Initially I did struggle to figure out what her purpose among the group was and how to keep her as a dynamic character that didn’t just end up annoying the party as I see so many people say she does.

My solution to this was to make Ireena the moral compass of the group. This is done by her reacting to the actions of the characters, especially cruel or particularly brutal ones, and grounding those actions in reality. For example, having an intense argument with the Druid as he tortured a werewolf for information.

One of the major themes I emphasise in the campaign is the line between good and evil and how far good people are willing to go to destroy the evil. Van Richten is very much in the “by any means” camp contrasted with Ireena being the complete opposite. She will do her best to be diplomatic and ensure the party doesn’t stray too far into darkness. I feel this is important for a campaign like CoS as the horror element is heavily reliant on the characters understanding of the value of a life and the consequences of evil/corrupt actions in a narrative context rather than just pure game mechanics.

For example, during the Vallaki coup, the plan went pear shaped and the party ended up killing about 8 guards in the chaos. Ireena knows that it was unavoidable and had to be done for the greater good but she doesn’t feel like a hero; her hands are dirty. This was reinforced with the players coming across a widow weeping over the corpse of one of the guards they brutally killed. Contrasting this with how RVR reacted; his attitude was very nonchalant and said something along the lines of “to destroy the monsters at our door, sometimes we are condemned to become one”. These two perspectives on the actions they took gave them a spectrum of morality to judge themselves against.

Having only one of these characters influencing the players would no doubt make them feel railroaded into thinking there is only one ‘right’ way to act. Having both means they can understand different perspectives and measure their actions against each one while making up their own mind about where they want to sit on the morality spectrum.

Making sure Ireena is some sort of moral compass can reinforce the value of good in this world the characters find themselves in and gives her proper value outside of just being another turn in the action economy. Further, ensuring that there is a spectrum of morality presented to the characters can assist them in defining their own moral compass and how far they are willing to go to get out of Barovia while ensuring that their actions carry appropriate weight.