Darklords and theyr Curses

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Mistmaster
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Darklords and theyr Curses

Post by Mistmaster »

After my exchanges with DustBunny, I decided to open a topic about Darklords'curses.
Here is a list of the Core Canon Darklords I'm using in my take of Ravenloft, and theyr curses, (beetween parenthesis, my changes of the curses)

Strhad von Zarovich (Barovia):Cursed to revive endlessly is attempt to woe Tatyana.

Azalin Rex (Darkon): Incapable to learn new knowledge (Every time he tries to take time to learn something new, to follow a new project, to dedicate himself to something which is not micromanaging his vast kingdom, a crisis happens, and order is threatened.)

Vlad Drakov (Falkovnia) Never win a war outside his borders (He can never get the victory he wants, either the strategic goal is missed, either the land conquest is temporary or an internal crisis force him to withdraw.)

Dominque d'Honaire (Dementlieu) Every woman he lust after find him repulsive (He can't never achieve reckognizion, he is forced to stay in the shadow, anytime he try to take the meritit backfires spectacularly)

Ivana Boritsi (Borca) She can't find true love.

Ivan Dilisnya (Dorvinia) He can't savor food nor drinks.

Jaquline Renier (Richemulot) Every time she is with someone she loves, she is forced to turn her Dire Rat form.

Victor von Mordenheim (Lamordia) Adam, who has got von Mordenheim soul, is the living curse for Victor (This is my interpretation of it)

Yuri Kharchov aka The Beast of Bolchava (Nova Vaasa) (not exactly a Canon character, but it is Carrion Crown's version of Baron Urik von Kharkov, transferred in Nova Vaasa; in my version, he is a decadent aristocrat which dream to return his family, to glory, who is compelled to take a monstrous Panther-man hybrid form every time he interacts with other aristocrats.).

Gabrielle Aderre (Invidia) Her liasons have always a tragical outcome (She can't defend herself from people she care for, and she can't stop herself from falling in love or loving her children)

Ladislav Mircea (Sanguinia) Is a germofobic aristocrat which is turned in Vyrolaka, who must drain umors to survive. ( He is a Nosferatu who can feed only off well fed and relaxed human beings; his kingdom is an harsh land plagued by vicious wolves, of witch he is paralizingly fearfull;
He needs to care for, pamper and protect subjects which he views as vermins; Thanks to CarrionCrown for the inspiration )

Hazalik Skarlvith (Hazlan) Disfigured with demeaning tatoos all his connationals can read he is also plagued by nightmares about the day he acquired those tatoos.

Nathan Timothy (Verbrek) Cursed to never leave the Virago, his paddle-boat which roams the river;

Harkon Lukas (Kartakass) Cursed to never be able ti rule a great civilized nation.

Tristan ap Blanc (but not alone) (Forlorn) Vampyre by day, Ghost by night, (In my vision he shares Darklordship with Guillaime de Soulis, an historical nobleman lynched because he indulged in foul practices; The two of them, whiche hates each other guts, are forced to live one with the aspect of the other, plagued by the ghost of his enemy, switching places every twelve hours)

Baron Nharov IV Gundar (Gundarak) It exists no canon curse I'm aware of so this is my take: he has all the ailments an old man usually has; that's does not hamper his fearsome combat potential, but is extremely humiliating for him forcing him to rely on magitians to keep himself fit.

The Ebonbane Sword (Possessed by Lussimar) (Nidala) He is imprisoned in the Sword, and can influence the wielder only.

Malcolm "Malken" Hiregard (Zherisia) (This is once again, an idea of Carrioncrown) [ He has stolen the aspect of his twin Tristen, but the more he keep his shape the more he became him; Everytime he returns to his difformed true shape (like everytime he is angered) his own shadow became his brother's vessel to foil his criminal plans)]

Frantisek Markov (Markovia) He is unable to assume a complete animal form or return to human one. (He can't create a perfect specimen; no matter how hard he tries, his work always have flaws; Either they are phisically flawed, or they doesn't reckognize him as theyr father and naster)

Stelios (Demise) (He is imprisoned in the rock of the island, and can only posses things made by willing human artisans; he despise humans above any other thing.)

Stefan I D'Polarno (Ghastria) He can regain his humanity ony once every three months, when he stole souls from peoples painting theyr portrait. (The same, but I gave him an undead archetipe I designed, the Hollow Husk, which can syphon charisma out of peoples; his victims became Hollow Husks, too)

The Brain God (Bluetspur) (Being an human mind fused with the Illithid God-Brain, he has all the craving of human and no possibility to satisfy it.)

King Raoul "Bluebeard" Morrell (Blaustein)He is haunted by the ghosts of his wives, which are fanatically devote to him.

Alain Monette(L'île de la Tempête)He is a former sailor turned in werebat unable to touch or fly on saltwater.

The Lady of Ravens (Raven Island) She does not know her true identity ( I added to that that she is also a prisoner in her tower, while her island is bigger and more populated)

Meredoth Graben (Nebligtode Islands) His creativity has been crippled,and he is now only a tinkerer.

Lyron Eversong (Liffe) Every night in his house last a century.

I'm curious to know what do you thinks about those lords, theyr canon curses, and what I changed, when I did it. Do you find those curses appealing? Do you thing them lame? Let me know.
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Re: Darklords and theyr Curses

Post by Cromstar »

Most of these look pretty solid to me, though a few seem like they could use some fleshing out.

I feel a good Ravenloft DL curse has 3 main parts you should be able to identify and be familiar with:

1. What the Darklord wants and how it is denied to them
2. How anything else around the DL is twisted or set up to serve as additional annoyances and grievances
3. How the first two combine to provide the Temptation of Tantalus: how the DL's wants are dangled before him, always just BARELY out of reach

For example, for Strahd:

1. He wants Tatyana to love him, but she was and always will be repulsed by him
2. He's now a monster of the dark; he thought he was selling his soul for love, but all he gained was power; he's haunted by the full knowledge of his crimes and the guilt he has; he has to live with these for eternity
3. Tatyana is constantly reborn and finds her way to Strahd some how...but she is always repulsed and she ALWAYS escapes, by death or some other means

I find it really helps make some of the DLs with less-than-complete descriptions have more depth if you fill in the holes in this way.

For example, a 'more complete' possible version of Ivan Dilisnya:

1. Ivan is a hedonist who wishes only to indulge himself, but he has lost the ability to taste or savor anything
2. Ivan rules a domain; if he takes direct control so that he has the opportunities to indulge himself, he's constantly surrounded by other hedonists indulging themselves in ways he can't enjoy; if he avoids these, he can't truly exercise control over his domain or attempt to indulge himself; his new powers enable him to kill anyone he wishes, but Ivan does not actually take pleasure in the act of killing (as opposed to Ivana, it brings him some satisfaction, but not real pleasure)
3. Ivan's desire to indulge himself grows with each passing day, but nothing will ever sate his appetite or slake his thirst: he will forever attempt to live vicariously through others, which only serves to remind him what he cannot enjoy; in effect, Ivan becomes his own torturer, as he is too consumed by his desires to stop taunting himself
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