The Land: Borca lies in the green, rugged valleys northwest of Barovia, where the vegetation grows wild and lush. In spring and summer, drifts of wildflowers blanket the hillsides. Natives are quick to notify visitors to Borca that they should avoid any water or fruit with a purplish tinge to it. This coloring is a sign of poison.
Barovia's snowcapped peaks, Mounts Ghakis and Baratak, loom on the southeastern horizon, sometimes flanking the rising sun. To the north stands Mount Gries, the tallest peak within the domain.
Borca has four settlements of noteworthy size: Lechberg, population fifty-five hundred; Levkarest, population eighty-five hundred; Sturben, population two thousand; and Vor Ziyden, population one thousand. The Boritsis, a wealthy family that owns virtually the entire domain, built their opulent estates near Levkarest, in the southern region of Borca. The area boasts several public hot springs, but Ivana Boritsi reserves the pools near her chateau for her private use. The Great Cathedral of the Church of Ezra is located in this city.
The second most important family in the domain, the Dilisnyas (distant cousins of the Boritsis), lives on an estate at the edge of Shadow Rift, near Lechberg. Other estates are scattered across the land, though none rival the overwrought beauty of the Boritsi estate.
Cultural Level: Chivalric.
The Folk: Most Borcans are extremely poor, having been heavily taxed by the aristocracy. Often, the people have a sullen and resigned air about them. They speak a dialect of Balok, although most Borcans are also fluent in the fashionable tongue spoken in Dementlieu.
Although it might not appear so on the surface, the aristocracy of Borca are not much better off than the serfs who work the estates - all are tenants of Ivana Boritsi. While many Borcans might feel they could be happier or more prosperous in another domain, few attempt to relocate. Legend has it that any who drink the water of Borca and try to leave will die at the border. Enough cases of this happening have been documented to keep most people from testing the claims.
As for clothing, the peasants favor somber browns, while the aristocracy mostly wear black. On festive occasions, however, peasantry and nobles alike typically dress in bright colors. Here, fashions among the rich are generally a year or two behind those of Dementlieu.
The Law: With the exception of Lechberg and the lands of the Dilisnya estate, Borca is the undisputed property of Ivana Boritsi. The aristocracy here is aristocracy in name only, as they rent their land from Ivana and, in turn, collect rent from the peasants who farm their estates. The other two territories are held by Ivan Dilisnya, Ivana's cousin and head of the "police force" that collects her rent.
At one time, Ivana's police force was scrupulously honest, collecting only the rents that were rightfully hers. However, roughly ten years ago, her distant cousin Ivan Dilisnya assumed control of the police force. Ever since, corruption has run rampant. If muscle or justice is wanted, it must be bought. Bribes, in fact, are required for every political favor, be it simple information, "free" passage on the roads, protection, or actually keeping enough crops to feed one's children. Power means knowing the right people and serving them well. No one dares lay a hand on Dilisnya or Boritsi, however. Those who have tried it have perished in their sleep.
Ivan's strong-arming lawmen are 1st-level fighters who wear leather armor and wield halberds or clubs.
Native Player Characters: Any character class allowed in Ravenloft is allowed in Borca. However, characters only receive half the normal starting money. Borcan natives receive the herbalism nonweapon proficiency for free and two native languages: Balok and the native tongue of Dementlieu.
Personalities of Note: The single most important figure in Borca is Ivana Boritsi. The natives of Borca call her the Black Widow, for her love is a fatal affliction. In Borca, a mother's greatest fear is that Ivana will fancy her handsome, young son and literally love him to death.
Also, a place known only as the House of Lament recently appeared in the southwestern region of Borca. Haunted by a beautiful spirit named Mara, this dangerous estate is shunned by all - and with good reason. (Details on this Pocket domain are given in Chapter Four: Clusters and Pockets.)
Encounters: Those who visit Borca should beware of the ermordenung Nostalia Romaine, whose touch is literally death. She is fully described in the RAVENILOFT Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II. Otherwise, by day or night characters have a 25% chance for an encounter with some of Borca's rich array of wildlife - from brown bears and wolves to wild boars and poisonous snakes. Additionally, the spirits of both Ivana's and Ivan's victims often linger near their death sites. Thus, ghosts, haunts, and poltergeists are disturbingly common here.
Borca is a domain that is prison to more than one darklord. Both of these evil individuals are described below.
Ivana Boritsi
0-Level Human, Chaotic Evil
| Armor Class | 10 | Str | 8 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 11 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 0 | Con | 22 | ||||
| Hit Points | 8 | Int | 14 | ||||
| THAC0 | 20 | Wis | 10 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 1 | Cha | 17 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | By weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Poison kiss | ||||||
| Special Defences | See below | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
Ivana is a lovely woman with deep blue eyes and black hair that tumbles over her shoulders in waving tresses. Although Ivana is now well into her sixties, she still looks eighteen. She dresses in alluring clothing, both accentuating her beauty and masking the black heart within her. Her innocent appearance reveals nothing of her power, and she uses this to cruel advantage. She loves nothing more than to enter a crowded tavern, play the helpless female, and incite several men to fight to the death for her favor. Unfortunately, the victor is not likely to enjoy the fruits of triumph for more than a few minutes. Her kiss is as poisonous as that of a black widow.
Due to her curse, Ivana lips and fingernails are a deep blue, but she is a master at makeup, so few have ever even noticed this. When she sleeps, Ivana takes on the outward appearance of a victim of her own poison. Her skin becomes a mottled gray, her throat and face swell, and her veins protrude, leaving a dark maze of lines over her body.
Background: Ivana is the daughter of Klaus Boritsi and Camille Dilisnya. Her mother was the first lord of Borca, and Ivana was born five years after the domain joined the Core in 684 on the Barovian calendar. Ivana never knew her father. He was one of her mother's many husbands who disappeared due to Camille's habit of poisoning her men when they angered her.
As she grew up, Ivana's mother taught her to mistrust males, yet there remained in her heart a yearning to love and be loved. At age seventeen, she met a young bard named Pieter and was fascinated by his gift for verse and recitation. Even more interesting to her, Pieter loved art above all else and seemed unimpressed by Ivana's startling beauty. She began to woo him in earnest, but to no avail. At last, attempting to understand the power art and poetry had over him, she became smitten with the purity of his artistry. She saw in it a charm and grace that she could never hope to find in herself and fell madly in love with Pieter in the process. When Ivana learned to love his art, Pieter finally began to love her back.
It might have been a happy ending for the pair, but Camille jealously put an end to the young lovers' bliss. She came to Pieter's bed in darkness and tricked him into believing she was her daughter. As they lay together, Ivana came upon them and was shattered by the perceived betrayal of her true love. Camille insisted that Pieter had seduced her and expected Ivana to follow in the family tradition and kill him. She was not disappointed.
Ivana bought a magical contact poison from a necromancer, which became toxic when mixed with the natural fluids of the user's body. It had no effect on her when she wore it, but it was horribly noxious to anyone else. She applied it to her lips and then poisoned her lover with a kiss. Camille sneered at Pieter's "unfaithfulness" and told Ivana that murdering him was the right thing to do. She ignored her daughter's resentment toward her in the matter, and it festered until Ivana at last poisoned Camille in the year 711. The dark powers were well pleased with the depth of her wrath, so they rendered her mortal kiss permanent and made her lord of Borca.
Current Sketch: Ivana is bitter to the core. She destroys relationships wherever she goes and poisons all men who court her. In the meantime, she lives an excessively luxurious lifestyle, supported by her phalanx of "rent collectors", who are nothing more than thugs running a protection racket. She strings them all along by promising that the man who makes her wealthiest will be her consort. When any of them becomes troublesome, she declares him to be the winner. She then poisons him and tells the others that he was untrue to her. They believe her because they each want to be her next lover, ignorant of the fact that even a single kiss from her is lethal.
Ivana publicly disdains romance and love, yet secretly she still longs for companionship. Her curse is to forever pine for another Pieter, but inevitably poison every man she loves.
Prior to the Grand Conjunction, Ivana had but one person she counted as friend. She first met Ivan Dilisnya when they were both children and had steadily corresponded with him over the decades. When the Grand Conjunction came to pass, Ivan sought her out. He was frightened by the apocalyptic earthquakes that shook the land, so he sought her comfort. Ivana, fearful that her subjects would take advantage of the chaos to rise up and kill her, welcomed his soothing presence and took him into her arms. As the Grand Conjunction collapsed, the two lords were in close proximity, so their domains combined. Ivana's is the more dominating personality, so the realm retained the name of Borca, while Ivan's domain of Dorvinia disappeared.
Today the two lords live in their manors at opposite ends of the domain. Where once the two would exchange letters about poisoning techniques, the finer points of creating new venoms, and the sadistic joy they both felt in poisoning their adversaries, they now constantly bicker and plot against one another. Their differences started when Ivan insisted that Ivana share with him the secret of her apparently eternal youth - a secret which Ivana truly does not know - and deepened when she insisted that he make himself useful as head of her police force. Each of them constantly seeks a new poison that will kill the other, yet both remain immune to every toxin, leaving only the people of Borca (and its visitors) to scream and convulse under the effects of each new venom. Both separately and together, they rule the land, rendering Borca doubly dangerous.
Closing the Borders: Any drink in Borca, even water from a stream, can become a poison that imprisons characters in this domain. Imported beverages act the same. When either Ivan or Ivana wants to seal Borca, a change takes place in the fabric of the land and air at the edge of the domain. The borders become a catalyst for the drink. When someone leaves Borca, the drink turns to lethal poison. The victim immediately feels feverish and woozy and will die in a few turns unless he reenters the domain. The drink remains potent for forty-eight hours and can be triggered as long as the borders are active.
Combat: Ivana is not skilled in the arts of war, relying on hired servitors and her poisonous kiss to defend her. Her innocent appearance softens the heart of even the most brutal ruffian. Those whose hearts cannot be softened often still fall victim to her deadly kiss.
The poison that Ivana used to kill her true love is still active in her system. Anyone who kisses her must make a saving throw vs. poison with a -4 penalty. Success means the poisoned character dies a slow, agonizing death. A failed saving throw means that the character dies instantly. No antidote or magic can cure this poison.
Ivana can instantly detect any poison. For that reason, her cousin has had a very hard time trying to kill her.
Ivan Dilisnya
0-Level Human, Chaotic Evil
| Armor Class | 10 | Str | 8 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 11 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 0 | Con | 22 | ||||
| Hit Points | 8 | Int | 18 | ||||
| THAC0 | 20 | Wis | 15 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 1 | Cha | 7 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | By weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Poison touch | ||||||
| Special Defences | See below | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
Ivan is a small, thin man, standing five feet seven inches tall and barely weighing one hundred twenty pounds. His curly hair, gray with strands of golden blond, forms a tangled halo about his face and shoulders. His eyes are bright blue, and he rolls them frequently while conversing. His thin lips are usually drawn up in a quirky grin. Although he is sixty-two years old, he has the vitality of a man half his age.
Ivan is a foppish man who fancies himself a great actor. Aside from his theatrical costumes, he rarely wears the same clothes twice. His costumes include the fittings of a court jester, king, huntsman, paladin, and monk. Twice a week, he dons a costume for the day. Most armor and weaponry that he wears are fake - merely stage props.
Ivan has a soft, tenor voice and a high, rapid laugh that makes listeners cringe. At a moment's notice, however, he can change them both. His laugh slows to a guttural chuckle, and his voice drops to a low, velvety whisper or booms for dramatic effect. He enjoys such changes because he thinks they illustrate his theatrical talents. When he speaks, he gestures dramatically to punctuate his words. At times he paces, waving his arms in exaggerated poses. Most folk find him quite strange.
Background: Ivan's ancestors were visiting the Castle Ravenloft in 351, in anticipation of the great wedding of Strahd's brother Sergei and his beloved Tatyana. Feeling ill, some of them left early. As they rode away from the castle, Strahd murdered the remaining guests, and Barovia was drawn into Ravenloft. The Dilisnyas were spared death, but the Mists were still able to grab them, so they became trapped in Ravenloft forever.
Boris Dilisnya, Ivan's father, grew up in Barovia. He married Stefania Septow, and they had a daughter, Kristina. In 684 a distant cousin, Camille Dilisnya, became the darklord of Borca, so Ivan's family moved to that nearby domain.
Five years later, under a dark moon, Stefania bore a second child - a boy, Ivan, who was destined to become a darklord of Dorvinia.
At age six, Ivan was torturing animals - sometimes to death. At ten, he poisoned a servant's child after she stole a pastry. Ivan laughed as the poor waif died. Finally, at age twelve, Ivan poisoned his mother. Although he brags about it now, he managed to make it look like an accident at the time. Only his sister Kristina could expect no harm from him. Ivan loved her deeply, and she, blind to his evil, doted on her "dearest little brother". However, she did not remain blind to his evil for long.
When Kristina took a husband, Ivan became intensely jealous, and when she gave birth to a child, Ivan felt completely betrayed. He poisoned her husband, and then poisoned Kristina as she nursed her infant son. A midwife managed to save the baby.
In 710, his own family chased Ivan to the Mists. Ivan was twenty-one years old. Entering them, he found a land to suit his own tastes, and named the land Dorvinia. In 712 Ivan took a bride, Lucretia, and in 716 he took her life. During their union, Lucretia bore three children. Ivan believes they were stillborn, but some say midwives took the babes at Lucretia's request.
When the Grand Conjunction occurred, Ivan's immediate impulse was to seek out his spiritual twin, Ivana Boritsi, who was darklord of Borca. When the Grand Conjunction collapsed, their domains merged.
Current Sketch: Ivan has never lost his fiendish and childish mentality. As a young man he had expensive cravings, particularly for fine desserts and rare wines. When he became lord of Dorvinia, Ivan lost his sense of taste. Now, to him all drinks are like bile, all foods are like dust. He feels the loss keenly and would sacrifice virtually anyone and anything to regain his palate. He often hosts elaborate banquets, hoping to enjoy the fare vicariously. Guests who know him well feign indifference to the food. If they appear to dislike it, he is offended, but if they enjoy it too much, he is enraged with jealousy.
Ivan is also starting to keenly feel the weight of his years. When Ivan found himself face to face with his childhood friend Ivana for the first time in over thirty years and discovered that she still looked just as young, fresh, and beautiful as when she was a girl, Ivan was forced to acknowledge his own mortality. Over the past ten years, intense hatred and jealousy have been festering inside Ivan. He thinks Ivana is keeping the secret of eternal youth from him and laughing at him behind his back as he grows old. He has taken command of her rent collectors in the hopes of using them to someday force her to reveal her secret.
It is rumored that Ivan often wakes at night in a cold sweat, calling to his sister Kristina in terror. His attendants dare not mention these events in his presence. Her name is like poison; repeat it to Ivan, and he will make sure the results are fatal.
Combat: Ivan has no combat abilities, but Ravenloft has granted him a deadly power. Three times per day, he can turn any object he touches into poison. Each time, he can choose one of three strengths for his toxin: A "deadly" toxin kills any victim who fails a saving throw vs. poison, a "dangerous" one inflicts 4d6 points of damage on any character who fails the saving throw, and a "malingering" toxin takes hold like a sickness. Within an hour, victims of this poison become weak and cannot walk, remaining bedridden for 1d4 days.
Ivan himself is immune to all forms of poison, paralysis, and disease (including magical diseases). In addition to his natural toxins, he can prepare a poison or drug with virtually any effect. His favorite concoction remains in the victim's system for a day, then causes a sudden and violent death. Ivan has an antidote of sorts, but it merely delays the poison for another day. He keeps several retainers on a leash this way; each day they need the antidote or they will die. As long as only Ivan knows the antidote, they must remain loyal to him.
Ivan has spent so much time working with poisons that he has actually become addicted to one of his own rare creations. As such, his food is usually full of this deadly substance. Thus, many who dine with him do not survive to have dessert.
