The Land: Falkovnia lies in the northwestern quarter of the Core, south of Necropolis and east of Dementlieu. Forests blanket large portions of this domain. Falkovnian timber is towering and black, unlike the trees in any other region, and locals call these trees "vigila dimorta", or "sentries of death". In eastern Falkovnia, where the Balinoks thrust toward the heavens, many of the trees have died. The bark and leaves are gone, but the naked cores still stand. bleached almost white, like driftwood. According to legend, one tree dies for every person Vlad Drakov executes. Some even claim that the trees actually ignite, the bark bursting into flames spontaneously.
Large areas of this dead forest have been cleared to make room for wheat fields. Over the last several years, Falkovnia has become the Core's "breadbasket", exporting grain to virtually every other domain. The road between the towns of Silbervas and Aerie is lined by swaying fields of gold in late summer, punctuated by small farmhouses with thatched roofs. The dense wood is extremely difficult to fell, and clearing roads makes young men old before they reach age thirty.
Every sizable settlement in Falkovnia is linked by roads that are wide and well maintained for troop movement. Lekar, the Core's largest city, lies in the western part of Falkovnia. Over fifteen thousand people live within the walls of this heavily fortified settlement, and nearly a quarter of them are soldiers. The city's location and the domain's excellent roads make Lekar a natural center for trade. Merchants fill the streets, handling wares from all the bordering domains. As traders bustle past, beggars glean what they can. They crouch in every doorway, pleading, their arms reaching up to those who walk by. Many beggars, crippled by the soldiers, cannot even stand. Most of Lekar's citizens live in squalor. The twisting alleys in the laborers' quarter are filled with sewage, mud, and dung.
Falkovnia has three other sizable towns, each with some degree of fortification. Stangengrad, home to sixty-five hundred people, perches on the northern border, near Necropolis. Aerie, a village on the southern border, has a population of two thousand. Morfenzi, in the eastern foothills, is home to some fifteen hundred people. Another five thousand Falkovnians live in Silbervas, on the eastern shore of Lake Kriegvogel. The summer palace of the domain's tyrannical lord sits on a hill in the Upper City. When the wind blows off Lake Kriegvogel, the city gets relief from the hot summers of this land. When the wind blows from the north and Lord Drakov is in residence, the screams of the victims he has tortured for his amusement can be heard throughout Silbervas.
Cultural Level: Medieval.
The Folk: Falkovnians are a downtrodden lot - overtaxed, overworked, and terrorized by Drakov's soldiers. Every child is branded on the forehead with the sign of a hawk, Drakov's mark, to make clear their servitude. The folk despise Drakov, but dare not curse him in public; they do not have the strength to overthrow him. Traveling to another domain is forbidden to all but a few. Foreigners can cross the borders, but not without harassment. The language of Falkovnia is completely alien from all other tongues spoken in the Core, although many Falkovnians also speak Balok or Darkonese.
In the cities and towns, people wear drab clothing. Even perceptive foreigners adhere to this custom, because no one wants to stand out from the crowd. To attract notice is to put one's life in danger. In more remote areas, life is still hard, but Drakov's squads are less oppressive.
Falkovnia is no place for demihumans. Drakov has declared them state property and considers them chattel. He encourages intermarriage, but the natives forbid it. Children with only one human parent are also claimed by the state at birth.
Soldiers represent the highest class of Falkovnian citizens, and only humans can be soldiers. Falkovnia's elite are all military men fiercely loyal to Drakov. Officers pay no taxes, travel without restriction, and can carry weapons. Citizens who arm themselves have committed a capital offense, for which their entire family must suffer.
Native Player Characters: Falkovnian player characters cannot be warriors. The only warriors are those in the army, and they remain a firm tool of Lord Drakov. Wizards and priests are tolerated only as long as they do not appear to threaten Drakov's authority, or his idea of a perfect kingdom. Rogues are the most common type of adventurers from Falkovnia, and the only ones who may begin play with any proficiencies in weapons other than daggers, clubs, or bows. All other heroes must find someone to teach them weapon skills after play has begun. However, all Falkovnian player characters receive a +1 bonus to all fear and horror checks involving scenes of gruesome brutality and gore, since it is a common element of their daily lives.
Personalities of Note: The domain's lord, Vlad Drakov, colors all aspects of life in Falkovnia with his brutality. However, of late something resembling an armed resistance has begun to form. Rumors tell of a mighty white-haired human warrior named Gondegal, and some claim that through brilliant hit-and-run tactics, a troop of kobolds have more or less driven Drakov's troops from a region at the heart of the domain. This is not the first time someone has had limited success against Drakov, nor will it be the last.
The Law: Vlad Drakov rules Falkovnia, and his brutal militia controls the domain. Not all are men-at-arms, however; bureaucrats also receive military commissions. Falkovnia has no police force, only the army (see "Encounters", below), so trials are conducted by a military tribunal. Prisons are few and virtually empty because punishment is swift and harsh.
Drakov demands at least one execution each night, at the dinner hour. He takes his meal while observing the prisoner's slow death. On special evenings, as many as forty people are impaled on tall, thick stakes for his enjoyment. Occasionally he calls in an orchestra to accompany their screams. If Ravenloft is a prison for the damned, then few deserve to be here more than Drakov.
Encounters: Characters have a 50% chance for an incidental encounter in Falkovnia, day or night. Falkovnia holds very few undead, but the living are horrid enough. The forests are rich with deer and wild boar, as well as predators such as wolves. Near populated areas, half of all encounters are with soldiers. Most of them are 3rd-level fighters equipped with scale mail, spears, and shields. Elite fighting men are 5th-level fighters with banded mail and swords or polearms.
Further Reading: Much of the Grim Harvest adventure series takes place in Falkovnia, primarily in and around Lekar and Stangengrad.
Vlad Drakov
15th-Level Human Fighter,
Neutral Evil
| Armor Class | By armor | Str | 16 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 12 | ||||
| Level/Hit Dice | 15 | Con | 15 | ||||
| Hit Points | 86 | Int | 15 | ||||
| THAC0 | 7 (4 w/rod) | Wis | 11 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 2 (4 w/rod) | Cha | 16 | ||||
| Damage/Attack | 1d4+4, 1d6+4, or by weapon |
||||||
| Special Attacks | Nil | ||||||
| Special Defences | Magical Items | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | 50% | ||||||
This large, dark man is eighty-five years old, though he appears to be no more than fifty. He stands six foot three inches tall with a wide, heavy frame. His skin is a weather-beaten brown, creased by age and rough living, and his features are coarse, with brooding blue-gray eyes and a large, hawkish nose. He wears a full, uneven beard streaked with gray, and his light brown hair is limp and unkempt. When he opens his mouth, he shows his perfect, white teeth.
Vlad always wears some sort of battle dress. He usually dons chain mail with forearm and shin plates, topped with a black cape. The cape, which is trimmed in white fur, is loosely gathered by a thick leather belt with a massive silver buckle fashioned into a screaming hawk's head, Vlad's personal symbol. A pair of gauntlets and a sheath (for his rod of flailing) hang from his belt.
Background: Drakov hails from the kingdom Thenol, which lies on the continent of Taladas on the planet Krynn. In Thenol, Drakov headed a mercenary band known as the "Talon of the Hawk". (His nickname was "the Hawk" and his men were called "talons".) Vlad was noted for his ruthless and brutal tactics. He worked for whoever paid him the most money, usually the evil fanatics of Hith.
One evening long ago, Drakov's troupe was leaving the Conquered Lands after a session of looting and pillaging. A fog swelled from the ground as they rode, and the Mists carried Drakov and his men into Ravenloft, depositing them on the edge of Darken, the domain of Azalin the lich. Drakov believed he had discovered a new land and set out to conquer a slice of it. He was naive about the Demiplane's powers, however, and he underestimated the lich lord. Drakov began a campaign of terror. His talons sacked a small village, and he ordered a mass execution of those who resisted. As was his custom, he had them impaled on thick pikes, which were then planted in the ground to create a grisly garden of agony. Vlad ate his meals while he watched them die.
Then the familiar spectacle changed. When the last victim ceased to writhe and moan, the bodies turned into zombies. Pulling themselves off the pikes, the creatures attacked Drakov's men. Additional creatures, all dead, began to swarm onto the scene from all sides. In desperation, the talons fled into the Mists.
A new domain opened up for Drakov, and he became its lord. He and his men settled in the new land and named it Falkovnia ("Realm of the Hawk"). Refugees from Darkon and other territories spilled across the border, hoping for a better existence. Drakov's men enslaved many of them, but allowed others to settle freely.
Before Ravenloft took him in, Drakov was just a henchman, hired by rulers who looked down upon "his kind". Their insults burned him, for he, too, aspired to rule. The dark powers gave him what he sought - a position of ultimate leadership - but not what he truly desired. the respect of other rulers and the strength to instill fear and awe in them. His former masters were no longer present to appreciate his position, and Azalin of Darken was so powerful that he looked down on Drakov just as Drakov's former employers had. The other nearby rulers were women and fops, not the powerful men of war Drakov wanted to be acknowledged by.
Vlad has tried to invade Darkon at least five times since he became the lord of his own domain, and every attempt has failed. Each talon who perished on Darkonite soil immediately became an undead soldier and rose to fight against its former comrades. Drakov has also tried to conquer other domains bordering Falkovnia, but he has failed each time. The strength of the lords in their own domains make such conquests unrealistic.
Current Sketch: With no lands to conquer and no leaders to impress, Drakov has developed other forms of amusement. His favorite pastime remains the observation of a slow death. No matter who or what the victim is, he never tires of the sight. He usually takes his evening meal on the terrace of his keep, overlooking the grounds of his estate. While he dines, at least one victim is impaled on a ten-foot stake. As gravity draws the victim down the pike, the body's descent becomes a sort of meter for the progression of the meal. When Drakov invites guests to witness the spectacle, an orchestra plays in the background.
Drakov's other primary joy is hawking. He practices this sport regularly. The hawks are trained to attack on his command, but he rarely directs their attacks against people. He cherishes the hawks and prefers not to subject them to potentially deadly counterattacks. Vlad has little regard for human life, but he loves his birds.
Closing the Borders: Drakov cannot magically seal his borders. Instead, he orders his troops to patrol them. Word of closure spreads quickly among the folk, along with a warning to travelers. Those caught trying to escape are killed on sight.
Combat: Years of battle have eroded Vlad's strength and endurance. Nonetheless, he is still a match for many younger fighting men. The land gives him energy beyond that of a normal person his age.
Vlad is proficient in the use of almost all battlefield weapons. In particular, he is skilled in the axe, bow, mace, Hail, many polearms, and the sword. When striding into combat he prefers to carry a short sword and hand axe on his belt. He is also an excellent horseman. He chooses his armor to match the situation. While fighting on horseback he prefers plate mail, and while on foot he favors chain mail. In both cases he carries a shield.
Vlad is extremely canny in battle, making superb use of the terrain against his opponent. He stoops to any dirty trick and never abides by any rules of combat. On his left hand Vlad wears a ring of free action. He also carries a rod of flailing in his right hand, or wears it in a sheath on his belt. The gauntlets dangling from his belt are gauntlets of ogre power. He is not known to possess any other magical items.
Vlad finds all magic distasteful, even though he uses magical items himself. He despises spells and spellcasters, and the dark powers have granted him a magic resistance of 50%. Even healing and other beneficial spells are subject to this resistance.
