Category:Radanavich Family

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The Radanaviches were a clan or subtribe of the Corvara Tribe of the Vistani. Their kidnapping of Erasmus van Richten and sale of him to the vampire Baron Metus caused a chain of events that ultimately led to van Richten becoming the famous hunter of monsters he is today. The Radanavich clan itself met their doom at the hands of Dr. van Richten and a throng of undead given to him by Azalin Rex, but the Radanaviches themselves rose again as undead bent on revenge.

History

Under the leadership of their raunie, Madame Irena Radanavich, the Radanaviches became known for a disregard for morality, for Madame Irena skillfully masterminded many games of con artistry, theft, and kidnapping, and she was a potent seer. She gave birth to several hale and hardy sons, and Irena led the Radanavich clan for over twenty years.[1]

A string of events that would eventually lead to the downfall of the clan began with a botched plot to provide a bride for the Darkonese vampire Baron Metus. Madame Radavich's trusted tarokka deck had revealed the potential for a rich reward should such a prize be delivered. As such, the Radanavich clan planned to kidnap the daughter of another baron. However, the kidnapping was botched, resulting in the dire and unexpected injury of Madame Radanavich's son Radovan. Said injury left him on death's door.[1]

To save her son, Madame Radanavich delivered him to Dr. van Richten, a nearby physician and herbalist of noted skill.[2] However, the wounds proved too great for van Richten to treat, and Radovan perished. Madame Radanavich blamed van Richten for his death, even going so far as to accuse him of deliberately sabotaging Radovan's recovery. With the threat of a Vistani curse put upon his head, Dr. van Richten implored the Radanaviches to take anything they wished, just to leave him be. They did just that, secretly stealing away van Richten's own son, Erasmus, and leaving behind Radovan's corpse as a reminder of the failure to save her own son.[3]

Madame Irena Radavich and her clan delivered Erasmus to Baron Metus, who transformed the boy into a vampire companion. Following this transaction, the Radanaviches returned to Barovia through the Mists, well beyond Dr. van Richten's reach. However, he rode after them anyway (with the corpse of Radovan in tow), before being accosted by the undead minions of Azalin Rex. Van Richten begged the undead to spare his life, at least long enough to save or at least avenge his son upon the Vistani. As he held no love for the Vistani, Azalin granted van Richten not only his wish, but lent him the assistance of his undead. Further, Azalin reanimated Radovan's corpse as a zombie and ordered the Vistana to lead van Richten and Azalin's undead through the Mists to the Radanavich clan's camp.[4]

In Barovia, van Richten confronted the Radanavich clan and demanded the return of his son. Madame Radanavich revealed his son has been sold to Baron Metus. In return, van Richten revealed Radovan's gruesome fate. Horrified and disgusted, Madame Radanavich cursed van Richten to see all those he cared about fall before the monsters that he would encounter in his life, beginning with Erasmus. She then revealed Baron Metus was a vampire, and soon Erasmus would be his eternal slave. In anger and grief, van Richten cursed her and the entire Radanavich clan in return to be hunted by the undead, and ordered Azalin's undead to attack. A bloodbath ensued. Sensing the depth of his transgression, Dr. van Richten tried to call off the undead, but they did not relent.[5] All of the Radanaviches were eventually slain, save for Arturi Radanavich, a young child who hid in one of the wagons.[6][7]

Madame Radanavich rose from the grave as a ghost, simmering with hatred for van Richten. Her dead kin rose again as ghouls and cannibal zombies in service to her in undeath as in life. They eventually drifted to the now abandoned Richten Haus, where Madame Irena plotted her final revenge against van Richten for many years. She learned from the Gentleman Caller how to conjure the spirits of Dr. van Richten's fallen companions, and her evil caused her to become the darklord of Richten Haus.

Meanwhile, Dr. van Richten grew old hunting monsters, witnessing death after death of many of his fellow monster hunters, unaware they were influenced by the curse put upon him by Madame Irena. It was many years before he discovered its effects thanks to a diviner. Dr. van Richten subsequently fell into a deep depression, one from which he would not recover until he was approached by a now grown Arturi Radanavich to reconcile van Richten with the Vistani and remove both their curses. With Arturi's aid, van Richten studied with and learned about the Vistani and published Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani in 742 BC. The curse Madame Radanavich put upon van Richten was removed by Arturi, and in turn Arturi was freed from the curse van Richten put upon his clan. At last, van Richten retired from his long career of monster hunting to his herb shop in Mordentshire.[8][9]

Madame Irena conspired with Baron Metus and Dr. Dominiani to drive Dr. van Richten mad at the Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed. However, adventurers helped Dr. van Richten to escape, and together they confronted Madame Irena and the undead Radanaviches at Richten Haus. The exact events that played out are unknown, but Dr. van Richten seemingly met his doom inside the house, as did the Radanaviches.[10]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Bleak House: Heroes, Monsters, and Settings p. 15
  2. Bleak House: Heroes, mend, and Settings p. 16
  3. Tales of Ravenloft p. 8-9
  4. ToR p. 1-13
  5. ToR p. 13-16
  6. Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani p. 6
  7. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 98
  8. Van Richten's Guide to the Vistani p. 4-6, 86-90
  9. Van Richten's Monster Hunter's Compendium III p. 98-99, 177-180
  10. The events of van Richten's confrontation with Madame Radanvich are played out in the Bleak House boxed set, allowing for multiple possibilities in the ultimate end of the Radanaviches and van Richten. In all of them, van Richten seems to be claimed by the spirit of Richten Haus. Later game products seem to assume van Richten never emerged from Richten Haus, as he is missing and presumed to be deceased by the Weathermay-Foxgrove Twins. The Radanaviches either become truly deceased or are swallowed by Richten Haus.

Pages in category "Radanavich Family"

The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total.