Very Very Newbie question - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Very Very Newbie question

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
dwarfpcfan
Jan 03, 2007 11:07:06 i was flipping through "Vampire of the Mists", not actually reading it or anything ( I'm currrently following the Dresden files, a must read fr everyone:D ) , anyway, there's a chapter where Jander sees a portrait of Strahd's two brothers. Namely Sergei and Sturm

Feeling slightly confused I looked up in my collection of books and found little or nothing on this sos called Sturm other then he is an identity Strahd assumed to maintain power and privacy.

What gives, what's the deal with Sturm Von Zarovich ?
Who the hell is he really?

Sorry if this is a completly noob question?
#2
Mortepierre
Jan 03, 2007 11:37:15 Sturm is (was, rather) the brother of Strahd and Sergei. He escaped the terrible night where Sergei was killed and Strahd became a vampire. Thanks to him, there are still living von Zarovich out there.

The Kargatane's Index yields the following sources of info on him:
Realm of Terror - p127
House of Strahd - p60
Vampire of the Mists - p243,250,313

Other than that, we know precious little about him.
#3
humanbing
Jan 03, 2007 14:59:38 According to I, Strahd, Barovians had a tradition of sending the first son to the army, the second son as a clerk, and the third son as a priest. Hence Strahd became a warrior, and Sergei (the youngest) became a priest, although he never took his final vows because he fell in love with Tatyana.

Sturm was a clerk, according to I, Strahd, and his life was fairly quiet. However, one of his descendants is Lyssa von Zarovich, who is anything but quiet and calm.
#4
rotipher
Jan 03, 2007 20:17:55 Actually, the second son was traditionally expected to run the family estates. In "I, Strahd", Strahd and Alek Gwyllym merely referred to Sturm as a 'clerk' because of his temprement (i.e. more of a manager than a monarch), not his actual profession.

Sturm was closer to Strahd's age than Sergei's, IIRC, and he had already fathered children (ancestors of the living Von Zaroviches) when Barovia was drawn into the Mists.
#5
zombiegleemax
Jan 03, 2007 22:44:58 It was always my understanding that Sturm was not present for the wedding, and therefore remained in the world of Barovia's origin and was not drawn into Ravenloft at it's creation.
Oh, and as for Dresden, I've read them all, and have enjoyed them more than similar series by Hamilton, Armstrong, and Harrison, but what can I say, I like the more masculine presentation after so much 'angst-emphasis' in the other writer's series! I'm hoping the TV adaption for SciFi starting next week isn't too terrible...
#6
rotipher
Jan 04, 2007 7:52:12
It was always my understanding that Sturm was not present for the wedding, and therefore remained in the world of Barovia's origin and was not drawn into Ravenloft at it's creation.

It's questionable whether Sturm himself was drawn into the Mists. We know that he didn't attend the wedding. A simple explanation might be that he was delayed on the road, and was still traveling to Castle Ravenloft (yet already within Barovia's border and the Mists' reach) when Strahd murdered Sergei. Certainly, Leo Dilisnya thought he'd be wiping out all the Von Zaroviches at the wedding, not just most of them.

Either Sturm or one or more of his sons must have wound up in Ravenloft, however, else there wouldn't be a (living) House Von Zarovich to appear in "Legacies of Blood". The 'Bloodlines' family tree and Lyssa's backstory both establish that Sturm is the ancestor of the living House.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 dwarfpcfan Jan 03, 2007 11:07:06	i was flipping through "Vampire of the Mists", not actually reading it or anything ( I'm currrently following the Dresden files, a must read fr everyone:D ) , anyway, there's a chapter where Jander sees a portrait of Strahd's two brothers. Namely Sergei and Sturm Feeling slightly confused I looked up in my collection of books and found little or nothing on this sos called Sturm other then he is an identity Strahd assumed to maintain power and privacy. What gives, what's the deal with Sturm Von Zarovich ? Who the hell is he really? Sorry if this is a completly noob question?
#2 Mortepierre Jan 03, 2007 11:37:15	Sturm is (was, rather) the brother of Strahd and Sergei. He escaped the terrible night where Sergei was killed and Strahd became a vampire. Thanks to him, there are still living von Zarovich out there. The Kargatane's Index yields the following sources of info on him: Realm of Terror - p127 House of Strahd - p60 Vampire of the Mists - p243,250,313 Other than that, we know precious little about him.
#3 humanbing Jan 03, 2007 14:59:38	According to I, Strahd, Barovians had a tradition of sending the first son to the army, the second son as a clerk, and the third son as a priest. Hence Strahd became a warrior, and Sergei (the youngest) became a priest, although he never took his final vows because he fell in love with Tatyana. Sturm was a clerk, according to I, Strahd, and his life was fairly quiet. However, one of his descendants is Lyssa von Zarovich, who is anything but quiet and calm.
#4 rotipher Jan 03, 2007 20:17:55	Actually, the second son was traditionally expected to run the family estates. In "I, Strahd", Strahd and Alek Gwyllym merely referred to Sturm as a 'clerk' because of his temprement (i.e. more of a manager than a monarch), not his actual profession. Sturm was closer to Strahd's age than Sergei's, IIRC, and he had already fathered children (ancestors of the living Von Zaroviches) when Barovia was drawn into the Mists.
#5 zombiegleemax Jan 03, 2007 22:44:58	It was always my understanding that Sturm was not present for the wedding, and therefore remained in the world of Barovia's origin and was not drawn into Ravenloft at it's creation. Oh, and as for Dresden, I've read them all, and have enjoyed them more than similar series by Hamilton, Armstrong, and Harrison, but what can I say, I like the more masculine presentation after so much 'angst-emphasis' in the other writer's series! I'm hoping the TV adaption for SciFi starting next week isn't too terrible...
#6 rotipher Jan 04, 2007 7:52:12	It was always my understanding that Sturm was not present for the wedding, and therefore remained in the world of Barovia's origin and was not drawn into Ravenloft at it's creation. It's questionable whether Sturm himself was drawn into the Mists. We know that he didn't attend the wedding. A simple explanation might be that he was delayed on the road, and was still traveling to Castle Ravenloft (yet already within Barovia's border and the Mists' reach) when Strahd murdered Sergei. Certainly, Leo Dilisnya thought he'd be wiping out all the Von Zaroviches at the wedding, not just most of them. Either Sturm or one or more of his sons must have wound up in Ravenloft, however, else there wouldn't be a (living) House Von Zarovich to appear in "Legacies of Blood". The 'Bloodlines' family tree and Lyssa's backstory both establish that Sturm is the ancestor of the living House.