The Land: Valachan is a rugged, forested domain in the southwestern corner of the Core. Its ridges and numerous small canyons make overland travel difficult. Common wildlife include deer, moose, boars, martens, bears, panthers, eagles, and ravens.
Valachan boasts three towns of notable size: Ungrad, population fifteen hundred; Rotwald, four thousand; and Helbenik, thirty-five hundred. Baron von Kharkov's fortress, Castle Pantara, lies between Rotwald and Helbenik, couched on a cliff above the main road.
Cultural Level: Medieval.
The Folk: Valachani natives are tall and black-skinned. Their hair is straight and black, and both men and women wear it long. They tend to be lean and finely muscled, even those who work at physically hard jobs such as stonecutting. The Valachani dress simply, in baggy trousers, tunics, or smocks. Jewelry is rare, though an occasional earring, bracelet, or ring can be seen. The Valachani language bears similarities to that spoken in Hazlan.
Natives of Valachan also frequently suffer from White Fever, a mild flu that develops at night and leaves its victims listless and bedridden for several days - or so they believe. In truth, the feedings of the darklord and his nosferatu slaves cause this common complaint. Significantly, the Baron rarely kills his victims. Though his appetite is vast, he prefers to bleed several victims conservatively each night rather than drain one or two to death. He imposes the same restraint on his vampiric slaves.
Native Player Characters: Valachani player characters can belong to any class allowed in Ravenloft. Rangers are very common in this wild land.
Personalities of Note: Baron von Kharkov's chief enforcer of law and order is a mysterious elf woman who always wears a veil. Despite being the leader of the baron's tax collectors, she has been known to relieve an entire village of tax burden if a young man of her choosing will join her in the woods. The man is always of exceptional good looks, but he always returns home that evening with hideous scars across his face and body. He never recalls what was done to him.
The Law: Baron Urik von Kharkov rules this domain with an iron fist. He is rumored either to be a vampire or a rare form of lycanthrope known as a werepanther.
The folk recognize the Baron as their lord and ruler. He does not tax them harshly but often summons them to work in his keep at night. The work is harsh, and the laborers usually return home with a case of White Fever.
Once per year, the Baron demands that a young woman leave her family and become his bride. She rarely lives out the year. The people assume that she either kills herself or dies from his abuse. The truth is far worse.
Encounters: The forests of Valachan are rich with wildlife - deer, boar, and moose being the most common. Large predators include bears and, surprisingly, panthers. The vampiric spawn of the Baron haunt the woods at night. The chance for an encounter is 25%, twice during the day and four times at night.
Further Reading: Baron Urik von Kharkov, the darklord of Valachan, is further detailed in Darklords.
Baron Urik von Kharkov
Nosferatu Vampire, Lawful Evil
| Armor Class | 1 | Str | 18/00 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 18 | ||||
| Level/Hit Dice | 10+2 | Con | 19 | ||||
| Hit Points | 50 | Int | 17 | ||||
| THAC0 | 11 (8 w/weapon) | Wis | 10 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 2 or 1 | Cha | 17 | ||||
| Damage/Attack | 1d3+6/ 1d3+6 or by weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | See below | ||||||
| Special Defences | +2 weapon to hit | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | 10% | ||||||
Baron Urik von Kharkov is a black-skinned man standing just over six feet tall. He is broad shouldered and quite muscular. His eyes are an unusual shade of yellow, and when he grows angry, they change from round pupils to the slitted ones of a cat. His hair is straight and black, usually kept meticulously groomed.
Background: Von Kharkov began life as a panther, but he was polymorphed into a full-grown human by a Red Wizard of Thay. He was promptly named and titled by the wizard, then schooled and trained for combat. Because of his feline heritage, he displayed a strong tendency toward violence and treachery.
Eventually the Red Wizard brought Von Kharkov together with a female enemy and allowed them to become lovers. He then dispelled his polymorphing magic, allowing the panther to tear the woman to shreds. Having forgotten his true roots, Von Kharkov was horrified by the transformation. He suspected that the wizard meant to use him for subsequent assassinations, so the man-panther fled Thay and stumbled into a bank of Mists, which transported him to Darkon. There, he learned of Azalin's secret undead police, the Kargat, so he sought out a vampire to induct him into the ranks. When his master was killed twenty years later, he fled into the Mists once more. This time, the dark powers embraced him and created the domain of Valachan.
Von Kharkov quickly adjusted to his new prison. He learned that it was stocked with black leopards and domestic cats to do his bidding. Also, his hands grew fur and retractable claws (which he hides with gloves).
Years later he found a small statuette of a cat in the lower reaches of his keep, which proved to be the Cat ofFelkouic. The magical item eventually hunted him, but such was his confidence in his lordly might that he did not fear it, so the cat mauled him badly. To this day, that magical item is the only thing he truly fears.
Current Sketch: Von Kharkov has been a panther, a man, and a vampire, so he retains some abilities of all three: He has the quick and ferocious temper of a great cat, the intelligence and creativity of a human, and the fell powers of a nosferatu vampire (see the RAVENLOFT Monstrous Compendium Appendix III). He hates vampires not created by him and wizards above all other things.
Closing the Borders: When Baron von Kharkov wants to seal his domain, the forests become pathless. Characters who enter the woods become disoriented as they fight their way through ever-thickening underbrush. After an exhausting effort, the would-be escapees find themselves still in Valachan. Those who try to fly over the trees are mercilessly attacked and driven back by hordes of bats.
Combat: Like all nosferatu vampires, Von Kharkov drains blood rather than life force (experience levels). For game purposes, this is a loss of Constitution points. The Baron can draw one to three points per round, and he heals one point of damage to himself for every point of Constitution he drains. If a victim's score reaches 2, then he is at death's door, and only an immediate blood transfusion will save his life. Otherwise, the victim's score continues to drop by one point per day, whether or not Von Kharkov attacks. When the Constitution score drops to 0, the victim dies. If the victim is not reduced to a score of 2 or less, he recovers one point per day until the original score is regained.
Anyone who has been bitten by the Baron can be telepathically contacted by him anywhere in Valachan, and unless the victim makes a successful saving throw vs. spell, he is subject to the effects of a charm spell. Of course, those who die of the Baron's attacks rise as his minions.
The Baron can charm mortals (as the spell) with his gaze, but the intended victim is allowed a saving throw vs. spell with a -3 penalty. A second form of his gaze attack works like a forget spell, causing the victim to lose all memory of the previous three rounds. He uses both of these gaze attacks while draining his victim, so his assaults are rarely remembered.
The Baron can extend his claws through his gloves and use them to attack for 1d3 points of damage per hit. He also can take the form of a panther at will (but not a wolf or bat), gaining all abilities of a natural creature of that form. His statistics in panther form are presented below.
Von Kharkov's panther form: AC 6; MV 18; HD 10+2; THACO 17; #AT 3; Dmg 1d3/1d3/1d6; SA rake with rear claws (1d6/1d6) when both fore claws hit; 3D surprised only on a 1; SZ M; Int genius (17).
