Imagery, Motifs, and Themes of Barovia
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 9:28 am
In my Curse of Strahd game, I've been working to flesh out Barovia and make it seem like a dying land, struggling to survive under the dark weight of Strahd. But more importantly, the module wants the players to see what Strahd has done to the land and feel compelled to do something about it. Some of the descriptive text comments on how buildings are old and falling apart, rotting away, as though tainted by their very nature. I've been building off of that to work the motifs into the plot. I've introduced a few things that are linked to Barovia's nature:
1. Balinok, the Black Wolf
The mountains are named after this wolf, said to be the predatory spirit of the land. The mountain ranges are her teeth jutting up through the land as she closes her jaws on it. I have a physical, supernatural black dire wolf that can command wolf packs within Barovia and serves Strahd. Lycanthropy is a curse originally spread by Balinok, such that the werewolves in Barovia are now tied to this theme of predation.
2. The Wendigo
Though I have not explicitly named it as such, I visually described it like the dream sequence Wendigo from the Hannibal television series. This creature represents hunger, starvation, and desperation. In traditional Algonquian folklore, the Wendigo is tied to cannibalism. The party first encountered the Wendigo in the Dreadpass. It never outright attacked them, but instead attempted to wittle down their resolve and force them to consume their resources, leading them on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night. Every time they've seen it, the creature has been ravenously eating something.
3. Chernobog
Also not named as such, I described him as the Chernobog depicted in the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia. He was a gargantuan creature perched atop a mountain, casting a great shadow over the land. Later, he was seen as a smaller, humanoid-sized form. In all cases, only the spellcasters have seen him. I have used him to represent the temptation of forbidden and dark knowledge.
What would you do with these? Would you change anything? Flesh anything out? Are there other themes you think could be explored through motifs not mentioned here?
ADDENDUM: What does Strahd represent and how can this be mirrored in Barovia? Here are some theming ideas from a post below.
1. A vampire drains the life of its target and always hungers for more. The populace should probably be shown to be resource-starved in most cases, as Strahd drains them. Tied to this is the Wendigo above, that is a manifestation of the starved land and populace. Such people are driven to desperation and unthinkable measures to survive. Probably worthwhile to show a direct link between Strahd and the resource drain. I have most towns/villages know that Strahd has increased taxes overtime, but they see no real money put back into Barovia. What becomes of it, they don't know.
2. Strahd, specifically, is seen as something of a predator; he doesn't truly understand his "love" for Tatyana and it comes off more like he is greedy and jealous when he kills Sergei. I use the wolves to represent the predation, making them unusually intelligent, to the point where they seem to target specific individuals. Focusing on the current Tatyana, I make sure that Strahd comes off as dominating an abusive relationship, even as she defends him (see #4 below). I highly recommend watching Marvel's Jessica Jones and taking notes on Killgrave's depiction.
3. Vampires of Strahd's kind also tend to be viewed as handsome or beautiful; their eternally young forms are but a veneer that hides the undead horror beneath. Castle Ravenloft should, in my opinion, be written in the opposite manner as usual. It's currently written, in nearly all incarnations, as a ruined testament to a once-glorious age. Strahd should spend considerable time and effort maintaining the castle or, at least, maintaining the parts of the castle that any guests would see. It needs to look glorious and beautiful, but hide the dungeons below. Alternatively, mask the ruined portions with elaborate illusions.
4. Vampires are charming and can dominate the wills of lesser beings. There could be some level of strange adoration of Strahd (including the current Tatyana to tie this in to #2), enhanced by a certain amount of iron law. Despite strict laws and harsh punishments, some of the people could be clearly shown to completely excuse his actions, defending him regardless of what he's done. Behind it all, though, there would be an undercurrent of fear if the people believe that disobeying Strahd will lead to a terrible fate.
1. Balinok, the Black Wolf
The mountains are named after this wolf, said to be the predatory spirit of the land. The mountain ranges are her teeth jutting up through the land as she closes her jaws on it. I have a physical, supernatural black dire wolf that can command wolf packs within Barovia and serves Strahd. Lycanthropy is a curse originally spread by Balinok, such that the werewolves in Barovia are now tied to this theme of predation.
2. The Wendigo
Though I have not explicitly named it as such, I visually described it like the dream sequence Wendigo from the Hannibal television series. This creature represents hunger, starvation, and desperation. In traditional Algonquian folklore, the Wendigo is tied to cannibalism. The party first encountered the Wendigo in the Dreadpass. It never outright attacked them, but instead attempted to wittle down their resolve and force them to consume their resources, leading them on a wild goose chase in the middle of the night. Every time they've seen it, the creature has been ravenously eating something.
3. Chernobog
Also not named as such, I described him as the Chernobog depicted in the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia. He was a gargantuan creature perched atop a mountain, casting a great shadow over the land. Later, he was seen as a smaller, humanoid-sized form. In all cases, only the spellcasters have seen him. I have used him to represent the temptation of forbidden and dark knowledge.
What would you do with these? Would you change anything? Flesh anything out? Are there other themes you think could be explored through motifs not mentioned here?
ADDENDUM: What does Strahd represent and how can this be mirrored in Barovia? Here are some theming ideas from a post below.
1. A vampire drains the life of its target and always hungers for more. The populace should probably be shown to be resource-starved in most cases, as Strahd drains them. Tied to this is the Wendigo above, that is a manifestation of the starved land and populace. Such people are driven to desperation and unthinkable measures to survive. Probably worthwhile to show a direct link between Strahd and the resource drain. I have most towns/villages know that Strahd has increased taxes overtime, but they see no real money put back into Barovia. What becomes of it, they don't know.
2. Strahd, specifically, is seen as something of a predator; he doesn't truly understand his "love" for Tatyana and it comes off more like he is greedy and jealous when he kills Sergei. I use the wolves to represent the predation, making them unusually intelligent, to the point where they seem to target specific individuals. Focusing on the current Tatyana, I make sure that Strahd comes off as dominating an abusive relationship, even as she defends him (see #4 below). I highly recommend watching Marvel's Jessica Jones and taking notes on Killgrave's depiction.
3. Vampires of Strahd's kind also tend to be viewed as handsome or beautiful; their eternally young forms are but a veneer that hides the undead horror beneath. Castle Ravenloft should, in my opinion, be written in the opposite manner as usual. It's currently written, in nearly all incarnations, as a ruined testament to a once-glorious age. Strahd should spend considerable time and effort maintaining the castle or, at least, maintaining the parts of the castle that any guests would see. It needs to look glorious and beautiful, but hide the dungeons below. Alternatively, mask the ruined portions with elaborate illusions.
4. Vampires are charming and can dominate the wills of lesser beings. There could be some level of strange adoration of Strahd (including the current Tatyana to tie this in to #2), enhanced by a certain amount of iron law. Despite strict laws and harsh punishments, some of the people could be clearly shown to completely excuse his actions, defending him regardless of what he's done. Behind it all, though, there would be an undercurrent of fear if the people believe that disobeying Strahd will lead to a terrible fate.