Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Sep 06, 2004 14:42:36	What's his background specifically? All I know from reading the RL PHB is that he's a monstrously cruel and evil tyrant whoo may or may not be the ancestor of some powerful arch fiend. Also that he's apparently from some other plane of existence originally. Can anyone shed some more light on this topic for me?
#2 rotipher Sep 06, 2004 21:22:49	Back before the hand-off of Ravenloft to subcontracted publishers, products used to state where the various "outlander" domain lords had come from. Vlad Drakov was originally from Taladas: a wartorn region on the opposite hemisphere of the planet Krynn from the one where the various Dragonlance novels and adventures took place. Unfortunately, I never purchased the Taladas product(s), so I can't tell you much about the kind of land Drakov came from. You might try asking on the DL board for details, if nobody here has them; otherwise, we only know that he was a mercenary who dreamed of being respected by the evil royals he'd worked for, yet received only contempt and condescension from them.
#3 Mortepierre Sep 07, 2004 2:57:24	Drakov hails from the kingdom of Thenol (on the continent of Taladas, world of Krynn - of the Dragonlance fame). He headed a band of mercenaries known as the "Talons of the Hawk" (with Drakov being nicknamed "the Hawk") that worked for whoever paid him the most, usually the evil fanatics of Hith (a local evil god). Even back then, he was known as a ruthless and brutal man who liked to impale his enemies and watch them die slowly. One day, as he and his men were returning from a mission in the Conquered Lands (an area located between Thenol and the neighboring Minotaur empire), the mists closed on him and "relocated" him and his men to Darkon. The rest is history ...
#4 zombiegleemax Sep 07, 2004 20:37:44	Its perhaps (IMO anyway) more important to realize that he is the "other" DL based of Dracula. Rather than Stokers creation he more represents the real Count of Transyvalnia Vlad Dracul (the impaler) who inspired Stoker. Vlad was a political hostage to the courts of the Turks as a young child and spent most of his adult life battling them as he manuevered for power in the Balkans of the 1400s. Like his RL spin off Vlad was a sadist liked to impale people for real or imagined causes to terrify his population of oppressed serfs and his enemies. Apparently he also derived pleasure from watching people slowly die as well and would have people impaled as he was eating (yuck!). It appears that RL Vlad was cuckolded by the Gentleman Caller and that one of his "sons" is actually a half-fiend (in Gaz 2 or 3). -Eric Gorman
#5 quentingeorge Sep 10, 2004 5:16:55	If it helps, Thenol during the time Drakov lived there is a theocracy ruled by Bishop Trandemere, a cleric in the service of Hiteh (Hiddukel in Ansalon). I'm not sure if you could link any of Drakov's personality to the land he came from or not, but there you go.
#6 zombiegleemax Sep 12, 2004 18:18:59	first off, this thread was indicated to me by a friend, and i thank him for it...i have absolutely no knowledge of ravenloft product(s) or the world itself, but i can say the following as related to real life. Now, i may not be the foremost expert on this. But i was born and raised and still am Romanian. My father was half transylvanian, and i have every feature that transylvanians ever had (and by transylvanian please don't be so ignorant as to think Hungarian). I've spent some time there, and i know just about all there's to know about the place. Now, why i'm bothering you with this post: and no, this is not flaming: Its perhaps (IMO anyway) more important to realize that he is the "other" DL based of Dracula. Rather than Stokers creation he more represents the real Count of Transyvalnia Vlad Dracul (the impaler) who inspired Stoker. Vlad was a political hostage to the courts of the Turks as a young child and spent most of his adult life battling them as he manuevered for power in the Balkans of the 1400s. Like his RL spin off Vlad was a sadist liked to impale people for real or imagined causes to terrify his population of oppressed serfs and his enemies. Apparently he also derived pleasure from watching people slowly die as well and would have people impaled as he was eating (yuck!). What the Hell are you on about my friend? let me ask you this....have you ever heard of a little thing called psychological warfare mon ami? yes...that's it...in case you didn't know, that's what it was. Don't believe the imbecilic western stories of a blood thirsty sadistic ruler. He was loved by his people and all the choices he made were wel thought off. They weren't the result of a sick mind just liking to see people impaled. The people he freed and kept free were his sole concern, and those that would dare come against him....kill them, and show their comrades what will happen to them. Too much have we suffered. This was his mentality. Don't consider him the wicked man that Stoker made him out to be. my oh so unimportant 2 cents....
#7 sabbattack Sep 12, 2004 23:07:22	Just like dear Lecpic does all the time... If I could add on that, I think the greatest part of wrong info comes in : to terrify his population of oppressed serfs here. Nope, totally wrong about the real Vlad Tsepes (Dracul was a title, like Knight for instance). His only cause was to free his country, not personal power. AND THAT's EXACTLY what the DPs twisted in his RL counterpart. The real Tsepes WAS all of what Darkov thinks he is and does. A zealous patriot and defender of his lands. As I've said before, I got some Vallachian blood running in my veins... Hey!! HEY!! I can assure you it's all mine! :D Sorry HvF, no flames from me either. Just chiming in to point out some historical errors leading to the continuation of western boogeyman tales of "Vlad the Impalerrrrr" (echoes off like in advertisments... :D ) Cheers!!
#8 Mortepierre Sep 13, 2004 2:53:08	let me ask you this....have you ever heard of a little thing called psychological warfare mon ami? yes...that's it...in case you didn't know, that's what it was. Don't believe the imbecilic western stories of a blood thirsty sadistic ruler. He was loved by his people and all the choices he made were wel thought off. They weren't the result of a sick mind just liking to see people impaled. The people he freed and kept free were his sole concern, and those that would dare come against him....kill them, and show their comrades what will happen to them. Too much have we suffered. This was his mentality. Don't consider him the wicked man that Stoker made him out to be. No offense friend but you sound a bit like the ex-Gundarakite now living in Barovia and who yearn about the "good days of old when Duke Gundar ruled" :D I am european too. My own country had its share of invaders, nasty ones at that. So, I am well-aware how the actions of "patriots" can be later interpreted by the natives (especially after a few hundred years) as "heroic" rather than cruel or despotic because, at the time, it served their cause by targeting mainly the despised invaders. I am not saying you're wrong on the count of psychological warfare, only that the real Vlad Tepes was probably both a patriot AND a cruel man. The two aren't incompatible, contrary to what some might think...
#9 zombiegleemax Sep 21, 2004 13:25:19	Bit of thread necromancy here... All historical debate over Vlad Tepes aside, Vlad Drakov's personality also partakes of elements from Hitler (racial purity laws, though he doesn't QUITE have concentration camps for the nonhumans-- yet) and Ivan the Terrible (the Talons remind me, at least, of the oprichniki, though you could also come back 'round to Hitler again and say they're Ravenloft's version of the SS).