Duchess Dorfniya Dilisnya

Duchess Dorfniya Dilisnya was nobly born in Prime Material Barovia in the 289 BC. She married Pidlwik Dilisnya and bore him four children, Reinhold in 310 BC, Gertrude in 315 BC, Oleka in 317 BC and Leo Dilisnya in 320 BC. Leo was in fact fathered by Gunther Cosco. There were at least nine grandchildren, among them Lovina Wachter. Pidlwik developed an intense hatred for the von Zaroviches that he passed on to her son Leo. She died in 340 BC, survived by her husband and children. Bizarrely enough, she was buried in the catacombs beneath Castle Ravenloft. His grave is emblazoned with the moniker "Fool of Dorfinya", for Pidlwik was fooled into raising Gunther's illegitimate children as his own.

In Curse of Strahd

In this 5th Edition revamp of the classic Ravenloft module, the term "Fool of Dilisnya" is interpreted differently for that module's take on him. Pidlwick was literally the fool, or jester, of Duchess Dorfinya, not her cuckolded husband. In CoS' version of Barovian history, Duchess Dorfinya's unidentified husband died first, leaving her a widow. She subsequently tried to win the love of Strahd von Zarovich, but she did not succeed. During her frequent visits to Castle Ravenloft, she brought Pidlwick with her, and the jester always amused Tatyana Federovna and Sergei von Zarovich. In an effort to please the Von Zarovich Family, Dorfinya commissioned Fritz von Weerg to construct a clockwork toy duplicate, Pidlwick II.

Unfortunately, the madness of its creator seeped into Pidlwick II, and it was both creepy and not a capable entertainer. The construct murdered its human counterpart and made it look like an accident.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Realm of Terror
		Roots of Evil - p90 Download Now! House of Strahd - p54 Realm of Terror - p123 Ravenloft I6 - p28