Valachan Redux

[Isabella]

Well, Kartakass Redux went down like a lead balloon, but still I persist in my revisions.

The Situation
Valachan never struck me as a satisfying domain, a fact which saddens me, since it seems that all domains that don't steal from some real world culture end up like this; nevertheless, it doesn't capture my imagination in the slightest, and there's no way I'd use it as is. As such, I re-envisioned the domain's culture as that of Spanish Mexico, for several reasons:
-It lets Valachan keep a unique culture from the Core while letting it at the same time be technologically on par.
-It gives the Core a bit of new world flavor (I am aware of Mictlan, but that domain is not one that is easy to get to)... and a place for all those new world foods to have come from.
-The panthers actually make sense now.
-The death themed holidays (such as la dia des muertos) and history (such as human sacrifices) and architecture (skull murals and carvings) have great potential.

The Problem: I don't know a whole lot about Spain OR Mexico.

The Question Posed to You (aka the important bit)
Any ideas, new world or old, to make the domain more cohesive and interesting to play in.

Here's what I have so far:
-The thick redwoods have been replaced with rainforest, and Valachan has a lot of natural resources in great demand; silver, gold, chocolate, rubber, woods, coffee... it is, however, a tad isolated. It shares a border with Invidia, Kartakass, and Sithicus, so most trade has to go east through Hazlan.
-Von Kharkov is a werepanther now. He is not a nosferatu, although they aren't uncommon. (In 4e, werepanthers would infect their victims with the white fever.)
I'm a bit open on what else to do with Von Kharkov, however. I originally wrote him up as an iron fisted ruler who demanded his domain and people "modernize" the way he wanted them to, crushing most their old traditions and forcing them to work to industrialize the domain, yet at the same time he can't control his own bestial nature - I played up the panther side of him, but this dropped him right into "unfortunate implications-ville", since Von Kharkov is black and the word "whitewashed" was starting to spring into my mind. So I scrapped the entire idea and am not sure where to go now. I'm not sure if it's possible to do this without stepping on a few toes.
-Nonetheless, a few old traditions survive. The Day of the Dead is, of course, classic. Von Kharkov and his enforcers can't stop the festival - bad luck seems to plague anyone unpopular who steps outside during this day. The other festival that has sprung up is Carnival, which happens every time Isolde's Carnival comes to Valachan. Von Kharkov doesn't dare confront the mistress of Carnival to stop the festival.
-Other cultural ideas included bullfighting (or some other large dangerous animal), large, colorful murals, and loud, upbeat music. I also had the idea of masked warriors (along the lines of the luchadores) being common, although they would NOT fight via wrestling (tell me you can think of someone pile-driving a werewolf with a straight face).

Other suggestions and ideas would REALLY be appreciated, because otherwise this project is going to die a slow painful death.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

-Von Kharkov is a werepanther now. He is not a nosferatu, although they aren't uncommon. (In 4e, werepanthers would infect their victims with the white fever.)
I'm a bit open on what else to do with Von Kharkov, however. I originally wrote him up as an iron fisted ruler who demanded his domain and people "modernize" the way he wanted them to, crushing most their old traditions and forcing them to work to industrialize the domain, yet at the same time he can't control his own bestial nature - I played up the panther side of him, but this dropped him right into "unfortunate implications-ville", since Von Kharkov is black and the word "whitewashed" was starting to spring into my mind. So I scrapped the entire idea and am not sure where to go now. I'm not sure if it's possible to do this without stepping on a few toes.

Well, the whole point to Von Kharkov, IMO, has always been the fact that he's a beast which was forced to act human, and has convinced himself that he ought to be human, yet can't give up his feral impulses. Even if his origin-story is rewritten, it'd be nice to retain that element of conflict in, and frustration with, his nature; in a sense, he's the flip side to Harkon Lukas, who revels in being a beast-in-man's-clothing.

Perhaps he can remain a panther (= black jaguar) who was transformed into a man, but by a cult rather than an evil wizard? Maybe worshippers of Tezcatlipoca transformed him to serve as a living avatar of their jaguar-god, both to be paraded about before the masses and to perform ritual sacrifices. Retaining a jaguar's violent streak, he was content with his lot for a time, but eventually found himself developing human-like feelings of pride, ambition, and desire. When he found himself attracted to a virgin who'd been designated for sacrifice, he defied the priests who'd directed him to kill her, and viciously attacked them; however, with the grisly death of the priests, the magics that kept him transformed were broken and he reverted to jaguar-form. Enraged to lose his "divine" shape, he took it out on the maiden he'd been lusting after, thus proving himself no better than a beast at heart, despite all his conceits and pretensions.

As IRL priests of Tezcatlipoca often painted themselves black, emulating their deity -- patron of night and obsidian, among other things -- having Von Kharkov remain black-skinned would be consistent with this altered backstory and cultural motif. His name, of course, would have to be changed, unless you want to say that "Von Kharkov" is a Balok-speaker's clumsy attempt to render his real (Spanish or Nahuatl) name using Slavic phonemes.

[High Priest Mikhal]

As IRL priests of Tezcatlipoca often painted themselves black, emulating their deity -- patron of night and obsidian, among other things

Patron of the night sky, night winds, the earth, obsidian, the north, enmity, discord, divination, temptation, sorcery, beauty, war, and strife. Granted Von Kharkov doesn't have to represent each aspect of the Smoking Mirror (Tezcatlipoca's name when translated from Nahuatl) I can easily see him as embodying the night sky (his love of the night), the night winds (as a black leopard, which do exist IRL, he'd be swift and silent and nearly invisible), and of course enmity, temptation, and (internal) strife. Good choice, Rotipher! Quite a good fit. If he is a product of Tezcatlipoca, it'd make sense his DR is obsidian as well (I'm too lazy to look up what wereleopard DR is, but I think it already is obsidian).

Just had to put my two cents in. Being a mestizo, or person of mixed European and Native American descent, I find it fascinating to study the two very different halves of my ancestry and how they've interacted to form the cultures I grew up with. This post just piqued my curiosity, and I must say I like what I see so far.

[Isabella]

Well, the whole point to Von Kharkov, IMO, has always been the fact that he's a beast which was forced to act human, and has convinced himself that he ought to be human, yet can't give up his feral impulses. Even if his origin-story is rewritten, it'd be nice to retain that element of conflict in, and frustration with, his nature; in a sense, he's the flip side to Harkon Lukas, who revels in being a beast-in-man's-clothing.

Well, I considered the fact that Von Kharkhov was originally a panther to be the most expendable part of his backstory, mostly because it doesn't seem to be working very well for him right now. I'm not determined to toss it, but I'm not very attached to it either.

One thing I did want to keep was Kon Kharkhov's connection to the Core before Valachan, because there isn't an actual Spain in the Core - and since Valachan is parked by Nova Vassa, Pharazia and Hazlan (in my new map, anyway) the cultural influence from those domains, combined with a heavy dose of Richemulot or Borca, could help to shape Von Kharkov before he formed his own domain, and explain the seepage of certain cultural ideas into Valachan.

This is where I got into trouble before, since I started with the concept that Von Kharkov's repressive nature might instead manifest in him trying to act "civilized" by Dementlieuse standards, which turned him into an oppressive dictator that demanded his people become "modern", except he himself couldn't control his own bestial nature. It got even worse when I realized that Von Kharkhov, being a panther, probably preferred the livelier culture of his own people to that of the Four Towers, who felt that sitting still and listening to people sing for three hours was the epitome of a good time. All of this was a Very Bad Idea, so I scrapped the whole thing.

As IRL priests of Tezcatlipoca often painted themselves black, emulating their deity -- patron of night and obsidian, among other things -- having Von Kharkov remain black-skinned would be consistent with this altered backstory and cultural motif. His name, of course, would have to be changed, unless you want to say that "Von Kharkov" is a Balok-speaker's clumsy attempt to render his real (Spanish or Nahuatl) name using Slavic phonemes.

The connection to Tezcatlipoca was part of the reason for the shift to Mexico, as well as the similarity of the appearance of Valachan's natives.

I don't know enough of Spanish or Nahuatl to even try to make a proper name for him that sounds like Von Kharkov, although if it had to be one it'd be Nahuatl; the chances of someone calling me on an unrealistic Aztec name is considerably less than a unrealistic Spanish one.

I would also be interested in any traditions or other cultural tidbits to make the domain somewhat more 3D, or even Ravenloft twists to ideas already out there; for example, I know that the Day of the Dead has amusing little plays where Death runs around dropping pianos and things on unpopular people. I figure in Ravenloft these plays might have a little more power to them, which is one of the big reasons the celebrations haven't been shut down.

[The Whistler]

One thing I did want to keep was Kon Kharkhov's connection to the Core before Valachan, because there isn't an actual Spain in the Core - and since Valachan is parked by Nova Vassa, Pharazia and Hazlan (in my new map, anyway) the cultural influence from those domains, combined with a heavy dose of Richemulot or Borca, could help to shape Von Kharkov before he formed his own domain, and explain the seepage of certain cultural ideas into Valachan.

One thing that I'd planned on doing if I ever get around to starting the campaign I had in mind was to: A) steal the Valachan-as-colonial-Latin-America idea (saw you mention the concept in an earlier post and it "worked" for me too ), and B) end-run around the above problem by rewriting Richemulot along the lines of Cervantine/Shakespearean baroque Spain. Granted, that decision mostly stemmed from me being a Lit major with a thing for Quixote, but it solves a lot of problems as regards Valachan: you figure a bunch of Richemuloise make a land rush into the jungle as the domain appears, and you get a nice bunch of readymade colonizers for Von Kharkov to exploit.

Anyway, that doesn't look like it'll work for the Core plan you're going for, but on that topic: how are you planning on working the colonizer/native dynamic in your version of of the domain? Is there a well-defined "colonist class," (and if so, how is it defined) or is it basically just Von Kharkov's own personal modernization project, which some people agree with and some don't? Were there colonizers in Kharkov's homeworld, or do their presence in his domain reflect just his desire for order as opposed to his actual memories?

[Isabella]

Anyway, that doesn't look like it'll work for the Core plan you're going for, but on that topic: how are you planning on working the colonizer/native dynamic in your version of of the domain? Is there a well-defined "colonist class," (and if so, how is it defined) or is it basically just Von Kharkov's own personal modernization project, which some people agree with and some don't? Were there colonizers in Kharkov's homeworld, or do their presence in his domain reflect just his desire for order as opposed to his actual memories?

I figured Von Kharkov would stay in official charge, with his enforcers and administrators composing what "upper class" there is in Valachan. So, basically, if you want a better life for yourself, and don't mind selling your soul, you join the Baron's Men. That probably make Valachan's government more militant than it was originally, but since it's sitting next to Invidia and Sithicus on my map that's not incongruous. Seeing as Von Kharkov has the biggest military force in the domain, I suppose the colonist class could be defined as "the guys with the guns".
The Baron's Men are probably composed of a lot of like-minded folk, or those who just enjoy power, and also have a lot of werepanthers(jaguars). This is because the people who get close to the Baron tend to become werejaguars. (In 4e you can't be infected, but that's what rituals are for. It's better that way if you want to connect the werejaguars to Tezcatlipoca.)
I suppose the nosferatu might also be around; I'm not sure whether to keep them on.

Now, I'm not sure just how far Von Kharkov's control extends. In the Gaz I got the impression the theme of the domain was "he can control everything except himself", and it seemed like he was doing too good a job, because I'm not sure what you would do in his domain except be eaten by vampires. So I'm not sure to keep it that way or have the domain reflect his uncontrollable nature as well. It wouldn't even have to be the people rebelling against him; rainforest has a habit of overruning areas if it isn't kept in check.

Knowing whether there were colonizers in Von Kharkov's homeworld would require me to figure out his backstory. >.>

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

While I agree it's a little sketchy to have RL's only black darklord be a savage trying to act civilized, I think if you throw out that aspect of Von Kharkov, you don't have much left to work with. He is the beast who thinks himself a man, that's his shtick. It's unfortunate that it has racist overtones when you find out he's black, but you can't get around it it without a) making him white, or b) making him a different character.

Maybe it's not as offensive as it seems. After all, we still use Drow, even though "black elves are an evil race" seems even worse. (come to think of it, Tristessa's black too, so he's not the only one.) I dunno, I'm not black, so I may not be the best judge.

What if you base him on a specific evil guy, historical or fictional, who happened to be black, who happened to really be a monster pretending at civilization. Say Idi Amin for example? (That I'm drawing a blank on any other examples is probably a good thing. ) By locking him down to "Ravenloft's version of ____," you avoid the racist implications and get a bunch of background to loot while you're at it.

I dunno, I'm not too keen on him in the first place, and don't really use him or his domain, so I guess anything you do would be an improvement. (Which was basically my opinion on the Gaz. It's something, so it's an improvement.) But I feel like if you remove his pantherhood, you remove the only interesting thing about him.

[Isabella]

While I agree it's a little sketchy to have RL's only black darklord be a savage trying to act civilized, I think if you throw out that aspect of Von Kharkov, you don't have much left to work with.

On the brighter side, in my revisions, Misroi is also black. So at the very least he won't be the ONLY one.
Perhaps he could be connected to Markovia for his origin story, given Markov is a ripoff of Dr. Moureau. The other option I has was that he was a Kargat experiment or something. I feel as it is currently it's hard to empathize Von Kharkov, and I feel that empathy is one of the more crucial parts of a Darklord.

What if you base him on a specific evil guy, historical or fictional, who happened to be black, who happened to really be a monster pretending at civilization. Say Idi Amin for example? (That I'm drawing a blank on any other examples is probably a good thing. ) By locking him down to "Ravenloft's version of ____," you avoid the racist implications and get a bunch of background to loot while you're at it.

I didn't really see Von Kharkov being a liberator turned despot, but I imagined him as trying to modernize his country to "keep up", even if he has to oil his machinery with the blood of his people. I'm sure there must be some historical figure like that but I'm not sure I know it. I guess you could tangentially say Jean-Jacques Dessalines, but not really, to be honest.

I'll post what I wrote before.


Baron Urik Von Kharkov

Urik Von Kharkov is a tall, sleek, handsome man appearing to be in his mid-thirties. He has black skin, meticulously groomed black hair, and strangely attractive yellow eyes. He speaks with a smooth baritone voice, which he keeps carefully controlled unless he is excited. When he sits still, he exudes an aura of restless energy, when he moves, it is with silence and grace. Von Kharkov's dress varies day by day; some days he wears full regalia or the latest fashion from Dementlieu, other days he has stripped off the coats, vests, and frills to dress loosely and freely. He is pleasant and complacent, almost smug, in demeanor, unless he feels he is being challenged - he then becomes confrontational and aggressive.

Von Kharkov's behavior is a mess of contradictions at best. He demands discipline from his police force but remains unfettered by any schedule or organization himself. He demands the most elegant fashions to dress himself in, then tears off bits and pieces until he is comfortable in it, at which point he demands another set of clothing. He is delighted by mechanical contraptions, but is either unable or unwilling to learn the intricacies of mechanics himself. He has orchestras perform concertos for him, but quickly grows bored and fidgety during them, and rarely sits through a performance. His Castle is fastidiously clean but haphazardly arranged.

The Baron does not like to be goaded into combat, preferring to have the Black Leopards deal with any trouble. When he is cornered and forced to fight, he does so almost joyfully, reveling in the experience, and he becomes almost impossible to talk down until he has killed something.

Current Sketch

Von Kharkov has declared himself Baron of Valachan, and has set about trying to modernize the realm to his liking. Unfortunately, the natives have proven resistant to his efforts; although they are obedient to the Baron, they quickly revert to their traditional ways unless forced to do otherwise. Von Kharkov views this behavior with contempt and considers his own people to be backwater savages, who must be forced to become civilized, even against their own will.

<But at the same time Von Kharkov prefers their lively music, dance, and festivals, as well as the excitement bullfighting and other sport. He visibly grows excited when he hears the more upbeat music of the street musicians, but has banned them from playing in his presence. When the moon is full, Von Kharkhov sometimes divests himself of his guards and finery and watches from afar, but never joins in.

This is the paragraph I really had to take out. It would make sense for Von Kharkov to prefer the livelier dance and sport to the Four Tower's idea of culture, but... yeah.>

Von Kharkhov is a miserable creature trying to civilize his land when he cannot even civilize himself. His uncomfortable veneer of calmness and poise often breaks under pressure, which fills him with self-recrimination every time it occurs. This is never more apparent than in tragic personal life. There are few people with delusions of being able to refuse Von Kharkov when he asks for a woman's hand in marriage, and he tries his best to be a perfect gentleman. But he will invariably begin to second-guess himself, fighting between being himself or acting in a manner he considers dignified, straining Von Kharkov until he begins to resent his wife for not loving him (even if she does), and eventually snaps and kills his wife. Although his subjects, and Von Kharkov himself, are horrified at this brutal behavior, it has not stopped Von Kharkov from marrying any young woman who catches his eye.

[ewancummins]

It's an interesting variation, that's for sure.


My own conception of Valachan is very different- and possibly a bit closer to canon. It's a region of temperate rain forest and mountains- like Western OR, perhaps.
In that context, the panthers make perfect sense. We've got plenty of panthers back home in Oregon, after all.

Panther= just another name for a North American Mountain Lion, in much of the country. AKA catamount, puma, cougar, lion.

Mexico has both mountain lions and jaguars. Jaguars used to live well inside the boundaries of the US, into the early 19th century.

[Baduin9]

Urik von Kharkov is very definitely a German from Russia, even if black. I would suggest modelling him on a Baltic German nobleman, Baron Ungern von Sternberg, Great Khan of Mongolia and an avatar of Black Mahakala; you will get a poetic madman and liberator-despot ready made.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Ungern_von_Sternberg

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2067/2067-h/2067-h.htm
Beasts, Men and Gods by Ferdinand Ossendowski

"At the entrance my eyes were struck with the sight of a pool of blood that had not yet had time to drain down into the ground—an ominous greeting that seemed to carry the very voice of one just gone before me. I knocked.

"Come in!" was the answer in a high tenor. As I passed the threshold, a figure in a red silk Mongolian coat rushed at me with the spring of a tiger, grabbed and shook my hand as though in flight across my path and then fell prone on the bed at the side of the tent.

"Tell me who you are! Hereabouts are many spies and agitators," he cried out in an hysterical voice, as he fixed his eyes upon me. In one moment I perceived his appearance and psychology. A small head on wide shoulders; blonde hair in disorder; a reddish bristling moustache; a skinny, exhausted face, like those on the old Byzantine ikons. Then everything else faded from view save a big, protruding forehead overhanging steely sharp eyes. These eyes were fixed upon me like those of an animal from a cave. My observations lasted for but a flash but I understood that before me was a very dangerous man ready for an instant spring into irrevocable action.

....

"I ask your pardon. . . . You must understand there are so many traitors! Honest men have disappeared. I cannot trust anybody. All names are false and assumed; documents are counterfeited. Eyes and words deceive. . . . All is demoralized, insulted by Bolshevism. I just ordered Colonel Philipoff cut down, he who called himself the representative of the Russian White Organization. In the lining of his garments were found two secret Bolshevik codes. . . . When my officer flourished his sword over him, he exclaimed: 'Why do you kill me, Tavarisch?' I cannot trust anybody. . . ."


He was silent and I also held my peace.

"I beg your pardon!" he began anew. "I offended you; but I am not simply a man, I am a leader of great forces and have in my head so much care, sorrow and woe!"

.....

"Now I shall tell you about myself, who and what I am! My name is surrounded with such hate and fear that no one can judge what is the truth and what is false, what is history and what myth. Some time you will write about it, remembering your trip through Mongolia and your sojourn at the yurta of the 'bloody General.'"

He shut his eyes, smoking as he spoke, and tumbling out his sentences without finishing them as though some one would prevent him from phrasing them.

"The family of Ungern von Sternberg is an old family, a mixture of Germans with Hungarians—Huns from the time of Attila. My warlike ancestors took part in all the European struggles. They participated in the Crusades and one Ungern was killed under the walls of Jerusalem, fighting under Richard Coeur de Lion. Even the tragic Crusade of the Children was marked by the death of Ralph Ungern, eleven years old. When the boldest warriors of the country were despatched to the eastern border of the German Empire against the Slavs in the twelfth century, my ancestor Arthur was among them, Baron Halsa Ungern Sternberg. ...

"In the beginning of the eighteenth century there was also a well-known Baron Wilhelm Ungern, who was referred to as the 'brother of Satan' because he was an alchemist. My grandfather was a privateer in the Indian Ocean, taking his tribute from the English traders whose warships could not catch him for several years. At last he was captured and handed to the Russian Consul, who transported him to Russia where he was sentenced to deportation to the Transbaikal. I am also a naval officer but the Russo-Japanese War forced me to leave my regular profession to join and fight with the Zabaikal Cossacks. I have spent all my life in war or in the study and learning of Buddhism. My grandfather brought Buddhism to us from India and my father and I accepted and professed it. In Transbaikalia I tried to form the order of Military Buddhists for an uncompromising fight against the depravity of revolution."
...
"In the Buddhistic and ancient Christian books we read stern predictions about the time when the war between the good and evil spirits must begin. Then there must come the unknown 'Curse' which will conquer the world, blot out culture, kill morality and destroy all the people. Its weapon is revolution. During every revolution the previously experienced intellect-creator will be replaced by the new rough force of the destroyer. He will place and hold in the first rank the lower instincts and desires. Man will be farther removed from the divine and the spiritual. The Great War proved that humanity must progress upward toward higher ideals; but then appeared that Curse which was seen and felt by Christ, the Apostle John, Buddha, the first Christian martyrs, Dante, Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe and Dostoyevsky. It appeared, turned back the wheel of progress and blocked our road to the Divinity. Revolution is an infectious disease and Europe making the treaty with Moscow deceived itself and the other parts of the world. The Great Spirit put at the threshold of our lives Karma, who knows neither anger nor pardon. He will reckon the account, whose total will be famine, destruction, the death of culture, of glory, of honor and of spirit, the death of states and the death of peoples. I see already this horror, this dark, mad destruction of humanity."

I would make von Kharkov a representative of an old bloody family of werepanthers, cursed with the involuntary transformation into the black panthers. Von Kharkov made various experiments to destroy the Curse (as he called it). He considered it an intelligent power, a great enemy of the whole humanity, which particularly afflicted his family. Because of this, it was his destiny and duty to be the representative of whole mankind in opposing and defeating it.

His attempts were pretty radical, involving narcotics, a military cult and a lot of deaths - and succeeded to a point. He managed to become a vampire and a Darklord. He liberated Valachan from a cruel barbarian army (servants of the Curse, in his view) and now rules it, but is always suspicious of their counterrattack - and his suspicion is deadly. He is forever battling with the Curse both within himself and in his domain; the second battle is much more successful.

The locals fear and worship him; he is a murderous tyrant, but his opponents were much worse. The history of the domain is not known, because it was destroyed by them; they even forbid people to use their surnames, so that no one knows to which clan and family he belongs. Little remain of the ancient religion, since all priests were killed; von Kharkov, who revived it, is currently its high priest and living god.

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/515.html
http://www.mongoliatoday.com/issue/5/names.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/1998/07/01/mongol.t.php

[ewancummins]

German by way of Russia? Perfect for my version.
My conception of Valachan owes a wee bit to the notion of an alternate Oregon Country in which the Russians, not the Americans or British, became the dominant force. In this view, The Vaasi are sort of Russian-like, and the original Valachani natives [now largely absorbed by the incoming Vassi colonizers] are more like the coastal Indians of the Pacific NW. The tech level is medeival, though, not 19th century.

Isn't that a bit like the offical portrayal? I don't have that GAZ, but aren't there some Haida elements in the Arthaus canon Valachan?




Isabella- I really like your Valachan as Mexico/New Spain idea. I do humbly suggest some name changes are in order, though. Why not give Von Kharkov a Spanish name? Change the names of the towns, as well. Just a suggestion. [/u]

[Isabella]

Isabella- I really like your Valachan as Mexico/New Spain idea. I do humbly suggest some name changes are in order, though. Why not give Von Kharkov a Spanish name? Change the names of the towns, as well. Just a suggestion.

Well, the simple answer there is that I don't know Spanish.

(And given how often some of the names have been mocked around here, I'd like to avoid driving off that road as well.)

If I did give him a Spanish name, I'd prefer to give him a name as close to "Von Kharkov" in sound as possible, simply so I can remember it.

I don't even remember what the original town names are. The old Valachan just seemed... generic to me.

[ewancummins]

Isabella- I really like your Valachan as Mexico/New Spain idea. I do humbly suggest some name changes are in order, though. Why not give Von Kharkov a Spanish name? Change the names of the towns, as well. Just a suggestion.

Well, the simple answer there is that I don't know Spanish.

(And given how often some of the names have been mocked around here, I'd like to avoid driving off that road as well.)

If I did give him a Spanish name, I'd prefer to give him a name as close to "Von Kharkov" in sound as possible, simply so I can remember it.

I don't even remember what the original town names are. The old Valachan just seemed... generic to me.

Well, I'll never make fun of your Spanish name selection, Isabella.


Just flip through a book on New Spain, I'd say.

I'm looking at names, to see if I can help.

Urik is a weird name. I'm not certain it's even a real name to begin with, actually. Ulrich- now that is a real name. I've seen the DL's name shown both ways- Urik and ULrich- which is it?

[The Giamarga]

Well iirc, canon-wise Urik hails from the Forgotten Realms, he was a panther who got turned into a man by a wizard of Thay. That wizard probably also named him. I'll have to reread the short story in Tales of Ravenloft.

[Isabella]

Urik is a weird name. I'm not certain it's even a real name to begin with, actually. Ulrich- now that is a real name. I've seen the DL's name shown both ways- Urik and ULrich- which is it?

It's Urik von Kharkov. When I googled the name Urik I got the a music producer, some facebook profiles, and a town in Russia. So it looks like it's a real name, although in all instances I saw it in it was a last name.

If von Kharkov originally came from some other domain (Markovia, maybe, although that's second ed. and you can't get it for anything these days so I don't actually know anything about it) the name would make sense. But a similar sounding Spanish name would probably be better.

In the end, I feel von Kharkov has to be as much a man as anyone else, or else he makes a poor darklord, so whatever his great sin was, it seems like it should be the crime of a man, not a beast; though he certainly blames it on his bestial nature, it was an act born of pride, or resentment, or jealousy, what he convinced himself he had to do in order to be "civilized." In that regard, Rotipher's story is closer to what I'm looking for than the original, although I don't really feel any sympathy for von Kharkov for that nasty bit of murder. Perhaps something a little more tragic?
His current crimes will probably be based on the acts he takes to modernize his domain and his people, even if he has to oil his machines with blood, so maybe something that ties into that. He'll probably also remain a bit of a control freak, although not nearly to the extent that the nosferatu von Kharkov was.