Rudolph van Richten

A scholar and monster hunter, Rudolph van Richten has traveled to dozens of domains, investigating reports of monstrous beings and documenting them in a series of published guides, the best known of which is Van Richten’s Guide to Vampires. In fairer days, Rudolph lived with his wife, Ingrid, and son, Erasmus, in their family home outside Rivalis in the domain of Darkon. Brash and recently established as a medical doctor, Rudolph ran afoul of the Radanaviches, a family using Vistani traditions as a cover for brigandage. When the doctor refused to treat one of the family’s mortally ill members, the group’s leader, Irena Radanavich, ordered her band to kidnap Rudolph’s son and then sold the young man to the vampire Baron Metus. Rudolph pursued the Radanaviches, shattered their criminal operation, and brought Irena to justice, but not before suffering her curse: “Live you always among monsters, and see everyone you love die beneath their claws.” In the weeks that followed, the curse took hold. Before Rudolph could track down and slay Baron Metus, the vampire murdered both Ingrid and Erasmus.
In the decades since, van Richten has hunted monsters and armed others with the knowledge they need to confront the dark. Though he’s made many devoted allies, he keeps them at arm’s length, fearing the threat of his curse. When not traveling, van Richten lives out of his herbalist’s shop in Mordentshire in the domain of Mordent.