D&D 5E Barovia and Borca: What is the world they originated from like? And what could it be like now?

[QuentinGeorge]

I don't know if it was in CoS, but in Van Richten's guide, the subtitle for Barovia is: Domain of the First Vampire.

There is also the line: The nature of his bargain with the Dark Powers was revealed, and Strahd became the multiverse's first vampire.

I largely am ok with Strahd being the first vampire, just because vampirism is largely an inefficient form of undead... compared to being a lich or mummy lord, vampirism is almost more of a mistake. Warhammer Fantasy essentially says this outright, I believe there Neferata becomes the first vampire by mistake when trying to achieve immortality by mimicking Nagash's research.

It was always true that Strahd became a vampire through a pact with the Dark Powers rather than being infected, so to speak. Strahd being the first vampire wouldn't have fit however, since Duke Gundar (the darklord of Gundarak) was explicitly stated to be an older vampire. (Of course, Gundar has now dissipated into the black hole of retcons).

 

[Davies]

It was always true that Strahd became a vampire through a pact with the Dark Powers rather than being infected, so to speak. Strahd being the first vampire wouldn't have fit however, since Duke Gundar (the darklord of Gundarak) was explicitly stated to be an older vampire. (Of course, Gundar has now dissipated into the black hole of retcons).

Page 70, VRGtR.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Hmm, I just had a look in the Monster Manual, and in the sidebar about Strahd under the Vampire entry it does in fact state that Strahd is "The first vampire, according to many sages." I think I'll just have to go with the sages being wrong in this case, they often are. I want there to be room for truly ancient vampires dating back to the earliest ages.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

This is probably the most comprehensive pre-D&D 5e Strahd timeline, compiled by the Fraternity of Shadows, arguably some of the most ardent fans of Ravenloft: Count Strahd von Zarovich - Mistipedia.

I don't have VRGtR yet, but this whole business about priests of Osybus was a clumsy retcon to some of the old guard, or just a plain old reboot to others, which ultimately had the effect of diminishing Strahd's own culpability in becoming cursed (see this discussion, for example).

Strahd was the first vampire in Ravenloft, and possibly even the first vampire in his original world... and thus, to his knowledge, he may very well have been the first vampire ever. But there are plenty of vampires across the D&D multiverse that have objectively been in existence longer than Strahd. The 3.0 module The Sunless Citadel (updated in Tales from the Yawning Portal) claims that a vampire named Gulthias was the first vampire (that's the product in which the Gulthias Tree found in CoS made its original appearance). That said, I don't find the Gulthias-as-first-vampire story very compelling, either (again, pretty sure there were vampires in the lore of various D&D settings prior to Gulthias), unless you find creative ways to interpret its wording/meaning.

One can also interpret "first vampire" as the most prestigious among his kind (i.e., the 'premier' vampire), or the first of a line (and Strahd would probably qualify as both in Ravenloft).

I'm sure that the more knowledgeable folks at www.fraternityofshadows.com forums (Le Cafe de Nuit) would be happy to delve into the OP's questions in greater depth... if the OP hasn't been there already.

 

[TwiceBorn2]

Just came across this brand new thread at the FoS discussing the origins of Barovia and Borca: Café de Nuit - View topic - Where was Strahd born?

 

[Parmandur]

I really dislike the idea of Strahd being the very first vampire. Barovia must have originally been part of a fairly advanced civilization, which either means that vampires are a relatively modern creation, or that there's nothing that remotely resembles a common timeline across the multiverse.

Got it on the second try.

 

[Steampunkette]

1) There's nothing that ever tried to present a common timeline across the multiverse.
2) Van Richten doesn't automatically know the truth across all planes, and the guide is written from his perspective.

So combine "We don't know the truth" with "Potentially unreliable narrator" and you've got a massive "Shrug of Uncertainty". Personally I like the idea that Strahd is the first vampire. Gives him even more gravitas as a character and it's not like it honestly matters in any way shape or form.

 

[Composer99]

Am I right in remembering that Barovia came from Faerun and was part of the Sword Coast before being taken into the Mists?

If you're playing Curse of Strahd as a stand-alone game, you can have that be the case, but that isn't the case for the more-or-less standard lore. (Curse of Strahd has, as I recall, suggestions for how to fit Barovia in to several standard settings.)

 

[Alzrius]

Fun fact: the 2E Ravenloft adventure RM1 Roots of Evil (affiliate link) actually takes place on "Prime Material Barovia," showcasing that the domain was copied, rather than wrenched into Ravenloft.

 

[Steampunkette]

Fun fact: the 2E Ravenloft adventure RM1 Roots of Evil (affiliate link) actually takes place on "Prime Material Barovia," showcasing that the domain was copied, rather than wrenched into Ravenloft.

Which is SUPER IMPORTANT to consider.

After all, all the Barovian Villagers in the Ravenloft Setting (Well, the majority at least) are soulless automatons mimicking human life in the Domains of Dread. If the whole region had been yoinked into the DoD then all those souls would still be trapped, there, and the soulless husks would be real people.

Instead, the copy was made and the real Barovian people went about their lives 'til someone got curious enough to go to the Castle and found it abandoned... I wonder if it was immediately renovated for a new Baron or if it was left to molder and rot upon the mountainside...