Also heard as: the Baron, Baron Strahd, the Devil Strahd, Strad von Zerlvik, Strahd von Berowitsch, Strahd von Barovic, the Count, Lestrade
The vampire lord of Castle Ravenloft, who has terrorized Barovia for centuries. Lures outsiders to his castle under forged invitations, then toys with them through illusions, domination, and mist form rather than fighting to the death. Murdered his own brother Sergei von Zarovich and the woman Tatiana they both loved out of jealousy.
History
- Sends the party a dinner invitation under his seal, alongside a forged plea letter purportedly from Kolyan Indirovich — both lead the party to Barovia 2022-12-06 @ 01:07:29, @ 02:15:24.
- Greets the party for dinner, playing the organ with his back to them, then vanishes with a maniacal laugh after being hit with a thrown dinner roll — locking down the castle’s doors, torches, and lights 2022-12-18 @ 00:42:14–00:45:43.
- Leaves behind a rope-and-mirror-operated mannequin decoy of himself, later burned by Todd 2022-12-18 @ 00:52:39.
- His own journal, the cursed Tome of Strahd, is found hidden under his mattress 2022-12-18 @ 02:09:47.
- Carries the party to a prison cell atop his highest spire after a ghost ambush; appears briefly below, waves, smiles, and turns to mist 2023-01-30 @ 01:10:34, @ 01:33:50.
- Revealed via a mind-link from Sergei’s body to have murdered his own brother 2023-01-30 @ 04:00:19–04:00:36; the party separately pieces together, minutes later, that he also killed Tatiana “when she wouldn’t marry him” 2023-01-30 @ 04:08:35.
- Fatally drains Donnie’s character near his sealed coffin, turning him into a vampire thrall 2023-01-30 @ 04:56:54–05:19:31.
- Found asleep in his coffin — empty but for a teddy bear and blanket when finally forced open; the real Strahd is not there 2023-02-12 @ 00:43:16.
- Ambushes the party in his audience chamber, dominating most of them; forces Todd to attack an ally and Jess to nearly kill Jake, before escaping as mist after a drawn-out fight 2023-02-12 @ 00:58:14–02:23:45.
- Mists away into the walls of his casket room before the golem-trap session begins 2023-03-12 @ 00:19:11.
- Revealed to have secretly turned Donovan into his thrall and used him to ambush the party from within 2023-03-18 @ 00:48:16 onward.
DM notes (spoiler)
- The figure seen at the dinner organ may have been Strahd himself baiting the party, or another decoy — Pat never clarified on-mic whether it was staged like the mannequin found later 2022-12-18 @ 00:42:14, @ 00:52:39.
- Donnie’s death and vampirization near Strahd’s coffin was a deliberate trap tied to proximity to the coffin, not random bad luck — Pat calls it intentional, “the only way he can solve it” 2023-01-30 @ 04:50:29.
- Pat confirms OOC the module run is the original 1980s/1984 TSR Ravenloft, not the modern remake 2023-01-30 @ 05:36:35, 2023-03-18 @ 00:33:00.
Unresolved
Strahd is never defeated or even fought to a finish in the recorded sessions — the campaign’s last session ends with him still alive and the party deep in his castle.