How to Roleplay Strahd Von Zarovich

The infamous vampire lord of Barovia has stood the test of time (no pun intended). “The Curse of Strahd” remains the most popular Dungeons & Dragons module ever, even 40 years after its creation! Although the lore, mystery, canon and history of Strahd has changed over the years, one essential thing has remained: his mesmerizing character.

The key to roleplaying Strahd Von Zarovich effectively is understanding him completely. Playing Strahd should be done in a specific order. First and foremost, Lord Strahd is a statesman. Secondly, he is a powerful wizard. Third, he is a vampire. And finally, he is the ancient. He is the land. The Lord of Barovia is also a sociopathic narcissist, which will become more and more evident as the campaign goes on! Continue reading more detail on each of these aspects!

Strahd is Not Your Typical Villain

The nefarious vampire is not your typical villain hellbent on wanton slaughter and chaos. He is not an out-of-control monster leaving destruction and death in his wake. In fact, Strahd Von Zarovich values order. He is lord of a demi-plane called Barovia. Thousands of subjects are imprisoned on this plane with him and he rules over them. From his subjects, he demands complete subservience and obedience. Strahd is content to allow his subjects to pursue their own lives and purposes, so long as order is maintained, taxes are paid, and laws are respected.

In addition to having godlike powers, Strahd is also a brilliant strategist. Imagine an immortal creature with all of the time in the world and a treasure trove of rare, powerful books at his disposal. The lord of Barovia has spent centuries studying and reading magic tomes. Having become a master of esoteric knowledge, Strahd knows more than most people can learn in ten lifetimes. Perhaps even more frightening, he puts that knowledge in practice. He has become a very powerful wizard having studied and practiced the arcane mysteries for centuries. Strahd has enchanted his home, Castle Ravenloft, with dozens of spells to both protect and aid him should someone try to attack him. Strahd knows way more than you do, and he does not fight fair.

Strahd the Statesman

The Lord of Barovia conquered this once-beautiful land as a general waging war against his father’s enemies. After his campaign ended, he took Lordship of a picturesque valley and named it Barovia after his late father, King Barov. One of Strahd’s first acts after becoming Lord was to behead a burgomaster (mayor) of a town who was short on his taxes. This sent a clear message to everyone in Barovia. Lord Strahd Von Zarovich does not tolerate theft, especially from him.

Strahd is a statesman. He enforces rules, collects taxes, balances his ledger, and pays handsomely to those in his service. Strahd keeps his word to the rare few whom it has been given, and will go out of his way to grant protection to those in his favor.

Although Strahd does not need it, he respectfully asks for permission to enter people’s homes or places of employ. The Lord of Barovia takes the enforcement and observing of his laws seriously. To that end, he also observes traditions, customs, rules, and etiquette… as long as it suits him. A key to roleplaying Strahd is understanding that first and foremost, he is a Lord who wants to maintain an image of power, etiquette, generosity, and magnanimity.

For inspiration on how to play Strahd as a statesman, may I strongly recommend checking out this supercut of The Best of Tywin Lannister.

Strahd the Wizard

Those who know a bit of lore about Strahd Von Zarovich would likely say “vampire” if you asked what is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of him. However, Strahd fancies himself a wizard over being a vampire. Centuries of seclusion with nothing but time have allowed him to read, study, practice, and master much of the arcane arts. Having honed his skills with ample practice, Strahd has enchanted his home with many protective spells. In addition to being able to summon powerful spells in combat, the undead wizard prefers to do combat in his home where he has a massive homefield advantage.

Strahd has meticulously prepared his home in the event of an attack. Castle Ravenloft is a large, expansive space with hundreds of traps and wards. The vampire lord knows every inch of the castle and has spent centuries preparing it to destroy you.

For inspiration on playing Strahd the Wizard, the demeanor and power of Angelina Jolie’s representation of Maleficent is remarkable.

Strahd the Vampire

As the players learn more about the villain, they will eventually learn he is a vampire (if they do not already know). Centuries ago he struck a deal with the dark powers of the Shadowfell, but was cursed along the way. In exchange for his wish to never age another day, the dark powers cursed him with vampirism and imprisoned him on this hellish demi-plane which he cannot leave. He must drink from humans to satisfy his hunger, but not just any human.

In the prison of Barovia, its citizens are also imprisoned along with the devil Strahd, as many call him. When they die, their souls do not escape. They are perpetually reborn into new human bodies which are given birth to within the confines of Barovia. However, there are more people in Barovia than there are souls. Many denizens of the sorrow-filled valley are people with bodies and minds, but no soul. They do not cry, feel joy, feel pain, or feel sadness. They just live out a meaningless, hollow existence until they die.

Mothers with souls can give birth to children without, or vice versa. Part of Strahd’s curse is that he is capable of feeding only on those who have souls. Otherwise their blood carries no ability to sate him. Strahd will drop his veneer of statesman the more desperate he gets for blood.

Strahd the Ancient, Strahd the Land

One of the final pieces of the puzzle your players can put together is the fact that Strahd is the land. He is inexorably tied to Barovia, and it to him. The weather changes with his moods. Creeks can rise, and winds can scream at his command. Also the land itself is cursed. It’s twists, rots, and taints everything. People go mad, lose their sense of morality, and horrors across the land abound. As Strahd grows older, more bitter, and more depraved, so does the land itself.

Strahd the Narcissistic Sociopath

Despite Strahd wanting to keep up appearances that he is a well-mannered, cultured, and gracious Lord and host, he is still a monster. The Lord of Barovia is a ruthless narcissist. Strahd has three main goals; to win the love of Ireena Kolyana (the reincarnation of Tatyana, which you can read more about in our guide to why The Curse of Strahd remains so popular), to find and kill the vampire hunter Rudolph Von Richten, and to find someone worthy to replace him as Lord of Barovia.

The problem with his first goal of winning the love of Ireena Kolyana is he can never do so. Part of his curse is his coming so close to having Tatyana, but never being able to win her before her death. And the problem with him choosing a successor to be the Lord of Barovia is that his narcissism will never allow him to acknowledge someone as his equal.

Strahd’s interest in your players entering Barovia has a few angles. First, he would be indebted to them for delivering Ireena, possibly even to the point of allowing them to go home. Second, he wants to see if the players can aid him in locating Von Richten. Third, Strahd wants to test, talk to, and to understand them to see if any of them are potentially worthy of replacing him (spoiler alert: they’re not). Finally, Strahd is possibly interested in the players to see if he can capture one of them as a slave and concubine by turning them into a vampire spawn under his command.

For this reason, Strahd is a villain which will interact with your characters repeatedly throughout the campaign. He may treat them to dinner. He may taunt them. He may test them. He might torture them in subtle ways. Regardless of his level of involvement, he will resort to a lot of underhanded tricks. Here are a few ideas.

Ways Strahd Can Torture Your Group

1. Gaslighting Them – In true sociopathic fashion, Strahd will often resort to gaslighting, which is a psychological trick to get people to question their own sanity. The ploy is to convince them their perception of reality is flawed. “Oh, I see how you could think I was trying to attack you, actually the wolves were attacking you and I was not commanding them, I was trying to gain control of them!” Narcissists will never admit fault for anything.
2. Pit Your Players Against One Another – Strahd may exact subtle ploys to get your players to mistrust each other. Things like saying, “One of you will betray all the others to their death,” or charming a player and getting them to argue his side of things. Additionally, Strahd could slip into their camp while sleeping and move items from one player’s pack to another. During fights, Strahd could order his minions to avoid attacking a single player. The crafty vampire could send messengers to deliver a blank message to a single player. Strahd could lavish fancy gifts on one players, but not the others. Remember, he’s ruthless and cunning.
3. Wage Psychological Warfare – The players could see all manner of disturbing images throughout the land. Paintings of themselves dying horrible deaths, tombstones with their names engraved, voodoo dolls of their likeness, kidnapping NPC’s they have made friends with and returning them weeks later with no memory, using illusions to either disturb or misdirect them. Use your imagination and have fun!
4. Be Kind and Generous – This tip is really an extension of the previous three. Just when the players have had enough of Strahd’s cruelty have him be exceedingly kind and generous. Have the Lord provide weapons, armor, food, even powerful magical items as a show of good faith. Make up a reason why he’s won their favor and promise no more attacks from the creatures of Barovia. Allow the players to encounter Strahd’s minions, but they either stay their attack or simply flee.
5. Lose Strahd’s Favor – Especially if the player’s are enjoying Strahd’s kindness and generosity, they must lose his favor. Even if he has to make up a reason. He will always want them wondering where they stand with him. Strahd may remain calm over great insult, or he may lose his mind at the slightest offense. This is part of being an abusive sociopath that he plays so well.
6. The Player’s are Strahd’s Playthings – The party is alive because the Lord of Barovia permits it. Strahd is intrigued with their presence and is playing with them as a child might play with a caught butterfly. They will be entertained for awhile, but when they bore him he will tear their wings off.
7. Allow them to Live if Strahd Beats Them – When your party feels they have earned their big boy pants, they will want to fight the Lord of Barovia. Have him mop the floor with them but allow them to live. Eject them from Castle Ravenloft along with ample healing potions and a note telling them they’re welcome to come back to Castle Ravenloft any time they like. This will give them a sense they hold no power over Strahd.

Strahd’s Weaknesses

Strahd only has a few weaknesses, and he has taken ample steps to mitigate those weaknesses. Therefore there’s little that can harm him. He is very clever and resourceful. When he’s in trouble, he will simply phase walk through his castle walls away from the players. He will return and strike when he is ready. He will summon wolves and vampire spawn to fight alongside him. Strahd will try to charm the party member with the lowest wisdom (whom he’s been measuring up from the start). The Lord of Barovia is a frightening and formidable foe. How then to beat him?

Strahd can regenerate except when standing in running water (like a river or stream) or after taking radiant damage. However, seeing as there is no actual radiant sunlight in Barovia (only an illusion) Strahd can walk about during the day. The radiant damage he takes must be from magic or the sunsword.

Strahd’s second weakness is his love for Tatyana/Ireena. It’s possible Strahd can be baited into a trap with her. Allow your players to be clever and creative when exploring this possibility.

Perhaps the most important weakness is Strahd’s arrogance. He believes no one can outsmart him and outwit him. Reward players groups who use their brains! Because planning and being ready for Strahd’s tricks is one of the only ways they can beat him!

Happy (vampire) hunting!