The problem with Madame Eva

When I first read through the Curse of Strahd campaign I was deeply impressed by the level of depth to the story. It's the product of 30+ years of development, built on top of a storied literary tradition. The writing staff at Wizards of the Coast addressed some pressing issues with previous editions, but there are still some logistical and ethical problems with the campaign as it stands. 

I devised a straightforward solution that delights me, and I want to share it. That said, the following information does contain SPOILERS regarding the lore and background of the Curse of Strahd, and in particular, some major NPCs in the campaign. Hence I've implemented a jump break. (I'm not sure it works on all browsers. Be advised that the spoilers begin below.)

The "Revamped" version of the Curse of Strahd does much to alleviate the problematic bigotry baked in to depictions of Vistani in the body of Ravenloft literature. The Vistani are thinly veiled stand-ins for Romani in the Ravenloft campaign setting. In previous iterations of Ravenloft campaigns, the Vistani are represented as exotically colorful and untrustworthy charlatans who are out to trick and deceive whenever possible. It's clear that the WotC team poured their energy in remedying this offensive depiction, and it is appropriate that they deployed the bulk of their resources in that way because the 30+ year history of this unsavory depiction is a blot on their record. So basically, I'm pleased that they put in the effort where they did. That said, Madame Eva as a character poses some real problems, and many of those problems are a holdover from the bigoted writing that went into crafting the Vistani as a people in the first place. She could use a more comprehensive rewrite than she was given for logistical as well as ethical reasons.

From a practical and literary standpoint, the authors' positioning of Madame Eva in the world of Barovia is an awkward fit, and therefore she is hard to roleplay. I understand that they wanted to give the Vistani agency and access to genuine power, and so they tied the Vistani directly to the main source of power in Barovia: Count Strahd von Zarovich. On the surface that's an effective tactic. But closer examination shows that this grafting doesn't hold, and actually serves to undermine the representation of the Vistani as a distinct and nuanced people. From a practical storytelling standpoint, the Vistani need to be a functional cultural group with core values of their own that they work to promote and defend in ways that are both effective and ineffective, ethical and unethical, rather than interchangeable widgets tacked on to a power source (especially a power source of evil origin).

In the current iteration of Curse of Strahd, Madame Eva is Strahd's secret half-sister. Even Strahd himself is unaware of this relationship. I believe this arrangement had appeal because it is paralleled in the Izek/Ireena relationship, and as a long-ago English major, I know full well the attraction of a literary motif. I really do empathize with the writing staff. Editing a campaign with such a long history combined with roots in some of the most important works of literary horror (Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and the works of Edgar Allen Poe are clear influences) has to be a daunting undertaking. The appearance of a bonafide literary motif within easy reach must have been a temptation too compelling to resist. To be fair, this relationship does confer an ambiguity that Madame Eva needs. She needs to appear true neutral with regard to the "for or against Strahd" question, or else 1) the characters would never trust her reading or 2) Strahd would not tolerate her continued presence in his domain. For most people, killing blood relations is out of the question, and it is a way to force an otherwise decent person to stay their hand when it comes to crafting the downfall of a being as reprehensible as Strahd. So on this one point, the secret half-sister trope works.

But this sibling-relationship-as-explanation-for-neutrality also introduces several thorny difficulties:

Problem 1: The most powerful Vistani isn't actually Vistani

Problem 2: While the "secret half-sister" trope can certainly add complexity and nuance to any story, it is not the sort of complexity and nuance that helps explain the role of the Vistani in Barovia and the other Realms of Dread, nor does it explain Vistani individuals' varied responses (both good and evil) to their circumstances

Problem 3: The most powerful (non) Vistani is just using the Vistani as pawns in her own game, which paints a picture of a people comprehensively duped (which makes no sense given that there are other genuine Vistani seers) and disenfranchised

Problem 4: Strahd's curtailment of Vistani traveling rights is not challenged - in fact it seems to occur to no one to do so

I have come up with my own solution that addresses these issues and more. 

In my game, Madame Eva is full Vistani with no blood ties to Strahd. She is the greatest Vistani seer of her generation, both within Barovia and without. Her source of power is independent of Strahd's, and is the same source of power that all Vistani can tap into. Since there are Vistani in other planes who maintain their abilities (it is canon that they can appear in the Forgotten Realms) this power must be accessible in multiple planes, and therefore is either expressly permitted by the Dark Powers or is from a source that the Dark Powers cannot legislate. (Either works. In my campaign, "nobody knows".) She is on even footing with the darklords of each domain and can be thought of as the ruler of the interstitial spaces of The Realm of Dread. If each domain in The Realm of Dread is a cell in a honeycomb (metaphor found on p. 9 of the 3e Ravenloft Core Rulebook) the Vistani are the people of the wax comb itself, the walls of each cell that contains and defines each domain.

Positioned like this, Vistani become the brokers of travel and the import/export experts of The Realms. Any infringement on their right to govern the interstitial spaces - the mists - of The Realms is problematic for them. This sets up the necessary complex conflict between Strahd and Eva nicely. And it is appropriately nuanced - who gets to say what or who can pass through the mists? Is it Strahd's right to control who or what can pass through his borders when a people of the borders exists and have the right of travel? Can Strahd determine who or what the Vistani choose to bring with them? 

And so, Madame Eva deploys herself to the site of conflict: Barovia. She spends her time there even though her greatest powers and autonomy lie inside the mists themselves, in order to agitate for her people. She cannot oppose Strahd directly on his own turf, but she is mighty enough to shift the balance of power so that Strahd cannot deprive the Vistani of their right to take who and what they want across his borders indefinitely. 

And how is it that Madame Eva would do this? Strahd is the ruler of his domain, so an outright fight with him is not only ill-advised, it may not even be winnable from within Barovia, and he has no reason to follow her onto her own ground (the mists) for a protracted battle. So she employs the quintessential Vistani ability: she curses Strahd. Her curse is precise and specific to make it less detectable, and it addresses the fact that she and Strahd are essentially equally matched. She curses Strahd to have a compulsion - he feels compelled to import adventurers for his sporting entertainment. He can resist the compulsion for short periods of time, but eventually he must give in to it, and another adventuring party finds itself emerging from the mists and into the town of Barovia, potentially tipping the balance of power in Eva's favor long enough to make a difference. She must keep the curse she has laid secret, and play the ambiguity of her opinion up to the nines in order to maintain her presence, which allows the power of her curse against a lord of his own domain to remain in effect.

From here, the short story of the campaign all drops neatly into place. The players progress along the path of development that satisfies Strahd's compulsion to import them. The varied roles Vistani play - helping or hurting the characters - depend upon whether or not they see Madame Eva's tactics as effective or too glacial. Some Vistani choose to cut their own deal with Strahd and enjoy a greater degree of freedom within the confines of their relationship with Strahd, but the older and more experienced Vistani know the futility of this, and regardless, one Vistani will not betray another as they all inhabit the same precarious social position in Barovia. So, Vistani do not reveal the nature of Strahd's compulsion if they are even aware of it. Even Strahd's tendency to play cat and mouse is explained: his compulsion is at war with his military mind which would see no value in attracting anyone who actually has the potential to unseat him. 

But it's not just the short story that works well with my construct. With minor modifications, the long story arc works well, too. I am fond of emphasizing the linearity of time rather than the cyclical nature of events, although I deeply appreciate the resonance and opportunities for motifs and themes that occurs when stories contain elements of both. In this case, it is easy to get the best of both world views. Every time an adventuring party succeeds, the walls drop around Barovia allowing people to escape. When these few months of sunlight bless the land, the Vistani who follow Madame Eva travel the land of Barovia discreetly encouraging everyone with a soul to emigrate and offering free or significantly discounted passage out, undermining Strahd's base resource. When Strahd first came to power, everyone in Barovia had a soul, and by way of generations of adventurers, Madame Eva has succeeded in whittling down Strahd's pool of people who can sustain him. The only person she cannot extricate from Barovia is the person who bears the soul of Tatyana - this is just beyond the reach of her power. (But not beyond the reach of the players' power, as we find out in game.) When the players began their adventure only 1 in ten people have souls in Barovia. In the past, that number was much higher. As a result of their actions, that number will drop further. Perhaps when Strahd returns that number will be 1:11 or 1:12. They haven't solved the problem, but they have made a difference. (This explains why multiple adventurers might have similar experiences.)

My version of Madame Eva is wholly Vistani, working on behalf of her people over an extended period of time, carrying on the task from those women who preceded her. She plays the long game, knows how to bide her time, knows how to tip the odds in her favor without upsetting the applecart. Her people vary the way that all people do: some trust their leaders to do right by them, and others do not. She is truly powerful, not because she is adjacent to the main power of the land, but in her own right.

And finally, this variant of Madame Eva works beautifully into the title of the campaign. Which of the two curses does the title refer to? Madame Eva's? Or the curse of the Dark Powers? Which curse will prevail? The answer, of course, is up to the adventurers.