Special Equipment. In addition to his whip cane, Rictavio wears a hat of disguise and a ring of mind shielding, and he carries a spell scroll of raise dead.
Blood Hunter. Rictavio is a 7th-level blood hunter. His blood curse save DC is 15, his hemocraft die is a (1d6) and he has access to the following blood curses:
Blood Curse of Binding. As a bonus action, you attempt to bind a Large or smaller creature that you can see within 30 ft. of you. It must succeed on a STR Saving Throw (DC 15) or the cursed creature’s speed reduced to 0 and it cannot take reactions until the end of your next turn.
Amplify. The curse lasts for 1 minute and affects creatures of any size. The cursed creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the curse.
Blood Curse of the Eyeless. When a creature you see within 30 ft. of you makes an attack, you can use your reaction to roll (1d6) and subtract the result from the creature's attack roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature's roll but before the DM determines whether the attack hits or misses. Creatures immune to the Blinded condition are immune to this curse.
Amplify. You apply this curse to all of the creature's attacks until the end of its turn, rolling separately for each attack.
Multiattack. Rictavio makes two attacks with his whip cane.
Whip Cane. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d4 + 6) slashing damage (wooden cane) plus 3 (1d6) radiant damage if his Rite of the Dawn is activated. (the radiant damage is doubled against Undead).
- Your weapon sheds bright light out to 20 ft.
- You have resistance to necrotic damage.
- When you hit an undead creature with a weapon that has this rite active, you deal an additional 1d6 points of damage.
Description
Several months ago, a colorfully dressed half-elf bard came to Barovia in a carnival wagon, with a pet monkey on his shoulder. He took over an abandoned tower on Lake Baratok before rolling into the town of Vallaki several months later. Claiming to be a carnival ringmaster in search of new actors, he began regaling locals with tales of distant lands.
Monster Hunter. The half-elf ringmaster is, in fact, a legendary half-elven vampire hunter named Rudolph van Richten. Van Richten’s tale is a sad one. A scholar and doctor from a land called Darkon, he married his childhood sweetheart, Ingrid, and together they had a son, Erasmus. When he was fourteen, Erasmus was stolen away by Vistani and sold to a vampire named Baron Metus to be used as a companion. By the time van Richten found his son, it was too late: the baron had already transformed Erasmus into a vampire spawn. Erasmus begged his father to end his suffering, which van Richten did by pounding a wooden stake through his son’s chest. Baron Metus avenged that deed by killing van Richten’s wife, and van Richten has lived with the horror of his family’s destruction ever since. After destroying Baron Metus in turn, van Richten sought revenge against the Vistani and took up a life of hunting evil monsters.
The Waiting Game. Van Richten isn’t a young man anymore. He knows his road is coming to an end, but his work isn't done. He has come to Barovia to kill Strahd von Zarovich, the greatest vampire of them all. Van Richten has studied Strahd for years and knows he can’t hope to best the vampire in a straight-up confrontation: he must wait for the right moment to strike. He has good evidence to suggest that Strahd periodically hibernates in his coffin, sometimes for years, when all is quiet in the realm. While he bides his time, van Richten hides in plain sight with the aid of a hat of disguise, his thoughts protected by a ring of mind shielding. He is trying to learn more about the Keepers of the Feather—a society of wereravens that oppose Strahd—while trying not to expose the secret society to their mutual enemy. He thinks the wereravens might prove helpful when the time comes. Van Richten also wants to take out as many of Strahd’s spies as he can, starting with evil Vistani.
Man with a Plan. Van Richten doesn’t know that his former protégé, a good-aligned Vistana named Ezmerelda d’Avenir, has come to Barovia looking for him. He taught her many of his monster-hunting techniques, but she doesn’t know all of his tricks and disguises. So far, their paths haven’t crossed. In the event that van Richten becomes aware of Ezmerelda’s presence, he does his utmost to protect her without putting his own plans in jeopardy. If he can manipulate a party of adventurers into keeping an eye on her, he will do so.
Van Richten works alone. A curse placed on him long ago by a Vistani seer brings doom to those he befriends. Furthermore, he believes too much is at stake to risk exposure. Consequently, if he thinks he’s in danger of being unmasked, he retreats to his tower or some other quiet corner of Strahd’s domain.
Rictavio’s Traits
Ideal. “Evil cannot go unchallenged.”
Bond. “To protect those I love, I must keep them distant and hidden from my enemies.”
Flaw. “I am cursed. Thus, I will never have peace.”
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