Inorr Auslav Rakovonarr
Queen Rakenovia lamented the death of Rakov and was fearful of Auslav. War had made him cold and arrogant. She kept her younger son, Osmar, away from the battlefield. Auslav envied the love and attention his mother visited upon his brother, so in the Inorr Forest he remained. Peace made Auslav restless, and he began to feel like his best years were behind him. Unwilling to go the way of his father, Auslav studied magic and forged a pact with the Dark One, Aer'Chabadzael in return for the promise of immortality.
Auslav scoured his conquered lands for wizards and artisans, brought them to the valley of Inorrh, and commanded them to raise a castle to rival the magnificent fortresses of his ancestral homeland. Auslav named the castle Inorrauslav. When it was complete, Auslav commanded his mother and brother to come to Inorrh and stay with him. Osmar eventually took up residence at Inorrauslav, but Rakenovia passed away while traveling to her namesake. In sorrowful disappointment, Aulsav sealed his mother’s body in a crypt beneath the castle.
Auslav’s attention soon turned to Latepia, a young half elven woman of fine lineage and remarkable beauty. Auslav believed her to be a worthy bride, and he lavished Latepia with gifts and attention. Despite Auslav’s efforts, she instead fell in love with the younger, warmer Osmar. Auslav’s pride prevented him from standing in the way of the young couple’s love until the day of Osmar and Latepia’s wedding, when Auslav gazed into a mirror and realized he had been a fool. Auslav murdered Osmar and drank his blood, sealing the evil pact between Auslav and the Dark Powers. He then chased Osmar’s bride-to-be through the gardens, determined to make her accept and love him. Latepia hurled herself off a castle balcony to escape Auslav’s pursuit, plunging to her death. Treacherous castle guards, seizing the opportunity to rid the world of Auslav forever, shot their master with arrows.
But Auslav did not die. The Dark One honored the pact they had made. The sky went black as Auslav turned on the guards, his eyes blazing red. He had become a vampire.
Now Auslav rules the entire area around Inorrauslav Fortress and is the main driver to free the Dark One from his prison. He now believes that it is the only to way to remove his curse of Vampirism while retaining his immortality. He also keeps the half elven woman Latepia frozen in a crystal and in stasis. When he succeeds in his goals he will be reunited with her and they will both live in peace forever.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Inorr Auslav Rakovonarr Stats
STR
17 +3
DEX
18 +4
CON
18 +4
INT
20 +5
WIS
15 +2
CHA
17 +3
Auslav is a 9th-level spellcaster.
His spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following wizard spells prepared:
- Cantrips (at will): mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost
- 1st level (4 slots): comprehend languages, fog cloud, sleep
- 2nd level (3 slots): detect thoughts, gust of wind, mirror image
- 3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, fireball, nondetection
- 4th level (3 slots): blight, greater invisibility, polymorph
- 5th level (1 slot): animate objects, scrying
Vampire Weaknesses. Auslav has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. He can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. He takes 20 acid damage if he ends his turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into his heart while he is incapacitated in his coffin, he is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. While in sunlight, Strahd takes 20 radiant damage at the start of his turn, and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Shapechanger.
If Auslav isn’t in running water or sunlight, he can use his action to polymorph into a Tiny bat, a Medium wolf, or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into his true form.
While in bat or wolf form, Auslav can’t speak. In bat form, his walking speed is 5 feet, and he has a flying speed of 30 feet. In wolf form, his walking speed is 40 feet. His statistics, other than his size and speed, are unchanged. Anything he is wearing transforms with him, but nothing he is carrying does. He reverts to his true form if he dies.
While in mist form, Auslav can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. He is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and he can’t pass through water. He has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and he is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage he takes from sunlight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day)
If Auslav fails a saving throw, he can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When Auslav drops to 0 hit points outside his coffin, he transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that he isn’t in running water or sunlight. If he can’t transform, he is destroyed.
While he has 0 hit points in mist form, he can’t revert to his vampire form, and he must reach his coffin within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in his coffin, he reverts to his vampire form. He is then paralyzed until he regains at least 1 hit point. After 1 hour in his coffin with 0 hit points, he regains 1 hit point.
Regeneration.
Auslav regains 20 hit points at the start of his turn if he has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in running water or sunlight. If he takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of his next turn.
Actions
Multiattack (Vampire Form Only).
Auslav makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire or Wolf Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) slashing damage plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage.
If the target is a creature, Auslav can grapple it (escape DC 18) instead of dealing the slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by Auslav, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and Auslav regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if its hit point maximum is reduced to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under Auslav’s control.
Charm. Auslav targets one humanoid he can see within 30 feet of him. If the target can see Auslav, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed. The charmed target regards Auslav as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. The target isn’t under Auslav’s control, but it takes Auslav’s requests and actions in the most favorable way and lets Auslav bite it.
Each time Auslav or his companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until Auslav is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). Auslav magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats or swarms of rats, provided that the sun isn’t up. While outdoors, Auslav can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of Auslav and obeying his spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until Auslav dies, or until he dismisses them as a bonus action.
Legendary Actions
Auslav can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. Auslav regains spent legendary actions at the start of his turn.
Move. Auslav moves up to his speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Unarmed Strike.
Auslav makes one unarmed strike.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). Auslav makes one bite attack.
Body Features
Heart of Sorrow
Auslav can afford to be bold in his tactics, for he has additional protection in the form of a giant crystal heart hidden inside Castle .
Any damage that Auslav takes is transferred to the Heart of Sorrow (see chapter 4, area K20). If the heart absorbs damage that reduces it to 0 hit points, it is destroyed, and Auslav takes any leftover damage. The Heart of Sorrow has 50 hit points and is restored to that number of hit points each dawn, provided it has at least 1 hit point remaining. Auslav can, as a bonus action on his turn, break his link to the Heart of Sorrow so that it no longer absorbs damage dealt to him. Auslav can reestablish his link to the Heart of Sorrow as a bonus action on his turn, but only while in Castle .
The effect of the protection afforded by the Heart of Sorrow can be chilling to behold, as damage to Auslav is quickly undone. For example, a critical hit might dislocate Auslav’s jaw, but only for a moment; then the vampire’s jaw quickly resets itself.
The ability of the Heart of Sorrow to absorb damage is suppressed if it or Auslav is fully within an antimagic field. Lair Actions
While Auslav is in his fortress, he can take lair actions as long as he isn’t incapacitated.
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Auslav can take one of the following lair action options, or forgo using any of them in that round:
Until initiative count 20 of the next round, Auslav can pass through solid walls, doors, ceilings, and floors as if they weren’t there.
Auslav targets any number of doors and windows that he can see, causing each one to either open or close as he wishes. Closed doors can be magically locked (needing a successful DC 20 Strength check to force open) until Auslav chooses to end the effect, or until Auslav uses this lair action again.
Auslav summons the angry spirit of one who has died in the castle. The apparition appears next to a hostile creature that Auslav can see, makes an attack against that creature, and then disappears. The apparition has the statistics of a specter.
Auslav targets one Medium or smaller creature that casts a shadow. The target’s shadow must be visible to Auslav and within 30 feet of him. If the target fails a DC 17 Charisma saving throw, its shadow detaches from it and becomes a shadow that obeys Auslav’s commands, acting on initiative count 20. A greater restoration spell or a remove curse spell cast on the target restores its natural shadow, but only if its undead shadow has been destroyed.
Apparel & Accessories
The Vampire's Minions -
Whenever Auslav appears in a location other than his tomb roll a d20 and consult the table below to determine what creatures he brings with him:
d20 Creatures
1–3 1d4 + 2 dire wolves
4–6 1d6 + 3 ghouls
7–9 1d4 + 2 Auslav zombies (in this appendix)
10–12 2d4 swarms of bats
13–15 1d4 + 1 vampire spawns
16–18 3d6 wolves
19–20 None
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