RealAlHazred
Frumious Flumph (Your Grace/Your Eminence)
Reading another thread, I'm reminded of my roomate at one time, a huge D&D fan and nerd, basically coming into the living room of our apartment to comment on how original a creation Strahd von Zarovich was. His relationship with the Vistani people, his endless moralizing, etc. Just, he was very impressed with how Tracy and Laura Hickman took the bland vampire of myth and turned him into this incredibly interesting nobleman. And his obsession with a woman who reminds him of his lost love.
Apparently, my friend had never read Dracula, and didn't realize how many of Strahd's traits came from it. I seem to remember a lot of the later Dracula movies (I watched them all, but they're very cheesy and all blend into one another in my memory) established his obsession with a woman (Mina? Lucy? I think several movies changed the characters out, frankly). Not to detract from Strahd, he's been very well developed since then, but the original Strahd pulls a lot of Dracula lore and plays with it, and not having read literally any of the Dracula novels or seen any of the Dracula movies, my friend thought it was all 100% original to the module...
Apparently, my friend had never read Dracula, and didn't realize how many of Strahd's traits came from it. I seem to remember a lot of the later Dracula movies (I watched them all, but they're very cheesy and all blend into one another in my memory) established his obsession with a woman (Mina? Lucy? I think several movies changed the characters out, frankly). Not to detract from Strahd, he's been very well developed since then, but the original Strahd pulls a lot of Dracula lore and plays with it, and not having read literally any of the Dracula novels or seen any of the Dracula movies, my friend thought it was all 100% original to the module...
