| Count Strahd von Zarovich | |
|---|---|
| Ravenloft character | |
 Strahd von Zarovich as portrayed in the comicShadows of the Vampire illustrated by Nelson Daniel and Max Dunbar. | |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Humanvampire |
| Gender | Male |
| Title | Count |
| Nationality | Barovia |
| Class | Fighter/Necromancer |
| Alignment | Lawful evil |
| Universe | Ravenloft |
Count Strahd von Zarovich is a fictional character originally appearing as the feature villain in the highly popularAdvanced Dungeons and Dragons adventuremodule I6:Ravenloft. Later, this character and his world would be explored in follow-up modules, novels, and theRavenloftcampaign setting. Within this setting, Strahd is the first and best-known of Ravenloft's darklords. He is a powerful ancientvampire. He is also a masternecromancer, a skilled warrior, and the unquestioned ruler of the domain ofBarovia.
In 1978,Tracy andLaura Hickman wrote adventures that would eventually be published as theDungeon & DragonsmodulesPharaoh andRavenloft.[1] Strahd was created by the Hickmans "after Tracy returned home from a disappointing session ofD&D. Back in First Edition, the game was less of a storytelling game. It mostly involved charting randomized dungeons on graph paper and fighting whatever creatures were inside for their gold and experience points. In one of those random rooms was a vampire, which immediately stood out to Tracy. It didn't make sense to him why a creature like a vampire was just sitting around in a random dungeon with oozes, goblins, and zombies. So he and his wife set out to create a vampire villain with fleshed-out motivations and history".[2] When the Hickmans began work onRavenloft, they felt thevampire archetype had become overused, trite, and mundane, and decided to create a frightening version of the creature for the module.[3] Theyplay-tested it with a group of players everyHalloween for five years[4] on their own game system with the adventure titledVampyr.[2] However, the Hickmans kept being asked about their "Ravenloft game", and so the "Ravenloft" name stuck. The duo eventually caught the attention of D&D's original publishers. They were hired to adapt it into the First Edition ofAdvanced Dungeons & Dragons and was released as Module I6:Ravenloft[2] in 1983 byTSR.[4]
When creating Strahd, the Hickmans' vampire research started with an image ofBela Lugosi from 1931 before they explored older stories such asBram Stoker'sDracula (1897),John William Polidori'sThe Vampyre (1819), andMary Shelley'sFrankenstein (1818).[5] "What the Hickmans found was that the romantic vampire of the earliest years of the genre was not just a spouse beater but a spouse killer, the archetype of abuse in the worst kind of destructivecodependency".[5] In 2016, Tracy Hickman said, "Strahd came directly from the roots of vampire lore. The origins of the modern vampire spring from femininecautionary tales warning women away from the 'bluebeard' archetype. It was essential to understand this in order to properly construct him".[5]
The adventuremodule I6:Ravenloft (1983) introduced Strahd von Zarovich, and centers upon the efforts of theplayer characters to help a young Barovian woman, Ireena Kolyana, escape the dreadful fate of so many others on whom "the devil Strahd" has cast his eye over the generations. The setting includes not only castle Ravenloft itself, but also the nearby village of Barovia, and a camp of gypsies led by Madame Eva, who had formed a kind of alliance with the vampire. Through the course of the adventure, players have the opportunity to learn Strahd's backstory and discover that Ireena is herself the reincarnation of Tatyana. Strahd himself is noted as being the first truly well-developed villain to appear in theAD&D game system, being fully capable of changing the course of events to suit his own evil ends.
The immediate popularity ofRavenloft proved sufficient to warrant a sequel, I10:Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill (1986), again casting Strahd von Zarovich in the central, villainous role. Set in the quiet, seaside town of Mordentshire, players of this adventure are confronted bytwo Strahds—the same monstrous vampire fromRavenloft (now referred to as the Creature), and a very human counterpart, known as the Alchemist. Shannon Appelcline, author ofDesigners & Dragons, highlighted the confusingcontinuity of Strahd's return in this module and that the second module suggests "the original 'Ravenloft' could be a dream. Or maybe this one is. Or maybe they're alternate realities. Combining them into one chronology doesn't seem possible".[6] Additionally, "the original 'Ravenloft' has been the favored background for Strahd in more recent appearances".[6]
The plot ofRavenloft II requires the players to discover the true nature of the vampiric threat afflicting Mordentshire, and then to discover the secret identity of the Creature and destroy him. Nothing of note is added to original nature or history of Strahd von Zarovich in the course of the adventure, though a number of characters of lesser importance, including thelich Azalin make their first appearance in this publication as well.
ThoughRavenloft II did not enjoy the wide acclaim of the original, the phenomenon ofRavenloft proved sufficient forTSR, Inc. to place it and Strahd von Zarovich at the heart of a new product series released in 1990,Ravenloft: Realm of Terror — an entirecampaign setting based on the Gothic horror theme ofRavenloft.[7] After being featured in theRavenloft setting, Strahd became one of the most popular villains appearing inDungeons & Dragons.[8] Game designerRick Swan commented on Strahd: "A high-level necromancer of incomparable cunning, Strahd holds his own with Count Dracula as one of horror's most memorable bloodsuckers."[9] The designers ofRavenloft: Realm of Terror decided to focus on campaign atmosphere which resulted in the Ravenloft setting becoming the "demiplane of dread".[10] This demiplane now "includedmany horrific lands, including the lands of Barovia and Mordent from the two 'Ravenloft' modules. Strahd's backstory from the original 'Ravenloft' was even incorporated into the story of how Ravenloft, the demiplane of dread, came to be".[10]
In 1991, Strahd was a main character in two novels:Vampire of the Mists andKnight of the Black Rose. His official "autobiography" has been presented in two novels byP. N. Elrod:I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire (1993) andI, Strahd, the War Against Azalin (1998).[11] There are many similarities between the character of Strahd von Zarovich and that of fellow fictional vampireBarnabas Collins from the American 1960's-1970's soap operaDark Shadows, as P.N. Elrod mentions on her personal Livejournal blog.[12]
Strahd appeared in multiple adventure modules set in the new campaign setting and received "special attention in the final adventures of the Grand Conjunction sequence — RQ3: "From the Shadows" (1992) andRM1: "Roots of Evil" (1993)".[13]Roots of Evil added additional details to Strahd's background; such as, the introduction of thearcanaloth Inajira with whom Strahd "made a pact in far-gone times".[14] The tenth Ravenloft adventure,RM4: House of Strahd (1993), was a revamp of the originalRavenloft module with the following changes: it was updated to the AD&D 2e ruleset, Barovia lore was brought in line with the lore of the campaign setting, and Strahd was given a power boost "to reflect his status as a Dark Lord".[13]
In 1994, Strahd returned in the second editionRavenloft Campaign Setting boxed set which was a revision of theRavenloft: Realm of Terror (1990) boxed set.[15] Strahd was a main character in theDreamForge Intertainment video gameRavenloft: Strahd's Possession (1994).[16][17] Strahd also appears in thePlayStation gameIron & Blood: Warriors of Ravenloft (1996) and can be unlocked as a playable character via a secret code.
In 2001,White Wolf published the 3rd editionRavenloft Campaign Setting which included a detailed timeline of Strahd's history.[18][19]Dragon #315 (January 2004) featured a 3rd edition stat block for Strahd.[13]Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (2006) was released after the Ravenloft publishing license reverted to Wizards of the Coast.[20] This 3.5 edition update of the originalRavenloft module[13] featured Strahd "front and center in the first chapter".[21]
In 2010, Strahd made his board game debut inCastle Ravenloft Board Game.[13][22] While a 4th edition update to the Ravenloft setting was announced atGen Con 2010,[23] the product was never released.[20] Strahd's appearances were limited to official magazine articles, such as,Dungeon #207 "Fair Barovia" (October 2012)[24] andDragon #416 "History Check: Strahd and Van Richten" (October 2012).[25]
Strahd returned as the featured villain in the 2016 adventure moduleCurse of Strahd forD&D fifth edition.[26] On Strahd's role as the module's villain,Chris Perkins said, "inGothic horror fiction, the villain's torment is often self-inflicted; the villain becomes, ironically, a victim of their own monstrous nature and horrible acts. [...] He is a malignant narcissist trapped by his malignant narcissism – forever alone, forever feared and unable to change. He must be destroyed because salvation is beyond him. [...] In horror fiction, the villain is framed as inhumanity personified, often serving as a cautionary tale: once you lose your humanity, you can never get it back. Other fantasy villains aren't usually burdened with that kind of terrifying reality".[27]
On the module's development process, Perkins said, "the Hickmans envisioned Strahd differently than he's depicted in the originalRavenloft adventure. Their image didn't match theBela Legosi [sic] vampire quite so much. Tracy found an olddaguerreotype [an early type of photograph captured on a silvered copper plate] [sic] that captured the look of Strahd in his mind, and we used that image as a reference to create a new look for the vampire".[28] One of Tracy Hickman's objectives when working onCurse of Strahd "was to bring vampire folklore back to its roots".[5] Tracy Hickman said, "Vampires have strayed from their original role in cautionary tales, which warned women about monsters and thereby empowered them. Strahd is a classic abusive monster who is, at his root, selfish. The tale is timeless and has nothing to do with some of the recent and harmful versions of glittering romance that vampires have appeared in".[5] Strahd is then the villain in thelimited series comicDungeons and Dragons: Shadows of the Vampire (2016) written byJim Zub, and illustrated by Max Dunbar and Nelson Daniel.[29]
Strahd is included in the Barovia section ofVan Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021), a campaign setting book which is focused on the various Domains of Dread. However, his stat block fromCurse of Strahd (2016) is not reprinted in this book.[30] He then appears in the novelRavenloft: Heir of Strahd (2025), byDelilah S. Dawson, which is the first Ravenloft novel to be published in 17 years.[31][32]
A man of noble birth, Strahd spent much of his life serving causes ofgoodness and law, most notably as a warrior and leader of armies. Years of such service took their toll upon him however, and by the time he reached middle age, Strahd came to believe he had squandered his life and his youth. With this dark mood upon him, he came to conquer the region known asBarovia, and assumed lordship there, taking as his residence the pre-existing castle known as Ravenloft. From this position of power and security, he called for members of his family "long unseated from their ancestral thrones" to join him, including a younger brother named Sergei.
Some time after this reunion, the Count himself fell in love with a young Barovian woman, Tatyana, though she rejected his affections in favor of the younger Sergei. Filled with despair and jealousy, and brooding a growing hatred for Sergei, Strahd sought magical means to restore his youth. In a moment of desperate frustration, he "made a pact with death - a pact of blood." On the day of Sergei and Tatyana's wedding, Strahd murdered his brother and confessed his love to Tatyana, but overcome with grief, she fled from him, hurling herself to her death from the balcony of Castle Ravenloft. Strahd himself was shot down by the arrows of the castle guard. Even so, he did not die, but went on to rule the land of Barovia as avampire. Immediately afterward, the Mists of Ravenloft drew Strahd to the Demiplane of Dread.
Strahd's backstory was further refined for such that he unwittingly became a vampire as a result of a pact between himself and an unknown entity (Strahd claims it to be Death).
Strahd has ruled his domain for the longest of any darklord, and as such his knowledge of the workings of Ravenloft are without equal. When Strahd chooses to close the borders of his lands, poisonous mists arise and suffocate anyone attempting to pass through them. There are only two ways to avoid the poisonous fog: immunity to poison (magic does not help, but creatures that are innately immune to poison, like elementals, constructs, and undead, have nothing to fear), or by ceasing the attempt to escape. In addition, the Vistani know a secret antidote which renders the drinker immune to the closed border. This fog permanently rings the village of Barovia as well.
Strahd's curse is that although he is absolute lord and master of Barovia, to the point where he can enter private homes unbidden because he owns them, once every generation he will meet a woman whom he believes is Tatyana reincarnated. He always tries to woo her, but the scene of his damnation is replayed, and the woman inevitably dies. Strahd is perhaps the most difficult of all darklords to face. His mastery ofnecromancy is so great he has produced a kind of "super-zombie", one that is capable of seeing invisible, regenerating like a troll and whose appendages continue to fight on when severed. Strahd has had to battle at least two darklords who had entered his domain in the past; Azalin Rex thelich, andLord Soth the death knight.
When Lord Soth was in Barovia, Strahd realized that Soth's power as truly a match for his the moment Soth arrived in Castle Ravenloft. Armies of Strahd's servants fell before Lord Soth, and the havoc and damage caused by Soth caused even Strahd to waver. To be rid of Lord Soth from Barovia, Strahd had to give that which Soth had searched for, the traitorous retainer Caradoc, for fear of Lord Soth causing more damage to his beloved land. When the Ravenloft campaign setting was developed, the events ofRavenloft II wereretconned so that Strahd was present and disguised as a human alchemist, and did not die at the module's conclusion.
Strahd was named as one of the greatest villains inDungeons & Dragons history in the final issue ofDragon magazine.[33] Strahd appeared on the 2018Screen Rant top list at #15 on "Dungeons & Dragons: The 15 Most Powerful Villains, Ranked", and Scott Baird highlighted that "The fact that he is a vampire means that there are numerous methods by which Strahd can be defeated, which is to say nothing of the powerful anti-zombie abilities that are available to certain Dungeons & Dragons classes."[34] Strahd was also #8 onGame Rant's 2020 "10 Must-Have NPCs In Dungeons & Dragons Lore To Make Your Campaigns Awesome" list — the article states that "DMs planning on introducingCurse of Strahd or modifying it into their campaign may reveal Count Strahd as a villainous NPC. He may even be incorporated as a Warlock Patron, with the Warlock's story arc eclipsing in their arrival in Barovia. An alluring and attractive villain, Count Strahd can easily become a favorite villain with his cunning, unpredictable, and chilling nature."[35]
Henry Glasheen, forSLUG Magazine, highlighted that "up until the release ofRavenloft, almost every adventure module was just a shoestring of dungeon traps and monster encounters meant to test the valor and endurance of the player characters", however, the Hickmans created Count Strahd von Zarovich because they "were sick of the seemingly random nature of these campaigns, and longed for a rich, complex villain—the kind that you could find in a book but rarely, if ever, in a campaign".[36] Glasheen commented that "to this day, he's one of the best-written and most interesting villains ofDungeons & Dragons" – Strahd "toys with" and tempts the players "with the possibility of immortality and dark power" while also suffering from "the sting of his own twisted ambitions, a fatal hubris that drives him and sustains him".[36] Glasheen opined that Strahd is "a complex and entirely likeable villain, and that's what makes him so dangerous".[36]
Ari David, forCBR, wrote that the character "eternally remains one of the most feared" of "all of the great evils in the many worlds comprising theD&D multiverse" and is "a somewhat unique figure amongst a rogue's gallery of evil dragon gods, devil princes, and zombie wizards".[2] He argued that "Strahd is more than a shallow Dracula knock-off" as beyond the "sinister cat-and-mouse games lies the broken heart of a once-great warrior. His fall into villainy was fueled by pride, jealousy, and love. Despite this, he is a prisoner bound to his domain, doomed to repeat a cycle of violence".[2] David felt that this "humanizing backstory" is part of why Strahd's "popularity withD&D fans remains strong ".[2]
Rob Bricken ofIo9 highlighted the portrayal of Strahd inVampire of the Mists (1991) as both "genuinely compelling" and "immensely evil on occasion".[37] The novel centers on the "uneasy camaraderie" between Jander and Strahd, with Jander having little choice but to remain in Barovia.[37] Bricken noted that Strahd enjoys Jander's company while simultaneously tormenting him with "horrific acts of cruelty", aware of how much Jander "hates it".[37] Bricken commented that Strahd shows emotional range where he is "quick to anger, but quick to calm down again"; however, Bricken concluded that while Strahd is "technically a complex character", his complexities "aren't complex".[37] Bricken also viewed Strahd as "aDracula", noting he has a "driverless carriage and castle doors that open on his own. His castle is completely decrepit other than his library and study, because he's classy like that".[37]
Rory Bristol, in a reviewCurse of Strahd (2016) forGeekDad, highlighted Strahd as a classic horror genre villain – the "centuries-old vampire" has powers such as regeneration, shapeshifting into mist or bat, and "a trio of legendary abilities" which make him "the nightmare you've been looking for. His obsession for power, victory, and domination have made him a cruel master with a Lawful Evil disposition".[38] Bristol noted that Strahd has a tragic obsession of finding the reincarnation of "his one true love".[38] He also highlighted that Strahd does not fear the player adventuring party as he orchestrated their "journey to his realm, for his own sinister purposes".[38]
In hisBleeding Cool review ofDungeons and Dragons: Shadows of the Vampire (November 2016), Gavin Sheehan praised the story as a standout due to its focus on "one of the longest-running villains in the game, Strahd von Zarovich from the Ravenloft adventures".[29] Sheehan highlighted that "Strahd is the vampire of all vampires in this world", noting that the character brings "the usual array of horror, darkness, bloodshed, and standing guard in the middle of the night so you don't join his army of darkness".[29] He commented that this adventure is for the fans of "horror or just the ever-present danger that comes with certain kinds of storytelling".[29]