Interesting sidenote: "Dracul" means "Blood of the Dragon" or "Blood of the Devil." Historical irony, no?
Falkovnia itself is a military dictatorship, much like the Soviet Union in that you need papers to do anything, everything goes towards "the state," and those with military or government rank are the only true elite in society. Falkovnians are repressed and miserable, living in utter squalor unless they join the military in some way, ignorant and lacking access to education, and treated like cogs in a machine or mindless pieces of meat for the elite to use. Those in the military are allowed to use and abuse peasants as they wish, even killing them for no reason.
To get back to non-humans, Falkovnia is also a very racist state and views all non-humans as inferior beings--+2 to their Outcast Rating at least, in addition to ethnic racism against almost everyone else. Most notably against all Darkonians.
It's like saying Souragne IS New Orleans. No, it isn't ;)
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Drakov? I see him as a mix inspired of Vlad Tepes (bloodlust), Stalin (his iron fist totalitarian regime) and possibly Hitler too (his pogroms, and also the way his government is organized and their goals). But do not forget many parts of his character (his flaws mainly) are absolutely unique to him.
Joël
Just a note, none of the RL NPCs are 100% a reflection of our world's caracters. The designers have said it often. Inspired by, sure, but they often twisted it so a lot of new dimensions were added to fit more into RL.
Isn't that what I was just saying?
I just wanted to put it stronger, perhaps?Joël
Another major difference between Dracul and Drakov is religion: Dracul was under the orders of the Orthodox Church when he drove the Ottomans out of Eastern Europe and earned his moniker, "Tepes." Drakov is an apostate that reviles religion and those that practice it. His refusal to allow magic doesn't just extend to arcane spells; who knows what progress his armies could make if he allowed divine healing?
Personally, this struck me as being not only evil, but inefficient. I'd probably change it to something at least marginally productive, like mining in high-risk areas, or a permanent city wall expansion project.
The Grim Harvest also has an example of prisoners in the Grim Fastness in Il Aluk being punished by having to push a great wheel around in the basement. Apparently this also served no purpose but was just to highlight the oppression of the regime.
I thought that was pretty crap too and have changed it in my campaign.
OTOH, having them constantly laboring on the walls of Lekar is a powerful image. Personally, I'd rule that they're maintaining the wall, not disassembling and rebuilding it for no reason: an equally-wearying task, but one that actually serves a tangible purpose. (An equally-useless task as well, as Ravenloft isn't the sort of place where military invasions happen lightly, but Drakov and his advisors don't know that.) If anyone else saw Life After People on the History Channel this week, you'll have seen how even modern structures need constant maintanence to keep their stonework in shape.
For the Grim Fastness, I'd leave the punishment-wheel as it is. The underlying purpose of a hellish prison like that is to break the spirits of the incarcerated, and useless physical exertion is a legitimate means of achieving that. Azalin's not hurting for cash AFAIK, and he's got all the free zombie labor he could ever want at his beck and call, so diverting prisoners' energies to quarrying or the like would be a negligible addition to the Darkonian state's workforce.
In my campaign I scripted the wheel as an arcane generator that was powering a series of Unhallow spells and other undead-boosting effects in the main chamber. If the PCs freed the slaves and jammed or disabled the wheel, those spells would dissipate before long.
I'm also thinking of putting the Phase Door entrance to the Black Vault directly beneath the massive wheel, under 40' of impacted bedrock and foundation. It'll take a huge amount of digging to even find it, or a wizard spellcaster of L18 or higher. This would at least explain why Death never located the entrance to the Black Vault - there were magical safeguards and a giant piece of heavy machinery in the way.
But then it's good he isn't doing this, too. Imagine how powerful his forces could become if he did?
And remember, no matter how big or skilled or well equipped his forces become, any incursion will fail, due to his Darklord curse.
And honestly, if Drakov wanted to, he could build the Great Wall of China around his whole domain, hes got the bodies. Not to mention that some domains lack stone, and he could sell that at outrageous prices. If he was just content to get fat and rich off of his natural resources, he'd be a winner.
FWIW, if you're looking to liven up the Core's military history, another possible focal point for expansionism is in Nova Vaasa, where the political leader (Othmar) isn't a darklord, and the one who is darklord (Malken) can't seal the borders and most likely won't mind if the nation's political boundaries expand. That could, potentially, mean serious trouble for less-centralized countries nearby (Tepest, Liffe, Graben Island), whose darklord(s) are either ineffectual, or indifferent to their domains' human residents.
That strike force is tasked with a specific secret ops type mission to see whether they're any good or not. The PCs then have to stop them for a double reason. First, if the strike force succeeds, then their mission will aid Falkovnia and harm the surrounding nations. Secondly, and more importantly, if they succeed, Drakov may finally come round to allowing the badly-needed modernization of his armies. If that happened, the rest of his neighbors are in serious trouble (with the possible exception of Darkon).
The PCs would have a considerable challenge facing them, as the strike force would likely have NPCs with substantial class levels as well as powerful combat abilities. But failure is not an option... to use a historical example, this might be akin to Albert Einstein persuading the leaders of the Third Reich that they should use all sorts of science, even if the scientists are Jewish.
(I.e. what happens if the Nazis got the Bomb before the Allies did?)
Another major difference between Dracul and Drakov is religion: Dracul was under the orders of the Orthodox Church when he drove the Ottomans out of Eastern Europe and earned his moniker, "Tepes." [Whereas Drakov is an atheist.]
According to the Guide to Transylvania for the Gothic Earth Gazetteer, I remember reading that Dracul changed his religion every so often, depending on which powerful neighboring state wanted his tribute. He was even a nominal Muslim at one point, if my memory serves me right.
Really? I didn't realize Drakov was supposed to be Tepes. Well, I guess it would make sense he is Tepes personified at his worst meets Hilter. Hmmmm, so Drakov impales people, huh? I will use that key factor to highlight the macombe scenery around his castle. Is there a Falkovnian "Final Solution" in the works to purge the domain of non-humans or is Drakov too focused on war to make such plans?
I believe that he is called Fuhrer or something like it and runs a very racist regime. He also has someone staked everyday at supper for entertainment. Drakov also has countless children from many different woman throughout his realm, the numbers are in the hundreds.
It states in his entry that Drakov doesn't realize (or like) the potential of magic in warfare, preferring to beef himself up as a mighty military power through sheer force of arms.
And remember, no matter how big or skilled or well equipped his forces become, any incursion will fail, due to his Darklord curse.
And honestly, if Drakov wanted to, he could build the Great Wall of China around his whole domain, hes got the bodies. Not to mention that some domains lack stone, and he could sell that at outrageous prices. If he was just content to get fat and rich off of his natural resources, he'd be a winner.
Drakov also refuses to update to gunpowder weapons, refuses to recognize or acknowledge his curse or its nature, and the nature of other realms he invades and his own. As in invading Darkon his did not learn from past mistakes or prepare for the dead to rise against him although they did so everytime before. He is also too proud to change his tactics and ways, so I believe his curse is that he is too stubborn and proud to change his ways and the dark powers play off this to punish him more. Hubris, stubborn ways, racism, and brutality are his personal curses.
I believe that he is called Fuhrer or something like it
Kingsfuhrer, actually.
He's also among the most detached of darklords from his domain; where others are (usually) able to close their borders, Drakov can't because he's still resisting his fate so ardently. In addition he can just barely sense paladins in his domain; not what they are, or specifically where, but he senses trouble in the area they're in. He's stymied himself not just as a general but also as a darklord with his stubborn nature.