Funeral | My Obsidian Notes

Cemetery — Funeral with Strahd Present

How to run it (beats + pacing)

Goal: Strahd gets a first look at the party, taunts Ireena, and adds a knife-twist for Donavich—then leaves on his terms.
Length: keep it 5 minutes of table time. He arrives, speaks, exits.
Safety rails (so it doesn’t derail):
- He does not start a fight here.
- If the party escalates, he deflects once, demonstrates superiority once if needed, then leaves.

Read-aloud (set the funeral scene)

The cemetery sits behind the church like a clenched fist of stone and iron—fog caught between crooked headstones, the ground soft and black. Donavich’s voice wavers as he begins the rites. Ismark stands rigid, jaw tight. Ireena watches the earth like it might open again and take more from her.

A faint wind slides through the graves. The candles gutter.

Read-aloud (Strahd’s arrival)

A hush falls—

From the fog, a tall figure resolves as if the mist is obliging him: pale features, dark finery, and eyes that do not blink in the cold. He stops just beyond the grave, perfectly composed, as though this mourning was scheduled—and he is simply on time.

He looks past the priest, past the coffin, and studies each of you the way a collector studies a newly acquired antique.

Then his gaze settles on Ireena, and something like a smile touches his mouth.

Strahd’s script

“Please. Continue. I would hate to be the cause of… unfinished business.”

“To you, Ireena—my condolences. Grief makes even strong people… predictable.”

“And you, priest.”
(He tilts his head slightly, listening.)
“I hear him. Every night. ‘Father! I’m starving!’ Such devotion… such hunger.”

(A beat, gentle as a knife.)
“If you tire of these walls and this shame, bring him to me. I can offer your son a better home than a locked cellar under rotten boards.”

(He lets that hang, then looks to Ismark.)
“Ismark. Ever dutiful. Ever standing in the doorway like a lock that believes itself a wall.”

(His eyes drift back to the party.) “Ah. And here you are. New faces in an old land.”

(A slow look from one character to the next.) “I have a courtesy, you see: I greet guests who wander into my valley. Some arrive with arrogance. Some with desperation. A few with genuine courage.”

“I wanted to see which you are.”

“You can hide behind strangers if you like, Ireena. You can run to another town, another church, another set of prayers…”

(To the party, warmly.)
“Enjoy your stay. Try not to die too quickly. I find that… discourteous.

“I will be watching.”

(A small bow to Ireena, like a promise.)
“Until we speak properly.”

He turns, and the fog folds around him as if it has been trained.

RP notes (how to play Strahd here)

Calm, polite, never raised voice.
He treats the funeral like it’s his event.
The Donavich jab should feel “helpful” on the surface and horrifying underneath.

Common player Q&A (in-world responses Strahd would give)

“Who are you?”
“I am Strahd von Zarovich. This valley is mine. You are in my home.”

“Why are you here?”
“Because something interesting arrived. And because grief draws lines around people. I like to see what they do inside them.”

“Did you come to take Ireena?”
“If I wished it, you would already be apologizing. No—I came to meet you, and to pay my respects.”

“What do you want with her?”
“What has been delayed. What keeps returning no matter how many times the world tries to forget it.”

“What was that about Donavich’s son?”
(Mild smile.) “A starving thing prays to a starving god. I simply offered a more honest altar.”

“Are you threatening the priest?”
“Threaten? No. I offered mercy. It is not my fault you can’t tell the difference.”

“Can we leave this land?”
“If you find the door, you may try it. Few do. Fewer like what they find.”

“What happens if we attack you?”
“I would be disappointed. But not surprised.”

If the party tries to fight him (quick out)

He doesn’t commit. He lets a blow miss by inches, says: “Not today.” and leaves.
If you need a firmer line: he drops one PC to the ground in a blink, stops, and exits: “Now you understand.”