Café de Nuit

Hey all, I have yet another retrieval of information request for your collected brain cells. You all know so many nifty things... I've been reading Bleak House, which I plan to tie into my ongoing campaign once we reach a suitable year. In the interests of making the PCs care a little about Van Richten, I'm trying to tie in some of the stuff mentioned in the Guides to their day-to-day wandering. The only problem is that I have none of the Guides

What I'm really after is the events of his Guide to the Vistani. I know that he is befriended by and makes peace with the sole survivor of the caravan who stole his son, and the two forgive each other, queing his retirement. But I have no idea how this comes to happen. Could someone give me a quick rundown of the events if they have the info to hand? I assume that it would take a lot to cause the two to see each other as friends, and that's the kind of things PCs can be in on.

Also, what was the nature of his deal with Azalin that led to his monster-hunting life? Bleack House simply says that he makes a deal with dark forces to gain vengeance, but doesn't forsee the consequences. Later in the book he recites part of his side of the conversation he had with Azalin Rex before he was able to attack the caravan at the head of an (almost) army of the undead. How did this deal work? What did Azalin get in return? Why did Van Richten even speak to the darklord about this?

Thanks in advance,
Bloody Morgan

Wow much to cover....

First the Vistana's name is Arturi Radnavich, and he is a darkling, cast from the whole. He is all alone and curse by Van Richten to be chased forever by the undead.

They meet when Arturi sneaks in on the Doctor and explains that they both need to help each other... Both wish to be free of the curse. So Richten needs to forgive the Vistani... to forgive them he needs to learn that they are not evil people... thus the penning of his guide.Richten

After his study of the Vistani he is ready to forgive them. Arturi and he have a blood ritual a blood brother thing.. cut palms etc.

They are transported by the mists to the place of the original Radnavich slaughter. The rotted vardos still remain. The curses are not yet gone. As Arturi torches the remnants of his past Richten fights off the walking dead as they try to complete his curse.

In the end they succeed. As with Loft though... Arturi still has no tasque to return to he is still a lone wanderer, but now both are free of the curse that both had sworn.

Now the guide says just a little bit... The Radnaviches stole Erasmus, sold him to Metus...

As Richten chased them into the night a horde of undead endevored to claim him. Azalin stopped the undeadand made the vistana body arise. Richtens part was to find out if the undead vistana could still travel the mists. Richten wanted revenge and so the undead would obey him this night. Richten took the army to the encampment, found out what had been done and unleashed the undead.

There was no real deal, Richten has never met Azalin. This is the best I can come up with, with the materials I have. If you have more questions I have the guide in front of me.

No, that covers pretty much everything I need. I can see a good few ways to drag my players into that, and get them to care a bit about Van Richten before the whole Bleak House bit. Thanks loads!

Bloody Morgan

Actually, Arturi's not a darkling-- that's a special punishment inflicted by the Vistani on their own who do something really heinous. But Van Richten's curse, which causes him to be pursued by the undead, effectively cuts him off from other Vistani because it's not safe for him to stay in their camps.

[There is, in fact, a specific line in VRG Vistani where Van Richten also first thinks Arturi's a darkling, and then realizes both how mistaken he was and how insulting that would've been to Arturi.]

I believe one of the short stories in Tales of Ravenloft further details the initial encounter with the Radanaviches and start of Van Richten's career.

As for what Azalin got out of the deal, he was annoyed that Strahd's servants were wandering around in his country and so used van Richten to deal with them.

If I remember correctly (I don't have the source with me so someone has to double check this) this "deal" is shown in some way in Bleak House. I think that Van Richten relives the "deal" with Azalin in his mind and the players can hear him speaking.

How he came to befriend him isn't explained in VRGttVistani?

Hey Bloody Morgan,

I can say that a nice way to make your players introduce and Van richten is playing the adventures of Chilling Tales. Although, not too detailed, with a little work of your part they could be a nice addition for your campaign, and slowly make your players have a nice friendship with the doctor.

Hope this helps

Malus Black wrote:As for what Azalin got out of the deal, he was annoyed that Strahd's servants were wandering around in his country and so used van Richten to deal with them.

Actually, it was an opportunity for Azalin to see if an undead Vistana's mist-navigation abilities still worked. Azalin sent the corpse of Van Richten's deceased patient (the one he'd tried unsuccessfully to save) to the doctor as a zombie, and it led Van Richten through the Mists to the Radanavich camp, with a small horde of additional zombies as "backup". Azalin needed Van Richten's participation because he evidently couldn't maintain his inherent control over the zombies, without hampering the Radanavich zombie's mist navigation; instead, the lich ordered the zombies to obey Van Richten's commands, as if the good doctor were their master. Van Richten indeed agreed to accept Azalin's "assistance" in pursuing the Radanaviches, but he didn't know the details or that he would be directing the zombies rather than just getting an escort: he just thought that Darkon's king was miffed at the Radanaviches' thieving and sympathized (yeah, right...) with his son's plight.

Van Richten didn't realize the zombies would do so, but they obeyed him when he confronted the Radanaviches and -- overcome with horror when they told him who (what) they'd sold Erasmus to -- cried out: "Undead take you as you have taken my son!" How much of this was a curse, and how much a simple case of Obedient Dead obeying a command to the letter (even to the point of chasing Arturi for decades), isn't entirely clear; certainly, when a frustrated Van Richten ordered them to leave Arturi alone after he'd befriended the Radanavich survivor, the zombies left off attacking and went away. Curses by non-Vistani aren't usually so easily broken -- it takes more than a reversal on the curse-bestower's part -- so it's possible that the only actual *curse* was the one Madame Radanavich inflicted on Van Richten, not vice versa.

And yet more useful info. Thanks again all. I think I know what I'm doing with this now. As it's only Winter in 740 in my game, the PCs can meet Arturi while he's still running around the Core tormented by the undead, and get his opinion on Van Richten. This would give them a lead for the famous monster hunter, who might be able to help them with some problems they're having - or will be having, very soon. Que dealing with Van Richten, having Arturi as a recurring NPC, and eventually aiding in the two burying the hatchet.

Though hopefully without Van Richten growing too find of any of them

Thanks again,
Bloody Morgan

Rather than adding another thread to the board, I thought I'd put my followup post in here...

I know that the PCs will encounter Arturi near Vallaki, their next stop on their route into Barovia. So I was reading through the writeup in Gaz I for the town, and I see listed in the "notables" sections someone called Lavinia the Blind (Stygian). No class, no race, no other info. Does anyone know who she is?

Bloody Morgan

The name doesn't ring a bell for me-- she might just be a new charater for the GM to work with, much like, say, the Toller of Twelve over in Mayvin.

Bloody Morgan wrote:I see listed in the "notables" sections someone called Lavinia the Blind (Stygian). No class, no race, no other info. Does anyone know who she is?

Yeah, sounds like an NPC invented to give a presence to the Stygians, the secret society from VRA who help lost souls cross over. I doubt there's any more info anywhere on her.

Ok, that tells me plenty. At least I know who the Stygians are now. Thanks again!

Bloody Morgan