Portrait
Who they are
Rictavio, the lone guest of the Blue Water Inn besides the party, is a colorfully dressed half-elf bard who claims to be a carnival ringmaster from a distant land. He regales tavern patrons with stories so outrageous as to be hardly believable.
What the party knows
- Rictavio came to the inn just a day before the party.
- He gave his monkey, Piccolo, as a gift to Gadof Blinsky, the toymaker, and apparently takes food to Blinsky as a means of financial support.
- Has a horse named Drusilla in the stables of the Blue Water Inn
- Has a carnival wagon parked on the south side of the Arasek Stockyard
Personality
- Flamboyant, irreverent, and occasionally narcissistic
Where we’ve seen them
- Session 09 - Walls Keep Out More Than Wolves — he shared the story of Count Belasco (see The Ringmaster’s Tale)
- Session 11 - No Bones About It — he retrieved a parcel from Urwin in the morning, then departed to tend his horse.
- Session 16 (Neyavr 6) - While investigating Lake Baratok, the party discovered wagon tracks and bright yellow paint spatters proving that Rictavio’s carnival wagon had been at the lake near Khazan’s tower. Combined with the ring bearing Khazan’s sigil found at Arabelle’s abduction site, this evidence definitively connects Rictavio to the kidnapping.
- Session 17 - The Tower and The Truth (Neyavr 6) — The truth revealed! Armed with damning evidence from Van Richten’s Tower (journal pages, the carnival sign sketch, Arabelle’s bracelet, and paint pots), the party confronted Rictavio at the Arasek Stockyard. When Arden held a silvered battleaxe to his throat demanding answers, Rictavio drew his sword-cane and demanded proof they weren’t Strahd’s servants. After Arabelle’s voice called out from the wagon that they meant no harm, Rictavio removed his hat of disguise, revealing his true identity: Dr. Rudolph van Richten, the legendary monster hunter. He explained he had rescued Arabelle from Yan and Escher at the Luna River, then disguised his wagon and adopted the “Rictavio” persona to hide in plain sight while protecting her from Strahd’s servants.