D&D: An Adventurer’s Guide To Vlad Drakov, Former Ruler Of Falkovnia
Known throughout Ravenloft as a gruesome tyrant and brutal conquerer, Vlad Drakov once reigned over the domain of Falkovnia.
Throughout Ravenloft’s mists, you’ll find pockets of reality. Demiplanes of existence known as Domains of Dread. These are meant as punishments for the wicked, but are also their playgrounds. Equal parts petty kingdom and instruments of torments. And no one understood instruments of torments like Vlad Drakov.
A man originally from Krynn, Drakov seemed to always have one foot in the Mists of Ravenloft. His terror was so great, his name escaped his Dread Domain and spread throughout Ravenloft. Even in Barovia and Darkon, the name of Drakov was feared. And with good reason. But before he was the Impaler, he was The Hawk.
Vlad Drakov – The Hawk of Krynn
In his mortal life, Vlad Drakov was a man from Krynn. He originally hailed from the kingdom of Thenol, on the continent of Taladas. In Thenol, Drakov was known as a brutal and ruthless mercenary. A sellsword of ill-repute who longed for more out of life.
For the young Drakov had been looked down upon for most of his youth. Noble lords regarded him as expendable. Society looked down on him as nothing more than a brute. These insults reminded Drakov of what would never be his: a position of real leadership and respect.
But Vlad Drakov was nothing if not determined. He quickly established a mercenary company known as the Talons of the Hawk. And he, as the Hawk of Krynn, was its leader. His fearsome reputation spread wide across Taladas.
Every action he took seemed to take him closer and closer to Ravenloft. Long before the Mists claimed him, he was a gruesome leader, with a penchant for impaling his captives and watching their slow, anguished deaths.
So it was when Drakov’s Troupe left the Conquered Lands and fled into the Mists of Ravenloft. Emerging in Darkon, the domain of Azalin, Drakov’s first thought was of conquest. He believed he and his forces had found a new, unclaimed land to conquer.
Little did he know.
Drakov In Darkon
Azalin the Lichlord of Darkon proved to be a terrifying foe. And Drakov, realizing he couldn’t engage the lich directly, began a campaign of terror. He and his Talons sacked towns, pillaged the countryside, and in one notable event, ordered the mass execution of an entire village.
Perhaps impaling the villagers who resisted on ten-foot spikes was his way of staking a claim in Darkon. But as Vlad Drakov and his men ate, watching the villagers slowly expire, something changed. The villagers animated as the walking dead. Zombies rose in undying waves, pulling themselves off their pikes and attacking.
Other creatures joined them, creatures of the night, creatures of undeath. Vlad and his men were forced to flee into the Mists.
Falkovnia Forms
The Mists of Ravenloft are a terrifying place indeed. There is no escaping their grasp. No denying them their dark insights into one’s true nature. And within the Mists, Vlad Drakov revealed his true nature. The Dark Powers of Ravenloft prepared a reward for him… the domain of Falkovnia.
This new domain opened up for Drakov and his men. They quickly settled it, naming it Falkovnia, meaning “Realm of the Hawk.” Why the word Falkovnia, which seems to be more closely related to Falcon, than Hawk, means “Realm of the Hawk” is a mystery unanswered to this day.
Etymological oddities aside, Drakov proved to be every bit the dreadful tyrant Ravenloft expected he would be. As the Darklord of Falkovnia, Drakov found new strength. In addition to growing in physical powers, the Darklord found himself granted with unnatural longevity. Some claim he was a vampire. Others claim he is merely cursed. Still more say he feasts upon the life of his victims.
Whatever the case, Drakov found himself tormented in Falkovnia. The nearby, neighboring “kingdoms” were ruled by fops and weak-willed rulers who were hardly a match for the tyrant. Drakov found that no matter how brutal his tactics or reputation, he still never had the respect of the opponents he craved. Azalin the lich king looked down on him as an upstart.
Strahd von Zarovich considered him barely a man.
When the urge takes him, Drakov will marshal his forces and try to invade and conquer neighboring Dread Domains, but every attempt has failed. His fellow Darklords are more than a match in their home domains.
Thus Drakov will never earn the respect he craves. And he will forever rot in his own weakness and cruelty.
