A Profile In Shadows - Strahd von Zarovich

“Under raging storm clouds, the vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich stands silhouetted against the ancient walls of Castle Ravenloft. Rumbling thunder pounds the castle spires. The wind’s howling increases as he turns his gaze down toward the village of Barovia. A lightning flash rips through the darkness, but Strahd is gone. Only the howling of the wind fills the midnight air. The master of Castle Ravenloft is having guests for dinner—and you are invited.”

“I am the Ancient, I am the Land. My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I am not dead. Nor am I alive. I am undead, forever.”

In his youth, Strahd was a prince and a conqueror. After settling down in the recently conquered valley of Barovia, beginning to feel the weight of middle age, sometime before the 11th century DR Strahd forged a pact with the Dark Powers of the Shadowfell in order to achieve immortality. The pact involved the murder of his brother Sergei von Zarovich so that Strahd could take Sergei's wife Tatyana, with whom he had fallen madly in love. The pact sealed, Strahd chased Tatyana through his gardens in an effort to force her to love him, eventually driving her to fling herself off a cliff to avoid him and causing her death. Strahd tried to end it all but remained alive, undead and a vampire. The entire valley was swept into the Shadowfell and turned into a prison from which he could never escape.

In the Year of the Wandering Elfmaid, 1072 DR, Jander encountered Anna, a fragment of Tatyana's soul who had been trapped in an asylum in Waterdeep for almost a century. After years looking after her and failing to turn her into a vampire to prevent her death, in the Year of the Rose, 1098 DR, Jander was transported to Barovia by the Dark Powers, vowing to take revenge upon whoever had been responsible for her fate. There, he befriended Strahd, then still an inexperienced vampire, and, over more than 25 years, taught him much of his vampiric skills, including the ability to communicate with and control animals. After discovering the true nature of Strahd, Jander attempted to destroy him, but ended up only severely injuring him. He threw himself into the sun to end his misery afterwards, but, instead of dying, was transported to the adjacent domain of Forlorn.

In the late 15th century DR, Strahd confronted Minsc, Boo, Delina, Krydle, Shandie, and Nerys in an attempt to recover a locket that once belonged to Tatyana, the love of Strahd's life. The locket had the power to free the companions from Barovia, narrowly escaping the vampire's wrath.