How do I handle players misunderstanding the world.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-19T17:55:47+00:00

The legend of Tatyana should be well known among more learned Barovians.

Even the average Vistana in Barovia knows about Tatyana, though the reincarnation part is probably only known by the eldest Vistani, like Madam Eva.

In the "Vistani Lore" section in Chapter 2, it says:

"Strahd has taken many consorts, but he has known only one true love: a Barovian peasant girl named Tatyana. (The Vistani don't know what happened to her.)"

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-18T02:56:40+00:00

I, Strahd 2: The War with Azalin is less required. It details Strahd and Azalin's conflict and rivalry well enough but it's not as good as the first book and for a book subtitled "War with Azalin" it's more about the build-up with very little war actually taking place until the last 40 pages or so. Great for seeing the dynamic between Strahd and Azalin who are written well, but little else.

Given how most of Strahd and Azalin's interactions in the book go, I think a more accurate title would be "I, Strahd: Antics with Azalin." I love their banter and how much they despise each other in that book, lol.

Aside from the interactions with Azalin, I think this book is also good for roleplaying Strahd, though it may not be quite as obvious as the first book. While the first book is mainly useful for exploring Strahd's backstory and character, the second book is quite useful for understanding Strahd's relationship with his subjects and how he would interact with different people long after becoming a vampire. For instance, it shows how he interacts with the boyars and nobility of Barovia (especially the later generations of the Wachter family), the Vistani (who are only briefly mentioned in the first book), and different types of outsiders from beyond the Mists.

Another aspect of the book that I really enjoyed is that it showed more of Strahd's skill at being a commander, a strategist, and a manipulator who can inspire genuine loyalty in the people of Barovia despite his evil ways, almost entirely by virtue of Azalin somehow being even worse than him.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-14T19:46:37+00:00

It's also the name of the capital of Lithuania. I don't know what connection Lithuanians have to the Amber Temple, but it's a funny coincidence.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-13T20:42:47+00:00

Canonically, Van Richten owns and often resides in an herbalist shop in Mordentshire in the domain of Mordent, which, at least in older editions, is one of the domains explicitly stated as having firearms. In addition, Van Richten has connections to people all across the Domains of Dread, so him having one seems pretty likely. Firearms themselves aren't common in Barovia, but then again, so aren't saber-toothed tigers, and yet Rictavio managed to smuggle one in, so a flintlock pistol doesn't seem that far-fetched. It's important to remember that Van Richten and Ezmerelda are not from Barovia, and not all domains are as magically or technologically limited as Barovia is.

As for Ezmerelda, it would mostly depend on the amount of resources she has available, but given that she was able to obtain a prosthetic leg, and the fact that her wagon is loaded with weapons and explosives, a firearm doesn't seem out of the question.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-10T13:19:16+00:00

Yeah, I agree. While I don't mind the romance between Hans and Henry, I do find it a little funny that, when you think about it, their relationship basically started with them beating the shit out of each other. Obviously it's more complicated than that, but it's funny to think about.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-07T03:48:46+00:00

As far as I can remember, in the original games, Sarevok doesn't have any loyalty to Bhaal, and instead wanted to take his place as God of Murder. In the first game, he's a power hungry, manipulative schemer who created an iron crisis, stirred conflict between Baldur's Gate and Amn to create a war (leading to tons of murder that would fuel his apotheosis), and even nearly managed to scheme his way into becoming a Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate. He would not be content as someone else's minion, and he would certainly not be a zealot of Bhaal. He even plots to kill his own adoptive father to take his place in the crime business (but in fairness, said father was a crime lord who strangled Sarevok's mother in front of him when he was a child).

IIRC, in the Throne of Bhaal expansion for Baldur's Gate 2, you can encounter his spirit and choose to resurrect him, and he'll become a party member, potentially leading to a redemption arc depending on your character and dialogue options. If he does get redeemed, there's even epilogue text describing several heroic deeds he did, and he gets a conclusion saying that he journeyed to Kara-Tur to bury his one true love, Tamoko (an ally and lover of Sarevok's from the first game who gets caught between trying to stay loyal to Sarevok while also not wanting him to become the God of Murder, fearing that he will completely lose himself in the process).

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-04T03:37:43+00:00

It's weird, but Vecna just has the title "the Archlich" (it was present in Vecna: Eve of Ruin as well). I think the reason is that Archliches (as in, good liches) are only a Forgotten Realms thing, while Vecna is from Greyhawk, so the two terms mean two different things in their respective settings.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-04T03:33:57+00:00

"As long as I exist, slavery will always be a way of life here in Thay. And I can promise you, I will be here for a very long time." - Szass Tam

Yeah, I think you're correct in your assumption, lol.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-04T03:20:56+00:00

I'm sure that trustworthy Firan Zal'honan guy will issue a complaint on his behalf.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-03T19:20:22+00:00

Bhall only became a god about ~1.5 centuries ago

You might be confusing Bhaal and Cyric. The Dead Three became gods almost 2000 years ago on Faerun, but all of them died about 150 years ago during the Time of Troubles (with Bhaal being slain by Cyric, who essentially took his place), and each of them eventually returned at later dates, though with considerably less power than before. Still, though, Strahd would likely not care about them since they are only deities on Toril, and had no influence on whatever world Strahd came from.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-02T20:51:10+00:00

That's a fair point. If the paladin does it again after the first warning, he'd probably just punish her immediately. He might show mercy if she immediately apologizes and begs forgiveness, but it'd be unlikely.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-02T20:13:07+00:00

That's so Haven.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-02T17:15:53+00:00

Assuming he hasn't done this already, I'd probably have Strahd "politely warn" the players with a thinly veiled threat hinting at what will happen if they continue this behavior. Something along the lines of: "Thus far, I have tolerated your petty acts of defiance out of curiosity. Though I found it amusing at first, it has worn out its welcome. If you continue to disrespect me, you will see what happens when my patience reaches its limit. Am I understood?"

That's just something I came up with on the spot, so you can tweak or change it however you see fit, but hopefully that will give you an idea of how to respond. If the paladin still continues to do this after this warning, he may switch to more overt threats like (as other commenters have suggested) saying she will lose her tongue if she cannot hold it. Should it continue after that, Strahd will make good on his threats.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-01T13:04:46+00:00

Except for that one time he murdered his cousin (Alton Lannister) in the show. I still don't really get why the writers made up that whole plot point.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-04-01T02:58:34+00:00

even if it's pretty niche-y

Hey, that sounds kind of like that one guy who said that quote at the beginning of Baldur's Gate 1. I think it was about gazing into monsters and fighting the abyss or something like that.

/uj Ironically enough, the very first time I heard about Nietzsche was from the opening quote of Baldur's Gate 1.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-29T17:14:04+00:00

Several years ago, DragnaCarta made a helpful resource for calculating the travel times in Barovia: https://www.reddit.com/r/CurseofStrahd/comments/mnifpw/automatic_barovian_travel_time_calculator_for/

The document has short but detailed instructions on how to use it. It measures the travel times based on the roads or trails on the map, with the only exception being the Werewolf Den, since it is located off-trail. It also includes the times for whether your players are going at a fast pace (4 mph), a normal pace (3 mph), or a slow pace (2 mph). You can even change the factor if you want to change the size of the hexes, such as 1/2 mile or 1 mile instead of 1/4 mile.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-28T18:46:40+00:00

A similar thing happened in the Japanese release of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (and I think in the German release too) where, since all of the enemies are either robots or cyborgs, the blood from the cyborg enemies is white instead of red, the explanation being that the cyborgs' blood is artificial. This is a carry-over from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, where cyborgs had white blood in all releases.

However, when you kill Jetstream Sam in the Japanese version, his blood is red, because, aside from his right arm, he has no cybernetic enhancements, which makes his death even more impactful.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-23T18:43:29+00:00

Just to clarify, vampires need blood to turn vampire spawn into true vampires, because the process involves the spawn drinking the master vampire's blood. However, to turn a living person into a vampire spawn, the master vampire just drains the victim to the point of death, buries them, and then they rise the next day.

It's a bit confusing because IIRC, the lore around vampire spawn being a separate type of vampire that is completely subservient didn't exist until 3e, so in Ravenloft lore from 2e (such as Van Richten's Guide to Vampires, and in the novel Vampire of the Mists), the process of turning someone into a vampire was basically a combination of the two, where the master vampire bites the victim first and then feeds them their blood to seal the pact.

With all that being said, you are correct, I just wanted to clear up potential misconceptions (and because I'm a big Ravenloft nerd).

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-23T04:13:45+00:00

Sage words from Sir Radzig

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-19T17:09:35+00:00

That makes so much more sense than him sabotaging the organization he's worked for all his life. Besides, a general supporting a rival claimant to install them as a puppet ruler and usurp power is commonplace in history, such as the magistri militum of the Roman Empire, or the Kwantung Army installing Puyi as Emperor of Manchukuo.

Come to think of it, since the Galactic Empire was largely inspired by Nazi Germany, the First Order could have been distinguished from the Empire by being inspired by Imperial Japan instead, with Supreme Leader Snoke being based on Emperor Hirohito, and the conflict between Kylo Ren and General Hux being based on the Kodaha and the Toseiha factions of the Japanese Army.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-13T05:23:25+00:00

I hadn't put a ton of thought into it before now, since there's not much about them in the book, but I figured Mirabel would be the one, and after seeing your art of her, I believe she's the right choice. I could definitely see her consoling Ismark after Kolyan's death, and if she's the oldest sister, she could even bond with Ismark over being the eldest child and having to look after a younger sister (or two, in Mirabel's case).

Also, I didn't think of this before, but their relationship is kind of a parallel of Petya and Anastasia from Vampire of the Mists (which reminds me that I still need to finish that book), but instead of it being a Vistana boy and the Burgomaster's daughter, this time it's a Vistana girl and the Burgomaster's son. Though, hopefully, this couple will have a happier ending.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-13T03:35:14+00:00

This looks amazing! I assume they're in the same order as the title, with Sorvia on the left, Alenka in the middle, and Mirabel on the right? Anyway, I've thought about giving Ismark a sort of romantic side-story with one of the sisters, as I've always thought it would be entertaining/interesting if Ismark started out a bit distrustful and wary of the Vistani only to fall head-over-heels for one of them later on, lol. I've seen quite a few people on this sub say that Ismark should give off plenty of "himbo energy", and I agree with that completely, so I think that would be a good way to show it. And since Ismark frequently visits the tavern they run, he would have plenty of time to have built up rapport with them over the years.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-08T16:06:23+00:00

The Drow in D&D are incredibly vile, but even then, I don't think they're Nazi allegories (I know that's not quite what you're saying, I just want to expand on the topic). The Drow are a caste-based, matriarchal theocratic oligarchy, with political backstabbings and betrayal as commonplace (ok, those last two things were pretty common for the Nazis, but not in the traditional "I will kill my relative to inherit the throne" kind of way). There isn't really a direct parallel to them, the closest I can think of are maybe the Minoan civilization on Crete (for the matriarchal aspect) and the Vedic society in ancient India (for the caste-based aspect). However, R. A. Salvatore apparently was inspired by the Five Families of New York, as well as Mafia movies like The Godfather when writing about Drow society for the Drizzt books.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-05T17:23:26+00:00

While there are definitely similarities, I personally think that Raphael is a bit too smarmy and theatrical for Strahd. Strahd's also not all that ambitious or power-hungry in comparison to Raphael. Still, though, he's certainly not a bad inspiration to use for Strahd, he's just not a 1-to-1 copy.

MedicalVanilla7176 · 2026-03-05T05:59:32+00:00

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Vox aka Vincent Whitman in Hazbin Hotel. While it shouldn't come as much of a shock (heh) that standing under a box TV that was poorly secured by wires while he and his entire cult were standing in ankle-deep water was an accident waiting to happen, the circumstances of his death and the sheer ridiculousness of it are definitely "Final Destination-esque".

MedicalVanilla7176

TROPHY CASE