[5] In the 5th Edition sourcebook Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021), Har'Akir was reimagined to remove these Orientalist tropes and "part of the solution was to turn Har’Akir’s malevolent darklord, Anhktepot, into something other than an English actor covered in hundreds of yards of fabric pretending to be an Egyptian".
In his everyday appearance, however, Azalin maintains the illusion of a live king, closely mimicking his late-life persona: an elderly man with aquiline features and a piercing gaze, with unkempt dark hair topped by a heavy iron crown.
From an early age, Firan demonstrated a keen intelligence, marked with a distaste for his fellow men and their deviation from discipline and order—a revulsion that manifested itself in self-loathing several times for his own perceived weaknesses.
Even into his later lichhood and rulership status, these attributes recur, painting the portrait of a ruler demanding fealty and promising order, but secretly and constantly frustrated by the failings of his fellow men and of himself.
Ranald Zal'honan died as a result of a dissipate and gluttonous lifestyle, and Firan returned to his home, assuming the seat of power and ruling as "Azal'Lan," or wizard-king.
Firan swore allegiance to the distant Malachite Throne of the Great Kingdom, but conducted many unsanctioned military campaigns against the surrounding tribes, adding handsomely to Knurl's holdings.
His rule was strictly lawful to the point of ruthlessness, but based in large part on deception—both in terms of Azalin's illusion of being a mortal king, and also in the artificial docility that his civilians displayed, thanks to their false memories.
However, this concentration of power had its weaknesses, especially because Azalin demonstrated several times his willingness to abandon his people and realm at a moment's notice if it means a chance of escape from Ravenloft.
On no fewer than four occasions, the neighboring country of Falkovnia to the south has declared war, and Azalin's mastery of undead has easily repulsed their soldiers.
However, his hatred for Strahd proved to be his undoing: Azalin returned to face his nemesis, giving the heroes their chance to reverse the Grand Conjunction and reform the prison of Ravenloft once more.
The second and full application of the machine caused the Requiem, killing all life in Il Aluk, the capital city, and scattering Azalin's essence across Darkon.
Mortal agents loyal to Azalin helped to foil usurpation attempts by a rebel Kargat leader (Tavelia) and also by the new ruler of Il Aluk, Death.
Firan is also noted to loathe the domain of Darkon (his longtime prison), have an 'almost-personal' hatred for Strahd and avoids entering the Mists without guidance from the Vistani.
One potential adventure hook for Firan mentioned in the book involves retrieving an amulet bearing a tiny gold dragon skull, an object that seems like a miniature version of Azalin's phylactery".
Out of either curosity or sadism, Frantisek began to experiment with the animals, performing surgical amputations, grafts, and glandular injections - something akin to vivisection.
The Red Wizard is one of the most powerful spell casters in the Land of Mists and has taken the extraordinary step of publicly opening a school for the mastery of the arcane.
[15]: 127 Likewise, whatever faint hope that the Iron Faith had of redeeming him could hardly have survived his revocation of the ban on the use of arcane magic and his opening of the Red Academy promoting it.
It is difficult to imagine that homosexuality is not viewed by the Church as an instance of the violation of the "natural order in the name of self-interest and self-gratification",[15]: 126 although it is not clear whether Hazlik hides his sexual orientation.
Additionally, the position of women according to the faith is also an issue, for Hazlik is planning to usurp the body of his female apprentice Eleni of Toyalis.
Ivana's confidantes know that the venom flowing through her veins renders her barren and thus consider the idea ludicrous, but the tale has proven stubbornly persistent among the peasantry and has even spread far beyond Borca.
In lands throughout the Core many a wintry beauty has posed as the “dispossessed heir of Borca” to avail herself of the sympathy and prestige such an aristocratic heritage provides.
[18] Wes Schneider, lead designer Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (2021), confirmed that Soth is not included in the 5th Edition sourcebook to respect the canon history of the character.
In Falkovnia's original incarnation, its "Darklord was a fairly basic analog for Vlad the Impaler [...] and it had few defining characteristics beyond being a land ruled by a brutal warlord with a penchant for ultraviolence".
When Drakov first arrived in the Land of Mists, he and his men found themselves in Darkon, where they set about trying to make a territorial claim by destroying a village and putting the inhabitants on pikes.
[25] In Curse of Strahd Revamped (2020), "Ezmerelda gets one new paragraph in her section of the NPC book - she is described as losing her leg in a werewolf attack and commissioning a special prosthetic for it.
Eventually, d'Avenir joins a group "of adventurers led by her mentor, Rudolph van Richten," who she views as "a loving, found family".
[27] Gondegal, warrior appearing in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set, he is a former member of Falkovnia's military who tired of the oppression and left to wander the demiplane.
This changed when he entered a pact with the arcanoloth Inajira, who in exchange for unknown services to be rendered in the future granted Strahd's desire to be unbeatable in battle.
[31][27] Charlie Hall, for Polygon, highlighted that "the opening pages of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft tell the story of a loving, found family torn apart.
[27] Natalia Vhoriskova, intinerant beast appearing in the Ravenloft: Realm of Terror boxed set, she is a werewolf seeking new experiences and sensations.