MNblockhead
A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site
I'm curious what Strahd's title was before his undeath? Also:
5e's Curse of Strahd campaign does not explicitly state Strahd's current title. The only instance of his name used with a title is in the description of treasure in N4q:
It is established in Chapter 2 that the current year is 735. "Nearly four centuries ago" is vague, but would be later than the date 335. Strahd conquered the valley in 347, completed the construction of Castle Ravenloft in 350 and died and became a Vampire in 351. It is most likely that the deeds were written between 347 and 350. The land likely granted to the Wachtel family, shortly after he conquered Barovia.
That indicates that he uses the title "Count" right up to before his death. Also the 5e Dungeon Masters Guide, in chapter 2, states:
This indicates that his title remains "Count.'
But his father was already dead at time Strahd conquered Barovia. Why wouldn't he be King Strahd von Zarovich?
The location names in Castle Ravenloft confuse matters: Map 4 is titled "Court of the Count." Yet there are rooms in the "Court of the Count" named the "King's Hall", the "King's Balcony", the "King's Accountant" (an NPC that acts as Strahd's accountant), and the "King's Apartment" stair. In other areas, there is the "Dining Hall of the Count" but the "Kings Bedchamber". There is nothing to indicate that the names on the map are the names that Srahd actually uses. This could just be Chris Perkins being purposefully vague.
In the "Vampire's History" section of Chapter 1, the books states that "n life, Strahd von Zarovich was a count, a prince, a soldier, and a conqueror."
"Was": Was a "prince", was a "count". But not was a "king." A "count" in continental European countries is analogous to an English "Duke". It is possible to be both a prince and a count. The politics here are a bit beyond me, but I know that the Prince of Wales is referred to as the Duke of Rothesay when visiting Scotland. I suppose, therefore, Strahd could be both a Count, Prince, and heir-apparent to the Barov throne while his father lived. The book goes on to state that:
Also:
The implication here is that the King was assassinated or overthrown, which is confirmed in the Tome of Strahd handout:
Nowhere does it state that Strahd became King. Perhaps he was not the heir-apparent. We know that he had a younger brother, but even though no other brothers were mentioned, the book doesn't explicitly state that he was the eldest son. Yet, given that he could order his family to move to Barovia, it seems likely that he was.
Another option is that when his father was killed, and his family unseated from their ancient thrones, King Barov's kingdom came to an end. Perhaps Strahd had allied with another King to take vengeance on his enemies and Barovia became a county of the allied Kingdom with Strahd as its Count. That seems unlikely because the book talks about Barovia being settled by people from the many lands he conquered. It seems he once ruled a realm far larger than Barovia.
One can argue that when he became undead, he lost his title (though the DMG entry implies it still applies). A stronger argument would be when Barovia moved to its own demiplane, the old titles were no longer relevant. That is why Barovia is never referred to as "Kingdom" or "County", but simply the "land of Barovia". Perhaps Strahd is beyond titles. He is simply of the land. He is the land.
My assumption when running the adventure is that after his father's kingdom was overthrown, he was able to raise the forces necessary to destroy his families enemies--ending with the slaughter of all remaining enemies in Barovia, which he repopulated with different peoples from the other lands he conquered. He did not have time to properly establish a Kingdom ( a stretch ) - OR - some custom, treaty, prevented him from doing so.
I'm interested in other folks' take on this.
- Does he still use a title for himself? (Apparently not, he does not sign his invitations using a title, for example)
- What titles would those loyal to him use? (Probably "Count")
5e's Curse of Strahd campaign does not explicitly state Strahd's current title. The only instance of his name used with a title is in the description of treasure in N4q:
It is established in Chapter 2 that the current year is 735. "Nearly four centuries ago" is vague, but would be later than the date 335. Strahd conquered the valley in 347, completed the construction of Castle Ravenloft in 350 and died and became a Vampire in 351. It is most likely that the deeds were written between 347 and 350. The land likely granted to the Wachtel family, shortly after he conquered Barovia.
That indicates that he uses the title "Count" right up to before his death. Also the 5e Dungeon Masters Guide, in chapter 2, states:
This indicates that his title remains "Count.'
But his father was already dead at time Strahd conquered Barovia. Why wouldn't he be King Strahd von Zarovich?
The location names in Castle Ravenloft confuse matters: Map 4 is titled "Court of the Count." Yet there are rooms in the "Court of the Count" named the "King's Hall", the "King's Balcony", the "King's Accountant" (an NPC that acts as Strahd's accountant), and the "King's Apartment" stair. In other areas, there is the "Dining Hall of the Count" but the "Kings Bedchamber". There is nothing to indicate that the names on the map are the names that Srahd actually uses. This could just be Chris Perkins being purposefully vague.
In the "Vampire's History" section of Chapter 1, the books states that "n life, Strahd von Zarovich was a count, a prince, a soldier, and a conqueror."
"Was": Was a "prince", was a "count". But not was a "king." A "count" in continental European countries is analogous to an English "Duke". It is possible to be both a prince and a count. The politics here are a bit beyond me, but I know that the Prince of Wales is referred to as the Duke of Rothesay when visiting Scotland. I suppose, therefore, Strahd could be both a Count, Prince, and heir-apparent to the Barov throne while his father lived. The book goes on to state that:
Also:
The implication here is that the King was assassinated or overthrown, which is confirmed in the Tome of Strahd handout:
Nowhere does it state that Strahd became King. Perhaps he was not the heir-apparent. We know that he had a younger brother, but even though no other brothers were mentioned, the book doesn't explicitly state that he was the eldest son. Yet, given that he could order his family to move to Barovia, it seems likely that he was.
Another option is that when his father was killed, and his family unseated from their ancient thrones, King Barov's kingdom came to an end. Perhaps Strahd had allied with another King to take vengeance on his enemies and Barovia became a county of the allied Kingdom with Strahd as its Count. That seems unlikely because the book talks about Barovia being settled by people from the many lands he conquered. It seems he once ruled a realm far larger than Barovia.
One can argue that when he became undead, he lost his title (though the DMG entry implies it still applies). A stronger argument would be when Barovia moved to its own demiplane, the old titles were no longer relevant. That is why Barovia is never referred to as "Kingdom" or "County", but simply the "land of Barovia". Perhaps Strahd is beyond titles. He is simply of the land. He is the land.
My assumption when running the adventure is that after his father's kingdom was overthrown, he was able to raise the forces necessary to destroy his families enemies--ending with the slaughter of all remaining enemies in Barovia, which he repopulated with different peoples from the other lands he conquered. He did not have time to properly establish a Kingdom ( a stretch ) - OR - some custom, treaty, prevented him from doing so.
I'm interested in other folks' take on this.
