Originally the son of King Barov and Ravenovia, he is now a vampire with eternal life. He seemingly has all of the characteristics of vampires in popular literature: he sleeps in a coffin, cannot enter places without being invited, can transform himself into wolves, bats, or mist, is weak to sunlight, and can dominate a person with a look. Additionally, he can summon wolves and vermin, and cannot pass through running water. He lives in Ravenloft castle.

Hundreds of years ago, he murdered his brother Sergei and his fiancee Tatyana on their wedding night, and was subsequently killed by the soldier Leo Dilisnya, becoming a vampire because of a deal hinted at in his diary, likely carried out at the Amber Temple.

At some point, he waged war on the valley, destroying the Order of the Silver Dragon in the process. He also flooded the town of Berez in revenge for the killing of Marina.

The curse on the land is perhaps related to some forgotten sin of his, and he is said to "keep the land going" via some unknown magic (likely related to the repeated phrase "the ancient, the land"). Nikolaj Wachter told us that "giving Strahd unlife is what brought the curse upon the land." He also claimed that Strahd had spies working for him everywhere.

Muriel Vinshaw believes that he may have some kind of power over the corrupted druids of Barovia, but has no proof.

For at least the past decade he has been obsessed with Ireena Kolyana, whom he recently kidnapped after destroying Saint Andral's and killing Father Lucien Petrovich.

The elf Rahadin serves him.

Category: People