was able to out-manuever his opponents. The defining act that secure the valley, however, was a deal he made deep in the mountains with a nameless, faceless dark power, and the steps he took to unseat its rival.
Victory was bittersweet. The country of Svitar was gone by the time his victory was secured, either occupied or absorbed by surrounding powers. The vast county his family had once ruled was shrunk down to a valley with a handful of towns within. Strahd had a castle constructed to be the seat of his family going forward, but it was a depressed and empty place, with his mother too ill to make the journey when it was completed. The wounds of war caused him daily pain. Still, he had soldiers and a handful of nobles loyal to him, and a land he kne was protected by more than men.
It was at this time in his life, when he was at the highest and lowest point of his life simultaneously, that Strahd met Tatyana. A druid who had lived in the valley her entire life, she was a beautiful and gentle woman who had been dedicated to the local deity before the war. She was brought to the castle by Rahadin, who had been seeking ways to ease Strahd's chronic pain. Strahd was immediately taken with her, though she seemed oblivious to his affection.
It was during this time that Strahd received another blow: a letter stating his mother had passed, and his youngest brother was making the journey to Barovia with the bodies of their parents. Sergei's arrival was the worst culmination of all of Strahd's fears. A young and handsome man, untouched by the horrors and wounds of war, Sergei was beloved by the people immediately--and more importantly, he was beloved by Tatyana. Sergei and Tatyana courted, and Strahd's pride forbade him to interfere. As time went on, however, his mental health deteriorated, and the dark power he had bargained with began to whisper to him. So long as Sergei lived, it told him, his victory would never be complete. When Sergei died, Strahd would finally gain everything he longed for, and deserved.
On the night of Tatyana and Sergei's wedding, Castle Ravenloft was attacked by a nobleman who had come to Barovia under Strahd's banner, and now resented him. In the chaos, he slew his younger brother and drank his blood. In that moment, his pact and fate was sealed. Tatyana discovered the pair, and fled. Strahd pursued her, and the two came to blows on a balcony of the castle. In the final moments of her life, Tatyana drew Strahd close, plunged a dagger into his chest, and pulled them both down to death in the rocks below. Rahadin retrieved their bodies and buried them both in the Crypts of Ravenloft. Following the orders laid out in a letter Strahd had penned that very night, he carried out the last step needed for the dark powers to control Barovia.
Five years to the day after his death, Strahd rose from his coffin. On that day, a heavy fog rose from the earth and enshrouded the valley. From that moment, the valley was cut off from the rest of the world, pulled into a Dread Demiplane ruled by misery.
Sexuality
Strahd is bisexual, though he harbors a great deal of internalized homophobia that prevents him from fully embracing this.
Education
As a count, Strahd is highly educated. He is especially proficient in magical studies, and in largescale military strategy. He has a particular interest in the arts, particularly in music. Though he is not musically inclined himself, he is highly educated in the science behind music and the history of musical development.
Accomplishments & Achievements
Strahd is an accomplished military leader, and a powerful mage. He takes great pride not only in his intellect and power, but in his dedication to his duty and his leadership.
His defense of the Valley is highest among his achievements.
Mental Trauma
Strahd is a deeply traumatized man. He was enlisted in the military at seven years of age, against his mother's wishes. He saw and performed unspeakable violence from a young age, and it left a lasting impact on his psyche.
His relationship with both of his parents was deeply unhealthy. He deeply loved his mother, but she treated him with fear and unease due to his father's influence on him. And of his father, love was mixed equally with fear. Barov was a domineering and cruel man in war, and equally so to his family. His abuse of his sons was both emotional and physical.
The Terg invasion was another deeply traumatizing event. Strahd saw death and violence for nearly a decade, and the war took his parents and his middle brother.
Morality & Philosophy
Strahd does have a moral code he follows strictly. He is bound strongly by his sense of duty and responsibility, and righting his wrongs. He believes that "punishment should fit the crime and mercy should fit the circumstance," and he will not dole out either if he believes it is unworthy.
Taboos
Strahd has a distaste for losing control of his emotions, and for those who frequently do so.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Strahd is motivated first and foremost by his duty to protect Barovia, and secondly by his desire to possess those things and people he loves. The strongest and most obsessive of these desires is Tatyana, though his feelings for her are not quite love.
Social
Reign
Strahd rules over the valley of Barovia, and has for the past 740 years.
Contacts & Relations
Strahd has strong political ties to werewolves, druids, and witches that roam Barovia.
As ruler of Barovia, the burgomasters in the valley are at least vocally loyal to him, and in turn he offers his protection and grace.
Religious Views
Strahd was, once upon a time, a deeply religious man. He was devoted to a now-obscure god known as Reve, who is now worshipped by the Barovians under the name "Morninglord." He no longer considers himself a religious man, but he still holds many of the same views and values that he was raised with.
Relationships
History
Rahadin was adopted in the Von Zarovich family when he was a youth of sixteen, and Strahd a boy of fourteen. The two were of a kind: morose, intelligent, and traumatized by war from an early age. They were not quite fast friends, but they understood each other and worked well together from the beginning. It wasn't until they both reached adulthood that they became as close as they are today.
Alignment
Lawful Evil
Current Location
Species
Conditions
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Count
Age
47
Date of Birth
Omaia the 2nd, 45BBR
Date of Death
Simaia the 17th, 2BR
Life
9074
9121
47 years old
Birthplace
Svitar
Place of Death
Barovia
Family
Spouses
Children
Current Residence
Barovia
Pronouns
He/Him
Sex
Male
Gender
Man
Eyes
Black/Red, Narrow
Hair
Long, sleek, black, widow's peak
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale white
Height
6'
Belief/Deity
Reve
Ruled Locations