Ivan Dilisnya is a villainous NPC from Ravenloft, the horror setting of Dungeons & Dragons. He is a foppish and psychopatic master of poisons who rules the domain of Borca alongside his cousin, Ivana Boritsi.
Description[]
Ivan is a small, thin man, standing five feet seven inches tall and barely weighing one hundred twenty pounds. His curly hair, gray with strands of golden blond, forms a tangled halo about his face and shoulders. His eyes are bright blue, and he rolls them frequently while conversing. His thin lips are usually drawn up in a quirky grin. Although he is sixty-two years old, he has the vitality of a young man.
History[]
Ivan's ancestors were visiting the Castle Ravenloft in 351, in anticipation of the great wedding of Strahd's brother Sergei and his beloved Tatyana. Feeling ill, some of them left early. As they rode away from the castle, Strahd murdered the remaining guests, and Barovia was drawn into Ravenloft. The Dilisnyas were spared death, but the Mists were still able to grab them, so they became trapped in Ravenloft forever.
Boris Dilisnya, Ivan's father, grew up in Barovia. He married Stefania Septow, and they had a daughter, Kristina. In 684 a distant cousin, Camille Dilisnya, became the darklord of Borca, so Ivan's family moved to that nearby domain.
Five years later, under a dark moon, Stefania bore a second child - a boy, Ivan, who was destined to become a darklord of Dorvinia. At age six, Ivan was torturing animals - sometimes to death. At ten, he poisoned a servant's child after she stole a pastry. Ivan laughed as the poor waif died. Finally, at age twelve, Ivan poisoned his mother. Although he brags about it now, he managed to make it look like an accident at the time. Only his sister Kristina could expect no harm from him. Ivan loved her deeply, and she, blind to his evil, doted on her "dearest little brother". However, she did not remain blind to his evil for long.
When Kristina took a husband, Ivan became intensely jealous, and when she gave birth to a child, Ivan felt completely betrayed. He poisoned her husband, and then poisoned Kristina as she nursed her infant son. A midwife managed to save the baby. In 710, his own family chased Ivan to the Mists. Ivan was twenty-one years old. Entering them, he found a land to suit his own tastes, and named the land Dorvinia. In 712 Ivan took a bride, Lucretia, and in 716 he took her life. During their union, Lucretia bore three children. Ivan believes they were stillborn, but some say midwives took the babes at Lucretia's request.
When the Grand Conjunction occurred, Ivan's immediate impulse was to seek out his spiritual twin, Ivana Boritsi, who was darklord of Borca. When the Grand Conjunction collapsed, their domains merged.
Personality[]
Ivan is a foppish man who fancies himself a great actor. Aside from his theatrical costumes, he rarely wears the same clothes twice. His costumes include the fittings of a court jester, king, huntsman, paladin, and monk. Twice a week, he dons a costume for the day. Most armor and weaponry that he wears are fake - merely stage props.
Ivan has a soft, tenor voice and a high, rapid laugh that makes listeners cringe. At a moment's notice, however, he can change them both. His laugh slows to a guttural chuckle, and his voice drops to a low, velvety whisper or booms for dramatic effect. He enjoys such changes because he thinks they illustrate his theatrical talents. When he speaks, he gestures dramatically to punctuate his words. At times he paces, waving his arms in exaggerated poses. Most folk find him quite strange.
Ivan has never lost his fiendish and childish mentality. As a young man he had expensive cravings, particularly for fine desserts and rare wines. When he became lord of Dorvinia, Ivan lost his sense of taste. Now, to him all drinks are like bile, all foods are like dust. He feels the loss keenly and would sacrifice virtually anyone and anything to regain his palate. He often hosts elaborate banquets, hoping to enjoy the fare vicariously. Guests who know him well feign indifference to the food. If they appear to dislike it, he is offended, but if they enjoy it too much, he is enraged with jealousy.
Ivan is also starting to keenly feel the weight of his years. When Ivan found himself face to face with his childhood friend Ivana for the first time in over thirty years and discovered that she still looked just as young, fresh, and beautiful as when she was a girl, Ivan was forced to acknowledge his own mortality. Over the past ten years, intense hatred and jealousy have been festering inside Ivan. He thinks Ivana is keeping the secret of eternal youth from him and laughing at him behind his back as he grows old. He has taken command of her rent collectors in the hopes of using them to someday force her to reveal her secret.
It is rumored that Ivan often wakes at night in a cold sweat, calling to his sister Kristina in terror. His attendants dare not mention these events in his presence. Her name is like poison; repeat it to Ivan, and he will make sure the results are fatal.
Powers & abilities[]
Ivan has no combat training, but the Dark Powers have granted him a deadly power. Three times per day, he can turn any object he touches into poison. Each time, he can choose one of three strengths for his toxin: A "deadly" toxin kills any victim who fails a saving throw vs. poison, a "dangerous" one inflicts 4d6 points of damage on any character who fails the saving throw, and a "malingering" toxin takes hold like a sickness. Within an hour, victims of this poison become weak and cannot walk, remaining bedridden for 1d4 days.
Ivan himself is immune to all forms of poison, paralysis, and disease (including magical diseases). In addition to his natural toxins, he can prepare a poison or drug with virtually any effect. His favorite concoction remains in the victim's system for a day, then causes a sudden and violent death. Ivan has an antidote of sorts, but it merely delays the poison for another day. He keeps several retainers on a leash this way; each day they need the antidote or they will die. As long as only Ivan knows the antidote, they must remain loyal to him.
Ivan has spent so much time working with poisons that he has actually become addicted to one of his own rare creations. As such, his food is usually full of this deadly substance. Thus, many who dine with him do not survive to have dessert.