Rudolph van Richten

Rudolph (or “Rudy”) is a monster hunter who seems to be somewhat on in his years. He showed up to Halvrest House with a cache of equipment and tasked the adventurers with looking for paranormal events around the house.

Occasionally he will ask the group to perform Seances with him in order to contact the spirits of the house.

Notes¶

• Rudolph was already at Halvrest House when the party arrived. He acts as if The Mists does not matter to him at all.
• Despite his weird presence at the house, Rudolph does not appear to also be a ghost, spirit, or other form of undead creature, according to Thorn’s detection spell.

What?¶

The first night in Vallaki, the party hears carnival music played outside the Blue Water Inn. When they went to investigate, Thistle realizes that he was looking at Rudolph. Here, Rudolph is dressed in bright clothes and seems to be acting as an entertainer, mostly for children. He puts on a puppet show under the name Rictavio, and afterward, the party interrogates him. He acts as if he doesn’t know them but looks to be somewhat afraid of speaking openly.

At the followup conversation…

Every now and then, the mists open, and Rudolph was able to get into Barovia. He was mentioned in the Fortune Reading as “The Illusionist”. He is translating an old journal of Strahd von Zarovich and is mostly done. While he is translating, he asked the party to search out a wizard, supposedly Morden Caden, who is living as a hermit north of Lake Zarchovia. The mad mage of Baratok

I bring you from shadow into light
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