Gustav Durst

Gustav Durst

Rosavalda Durst (Daughter)

Walter Durst (Baby Son)

Anya (Nursemaid and mother to Walter)

Gustav Durst is a nobleman and head of the Durst family. He was raised by nobles before him but through his wit and hard work, he amassed great wealth and connections. Owner of many trade businesses, storefronts and such, including a windmill.

Prior to the coming of the mists, he was a tall and regal man who often was seen very well dressed, even in casual attire. He had sleepy eyes and wavy well kept black hair and always had a smile on his face. He sported a mustache that he kept well groomed.

Since the days of the mist, he lost most of his body weight due to lack of resources. Yet through all of this, he kept his smile and well kept hair.

## Personality

Gustav was a gentle, intelligent, and hard working nobleman of Barovia. Always positive, his optimism was very contagious, which drew people to him.

## Story

Gustav grew up in a small minor noble house in Barovia. He had a knack for trading at a young age, to which his parents saw and cultivated. Rising through the noble ranks, he lifted his house to one of the major prominent noble houses of Barovia by the age 18.

Marrying his teenage sweetheart, Elizabeth, they had two children, Rosavalda “Rose” and Thornboldt “Thorn”. They had a very comfortable life, up until the days of the mist.

When the mists came to the Barovia, so did famine, which coupled with the fact that the citizens could no longer leave, decimated the Durst family credit and income.

Coming to the brink of starvation, Gustav called together all the nobles to have a clandestine meeting to find a solution. Debating and arguing late into the night, none could find a solution, that is until Elizabeth spoke up. Quite Elizabeth proposed a plan so hideous in nature, so simple yet so depraved that she dare not have spoken aloud had she found any other solution.

She suggested to waylay wayward travelers, pillage their resources, then kill them and eat them. The idea sparked much outrage within the meeting, but as the night went on, the more she talked the more it made sense, and by morning everyone convinced, reluctantly or otherwise .

And so come the next day they began plans to excavate the basement to commit their vile deeds in secret.

Being a kind soul, Gustav only agreed if they allowed resources enough to keep the kids, Rose and Thorn, and their nursemaid Anya completely separated from all these events.

Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and eventually land of Barovia adjusted to its current climate. Heartier crops began to grow and the famine became a thing of the past. Yet their taste for human flesh had only grown.

It was during these years that Gustav used as much connections as he could to figure out the source of the mist, and quickly figured out that it was a product of Strahd’s doing. He seemed to find that shortly after Strahd’s lovers passing the mist came and deduced that it was Strahd that must have brought the mist. He also seemed to hear rumor that Strahd had become a monster.

Hearing this, he used what wealth he still had to amass magical items that could be used against Strahd, hoping one day to find the legendary three artifacts that could be used to finally defeat him.

While Gustav has his attention on defeating Strahd and the mist, Elizabeth became obsessed with trying to find a way to prolong her life so that they didn’t have to rely on cannibalism any longer. Her attention was turned to the occult, specifically the cult of Lorhgoth.

With this in mind, the cult turned to sacrificing the travelers then eating them, which Gustav began to turn away from and into the arms of their nursemaid Anya. And though they had a brief union, she became pregnant, to which Elizabeth found out.

Much to Gustav’s surprise, Elizabeth accepted this. And on the day of Walter’s birth, the baby of Gustav and Anya, Elizabeth sent Gustav on an errand into town. Unbeknownst to him, Elizabeth took this opportunity to lock Rose and Thorn upstairs and then proceeded to brutally murder Anya. She then took Walter downstairs to be sacrificed.

Gustav then came home to find Anya brutally murdered, his wife transformed, and the baby Walter dead downstairs. Grieving and in shock, he didn’t bother to look for Rose and Thorn thinking they had met a similar fate and not being able to handle more grief.

He then took his life upstairs in the master bedroom after writing a suicide note and hanging himself.

## Items Pertaining to the Story

* Gustav's Suicide Note
* Gustav's Journal