Boyar Gregor Zolnik

Boyar Gregor Zolnik is an NPC villain from the Ravenloft campaign setting. In universe, he is a Loup du Noir and darklord of Vorostokov. He rules from the Boyar's hall in the village of Vorostokov. He murdered his former wife Ireena Vladimir and her family, the seminal event that caused the duchy of Vorostokov to become a domain in the Demiplane of Dread.

Biography

The young hero emerges

Born in a backward duchy in the Grovinekevic Forest of northern Cerilia, Gregor is the son of Antonina Zolnik and brother of Natalya and Elena Zolnik. In the middle of a particularly harsh winter that could bring ruination to the people of his own village, the young hunter sought a way to ensure the survival of his people. Based on a legend he heard as a child, Gregor ritually consumed a wolf and took its power and skill. Using its pelt, he took its form, thereby becoming a loup du noir, a type of werewolf. Using his newfound abilities, he ensured not only the survival of his family but of everyone in the village of Vorostokov. Nightly, Gregor donned the pelt that allowed his transformation into beast and hunted.

With the arrival of the following winter, Gregor's fame spread across the duchy, and Duke Andrei Vladimir personally gave him a visit. During this visit, Gregor met and fell in love with the duke's daughter Ireena. At Ireena's insistence, she and Gregor were married. Given a noble title, Gregor came to live at the duke's estate and lent his skills an an expert hunter. Unfortunately, the primal call of Gregor's nightly transformation and hunt were by now too much to resist, so he stole away last night to perform his hunts in secret. Ireena believed Gregor's nightly absences to be the result of an illicit affair, filling her with jealous anger. In her jealousy, she took on a a young noble as her lover in revenge. Gregor discovered the tryst and secretly murdered Ireena's lover while in wolf form.

The hero's corruption

The duke called upon Gregor to find the wolf that killed the nobleman. Gregor went off to hunt but of course found no so beast. After Ireena entered another affair with a second lover, Gregor's anger caused him to go on a rampage throughout the duke's castle. He killed not only took the life of Ireena's lover but also Ireena, an innocent maid, Duke Vladimir, and many others in the castle. This mass murder brought the Mists to claim the domain of Vorostokov. After Gregor awakened to human form from his blood frenzy, he had returned to his home village, he found the land wrapped in eternal winter. For the first time, he found that he could not bring food back to support his people save for one circumstance. Gregor could find prey but only when that prey was human. Thus, Gregor began to hunt the people of the surrounding villages and hamlets. The year of Vorostokov's arrival in the Demiplane of Dread was 731 BC.

Gregor's ultimate corruption did not affect him alone. Gregor's mother and sisters also became touched by darkness, but not in the same way. Rather than become lycanthropes, they practiced witchcraft to support Gregor's dark desires. It was also they that cooked the tainted meat (always called "caribou", "elk", or some other beast rather than human.) Moreover, Gregor hunted but refused to allow others to hunt in "his" forests, murdering those that disobeyed this taboo.

Eventually, Yuri Pedorov and a band of rebels opposed Gregor's. Gregor would have killed them all, had Antonina cautioned restraint for more hunters were needed in order for their people to survive. Instead of merely massacring them, he led them to a cave where he transformed into a wolf and tore Yuri apart. Yuri's former followers found their weapons could not harm him, and they went running in all directions. He wiped out the cowards among their number who simply begged for mercy. However, to those who showed bravery in the face of doom, Gregor offered the "gift" of lycanthropy (rather than death) to those who entered his service. In order to further solidify his power, Gregor established his own personal force of thugs and enforcers, the Boyarsky. He infected many of their ranks with lycanthropy, effectively many of them his thralls.

Gregor's second love

As he gained control over the domain, Gregor met and fell in love with a woman from Torgov named Sasha. taking her as his wife. Terrified of his might and potential wrath, Sasha acquiesced to go back with him and marry. Gregor was a doting husband, and together they had two children, Alexei and Mikhail Zolknik. However, not all was well within the family. Gregor disappeared every night for reasons unknown to Sasha, but Gregor forbid mention of his nightly leaves of absence. Moreover, Gregor made his mother, Antonina jealous of all the attention he gave his wife and his sons.

Alexei proved to be a bold and brave son. At the age of 18, Alexei was chosen by his father to join the boyarsky, which included transformation into a loup du noir. Antonina knew of this and, tempting Sasha with the forbidden knowledge of where her husband went nightly, purposefully egging on Sasha to visit the spot where the transformation was to take place. As the boyars donned their wolf pelts and transformed, they noticed Sasha's presence and gave chase. Trying to escape, she fell from a cliff and died. Deducing Antonina's betrayal, Gregor noticed Antonina's smell on Sasha's body, so he tracked Antonina down and murdered her. In response, Gregor's sisters abandoned him and disappeared. The year was 754 BC.

Sources

Boyar Gregor Zolnik was first presented in the sourcebook Darklords, where the basics of his past and present were established. In that accessory, his

Statistics

Male human werewolf, Ranger 9, Chaotic Evil, CR 14

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Domains of Dread Dark of the Moon Darklords
		Domains of Dread - p99 Dark of the Moon - p25 Darklords - p91
		Domains of Dread - pp99-100 Dark of the Moon - p56 Darklords - p94
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p7 Ravenloft Third Edition - pp18,155 Domains of Dread - pp99-100 Dark of the Moon - pp5-8,24-25,33,53-56 Darklords - pp90-94