The Land: Invidia is a southwestern domain cradled between Verbrek, Sithicus, Borca, and Barovia. The Musarde River snakes from south to north across the land and is joined by the Qundar River, creating a lush, twisting valley where huge forests stretch toward the sky. To the north and south, the valley gives way to the hills of Verbrek and Sithicus. Summers here are long and warm, gradually giving way to winter in spectacular displays of color.
More so than any domain except perhaps Verbrek, Invidia remains mostly unspoiled wilderness. At one point, it was ruled by the werewolf Bakholis, who discouraged human excursions into the forests. When he was slain over two decades ago by a young half-Vistana named Oabrielle Aderre, the settlements of the domain became too self-centered to engage in any expansions. With the rise of her son Malocchio Aderre, however, this may change. He is as iron-fisted as Bakholis ever was, and he is actively encouraging trade and interaction between Invidia's towns.
Karina is Invidia's only major settlement, with a population of two thousand people. It serves as a way station for river traffic. Karina is surrounded by vineyards that produce some of the finest wine in the Core. The only other settlement of note is Curriculo in the northern part of the domain (although small villages dot the domain, mostly along the Musarde). This town is home to one thousand people, but a consortium of merchants from Richemulot have started using it as a base for their Invidian activity rather than the decaying town of Karina.
Despite the rise of the violent Malocchio Aderre, Karina's famous Harvest Festival continues to swell the town's population to four or five thousand once a year. For this festival, wine and song lovers from all across the Core flock to the city for a week of wild abandon and pleasure.
Cultural Level: Chivalric.
The Folk: Invidians are a mixed breed, drawn primarily from the racial stocks of Barovia and Kartakass. The language is a bastardized version of Balok, and Barovians and Invidians have little trouble communicating, as long as they speak slowly. As a rule, Invidians dress simply. Men wear tunics, boots, and breeches, while women dress in loose-fitting shirts and colorful skirts.
For some strange reason, crimes of violence and passion are common in Invidia. Grudges fester, arguments grow hot, and pain and sorrow inevitably follow. Invidians view even their own kin with a suspicious or fearful eye.
Rumors state that colonies of werewolves and the mysterious catlike race of shapeshifters known as paka both have communities within the borders of Invidia.
Native Player Characters: All character classes allowed in the Demiplane are found in Invidia. However, characters from this domain cannot be half-Vistani; decades of persecution have driven all such characters from the land.
Invidian characters are known for their short tempers. Whenever confronted with treachery, underhandedness, insults, or baseless accusations, an Invidian must make a saving throw vs. paralyzation or fly into a violent rage and attack the offender, either verbally or physically. Invidian heroes may also choose to take an "enemy species". For Invidians, this can extend to both ethnic groups and nationalities of the Core. They receive a +4 bonus to all attack rolls against this enemy.
Personalities of Note: For decades, Gabrielle Aderre has been the topic of whispered conversations throughout Invidia and neighboring lands. As a young girl, she slew the land's werewolf lord Bakholis when he attempted to force himself upon her. She then proceeded to claim his castle unchallenged. Strangely enough, this powerful enchantress hated all Vistani, despite her own obvious Vistani blood. However, even more than she hated the Vistani, she hated affection and relationships between those around her.
Although well into her middle years now, Gabrielle Aderre still has the look of a much younger woman. Only the streaks of white hair at her temples hint at her actual age. Roughly five years ago, Gabrielle dropped from sight for a time. When she reappeared, Malocchio Aderre had claimed her home of Castle Loupet. Gabrielle has settled with her lover Matton at Castle Hunadora, where she is an ally of the former Gundarakan government and a fierce opponent of Malocchio Aderre's plans - except perhaps his crusade against the Vistani.
The Law: Malocchio Aderre is currently the undisputed master of Invidia. With mercenaries hired from throughout the Core and troops lent to him by his "brother in the quest for order", King Vlad Drakov of Falkovnia, Malocchio is bringing the entire domain under his control. These mercenaries are 2nd-level fighters, equipped with chain mail and long swords. Two primary laws are enforced in Invidia at present: Taxes must be paid without hesitation to Malocchio's forces, and Vistani must be slain on sight.
This is one of the few lands of the Core in which a Vistani escort may be deadly. Malocchio Aderre seems to hate the Vistani, and his bands of armed thugs attack Vistani caravans on sight, intent on killing all Vistani and any who travel with them. It is known that Gabrielle Aderre shares a hatred for Ravenloft's nomads, although she was never as brutal or as violent as her son is toward them. Out of fear, inhabitants of Invidia also participate in this hatred and violence against Vistani. They do not want to be mistaken as friends of the nomads.
One pocket of Invidia is still not under Malocchio's control: the area which formerly belonged to the domain of Gundarak. The remainder of Duke Gundar's army continues to hold the area around Castle Hunadora, and from here they continue to lay plans for eventually reclaiming their homeland.
Encounters: The chance for an incidental encounter in Invidia is 33%, once each day and once again after nightfall. Away from town, travelers may encounter Malocchio Aderre's mercenaries, werewolves, or common forest animals. Additionally, the stories of the paka are true; they are encountered in the southeastern part of the domain.
Visitors to Karina should beware of the Midnight Slasher, a bloodthirsty stalker in the foggy back streets and darkened alleys. The madman is described in detail in the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendices I & II.
Further Reading: The adventure module The Evil Eye provides a detailed look at Invidia, as well as the origins of Malocchio and his conflict with Gabrielle.
Gabrielle Aderre is the darklord of Invidia, but she now
shares her prison with her son. Where Gabrielle's dark side
has grown from a lifetime of adversity and hardship, her son
was born evil.
Gabrielle Aderre
8th-Level Half-Vistana Enchanter, Neutral Evil
| Armor Class | 10 | Str | 8 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 14 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 8 | Con | 10 | ||||
| Hit Points | 21 | Int | 13 | ||||
| THAC0 | 18 | Wis | 16 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 1 | Cha | 16 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | By weapon | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Evil eye, spells (5/4/4/3) | ||||||
| Special Defences | Nil | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | Nil | ||||||
Gabrielle is a small woman with an intense, charismatic personality. She has hypnotic black eyes, and her hair is long, black, and wild, cascading in waves to the small of her back. Her dark hair and eyes come from her mother, a Vistana, and her pale skin is drawn from her giorgio (non-Vistana) father. She is middle-aged, though apart from a streak of gray hair at her left temple, she looks several years younger, having the carriage and bearing of a young woman. She does not look a day over twenty-five. However, her reflection always reveals her true age. For this reason, Gabrielle allows no mirrors near her.
Gabrielle dresses like a Vistana, in vibrant, layered skirts that swirl around her ankles and blouses embroidered with silver and golden threads. A kerchief often covers her head. Her ears are pierced with large gold hoops, every finger is laden with rings, and gold chains adorn her ankles and neck. She usually walks barefoot, strutting in her finery like an exotic, predatory jungle bird.
Background: Gabrielle's bloodlines link her to Madame Eva, the first Vistana in Ravenloft. She is only part Vistani, however, and is therefore rejected by those of pure heritage.
Gabrielle was born in Richemulot to an outcast Vistana. For many years, the pair wandered the Core, barely surviving by begging, stealing, telling fortunes, and entertaining. Gabrielle's mother, Isabella, taught her daughter the Vistani charms and enchantments, just as her own mother had done for her. Gabrielle often pressed her mother for details about her mysterious father, but Isabella would say nothing except that Gabrielle carried the blackness of his evil heart inside her.
"You must never bear children", said Isabella to her daughter one day. "A man, a babe, a home - these things can never be for you, Gabrielle, because tragedy will be the only result".
Gabrielle grew up bitter and lonely, and she came to blame her mother for that loneliness. Gradually, her mysterious father came to represent an opportunity for happiness in her mind. At nineteen, Gabrielle finally learned about her father, on the eve of her mother's death.
When Isabella was attacked and injured by a werewolf, Gabrielle refused to help until her mother told her about her father. Isabella finally told the story of her past: Isabella had been captured and sold as a slave to a sadistic monster as a young girl, and when she finally managed to escape, she was two months pregnant with Gabrielle.
Gabrielle was stunned. For years she had fantasized about her mysterious father, and now her romantic dream was shattered. Resolving that Isabella was only telling a cruel, hateful lie, she packed her mother's prized tarokka deck (the tarokka deck of Madame Eva) and potions in a sack. She left her mother to what Gabrielle felt was a fitting fate: death by the cruel, monstrous werewolves.
As Gabrielle fled into the darkness, her mother's pleading voice slowly faded, and the screams began. At that point, the Mists closed around Gabrielle and brought her to Invidia, which was ruled by a werewolf lord named Bakholis. The werewolf's retainers captured Gabrielle and brought her to Castle Loupet. Proud and overconfident, Bakholis sought to enslave Gabrielle, but she managed to enfeeble the darklord with her evil eye and slit his throat with a silver dagger. With that act, Gabrielle became the new darklord of Invidia, forever imprisoned within the domain and prevented from seeking out her unknown father.
Years passed and Gabrielle slowly became accustomed to her imprisonment. She took many lovers from the small town of Korinna and otherwise amused herself by spoiling the relationships of others. She treated her lovers with disdain, enslaving them with her evil eye and discarding them when she eventually grew tired or bored, but none were able to comfort her terrible loneliness. Even the passage of time could not erase her mother's words from memory - that only ill would come from her giving birth to a child. Gabrielle was careful to use medicinal arts to prevent herself from becoming pregnant.
Then, one day, a dark traveler appeared at the gates of Castle Loupet. From the moment he locked eyes with Gabrielle in the great hall, her cruel heart melted under his hypnotic gaze. In the privacy of her boudoir, Gabrielle succumbed completely to the stranger's fiendish charms. When the handsome gentleman disrobed, she thought it hardly unusual to see a pair of black, batlike wings unfold into a canopy of darkness. Gabrielle welcomed the incubus into her embrace.
"You will remember me only as the gentleman caller", the fiend said afterward, his voice carrying the weight of compulsion. Then, he was gone.
Gabrielle gave birth to a boy nine months later. Reaffirming her vague recollections of a "handsome gentleman caller", Malocchio appeared completely human, except for a slight defect: a sixth finger on each hand. In all other respects, Malocchio seemed to be a regular baby.
Despite his cherubic appearance, which was a small comfort to Gabrielle after three days of excruciatingly hard labor, it was quickly apparent that Malocchio was not a normal child. Most obviously, he grew extremely quickly. By the time Gabrielle had recovered from childbirth, Malocchio was already walking and talking.
Gabrielle's suspicions were aroused, so she used the tarokka deck ofMadame Eva to perform a reading on her son and discovered that he was one of the legendary dukkar (a person fated to destroy the Vistani). She felt that for the first time in her life, the powers were smiling upon her. Through her son, she would finally be able to strike directly at the hated Vistani who shunned her.
However, it was Malocchio who would use Gabrielle. Despite her genius in manipulating others, she was no match for her son's fiendish intellect. When he finished toying with her, she was a broken woman, trapped by her own grief, guilt, and impotent rage. It was only through the help of Matton, a wolfwere (and perhaps the only being who has ever genuinely loved Gabrielle), that she recovered.
Current Sketch: When Gabrielle's broken spirit was healed, she emerged a changed woman. At one time, she hated and feared all shapeshifters, but she has grown to love Matton. With that happiness in her life, she is less jealous of the happiness of others and no longer takes as much pleasure in toying with innocent folk.
Nonetheless, Gabrielle remains a cunning, ruthless, and domineering person. She is a master manipulator who relishes spreading anger, fear, and jealousy throughout her domain, only now those efforts are directed at destroying her son. Unfortunately, he is protected by the curse that was placed on her when she became the darklord of Invidia. Despite her long-time obsession of punishing the Vistani, Gabrielle is unable to directly harm Vistani and is limited in her ability to affect those who are part Vistani, like her son.
While she cannot effectively attack him directly, she can assault his minions and sabotage his efforts. To aid in this, she has usurped a Gundarakan liberation movement based in Castle Hunadora by using her powers to charm most of the band. Further, Matton has been recruiting wolfweres from Kartakass to aid in the effort. With each passing month, Gabrielle's campaign of violence and terror against her son's minions grows more effective.
Closing the Borders: When Gabrielle wants to seal Invidia, a ring of terror encircles the domain. It is neither visible nor tangible, but characters who attempt to cross the border against her wishes find themselves gripped by an unreasoning fear (as the spell, but no saving throw is allowed). Consequently, they flee one hundred yards toward the center of the domain before regaining control of their wits.
Combat: Gabrielle Aderre is an 8th-level enchanter. She has all the basic abilities of a half-Vistani, but she seems to be immune to the "moon madness" that afflicts her fellow giomorgo. She also has the power of the evil eye, which allows her to cast any memorized enchantment/charm spell from her eyes once per round, without spell components. Spells cast by her evil eye do not count against those she can cast normally. For example, if she has memorized charm person, she can cast it through the evil eye as many times as she likes, until she casts the actual spell from her memory. When Gabrielle uses this ability, her eyes flash and narrow like those of a cat. Any character with Vistani blood (or, at the Dungeon Master's whim, any character with "nomadic" blood) receives a +2 bonus to saving throws vs. Gabrielle's evil eye. Full-blooded Vistani are completely immune to her powers and spells.
Gabrielle can also use the tarokka deck of Madame Eva once per day to imitate the effects of any divination spell. However, using this deck causes her excruciating pain.
Spell List: 1st level - affect normal fires, charm person*,
friends*, hypnotism*, mending, read magic, sleep*,
wizard mark.
2nd level - alter self, bind, ESP, fog cloud,
forget*, ray of enfeeblement*, scare*, Tasha's uncontrollable hideous
laughter*, whispering wind.
3rd level - dispel magic, hold person*, spectral force,
suggestion, wraithform.
4th level - charm monster*, confusion*, curse, emotion*,
magic mirror.
* Can be cast through the evil eye
Malocchio Aderre
The Dukkar, Chaotic Evil
| Armor Class | 3 | Str | 14 | ||||
| Movement | 12 | Dex | 16 | ||||
| Level/ Hit Dice | 5 | Con | 10 | ||||
| Hit Points | 33 | Int | 16 | ||||
| THAC0 | 15 | Wis | 11 | ||||
| No. of Attacks | 2 | Cha | 17 | ||||
| Damage/ Attack | 1d3/1d3 | ||||||
| Special Attacks | Evil eye, animal summoning | ||||||
| Special Defences | Need +1 magical weapon or better to hit; resistant to fire, lightning, and poison | ||||||
| Magic Resistance | 20% | ||||||
Malocchio Aderre is a handsome man in his early twenties. He stands six feet tall and has pale skin, a wild mop of midnight black hair, and dark, penetrating eyes. He favors black clothing and most frequently wears a black velvet doublet, with black trousers and shiny black riding boots. However, a clue to Malocchio's true nature can be found in his hands. Each bears a sixth tiny, clawlike digit beside the pinky. Malocchio's "witch finger" is usually concealed beneath a pair of black gloves.
Background: Born of a union between Gabrielle Aderre and an incubus known as the Gentleman Caller, Malocchio Aderre is a dukkar - one of the evil beings evil who are prophesied to bring pain to the world and ultimately destroy the Vistani. Several dukkars have appeared over the centuries, but Malocchio is particularly dangerous. At one time, he had the power to travel anywhere in the Demiplane, ignoring all borders and boundaries. Most importantly, Malocchio could bring along passengers, including darklords, and thus possibly cause the dissolution of their land.
A dukkar is regarded as a figure of awesome evil among the Vistani, and the Zarovan tribe is constantly watching for signs and omens that one has been born. They failed to notice the activities of the dukkar known as Hyksosa, and he is reported to have caused the Grand Conjunction. Luckily, the Vistani have managed to trap Malocchio Aderre within the borders of Invidia through mystical means.
Current Sketch: After going on a murderous rampage that ended with the trashing of his mother's home of Castle Loupet, Malocchio Aderre evaluated his situation. He realized that Invidia had no strong leaders and he could easily become ruler of the domain. At present, he is Invidia's master, pulling the domain's villages together under one leader for the first since his mother killed Lord Bakholis over two decades ago. He rules through fear, terror, and hired mercenaries.
Presently, Invidia is even more dangerous for Vistani than it was before the dukkar's rise to power. Unlike his mother, Malocchio is not prevented from harming the Vistani, and he does so with sadistic glee.
Combat: Malocchio's combined fiendish and Vistani heritage make him a dangerous opponent. Physically, he is very weak in combat, but as the prophesied dukkar, his magical abilities are terrible indeed. Malocchio's most dangerous power is the evil eye. Through it, he may cast a number of enchantment/charm spells, one per round. At will, he may cast charm person, hypnotism, suggestion, charm monster, or fear using the evil eye.
From his tanar'ri heritage, Malocchio gains the ability to call upon wild creatures native to Invidia. He has a 40% chance of summoning 2d6 dire wolves, 1d6 poisonous snakes, or 2d4 giant ravens once per day. Summoned creatures arrive in 1 d4 rounds and will obey Malocchio's commands to the death.
Finally, Malocchio enjoys some of the innate defenses of the tanar'ri. He can only be harmed by +1 or better magical weapons, and he is extremely resistant to fire, lightning, and all poisons (+4 on saving throws for quarter instead of half damage).
Malocchio remains a cruel and sadistic monster. Other living beings are his toys to manipulate or destroy at his leisure. However, like all bullies, Malocchio is devoid of courage. Should he ever meet a truly superior opponent, he will either meekly submit or flee via teleportation.
