Van Richten is a name that is a beacon of hope for some and a curse for others. His deeds live in infamy for those who act in the service of evil. Those who fear little and see threats in little else, suddenly find themselves alert at the thought that he may be near. The sound of his name setting them on edge. Who is this man who would set personifications of darkness to feel uneasy? Who is Dr. Van Richten?

Tragic Origin Story

Rudolph Van Richten grew up in the oppressive and gloomy environment of Darkon, the largest Domain of Dread within Ravenloft. Surrounded by illnes,s he believed his purpose in life was to heal people. Amidst the darkness and pain, he found a sliver of light in his childhood sweetheart, Ingrid. They married and had a son, Erasmus. However, darkness has a way of finding the light and snuffing it out.

One day while Dr. Van Richten was treating a woman in a nearby village his son was kidnapped from their home at the age of fourteen by the Vistani, travelers who wander the lands and traverse the strange mists. Determined to get his son back, he left his wife with the promise to find him.

He learned that a self-proclaimed “Baron Metus” had his son after he was sold into servitude by the Vistani. The Baron was not someone Van Richten expected. He describes him as a tall slender man with a pale pallor and eyes like pools of ink. When Van Richten requested that his son be returned the Baron laughed cruelly and denied him.

Despite being jailed, Erasmus was able to escape and go to his father, though, he was not entirely unscathed. Van Richten having had his suspicions now found that his suspicions were well founded. His son came to him with the same pale pallor and inky dark eyes. Erasmus was dead and yet, not. The Baron was a vampire, and had passed his sickness to his son.

As Van Richten tried to wrap his mind around what his son was, Erasmus had decided that he did not want to live as a vampire and offered his father a wooden stake to end his life. Reluctantly, Van Richten did so.

Upon returning home he found his wife dead as well and next to her a note signed from one Baron Metus. The letter expressed that now they were even. The loss of Van Richten’s wife for the loss of his spawn.

It was at that moment that Van Richten realized his true calling. He did not need to heal those from illness, but rid society of a greater disease and poison: evil. He then swore to accept a career not as a doctor or scholar but as one who pursues the destruction of vampires and other monsters.

Description

Van Richten is often described as aged, and frail. Thanks to his several decades-long career as a monster hunter, he is also described as sturdy. He is typically depicted as having short grey hair, a beard, glasses, and is mentioned to walk with a limp due to an injury sustained to his left knee. He wears the typical attire of a monster hunter. Because of his consistent run in with monsters, he relies heavily on magical disguises; rarely traveling as himself. Therefore, his description within campaigns and certain settings changes accordingly.

Regardless of his age, Van Richten is a man of legend for a reason. His name is one that continues to offer hope and acts as a threat to monsters, vampires, and other agents who commit evil. This is Dr. Rudolph Van Richten.