Character from Curse of Strahd by Tracy & Laura Hickman, Chris Perkins / Wizards of the Coast
A legendary vampire hunter who has come to Barovia in disguise to destroy Strahd — an old man driven by grief and vengeance, and one of the few people in the world who might actually succeed.
Doctor Rudolph van Richten is the most accomplished monster hunter alive, and he has come to Barovia to kill the most dangerous vampire in existence. He knows the odds are terrible. He came anyway. Van Richten lost his son Erasmus to a Vistani kidnapping ring that sold the boy to a vampire lord. He spent years hunting that vampire, and when he finally destroyed it, he found his son had already been turned. He had to destroy his own child. The grief broke something in him, and what grew in the broken place was purpose — cold, methodical, unrelenting purpose. He has spent decades since then hunting the undead and other monsters, writing guides for those who would follow in his work. In Barovia, he travels under the identity of Rictavio, a flamboyant carnival ringmaster staying at the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki. The disguise is deliberate — no one suspects the loudest person in the room of being a calculating killer. Beneath the performance, Van Richten is quiet, precise, and profoundly sad. He knows he is old. He knows this is likely his last hunt. He has made peace with that. He is thin, weathered, with sharp eyes behind round spectacles and a scholar's hands that are steadier than they should be for a man his age. He carries hidden weapons and holy symbols. His knowledge of vampire lore is encyclopedic.
Also known as: Van Richten, Rudolph van Richten, Dr. Van Richten, Rictavio, the carnival ringmaster, the old hunter