Gabrielle Aderre

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Gabrielle Aderre, with her daughter Lucita
Gabrielle Aderre, with her daughter Lucita

Born in the approximate year of 710 BC[1], Gabrielle Aderre is the darklord of Invidia, though her rule over her domain is severely challenged by her son Malocchio Aderre, whom she conceived with the Gentleman Caller as the father. Malocchio is widely considered to be the prophesied Dukkar who will bring about the destruction of the Vistani.[2]

Gabrielle Aderre is no pushover herself. A cruel and manipulative quarter-vistani. Gabrielle is a sorcerer who can cast enchantment spells as gaze attacks. After willingly allowing her mother to be torn apart by a werewolf, Gabrielle was taken by the Mists to Invidia, where she used her evil eye to slay Bakholis, its werewolf darklord. Gabrielle succeeded him as the temporal leader and darklord of the domain.[3]

Gabrielle is the daughter of Isabella Aderre and Vlad Drakov. It is said that her Tarokka deck is the oldest in the Land of the Mists, and that it has passed on from mother to daughter from Madame Eva[4], which hints at the possibility that Gabrielle is a direct descendant of Eva herself. Isabella looked into the possible future of her daughter and warned Gabrielle to sire no child.[3]

She is the mother to Malocchio and Lucita Aderre and the lover of Matton Blanchard and Ardonk Szerieza, and resides in Castle Hunadora.

Known aliases include: Frau Braun[5]

History

Before Becoming a Darklord

Raised by her mother Isabella in a nomadic lifestyle typical of their ancestors, Gabrielle never knew her father. She held intense curiosity about him and even fantasized of whom he could be.[6][3][7][8] However, Isabella only said he was a very evil man and that Gabrielle was the heir of some of that evil. Furthermore, Isabella granted her a prophetic warning, to never bear children, for it will only bring disaster to her and all those around her. Isabella only meant to be helpful, but Gabrielle took dire offense. In her heart, Gabrielle eventually became estranged from her mother.[9][10][6][3][7][8]


Tragedy struck the family when Gabrielle was 19.[9][10][6][3][7][8] In Arkandale[9][10][6], Gabrielle and Isabella were assaulted by a werewolf. Isabella called for Gabrielle's aid, but Gabrielle refused until Isabella told her the complete truth about her father. Isabella relinquished and revealed that Gabrielle's father was a wealthy Falkovnian whom owned Isabella as a slave. Isabella eventually escaped, but not before she was raped and left with child by the Falkovnian. Gabrielle rejected the revelation as a lie and abandoned her mother to be eaten by the werewolf.[10][6][3][7][8]

As Gabrielle fled the scene, the Mists surrounded her and brought her to Invidia. She was captured by the minions of Bakholis and brought before him. She rendered the arrogant tyrant helpless with her Evil Eye and then struck him down with her silver dagger. Following Bakholis' demise, Gabrielle became "heir" to the title of darklord of Invidia.[9][10][6][3][7][8] The year was 729 BC.[11]

Gabrielle's Rise

The death of Bakholis inspired a peasant rebellion. The Citadel was set ablaze, and Bakholis' regime was quickly dismantled. Gabrielle became, as pronounced by the people, temporal leader in his place.[1]

Though Gabrielle now ruled, her rule was not a firm or even wholeheartedly organized one. Gabrielle used her power primarily to buy her comfort. Though cursed to personally never harm a Vistani, Gabrielle instituted a disorganized persecution of the people whom she bitterly hated for causing Isabella, and by extension Gabrielle, to live in poverty and exile.[1] Meanwhile, she personally acted as a provocateur of malevolence by turning those living in love and happiness against each other through deception, temptation, and manipulation. She manipulated many lovers over the years[9][10][6][3][7][8], yet few came to truly love her. Matton Blanchard, a wolfwere, was a notable exception.[12][13][1]

And Fall

Gabrielle ruled more or less as above for several years. In 746 BC[14] , a new lover entered Gabrielle's life. This new suitor was in fact, a demonic agent of chaos and evil, the incubus known as the Gentleman Caller.[15] The Gentleman Caller completely enraptured Gabrielle, turning her against Matton Blanchard. Badly beaten by the Gentleman Caller, Matton was cast aside.[12] Now without rival, the Gentleman Caller left Gabrielle pregnant with his seed before departing, leaving Gabrielle with only fond if hazy memories of their encounter. In the spring of 747 BC, Gabrielle gave birth to their child.[14]

From early on after discovering his nature, Gabrielle intended to raise her son to be a weapon of genocide against the Vistani people that had wronged her. Malocchio matured unnaturally quickly and took to the role like a fish in water. If anything, Gabrielle was too effective in building a hatred of the Vistani within her son.[12][3][16][14]

Within months, Malocchio rebelled against his mother's authority, usurping her authority and rendering her servants disloyal using his mystical talents. He imprisoned, tortured, and gaslighted his mother before leaving her to die in a bloody heap during the following Carnival of Karina of 747 BC[14] However, the still loyal Matton Blanchard discovered his fallen lover and nursed her back to health over the following winter.[8] Meanwhile, Malocchio used mystical manipulation and bloody terror to usurp Gabrielle's power and create a more united Invidia than it ever was under Gabrielle's rule. Unlike his mother's, Malocchio's persecution of the Vistani was a highly organized pogrom of extermination. The Invidians, bolstered by a mercenary force hired by Malocchio, butchered and scattered to the winds the majority of Vistani and giomorgos within Invidia.[17]

Resurgence

Although Gabrielle had been cast down, she was quick to seize ways of striking back. Matton Blanchard began recruiting wolfwere allies from Kartakass to use against Malocchio's forces. In 748 BC, the Gundarakite rebel leader Ardonk Szerieza rose to prominence[18], eventually gaining leadership of the oppressed Gundarakites in Barovia. As the Gundarakites were similarly oppressed by Malocchio in Invidia, Gabrielle Aderre was quick to exploit the situation. She beguiled him, and they began an illicit affair. Gabrielle gained a valuable tool to manipulate the Gundarakites with. By the middle of 750 BC, Gabrielle and the Gundarakites had seized control of Castle Hunadora. They repulsed Malocchio's attempts at retaliation.[19]

In the later part of 752 BC, Gabrielle learned of her pregnancy, though she did not know the father. Lucita Aderre was born Aderre's second child.[8]

Current Sketch

For Gabrielle, Lucita is both a thing of joy and a potential cause of ruin. As the young girl ages, she will reveal Gabrielle's infidelity to either Matton Blanchard or Ardonk Szerieza by whether she eventually manifests as a shapechanging wolfwere or not. To add fuel to the fire, Gabrielle is conflicted over whom she wants to be the father. She loves Matton but not Ardonk, yet she hopes Lucita will not be a wolfwere.[20]

Gabrielle is cursed to never be able to directly attack the Vistani nor afflict them with her spells or powers. Even giomorgos and others with Vistani blood are afforded some protection against her attacks and mystical abilities. However, this curse does not prevent her from directing her servants and pawns to attack the Vistani and their descendants.[21][22][23][13][24][25]

In addition to the above curse, Gabrielle is burdened with the knowledge that her imprisonment within Invidia prevents her from ever learning more about the identity of her father.[3]

Sources

Gabrielle has been with Ravenloft ever since its first published as a campaign setting in the Realm of Terror (" Black Boxed Set"). The information from RoT was later republished in the Ravenloft Campaign Setting (" Red Boxed Set ") several years later.

Gabrielle's background was expanded upon in the 1995 adventure module the Evil Eye. In this source, the previously unnamed werewolf darklord of Invidia is given a name (Bakholis). Gabrielle's explicit abandonment of her mother and the reasoning behind it were introduced for the first time. In addition, Gabrielle's tryst with the Gentleman Caller as part of the module's background. Two figures of importance to Gabrielle's present state, Matton Blanchard and Malocchio Aderre, are introduced for the first time. The Evil Eye plays out the events of Malocchio's emergence and rebellion against his mother during the Carnival of Karina.

Information from the Evil Eye was incorporated into the third iteration of Ravenloft campaign setting, Domains of Dread. In the version of Invidia, Malocchio has seized control over Invidia, and Gabrielle Aderre is described as co-opting a Gundarakite resistance movement. Elsewhere in the book, a new figure, Ardonk Szerieza is mentioned for the first time. However, explicit details of Gabrielle's beguiling tryst with Ardonk were not given in canon sources until the publication of Gazetteer IV.

For the most part, the sources have not explicitly contradicted each other. However, there is one noticeable contradiction exists between the Red Boxed set and the Evil Eye and sources post-dating it. In the Red Boxed Set, Gabrille Aderre grows up despising her father.[10] In the Evil Eye and sources post-dating it, Gabrielle grows up dreamily fantasizing about who might have been.[6][3][7][8]

Statistics

2nd Edition

3rd Edition

TSR Collector Card

Gabrielle Aderre's TSR 1991 Collector Card number is 481.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gazetteer IV p. 46
  2. ↑ Domains of Dread p.53-55
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 Domains of Dread p.53
  4. ↑ Forbidden Lore Waking Dream p. 4
  5. ↑ The Evil Eye p.28
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 The Evil Eye p. 4
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 28
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Gazetteer IV p. 145
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Realm of Terror (Black Box) p. 89
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p. 43
  11. ↑ Domains of Dread p.17
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 The Evil Eye p. 5
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Domains of Dread p.54
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Gazetteer IV p. 147
  15. ↑ The Evil Eye p. 59
  16. ↑ Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 28-29
  17. ↑ Gazetteer IV p. 148
  18. ↑ Gazetteer I, p 19.
  19. ↑ Gazetteer IV p. 47-49
  20. ↑ Gazetteer IV p. 145-146
  21. ↑ Realm of Terror (Black Box) p. 90
  22. ↑ Ravenloft Campaign Setting: Domains and Denizens (Red Box) p. 44
  23. ↑ The Evil Eye p. 61
  24. ↑ Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 30
  25. ↑ Gazetteer IV p. 146
  26. ↑ Secrets of the Dread Realms p. 27
  27. ↑ Gazetteer IV p. 144

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

Secrets of the Dread Realms
Ravenloft Third Edition
Domains of Dread
The Evil Eye

Secrets of the Dread Realms - p29
Domains of Dread - p53
Realm of Terror - p89
The Evil Eye - pp53,60

Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp27-30
Domains of Dread - p53
Realm of Terror - pp89-90
The Evil Eye - pp60-61

Secrets of the Dread Realms - pp7,27-30,61
Ravenloft Third Edition - pp17,124
Domains of Dread - p53-54
Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp17-18,43-44
The Evil Eye - pp3-4, 28-29, 33, 33, 49-55, 57, 59-61
Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Realm of Terror - p130
Forbidden Lore: Oaths of Evil - p31
Realm of Terror - pp89-90

Frau Braun


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