The signature villain of the praised Fighting Fantasy author Keith Martin, and one of the few villains of the series confronted in more than one gamebook, Count Reiner Heydrich is a powerful Vampire Lord who serves as the main villain of Vault of the Vampire and Revenge of the Vampire. Reiner Heydrich is remembered by fans for his charisma, his deep background, and the tremendous final battles against him.
Background[]
Count Reiner Heydrich was born in a centuries old, aristocratic family who rule the county of Mortvania in Mauristasia, a country in the far north of the Old World, one of the three continents of the world of Titan.
There were some vampires in his line, represented in portraits in Heydrich's main coffin room, hinting that the Vampire Lord holds them in high regards.
This is further supported by the written mention he made himself about his vampire great-great-grandfather Count Eckhart Heydrich, which also hints that Reiner willingly became a vampire.
Reiner Heydrich was the second in line to inherit the title of count, something he strongly resented. One day, his elder brother Siegfried Heydrich disappeared never to be seen again, and he became count. As one would easily guess, it was Reiner who murdered his brother to usurp his place.
From then on, Mortvania fell under Reiner Heydrich's awful tyranny for many decades. (Some testimonies mention entire populations being slaughtered.) At some point, Reiner Heydrich became a vampire, worsening his reign of terror.
Characteristics[]
As a classic vampire, Count Reiner Heydrich is tall, with jetty black hair, red eyes and chalk-white skin, wearing a red-linen black cape with a high collar. He is described as having been very handsome when alive.
He has a strong charisma with an imposing and dangerously attractive presence, and the narration insists on the fear and magnetism he induces on his followers, his victims and even the playable character.
Heydrich always was malevolent, hateful and power-hungry, to the point that becoming a vampire did not change him for the worst as it normally does. He is very refined, with aristocratic manners and excellent taste, but merciless with foes and servants alike, arrogant and sardonic. He scorns his foes, but frequently taunts them with smiles alone when resting.
He is also highly intelligent and scheming, preparing many hideouts or safe retreat points, carefully covering his tracks and getting rid of every witness, hiding his true goals and calculating his schemes flawlessly.
Contrary to most of the series' villains, he never hesitates to step into action and deal with troubles himself, and involves himself much in his plots.
Heydrich is also an adept hunter who exposes (bewitched) trophies in his castle, and was likely taught swordplay and the arts of war. He is vastly rich, being able to buy a huge mansion and to hire many assassins in the second book, though his scribe describes him as a miser, hinting that he frowns upon expense he deems unnecessary.
The Heydrich Family[]
Siegrfried Heydrich[]
Heydrich's late older brother, a powerful holy knight and noble ruler praised by his subjects. Reiner hates him and destroyed all paintings of him, but still put his embalmed corpse laid in the castle crypt. He also hid Siegfried's holy shield and magic chainmail away, having them guarded by two of his strongest monsters, before sealing away Nightstar, Siegfried's powerful magic sword, as they were among the only artifacts potent enough to threaten him.
In Vault of the Vampire, Siegfried's ghost haunts the castle and provides the hero with a magic sword if they meet him at the start. He is later met in his vault, where he helps them unlock his magic sword. In Revenge of the Vampire, Reiner's resurrection triggered the return of Siegfried's ghost, as the two brothers are linked. Siegfried is trapped in a limbo (likely by Reiner himself) but if the hero meets him, he will provide priceless guidance.
Katarina Heydrich[]
Katarina Heydrich is Reiner's younger sister. As cruel, ambitious, and dangerous as her brother, she is a powerful witch who uses the blood of young girls in dark rituals, to retain her youth and astonishing beauty.
In Vault of the Vampire, she lives in luxury and gets along quite well with her vampire brother, who often gives her some prey for her to use. She never makes a direct attempt against Reiner, but she awaits the one who would do the work, to claim the title of Countess, something of which he is fully aware. In Revenge of the Vampire, she is resurrected as a vampire by Reiner's servants to be his second-in-command and is fought during the final battle.
Gunthar Heydrich[]
The last of Reiner Heydrich's siblings, Gunthar, is a talented healer and a wise and benevolent man who is forced to endure his brother's tyranny, as he lacks the fighting skills and the will to go against his own brother. Reiner stole his book to prevent him from using his healing talents and whenever he tried to get it back, he was chased out by the countless bats and rats under Reiner's control. Gunthar is in line to become count of Mortvania, should his evil older siblings be slain. He does not appear in the second book.
Wilhelm Heydrich[]
Reiner's cousin, who only appears in the first book. He is an insane young man who lives in the castle and who can welcome strangers warmly, ignore them or attack them out of the blue, depending on the result of a dice roll. He knows much more about his evil cousin's secrets that one could suspect, but given his madness the hero may not realize immediately the full extent of his revelations. Killing him triggers the wrath of his pet giant raven.
Powers, Abilities and Weaknesses[]
Powers[]
The Count is a highly powerful vampire, much mightier than the regular ones found in other gamebooks. (Who are already very dangerous foes in their own right.) He is able to shape-shift at will, and is often seen under the form of a yellow cloud of mist and of a great bat to travel long distances, or the form of a wolf to attack his enemies. His strong magnetism enables him to get people to serve him (though some are malevolent enough to serve him willingly) and he can hypnotise people, to bite them without resistance or use them to do his biddings.
He has also the power to control animals, to the point of binding werewolves to his will (including the hero, should they succumb to the curse). He controls mostly wolves, rats and bats which he uses as guards and "watchdogs". Heydrich can also influence the weather to cause storms, fog and other things at will.
More importantly, Heydrich is insanely strong. So much that he does not need any weapon but his fists and sharp nails in battle. In the second book, depending on the conditions, his blows can be powerful enough to deal much more damage than a regular wound or even kill any foe outright. Although biting his foes causes more dangerous wounds, it does not come in handy for him and he only does so as a last resort.
Moreover, Heydrich is well versed into Dark Magic, as he sealed Siegfried's sword Nightstar within a book and protected it with a counter-spell potent enough to cancel his sister's expertise in magic. He mostly uses magic to create demonic golem-like beings and to set magical traps.
Weaknesses[]
Being a vampire, Heydrich is vulnerable to holy water and any other spell or item that affect undeads. He also cannot stand garlic or seeing a mirror, he cannot cross a river, and he must rest during daytime. Attacking him with a regular sword would only lead to a painful demise. He must be fought with a magic sword, but vanquishing him merely knocks him out and he must be fully destroyed right after, before he starts regenerating. Heydrich has huge regenerative abilities and can regain a great deal of strength and stamina by merely resting for a short while.
Increase of power in Revenge of the Vampire[]
In Revenge of the Vampire, Heydrich becomes invulnerable to anything that can usually destroy a vampire, like being beheaded, impaled through the heart or even exposed to sunlight. This is due to the Red Crystal Heart crafted by the three witches who resurrected him. As long as the accursed jewel exists, nothing will harm him, and the only way to destroy the Crystal Heart is to place it on the amulet that Heydrich wears around his neck after defeating him in battle.
During the final showdown of the second book, Heydrich absorbs vampiric energies to make his power skyrocket. Having had enough time to absorb all the energies would have made him enormously powerful and unstoppable. Heydrich gains strength way over the normal maximum level and becomes able to generate illusions, to raise magic barriers, to teleport and to attack with flames or clouds of frost. Fortunately, if he gets defeated but has time to flee, he loses all his newfound might in the next battle.
In Vault of the Vampire[]
When the playable character arrives in Mortvania, appealed by legends about wonderful treasures hidden in the snowy mountains of the far north, they only see poverty and wariness, with garlic on the doors and windows. In the village's inn, they are quickly told about Count Reiner Heydrich, the Vampire Lord who rules Mortvania with an iron fist and forces everyone to suffer a living nightmare.
Once a safe haven, Castle Heydrich is now full of monsters, undeads and demonic spirits. The Count regularly sends his black coach led by a headless coachman to take young people towards a gruesome demise. Heydrich usually drinks his captive's blood but he sometimes gives them to his sister, the dreaded witch Katarina. In all cases, their horrible screams of agony are often heard back in town. An old lady suddenly begs the hero to go to the castle and rescue her granddaughter Nastassia, who was abducted the day before, as none in town is capable of such a feat. Right after, the headless coachman storms into the inn and invites the hero into the carriage.
If they comply, a spectre at Heydrich's command attacks them during the travel. Dodging him might make them fall in the forest below, where they must fight a werewolf at the risk of being infected by its curse. If the hero heads to the castle on their own, they might spend the night in the house of the dwarf Snivel. He is a servant of the Count and warns his master, who attacks the hero shape-shifted as a wolf, forcing them to flee. It must be noted that a violent storm breaks out when someone praises the late Siegfried Heydrich.
Upon entering the castle, the hero may fight Heydrich's demon stallion and meet Siegfried's ghost to gain a highly useful magic sword. They must look for Siegfried's holy shield and magic chainmail, carefully hidden and guarded by very dangerous monsters, as well as the book in which the sword Nightstar was sealed. They must also find and destroy at least two of Heydrich's secret coffins.
The hero may also learn about the Count and how to fight him from his librarian, from Lothar the friendly castellan, and also from Gunthar and Wilhelm Heydrich. Caution is advised around Katarina Heydrich's quarters. Finally, they might meet Heydrich himself, who will only taunt them before flying away, unimpressed. (Had Heydrich attacked them at this point, finishing the game would have been close to impossible.)
One of Heydrich's coffins is obviously located in his private quarters, where the red wine must not be touched (as it is blood) nor the cookies be eaten (as they are full of coagulated blood). The place is guarded by Heydrich4s pets, an annoying vampire ferret and a horned vampire bat that might curse the hero, and by a powerful spectre.
- The spectre can only be harmed by a magic sword and the hero runs the risk of getting killed when trying to escape if they lack one. It has 10 in skill (level of power) and 14 in stamina (life-points) and it can cost 1 skill point 5 in 6 times if it strikes even once.
When this is done, the hero must head to the crypt where Heydrich is waiting. There, they can learn some useful spells and meet Siegfried's ghost. If they own the Book of Swords, they will gain an ace card in the form of the magic sword Nightstar. They can also learn spells from a ghost. Finally, they must fight the Major Thassaloss: a fearsome skeleton monster protecting the Count, who is preparing to offer Nastassia, the abducted townsgirl, to his evil sister.
- The Major Thassaloss has 10 in skill and 15 in stamina, and fires green eye-beams causing nearly unavoidable additional damage. There is a spell that can destroy immediately, avoiding a very dangerous battle.
Battle against Heydrich[]
Count Heyrich and his young captive.
Heydrich first tries to hypnotize the hero, who must win a test of faith to resist or wear garlic, lest they get bitten and killed. Heydrich can be harmed before the fight with holy water, a silver mirror, or a magic spell, but he might resist the spell and halve the damage taken.
The Vampire Lord is a formidable enemy with 13 in skill (one point over the regular maximum) and 21 in stamina. Without a magic sword everything is vain. Without Nightstar or the chainmail, the battle will be very hard, but each one of them makes it notably easier, never mind both.
Upon falling under 4 in stamina, Heydrich turns to mist and flees to regain some strength, before coming back and restarting the fight. (His escape can be prevented by casting the Force Wall Spell to block his path.)
When on the verge of losing, Heydrich starts attacking with his fangs. Such an uneasy fighting style hampers him by 2 skill points, but he wins the fight if he manages to bite the hero twice. Should Heydrich be defeated with more than one of his secret coffins left, nothing can stop his escape, leading to a pyrrhic victory in which Nastassia is saved, but not for long as Mortvania remains under Heydrich's grasp.
With at least two coffins destroyed, the hero will find the secret room where Heydrich resting in his last coffin, and destroy him by piercing his heart with a stake (or Nightstar) while raising a crucifix (or the holy shield). Provided they own such items. If not, the vampire is beaten but cannot be destroyed and the game ends on a similar pyrrhic victory, marked by Heydrich's sardonic smile.
After Heydrich's demise, the hero will have to defeat the game's final enemy, his sister Katarina Heydrich who comes to get rid of them and become Countess of Mortvania. Katarina is powerful, but nowhere as dangerous as her vampire brother, so she might be dealt with without major trouble with enough stamina left.
With both evil siblings slain, the hero finally brings Nastassia back to the village, to be celebrated as they deserve.
In Revenge of the Vampire[]
Heydrich as seen on the second gamebook's cover
In the second gamebook, Count Reiner Heydrich is resurrected centuries after his demise by three witch sisters, who binds his malevolent soul to a unholy relic, the Red Heart Crystal, making the Vampire Lord close to invincible.
Heydrich leaves Mortvania, which no longer interests him, and sets out to take over the entire Old World. Heydrich hires cohorts of corrupt humans, monsters and undeads to serve him (among whom the many vampires he spawned) and buys Mortus Mansion, an old manor rumoured to be haunted, whose awful reputation provides an excellent cover. He leaves the Heart Crystal under the care of the witches, as it would be dangerous to keep it with him before his master plan is completed, should he be confronted when resting. However, he intends to take it back when the time comes.
The playable character is an adventurer who meets a blind old man named Henrik in an inn. They offer to escort him the following day, but only to discover that he was murdered during the night. They learn about Count Reiner Heydrich in Henrik's letters, and understand that the Vampire Lord had Henrik killed because he was a vampire hunter tracking him down. The hero resolves to find Henrik's friend (and accomplice in the vampire hunt) Sewarth.
It turns out that Sewarth is a chief monk in a religious congregation, which Heydrich himself invaded to kill him and steal his codex, in which he wrote everything he discovered about the Vampire Lord's plans. The hero cannot prevent Heydrich and his ghoul minions to slaughter the entire congregation, and might even fight Father Endrell, a monk-wizard who serves the vampire.
- Endrell is a dangerous enemy with 9 in skill and 11 in stamina who fights with a magic staff. If taken by surprise, he can be struck before the battle begins. But if not, he fires energy darts costing 4 stamina.
The hero may attack Heydrich when he is about to leave in his coach, but he will merely grab their sword and hit them in the face with the hilt. If they successfully track down the vampire to the inn where he takes shelter during daytime, having hypnotised everyone in it, they can enter his room and fight his bodyguard Igor.
- Igor is a dangerous foe with 9 in skill and 14 in stamina, whose magic sword can cost 3 stamina points instead of the regular 2.
As Heydrich is resting, he cannot prevent the hero from taking Sewarth's codex, but each attempt to slay him only increases the irony in his smile. They may also rescue Sandar, the last surviving monk of the congregation, whom Heydrich hypnotized to learn its secrets and sent away, bewitched by a cursed amulet that must be destroyed.
There begins a long quest to find and to kill Heydrich before it is too late. Unfortunately, the Count has spies everywhere and he will frequently send monsters and assassins after the hero. They may have to save Harquar, Henrik's and Sewarth's third accomplice, from a demonic being sent by the Count, who would stop at nothing to eliminate anyone who knows about him.
Sewarth's Codex reveals Heydrich's hideout in the Mortus Mansion, the three witch sisters who resurrected him and their plan of raising an army of vampires to invade the Old World. The hero must find and kill the old yet fearsome witches to take Heydrich's Crystal Heart.
- One of the witches has been turned to stone by a basilisk and Shevalla and Carrolar, the remaining two can be fought together or separately. When challenged one-on-one, both witches send a monster against the hero before fighting and might cast a hindering spell. Facing them without a magic weapon only leads to a game over.
- Shevalla the eldest witch has 9 in skill and 11 in stamina. In the first two attack rounds, she casts Lighting spells costing 4 stamina points, before using a poisoned dagger that costs 3 stamina points.
- Carrolar is a powerful enemy with 10 in skill and 10 in stamina, who wields a poisoned dagger costing 3 stamina points, but she might drop it and use a knife instead.
- The basilisk can be tracked down after striking a deal with a witch (who will not respect it), but the hero must win a test of luck or get turned to stone upon seeing it. It has 8 in skill and 10 in stamina, but the hero must use a mirror or keep their eyes closed to avoid petrification, losing 2 skill points for the battle.
The hero must also sneak into Mortus Mansion, reminiscent of the castle of the first book, full of monsters and traps. They will face Heydrich himself in the crypt. Having the Heart Crystal makes him flee, otherwise he attacks.
- Heydrich is a very powerful and dangerous enemy who may decrease the hero's skill by 1 point with his hypnotic gaze and once again, seals their doom if they lack a magic weapon. He has 11 in skill and 15 in stamina, and he can kill them with one blow, should he gather enough attack power.
Through their investigations, the hero must discover Heydrich's final hideout, the Ghoulcrypts, an ancient mine invaded by ghouls and demons where the five Great Vampire Elders of Titan and the five Thorn Knights who slew them are buried. (If they were not found, nothing can stop the Count and the game is lost.) They must find the powerful magic sword Imperator in the Knights' vaults, gaining an ace card in the upcoming final battle.
Upon confronting Heydrich, it now becomes clear that his real goal is in fact to absorb the Great Elders' powers, so as to become invincible. He carefully hid this secret from allies and foes alike, and covered his tracks to focus his foes' attention on Mortus Mansion alone. Should he succeed, he would no longer need the witches to watch over the Heart Crystal and would most likely get rid of them.
The hero must first battle a dangerous Megaghoul before facing the Vampire Lord at last.
- The Megaghoul is a powerful enemy with 10 in skill and 13 in stamina, who uses poison and acid in addition to its infected claws, costing 2 to 4 stamina points with each blow. Just like every other ghoul, it wins the fight if it strikes the hero thrice.
The Final Showdown[]
Heydrich has yet to absorb all of the Elders' power, but he already gained enough might to put up a purely tremendous battle. He can be attacked at distance, but he retaliates with flames costing 3 stamina points should he be favoured by the dices. Crossing the bridge to reach the vampire, makes him conjure a cloud of frost that must be evaded, lest it costs 2 stamina points, as well as 2 skill points for the first turns of the battle.
The Vampire Lord is highly powerful. He has 15 in skill (3 points over the normal maximum) and a base stat of 30 in stamina, no less. His stamina score can be raised or lowered, and his skill score can be lowered by 1 or 2 points, depending on the hero's successes and the size of their faith score. In the first three turns of the fight, Heydrich paralyzes the hero with his hypnotic gaze and defeats them without fight, unless they wield the sword Imperator or use a mirror. (Though the latter decreases the hero's skill by 1 point.)
When wounded enough, Heydrich starts fighting with his fangs, losing 2 skill points in the process, but his bites might cost 4 stamina points, and even kill the hero outright if the battle is not won at least 4 turns later.
If the hero slays such a formidable foe, they are attacked by his sister Katarina, who was resurrected and turned into a vampire by Heydrich's servants. If not, the Count will teleport away to rest in his coffin, generating an illusion to lure the hero into a deadly trap. The hero must not follow him under the glowing arch on pain of getting reduced to ashes, before meeting Katarina passing as a captive.
When Katarina is slain, an enraged Heydrich engages the very last battle. He lost his power boost and has "only" 11 in skills and 10 in stamina, though he may have more stamina, depending on the hero's actions. Despite this, he remains a deadly foe whose blows cost 3 stamina points and can even cost 6. If that's the case, three dices must be rolled and if the result surpasses the hero's stamina score, the blow will kill them outright! Considering their weakened state from the tremendous previous two battles it poses a serious threat, so it's better to avoid this fight by slaying Heydrich during the first confrontation before getting rid of Katarina.
After killing the two siblings in crime, the hero place the Heart Crystal in Heydrich's amulet, destroying it and its accursed owner for good. They then set a huge fire to reduce him to ashes, along with his sister and the corpses of the Great Elders, freeing the country of the vampire's blight and marking them as a hero of legend.
Trivia[]
- Count Reiner Heydrich is heavily based on Count Dracula. The author created him in with the intent to set the Dracula mythos in the Fighting Fantasy universe. In Revenge of the Vampire, he is depicted wearing the same outfit as Bela Lugosi's famous portrayal of the Count.
- Heydrich is named after Reinhard Heydrich, a high-ranking Nazi dignitary.
External Links[]
- Heydrich's page on Titannica the Fighting Fantasy Wiki: http://fightingfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Reiner_Heydrich.
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 Villains
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Dark Gods Demon Princes of Titan Allansia Khul Old World Others | ||