Rudolph van Richten's religion?

[Rotipher of the FoS]

IIRC, Van Helsing's psychiatrist grandson in "Love At First Bite" was Jewish, too (mostly as part of the running 'Dracula-in-New-York' gag). But both movies were cheesy comedies, so they're hardly the best source-material for Ravenloft, unless you're passing out beer around the gaming table.

[Brandi]

Notably, the Van Richten miniature from the old Ral Partha Ravenloft line is unmistakably holding a cross; this is probably to allow the figure to be used in non-Ravenloft horror games, as well as further ramming home the idea that Dennis Mize was watching some Hammer movies when he sculpted the piece...

[eldritch]

I think that celestial bodies like crescent moons, stars, the sun and the like are often depicted as holy symbols especially in a fictional realm where an artist certainly wouldn't want to tread on someone's very real world beliefs. I also think that a cross is acceptable as a non-denominational holy symbol even though it is representative of realworld christianity, it is instantly recognised as such in monster movies etc. (can you imagine the confusion if someone tried to turn a vampire in a flick with a letter G or a picture of a cloud that may represent his or her particular religion?)

Also let us not forget that a cross or two intersecting lines has been used as a holy symbol for thousands of years in the real world long before christianity arose (some of the earliest glyphs and carvings show this symbol) for the simple reason that it is easy to reproduce (try carving some elaborate sun eating the moon depiction on a cave wall sometime) and it is instantly recognizable.

As far as Van Richten goes- he heals without priestly magic using herbs and is a thief by profession so it would appear as though he isn't a devotee of any faith. Now I wonder why his presentments of holy symbols would have worked for him at all? The holy water vials I can understand. any lay person can used such a blessed item. perhaps it was the same for Van Richten and he had a holy symbol blessed by some friendly priest for him to use.

[Scot Storm]

I think the representation of faith in the holy symbol utters powers from "above" to the user like in fright night the vampire says you have to have faith for it to work. I believe Van Richten has no extraordinary abilities as a hero just that the man exploits the weaknesses of creatures he comes into contact with and journals it down. I respect the man but have not found any reference to him taking on a darklord.
Storm

[Rotipher of the FoS]

He tackled two darklords when he escaped from the clutches of the lord of Dominia and then (debatably; the exact outcome depends on random card-drawing) bested Madame Radanavich in "Bleak House". Other than that, I think you're right: Van Richten never officially beat a domain's lord during the course of his monster-hunting career, though he certainly came into indirect contact with them and their plots. That's more a result of his NPC status than his willingness to make the effort, IMO; taking out darklords is such a monumental feat, it's something that the writers of Ravenloft saved for PCs to pull off.

[Kel-nage]

taking out darklords is such a monumental feat, it's something that the writers of Ravenloft saved for PCs to pull off.

And with good reason. Just imagine how the Ravenloft world would look if many of the Darklords had been slain in literature. We'd (as in, PCs) have nothing left to fight against!

[Scot Storm]

I think the world would be inviting any Tom, D___, and Harry to take over the realm. Besides They made it so much as to not let any PC power take over RL because once they defeat the The Darklord they automatically become NPC.
Storm

[Charney]

One thing must be pointed out about Van Richten. When most of the VRG were written, religion in Ravenloft wasn't too clearly defined. The Church of Ezra didn't exist till domains of dread if I'm not mistaking. Some real world faith were there (like Belenus in Forlorn or Ra in the Egyptian domain) but other than that, it was very loose. So the question should be: was Van Richten religious at all? I think that after his son's death, he could have easily lost all faith in a specific church that he might have followed. But a personnal theory of mine is that the Van Richten family comes from Lamordia (based upon a very not darkonian name) so they could be atheists.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

FWIW, there was one very small Van Richten quote that TSR specifically cut out of the IRL compiled re-release of the VRGs. In the second monster-hunter's compendium, the doctor doesn't say a word after he witnesses the haunted carriage driving past the inn, at the intro to Van Richten's Guide to Ghosts. But in the original version, having seen something that horrifying, he can't find anything to say but: "My God".

Granted, the capital 'G' is probably why they cut it, as the implied link to IRL religion would have crossed TSR's boundaries of caution about that sort of thing. But the fact he did utter such a remark in one of the seminal products in which his personality was introduced -- even if we opt to edit it to "My gods", in accordance with game-religion convention -- implies the writers certainly didn't think of Van Richten as an athiest, when they were first developing his character through the Guides.

[Charney]

-- even if we opt to edit it to "My gods", in accordance with game-religion convention -- implies the writers certainly didn't think of Van Richten as an athiest, when they were first developing his character through the Guides.

True but for that matter, lots of my friends say "My God" even if they don't believe. It's just an habit enherited by 2000 years of Christianity. Maybe he should have said: "By Ezra".

[Lord Cyclohexane]

I agree with Charney, "My God" has become a popular turn of phrase, used as an exclamation rather than a declaration of faith. I still catch myself using that every once in a while even though my own views have turned quite polytheistic over the years.

However, if you wish to take it that way, "My God" could indicate van Richten as being monotheistic (or monolatrous) in bent rather than polytheistic, if you choose. It'd be more likely that van Richten would follow the Ezran faith than any other (due to the Ezran precepts of protecting the weak, healing the wounded, etc that van Richten followed in his personal life anyway), as no other faith really seems to fit him. The Halans became very suspicious for him due to his research for "Guide to Witches," the Eternal Order stresses appeasement of the dead rather than directly combating their evil as van Richten did, and none of the other faiths seem to be popular in the area.

But mostly I see large pockets of Ravenloft as being as agnostic as modern day Europe is. It's weird, seeing as medieval cultures in the real-world were heavily steeped in religion, but then again, Ravenloft also has that special distance from the gods that might lead to an earlier acceptance of agnosticism (especially as no faith in Ravenloft has really had a huge influence as compared to the enormous power wielded by Christianity as assumed from the Roman Empire, so there've been no especial pressures toward religiosity). But because of that overall agnostic view that Ravenloft appears to have, I'd assume, as others have said, that Van Richten is ultimately agnostic in his viewpoints, but I'd add that he seems open to and curious about all of the religions out there.

[The Giamarga]

As far as Van Richten goes- he heals without priestly magic using herbs and is a thief by profession so it would appear as though he isn't a devotee of any faith. Now I wonder why his presentments of holy symbols would have worked for him at all? The holy water vials I can understand. any lay person can used such a blessed item. perhaps it was the same for Van Richten and he had a holy symbol blessed by some friendly priest for him to use.

There are special rules for repelling (not turning) vampires with a holy symbol even though you are not a cleric. (in VRGttWD? VRGtV? RLCS?) Then there's the Warding Gesture feat which is kind of similar. And of course the magic item, an amulet that let's you turn as a cleric of level x. (I'm not sure if he owns something like it in the stats he gets in one of the netbooks.)

So mechanically it could eb any of the three. I personally favour the first and Van Richten as an educated semi-agnostic polytheist.

[Jester of the FoS]

I agree that VanRichten would have been a member of the Eternal Order for a while, but this likely changed after he discovered the truth about Azalin and fled the land.

Since he shacked up in Mordent one can assume he had some familiarity with Ezra by the end.
I've always personally assumed that the church of Ezra uses a cross motif in their churches, or rather a symbolic Ezran longsword with the blade down and hilt up. There might be some holy symbols like that...