Ladislav Mircea, darklord of Sanguinia.

[LegallyTired]

Greetings!
I've been reading the forum for a few weeks and I would like to thank you all for giving me back the motivation to start a new RL campaign ( Been over 2 years ).

Here is the problem :

My players entered the domain of Sanguinia after a blizzard forced them to enter an abandonned monastery( located to the south of Fagarus in the mountains).
Horror in a snowy land is a new approach I'd really like to try.

I have a few books in my possession that describe various darklords but none seem to contain Ladislav Mircea. His stats are no interest to me, but the story that surrounds this young prince is somewhat absent in the PHB, Secret of the dread realms and in my 2e books.

Anyone could direct me to a book or could summarize Ladislav's story or motivations?


It would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

-Simon

[Joël of the FoS]

This guy is a mystery so far, as he wasn't really described other then in the Black Box.

There was plan to expand this information, but it hasn't been released yet.

Joël

[LegallyTired]

Oh well, an opportunity to stimulate my dieing imagination.

Thanks, Joel!

[Lucius]

The Ravenloft DMG gives a few lines about Ladislav´s background.

[Igor the Henchman]

Ladislav Mircea's background was very briefly explained in the 3e Ravenloft Dungeon Master's guide. According to it, he was once a cruel and vain prince whose domain was ravaged by plague. Rather than trying to save his unfortunate subjects, he let them to waste away, all the while retreating into his castle with his close friends, to hold feasts and games day in day out. When the plague ended up entering his castle, he began killing his servants and friends as they showed symptoms of the sickness. When he himself ended contracting the disease, he became desperate to find an alchemical cure to save himself - to no avail. He is now a vrykolaka vampire (a creature from Denizens of Dread, a sort of repugnant vampire that spreads disease), and his nights are spent searching for a cure that will triumph over his disease and his undead condition.

[Joël of the FoS]

One could read Masque of the Read Death, the Poe novel.

Joël

[Corrupted_Loremaster]

One could read Masque of the Read Death, the Poe novel.

Joël

Ahah! I knew that part about hiding from a plague by partying in his castle sounded familiar. Man...been years since I read that one...

[Bluebomber4evr]

He's also based on the character of Count Orlock, from the old silent film Nosferatu, starring Max Shreck.

[Jennifer]

Hi all,
the story of retreating from the plague to party in your own secluded spot is also borrowed from the Decameron by Boccaccio. In it a group of young nobles flee plague ridden florence and amuse themselves in a mansion near naples by telling each other stories.

jennifer

[Brandi]

One could read Masque of the Read Death, the Poe novel.

Technical nitpick: novels run around 60,000-100,000 words. I don't think much of Poe's output was that long. Maybe The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym.

Also: the Roger Corman/Vincent Price movie version of Masque is a pretty good example of how a party at Castle Avernus tends to unfold (the finale notwithstanding).

[Joël of the FoS]

Technical nitpick: novels run around 60,000-100,000 words.

*lol* OK, mea culpa

It's because in French we say "nouvelle" for "short story". So it was natural for me to say "novel" for short story in English...

I learned something today

Joël

[Brandi]

It's because in French we say "nouvelle" for "short story". So it was natural for me to say "novel" for short story in English...

Makes sense.

Here's a list-- and probably not a definitive one-- of the different types and lengths of short fiction.