Ireena

Tatyana has reincarnated in the valley dozens of times. She ALWAYS dies before Strahd can turn her (this is the eponymous 'Curse of Strahd:' to forever pursue Tatyana, but for her to be snatched away before he can have her). (reddit)

There is never a corpse. Every time she dies, the mists swirl in around her and whisk the body away. Strahd doesn't even get a body to mourn over (or try to resurrect or raise as undead or whatever). (reddit)

Tatyana's reincarnated personality is not always consistent, but she always looks exactly the same. (reddit)

She is alluring to the point that Strahd suspects that the artist who painted her portrait (in his study) may have fallen for her just in the process of painting her...though that may be Strahd's jealousy talking. (reddit)

Tatyana's reincarnation always has some amount of latent memories that Strahd can draw out of her. He is very careful with the memories he activates, trying to focus only on the 'good' things between the two of them, while cutting Sergei out of the picture entirely. (reddit)

The ritual by which Strahd is trying to turn Ireena (and has tried to turn every prior Tatyana incarnation) is called a Bride Ceremony. It's why he has attacked her twice in a row without killing/turning her, but the [CoS] book says the third time is when he's going to finish it. This is NOT something a vampire does lightly, and should tip off any knowledgeable PC or NPC (say Ezmerelda or Rictavio) that Ireena isn't just the vampire's "next victim." Details on a Bride Ceremony (reddit)

Combat

Ireena is...passable with a sword. She's not amazing by PC standards, but she's significantly better than your average civilian. However, more importantly...she has the Parry feature. Speaking in terms of PC capabilities, that's something only a Battlemaster Fighter learns how to do, at a minimum of 3rd level. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

So, translating this into her character...Ismark has trained his little sister to defend herself, but has focused more on defensive swordplay than offensive. I portrayed this as Ismark being very protective of his little sister...and viewing her as his "Little Sister." In essence, he trained her in swordplay with the intent that she could keep herself alive until he could get there to beat the crap out of whatever was attacking her. I portrayed him as protective to the point that he is actually hampering Ireena's ability to defend herself. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Thus, Ireena has some capability to get better. She's not a PC and her skill shouldn't grow explosively like a PC would, but she has the ability to improve if she is trained by the PCs. Normal people aren't like adventurers. They don't just become monstrously more powerful, invent new techniques and tactics, and so on...they get steadily better at the things they have been taught. So if a PC takes it upon themselves to train Ireena, her skill with a blade will improve. You can represent this by increasing her HP, bumping up her To-Hit bonus, and maybe--eventually--giving her a multiattack. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

End of the day though...she's not going to be any sort of front-liner. Better at defending herself from mundane threats, sure, but the PCs should always outclass her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Social

In my version of Ireena, this is where she shines. A Noble is Proficient in Persuasion, Deception, and Insight. She's not on the level of a PC Bard, but she can talk circles around most normal people. But...there's more to it than just simple stats. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is the only daughter of Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich (adopted...but very few people know that). Ireena is part of one of three noble families in the entire valley. And, after Kolyan's death...Ismark is the new Burgomaster. As such, I assigned to her the Position of Privilege feature from the Noble background. The commoners in the valley will bend over backwards to accommodate her if they know who she is, and she can go basically anywhere she wants and dismiss protests with a disparaging glare. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Even if Ireena is not the one doing the talking, her mere presence backing up the PC who is doing the talking lends significant political pressure to whatever the PC is trying to do. Mechanically, she can Help with social actions aimed at Barovians simply by being present and making it clear that she's on the PC's side. Alternatively, if using the 'Attitude' rules laid out in the DMG for social interaction, simply consider that for an average Barovian, she always starts one level better than normal. An Indifferent NPC may be Friendly to her, a Hostile one may shift to indifference (doesn't really like her, but doesn't want the trouble that comes from torquing off a noble). (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Information

Ireena is a noble's daughter--she is probably one of the best educated individuals in the valley. She should be familiar with the geography of the valley, be able to provide information about important people in each town, and regurgitate trivia about the history of Barovia without having to make a check at all--this is information that was thoroughly pounded into her head as a child. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Political Guile

From here, we're moving into things that are my own adjustments to her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is the daughter of a nobleman and is thus well educated in the art of politics. The town of Vallaki is a political nightmare/powder keg and Ireena can be invaluable in helping the party navigate it. She knows how to properly execute a political scandal (she's read about tons of them, after all) to disgrace individuals, and all manner of other pieces. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Hobby > Feat Unlock

To give Ireena some more flair to her personality, I gave her a hobby. She does embroidery as it is an "appropriate hobby for a lady." She's quite good, actually...and this provides a segue to another potential expansion on her abilities. Ireena's skill with a needle and thread makes her a potential medic. Given time to learn, she can pick up the basics of medical care and herbalism. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Mechanically, this provides the ability for Ireena to 'unlock' the Healer feat for herself, plus the ability to manufacture Healer's Kits. This gives her some nice out-of-combat healing capabilities (she's not durable enough to do this in combat) and can let her stabilize/resuscitate downed PCs. This is not as huge of an upgrade as giving her access to healing magic, as I have seen some do, but it gives her some solid utility. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Personality

Ireena is called out as an individual who appears mild, but is strong-willed and does her best to save herself. I made a few further adjustments for flavor... (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena has a stubborn streak. When she deems it necessary, she plants herself and changing her mind becomes extraordinarily difficult. (Such as refusing to leave the town for her own safety until her father had a proper burial (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is more cunning than she seems. Her appearance seems to scream "Innocent, wide-eyed idealist," but Ireena is Barovian. Idealism died centuries ago.

Believes Strahd cannot be killed. Her current goal is to disappear and avoid notice until Strahd loses interest...she doesn't have enough information to know that this is not possible. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is an individual who knows very well what it's like to be afraid. While this makes some people jumpy and paranoid, it has made her kinder. She's quick to comfort children, help people in need, etc. Ireena should come across as a rare point of light in a very dark land...one of a tiny handful of genuinely good, altruistic individuals in the entire valley. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

The book lists a very large number of unnamed NPCs as being Lawful Good. This is absurd, because it implies that LG guards are willingly working with a known child-murderer (Izek Strazni) and locking people up for "not being happy enough." Thus, in my game, all unnamed NPCs are changed to some variety of Neutral or Evil to represent the fact that 'goodness' is rare in Barovia. This should make Ireena stand out even more. She is a genuinely good person. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is seriously invested in keeping herself in one piece and free from Strahd. She will do absolutely anything and everything in her power to assist the party. She should be one of the most actively helpful individuals the party will ever encounter. Once she realizes she can't keep up in a fight, she'll try to help in other ways--gathering expended ammo, teaching herself first aid, searching bodies for useful stuff, and so on. (In short, think Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite.) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is unused to the rigors of life on the move--especially at the pace set by Adventurers. For the first while she's traveling with them, she'll be tired and her feet will be hurting her. She may shows signs of this and will be very grateful for any kindness or help offered, but will absolutely not complain about it. Ireena is good at sucking it up and dealing with it...the party has enough going on helping protect her from Strahd, they do not need to hear the minor gripes of a rich girl. (Note: whiny NPCs get ditched by every player I've ever played with--avoid making her a complainer) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is scared. She puts on a brave face and tries to channel her fear into productive things (it's a large part of why she's so motivated) but Strahd terrifies her. Ireena just happens to be the sort who is motivated by fear, not incapacitated by it. (Note: scaredy-cat NPCs also often get ditched by players. It's okay for her to be scared--but she shouldn't be cowering in corners) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena has a sense of humor...unusual for the normally dour Barovians (it's a lingering effect of Tatyana's soul...an individual initially born in a much happier time). She may crack jokes on occasion. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Notes on her Appearance

Just a few things that may be worth pointing out to make her a little more memorable. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena's hair is Auburn (brownish red). A fairly uncommon hair color that I decided was basically unheard of in Barovia. In my game, she dyes her hair black both to throw off the PCs as to her relationship to Tatyana and, in-game, because 'red hair is unlucky.' (It's a rare trait and all of Tatyana's reincarnations--whom Strahd has always targeted and who have always died as a result of this--had auburn hair). She has to re-do the dye on a regular basis or it will wash out. If restored to its natural color, Ireena will stand out in a crowd. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

She's very pretty, has a good Cha score, and is kind. It's not at all unreasonable that NPCs (or possibly even PCs) may develop a crush on her. Remember that Strahd is extremely jealous. An NPC who flirts too hard with Ireena may end up dead. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Given that I gave her the hobby of embroidery--cloth items (clothes, her backpack, etc) belonging to her tend to have little embroidered flourishes on them. This can aid the party in identifying her belongings should something happen that makes her go missing. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Lingering effects of her re-issued soul

Ireena bears Tatyana's soul. While I, personally, got rid of the endings with Sergei (I don't like Ireena's personality being subsumed, and her being automagically whisked off to happily ever after), I rolled in a few additions based off who she used to be. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

This is a unique trait to her soul, and no one else's...Ravenloft fiction reveals that unlike everyone else who reincarnates within Ravenloft, Tatyana's soul is carrying around pieces of the original Tatyana besides just her appearance. For example, the book I, Strahd shows that, if prompted correctly, a reincarnation of Tatyana can recover some of Tatyana's memories...and Strahd does this on a regular basis in his attempts to woo Tatyana's reincarnations (carefully only awakening those memories that are beneficial to his attempts, and steering wide of anything that could awaken her memories of Sergei). (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

These memories can be triggered by careful coaxing that Strahd has perfected over the centuries, but can also be set off by encountering things that remind her of Tatyana's life. Not all of the memories are conscious...as you'll see in my examples. Her relationship with these memories is a bit unusual as they both are and are not her own memories. "Ireena" is still the dominant set of memories, so Tatyana's memories will feel slightly alien and out of place to her (especially because these memories occurred before Barovia was entrapped in the Mists. There are actual clear skies and sunny days in Tatyana's memories--things Ireena has never laid eyes upon)...and some of them may be downright traumatizing. The memories lack context--they are just snippets of Tatyana's life. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

By my slight re-write of canon--while they were courting, Sergei (who was a gifted warrior) took it upon himself to teach Tatyana a bit about sword play (share your hobbies with those you love, I guess?). As a result, while Ireena doesn't own a Rapier at the start of the adventure, if she acquires one later--she'll take to it like a fish to water. Again, she's not a PC...she won't explosively grow in skill the way they do. But she will be good with a rapier from the first time she picks one up. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena seems to know her way around Castle Ravenloft. This isn't a conscious awareness, but if she wants to go somewhere in the castle, she can find her way there without fail. She is not, however, aware of changes made since Tatyana's death (like all the traps). (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is drawn to strong warrior types...even if it doesn't manifest as a crush, even if the party's strong warrior type isn't male or human...she'll gravitate towards that individual (especially if she is nervous). (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

At any point that is of maximum detriment to Strahd's attempts to wed her, the Dark Powers may trigger Ireena to unlock whatever memories are most likely to make Strahd's attempts blow up in his face. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

She will recognize Sergei, if she sees him in the crypts, and will unlock fragmentary memories of him. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Because I hate the whole Krezk Pool encounter and all of the "Sergei appears and Ireena ceases to exist in favor of Tatyana" scenes...if she encounters Sergei, she will recognize him and unlock a rather large batch of memories that reveals her former identity to her. However, she continues to be Ireena, retains her personality, and must make her own decisions. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

She will feel nostalgic around the Sunsword, feeling like she recognizes the hilt. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

The view from the Overlook (Area K6 in Castle Ravenloft) is nostalgic to her, and unlocks a memory of clear, beautiful days seen from that spot. Weird, as she has never seen clear skies in her life. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Seeing the painting of Tatyana in Strahd's study may trigger a memory of sitting for that painting. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Seeing the dining room (and rotted cake) in Ravenloft may trigger a flashbulb of herself in a wedding dress, with the room richly decorated, and the cake fresh. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Near-immunity to danger

Creatures that serve Strahd are aware of who Ireena is. They are fully aware that if they harm her, they have to answer to Strahd. Intelligent monsters, or monsters that Strahd controls won't harm her. They may disarm her or incapacitate (without real harm) her if she is fighting them, but they know that if they hurt Strahd's beloved, he will torture them to death. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

This allows the PCs to have her around without having to constantly fret about protecting her. She's not a fighter, but she's handy to keep around and you don't actually have to work that hard to protect her from getting killed. (Think Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite. Immune to normal combat, handy to have around, and [ideally] sends players into a rage when she gets kidnapped) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena should even have a resistance to being abducted due to Strahd's protection. Strahd has been trying to 'get' Tatyana for centuries (it hasn't worked yet), and he is quite capable of taking her from the PCs if he wants to. The fact that she's traveling with the PCs means Strahd wants her there. By my notes on Strahd, he is attempting 'creative solutions' at this point, and the PCs are part of it. If Ireena is to be taken by Strahd or his servants, it should be a climactic event...she shouldn't have people trying to drag her off into the woods every time a fight breaks out. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

In short, if the PCs are constantly having to rescue her during combat, they are going to get annoyed and find somewhere 'safe' to ditch her...think of all the 'normal' escort quests you get stuck with in video games and how much they suck. Ireena should NOT be one of those individuals. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena's Role in Strahd's Curse

Ireena is doomed. Most likely. The Curse of Strahd is that he will forever pursue Tatyana, but never have her. And the Dark Powers will straight-up cheat to make sure of this. Strahd may kidnap Tatyana, he may start the process of turning her into a vampire, he may even have a whole wedding ceremony in the works see here for details on the 'Bride Ceremony' that Strahd is using to try turn Ireena into a free-willed full-blown vampire that retains her personality...also skipping the spawn stage. But it will always fail. Ireena will die instead of becoming Strahd's. The Dark Powers will ensure it. Here are a few options for ways she could go down even if Strahd takes her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Strahd's Charm unexpectedly fails at an inopportune time and Ireena throws herself off something to her death (poetically appropriate, because this is exactly how Tatyana died. Strahd had her Charmed, then the Charm just abruptly puttered out and she fled from him--ultimately hurling herself off the castle walls.) She could also throw herself off of Bucephalus while the Nightmare is transporting her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If Ireena is aware of what is happening (has been told about the Bride Ceremony) she may kill herself rather than be turned. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Strahd completes the third and final feeding of the Bride Ceremony...but lets Ireena feed on him for too long (or can't stop her). She goes mad and dies screaming in agony. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

The party shows up in the middle of the third feeding, before Strahd can give Ireena his blood. Unless healed promptly, she dies of blood loss while the adventurers distract Strahd. He flies into a rage and attacks (final confrontation time) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ezmerelda or Rictavio recognize the makings of a bride ceremony when they see it, agree to kill Ireena if she is taken by Strahd (better off dead). Perhaps Strahd just finished the third feeding successfully, is fighting the PCs, and Ez/Rict stake Ireena before she awakens as a vampire. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

On top of this, here's a thought that may make rescuing Ireena a little easier if Strahd has her: historically, Strahd's Charm has been unreliable on Tatyana. In Ravenloft fiction, we can see cases where Strahd charms others, and has completely dominion over them--but he Charms Tatyana, and it randomly craps out at the most inopportune moment possible. So, perhaps history will repeat itself in that way: Ireena is doing whatever, charmed by Strahd. But, when the PCs call out to her, she looks confused for a moment and then the Charm breaks. She's back to being terrified of Strahd and wanting to get away from him. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Important Note: Normally, when a vampire bites you, it's relatively painless. You get light-headed from the blood loss, possibly feel disoriented by the Charm effect if used. However, a bite performed as part of a Bride Ceremony feels incredibly good, likely one of the best sensations an individual has ever felt. Ireena has been bitten twice and experienced this. It's quite embarrasing for her to admit this (what kind of person would like getting drained by a vampire?) and she probably hasn't told anyone about that facet of Strahd's attacks on her, but it's a sure indicator that Strahd is trying for a Bride Ceremony. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

As a final note on this...if Ireena dies, she doesn't leave a corpse. The Mists swirl in, envelop her body, and then disappear. Strahd doesn't get to take her to the Abbot to get her Raised, he doesn't get to animate her corpse to keep around, he doesn't even get a body to preserve and bury. She's just gone. Every time. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Results of all of this

So, all of that said...what does this mean for gameplay with her?

Social utility over combat utility

Ireena's status as a noblewoman and her own social skills mean she is more useful in a social setting than she is in a fight. If her identity is known, her mere presence lends weight to the PCs words (having an NPC that dispenses social advantage just by giving people 'looks' will make her rather popular with the socially-focused member(s) of your party). Perhaps entertainingly, people may assume she's in charge and that the PCs are simply her entourage/bodyguards. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

The party's life should just be easier with Ireena around--they get better prices on things, Barovians are more accomodating and less suspicious, etc. Furthermore, if you leave Ireena somewhere for a while, she will naturally start socially connecting with people. She will make friends, learn about useful individuals, and otherwise wield that 16 Charisma over everyone else's 10. Given her current focus on survival, she is likely to seek out making 'friends' with people who are potentially useful to the PCs. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

As an example: in my campaign the party left her in the Blue Water Inn in Vallaki while they ran around doing other things. Ireena spent that time making friends and accumulating gossip and rumors--just in case some of it proved useful. By the time they got back Ireena had a solid grasp of the political situation in town, including the predominant rumors surrounding the Baron and Lady Wachter--and had learned where all the shops in town were. She didn't info-dump on the PCs, she'd just filed all that information away in her head and brought things up if they seemed to be relevant. It provided a nice, relatively seamless way to make the 'rumors and knowledge' block available to the PCs without info-dumping on my players. Ireena got the info-dump, and she'll dispense bits of it as needed. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

On top of that, she is aware of people with a useful skill if the party needs something. (For example: she knows the wolf hunters can be hired as guides. She knows that the blacksmith's wife is a fletcher, but doesn't display the stuff she makes--everyone in town knows what she does so they go talk to her if they need something. She knows that there's a wainwright in town if the party wants to buy a wagon; but he's not very popular in town because he deals with Vistani.) (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Drive for Self-Improvement

Throughout most of Ireena's life, she's thought she was pretty well skilled. She's the finest swordswoman in Barovia Town and, while she can't compare to Ismark...nobody can compare to Ismark (that she knows of). Her big brother is an absolute beast with a blade. With her sheltered life, she has figured that she has all the skills she really needs. Traveling with the PCs will be quite illuminating for her, and will cause her to start trying to better herself. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

She'll learn that her sword skills really aren't that impressive and she has a long way to go. Yeah, she's pretty good by normal-people standards but (apart from the multiattack) by PC standards, even Ismark isn't actually that amazing with a blade. A typical martial PC is better than he is...much less someone like a Battlemaster. The first time she sees the PCs fight, she's going to seriously re-evaluate her skill level--and, perhaps, seek training from one of the PCs. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Circumstances that enter her life will drive her to want to learn new skills. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If Izek kidnaps her and locks her in his room, she's going to ask the party sneak to teach her how to pick locks--or at give her the basics. She won't be proficient with the tools...but she'll try to break out if she can. She may even ask a PC for help in hiding lockpicks on her person somewhere they are unlikely to be found. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If PCs are getting injured, and/or there's a PC with medical skills, Ireena will acknowledge that she is not talented in combat the way the PCs are, but wants to help...she'll get to work on unlocking the 'Healer' feat for herself. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If she sees a PC successfully hide weapons on their person (happened in my campaign...the Rogue somehow managed to disappear a pair of shortswords when being searched), she's going to ask for pointers on doing the same. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If Ireena can't find someone to teach her what she wants to know, she'll try to find another way to learn it. Baron Vallakovich has a nice library full of books...she may find instructional books buried in there that she can use to teach herself useful things. This gives her something to do if the party leaves her in Vallaki so that she's even more useful if you bring them back to collect her again. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

This also gives some flavor to make her seem more alive--little things that show she is a self-motivated individual who is doing things on her own can make her a more intriguing character. If Ireena is idle, have her be practicing something the PCs taught her. For a from-my-game example, my players were floored when Ireena asked the rogue for pointers on lock-picking...then were surprised/delighted when they returned to the inn to find that Ireena had purchased a padlock and was using some of the rogue's spare tools to practice on it. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

The Cover Story

Ireena is fully aware of the situation she's in. She's being preyed on by the vampire and this brings her all manner of trouble. She has not forgotten that the people of Barovia panicked and refused to associate with her (despite her status) because they learned that Strahd was targeting her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Thus, Ireena comes up with a cover story for why she is traveling. She hides the fact that Strahd is targeting her, and keeps the bite marks hidden until they heal and instead makes up a story to cover why she is traveling. This is not an off-the-cuff lie...it's something she planned and rehearsed to make it as convincing as possible, and then decided to act on her lie so it is actually a truth (if only a half-truth). In my game (Ismark was persuaded to stay behind), this was her story: (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

"My father, Burgomaster Kolyan Indirovich, has died and my brother has taken up his responsibilities. I am traveling across the valley, to stop at every church of the Morning Lord and pray for my father, that his rest may be eternal. I do not know how long I will stay, I will move as I feel led to. And, while I travel, my brother has asked that I bear his greeting to the lords of Vallaki and Krezk, and his wish to maintain and even strengthen the relationships between our towns." (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Self-Rescue

In order to prevent Ireena from being the Designated Damsel in Distress, have her engineer her own escapes--or at least try to. The key point to remember here is this: she understands her limitations. Ireena is not a strong fighter and she's not ninja-level sneaky. But she's clever, well-educated, good at reading people, and is excellent at convincing people of things (either through persuasion or deception). For example... (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Suppose Ireena is abducted by Izek. Once she realizes what's going on and that she's in trouble (the room full of dolls that look like her is a real big hint), she's going to start trying to engineer her escape. If she's met the Baron, she'll use her position as a noblewoman to make sure the Baron talks to her...she will either tell her story (about praying at the church) to him, or use the story if he's already heard it. The Baron has a rather rebellious son, and may be moved by the 'fine dutiful daughter' that Ireena seems to be. Ireena's goal here is to attain increasing amounts of liberty for herself so she can move around and try to find a chance to get away. The catch here is that Izek is going to resist this idea strongly--so this is more likely to drive a wedge between Izek and the Baron...as the Baron is meddling in the one thing that Izek values more than him. Ireena will try to encourage this rift, knowing that if Izek gets kicked out of the Baron's house, that puts her outside--better chance to escape. On top of this (in my game) she also wrote a letter to the PCs, ostensibly to assure them that everything was fine and they didn't need to rescue her...but left a code in the letter asking them for help. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena's best weapons are her words and her mind. This could include anything from what's listed above, to asking Strahd for a chance to 'say goodbye' to friends and family (hopefully luring him to a place the PCs can attack and rescue her), to using coded messages and notes to communicate with the PCs (especially effective if she has become friendly with the Keepers of the Feather, and can use Ravens and Wereravens to send notes). It could even be as simple as Ireena negotiating with Strahd for tours of the castle (I would like to see my new home, after all), then writing details about it down so the PCs have advanced intel on what to expect when they go to break in. And she could probably pull it off, too. Her Deception check is significantly better than Strahd's Insight check (+5 vs +2). If she opts to play along, she can likely fool him--even to the point where she might convince him that he doesn't actually need to Charm her. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

In short...even if Ireena is captured, she should not idly sit by and lament her state. She should set about using her wits and skill with words to either rescue herself, or orchestrate her own rescue. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena is Active

In a lot of games of D&D whenever the PCs aren't in town NPCs go into stasis. Nothing happens, nothing progresses, they just wait for the PCs to come back. Don't do this with Ireena. If the party leaves her somewhere, she should not go into stasis. She is actively trying to keep herself alive and free, regardless of whether or not the PCs are in the same room. Have things happen around her, and put her at the heart of it. For a few examples... (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If left in Vallaki and the party hasn't resolved the political Charlie Foxtrot that is the town, she (as a noble) gets tangled up in it. Perhaps if Lady Wachter seizes power because Izek is dead, Ireena learns of her allegiance to Strahd and, when the PCs come back, Ireena is leading a resistance against her out of the church. If you want a nice visual indication of the change...she gets her hands on Baron Vallakovich's armor and rapier, and has the local smith adjust the breastplate to fit her. So they leave behind a noble girl in traveling clothes, and come back to an armed and armored girl who has taken over half the town. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If left in Krezk, she happens upon the Pool herself, encounters Sergei, but elects to 'stay.' Sergei understands completely, and accepts this. She is now armed with personal memories about Strahd and Castle Ravenloft. She gave give them insights into his past, and even sketch maps of parts of Ravenloft she was familiar with. Naturally, she contacts the PCs about this. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Regardless of where she's left, she learns of and makes contact with the Keepers of the Feather. She starts collating information from them and wielding them as a spy network to support the PCs. She'll also convince the wereravens to serve as couriers, carrying letters to the party in Raven form. If the party later recollects her, she continues getting regular updates from the Keepers via Raven. This can work great for plot hooks, as Ireena's new spy network discovers things the PCs may be interested in tackling. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If taken by Strahd, will try to stay in touch with the PCs...likely by raven. Her letters may be a bit disjointed at this point, depending on whether or not she's currently Charmed. When she has periods out from under his Charm, she'll realize that he is messing with her head and resolves to tell the party what her current opinion of Strahd is at the start of every letter. She can justify it as warning them, or rambling about how awesome he is, depending on her current state. That way, the PCs get advance warning in a letter whether or not the contents may be compromised. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

As mentioned above, if Ireena is captured by anyone for any reason...she'll set about trying to free herself (unless Strahd is successfully keeping her locked down with Charm). Ideally, she should incorporate skills she learned from the PCs to do so--that way the PCs can see that teaching her actually accomplished something. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Ireena should actively seek to further a useful knowledge-base. Getting her hands on things that can teach her new things that would be useful to keeping herself alive is a priority for her. Letting the party walk in on her while she's reading a book on medicinal plants or sitting on a bed with a padlock and some borrowed thieves' tools can provide extra depth to her personality, and give them hints of skills she may manifest later. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If Ireena is traveling with the party, she should actively seek to be useful. She should offer to go shopping to help them restock on provisions, help forage for food (Help Action, she's not a good survivalist herself), scavenge for ammo, carry stuff for them, and so on. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Survival?

If Ireena survives, she survives. She leaves Barovia--with the PCs if they'll have her along. As mentioned above, I can't stand all of the Sergei scenes as written in the book. The most that may happen is that an image of Sergei may appear and thank the party for saving his beloved's soul from this cyclical torture. He acknowledges that Ireena is not Tatyana, despite her soul and fragmented memories, and wishes her a long and happy life. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

General Tips on making her seem Interesting

These didn't quite slot into the sections above, or were mentioned but not clearly expanded upon. Of note: a lot of this is useful any time you want PCs to like an NPC. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Make sure she Does Things. Ireena should have initiative and shouldn't just sit around and wait on the PCs. Most players are used to NPCs existing for their sake, and may be surprised to find that Ireena is doing things all on her own. Have them find her practicing with her rapier, making friends with other NPCs, practicing skills the PCs taught her, reading books to learn new things, and so on. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Play her smart. Ireena is clever--she should be aware of her capabilities and know what she can and cannot do. She knows she's no match for a werewolf, she shouldn't blitz one. She knows she can't take Izek Strazni in a fight and shouldn't try it unless she is desperate. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Don't depend on the party for everything. If Ireena can solve a problem herself, let her solve it. Just remember the above notes--Ireena is far more likely to solve problems with cleverness, persuasion, being good at reading people, and perhaps a little deception/manipulation than she is to solve a problem with violence. (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

If something is within her domain of expertise, you can use her to 'bail out' the party if they aren't rolling well or get stuck on an idea. She has a good Insight Check (which is a skill that, for some reason, my players never seem to take Proficiency in) and may nudge a PC if something doesn't seem right to her. But, make sure she isn't overshadowing the players--she will generally defer to them (they are the experienced adventurers, after all). (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

Give her some defining behavioral quirks that make her more distinctive. Does she chew on her lower lip when she's focusing hard on something? Does she have a poorly behaved lock of hair that is always getting in her face? Is she easily embarrassed? Does she have a surprisingly coarse vocabulary when something startles her? (reddit/u/guildsbounty)

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Absolutely brilliant, and similar in many ways to how I've been running Ireena. I never liked the "give her Fighter levels" approach, either, but I have thought about increasing her HP (maybe to 21) over time, as you suggested. (reddit)

One of my players complained from the beginning that she finds Ireena very flat and boring, for which I didn't blame her (the book does an awful job at making Ireena interesting other than being the designated Macguffin), but it did make me very sad. Here's what I focused on to make Ireena more valued by the players: (reddit)

Local privilege. Ireena is a Barovian, so she doesn't face the xenophobia that the party will. People will open up around her more readily. (reddit)

Social station and education. Vallaki's Baron treated her like an esteemed guest of honor both because of her station and because he wanted to taunt Strahd by keeping her away from him. When the party learned about Udo being imprisoned in the manor, only Ireena and Ismark (mostly Ireena) were able to convince the baron to show mercy and release him, saving the party from breaking in and putting themselves at risk. (reddit)

Light in darkness. Most Barovians are unpleasant and dour when not outright hostile. Ireena is exceptional for her kindness and good humor, traits which weren't obvious at first because she had been living in fear for the last few days, but after she became familiar with the party, her true self began to come out. Ismark lamented to the party how much being a target of Strahd changed Ireena and how awful it was that the people of the village shunned her after she became Strahd's prey. Ireena never has an unkind word to say about the party, which should be contrasted with the hostility of the random peasants and her brother's brash demeanor. (reddit)

Self-sacrifice. Ireena hates seeing other people suffer on her behalf. She is extremely grateful for the party helping to escort her but regrets that they are in danger because of her. She has been willing to put herself in danger to help the party, against Ismark's insistence that she stay behind. An example from my game is when she agreed to go to a meeting with Izek when Izek offered to meet with one of the party members trusted by the baron in order to explain some things, but only if they brought the "girl from his dreams." (reddit)

Ireena admires the characters. People like to be liked. I had Ireena be enchanted with one of the party members, a courtier, and look up to that character as a model of a sophisticated noblewoman, since all that Ireena has known of how to be an aristocrat is ancient books of poetry handed down through her family. When the characters are hurt or in danger, Ireena shows concern. Ireena bonded with the courtier character after that character disappeared and returned the next morning bitten by Strahd. (reddit)

The party still doesn't want to haul Ireena around, but they all like her, most of them feel badly for her, and I don't think anyone wants to see harm come to her. (reddit)

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Adopted or Not? On Izek

The book tells us that Ireena is the adopted daughter of Barovia's Burgomaster and that her long lost brother is Izek Strazni, the demon armed miscreant from Vallaki. For the sake of incorporating my PCs into the narrative, I changed this.[1]

If you've given Ireena's role to a PC, then no problem. Keep this detail and have the surprise hit the whole party when they get to Vallaki.[2]

If Ireena is still an NPC, then she's the blood daughter of the Burgomaster and sister to Ismark. She isn't related to Izek at all, so that's a detail/rumor you don't have to worry about dropping on the party. INSTEAD, one of your PCs is Izek's sister. It's entirely possible that one of your PCs was carted out of Barovia as a baby and doesn't know that they're actually a native to this land. In my game, I got lucky enough that my player wanted to be a teifling urchin. The teifling/devil bit ended up lining up really well with Izek's demon arm.[3]

In a nutshell, one of your PCs is Izek's sister. Whether that PC also has Ireena's function narratively is up to you.[4]

Ireena's Personality

Ireena is one of the few truly good individuals in the game. She's got a stubborn streak and a love for discovering new things, but also honestly wants to help those in need. Though she fears Strahd, she doesn't let that fear stand in her way and actively works to avoid him.[5]

I would highly recommend using this guide to run Ireena as an NPC. It's detailed and wonderful and really breathes some life into this otherwise static character.[6]

Some of my favorite and most important notes from that guide about Ireena are the following:[7]

Redheads are bad luck in Barovia, mostly because of a series of redheaded maidens (Tatyana's reincarnations) that all died horribly. Ireena herself has red-brown hair and regularly dyes it black to avoid attention.[8]

Ireena embroiders as her lady-like hobby. Her pack and other things have evidence of her stitch work.[9]

Ireena knows the horrors of Barovia all too well. But unlike most people who let those horrors harden and corrupt them, they've only made Ireena more understanding and sympathetic to those in need.[10]

Ireena hates feeling helpless and/or useless. While she's not as capable as a PC in battle, she acts as a great support character in order to aid the party. She actively collects spent ammo, patches up wounds, and darts in and out of combat to avoid being in the way. She does not want to be a burden to the party.[11]

Ireena's Ending

I hate the weird, ghost-y endings that the book provides for Ireena. Having her suddenly turn into Tatyana's spirit and fly off on a rainbow of happiness with Sergei is so cheap. It undermines Ireena's character and basically tells us that she's worthless compared to a dead ghost lady that the PCs will never meet. Hell to the No.[12]

Doomed?

The Dark Powers actively work against Strahd to keep Tatyana just out of his reach. No matter how had he tries, she will never be his. That is Strahd's curse.[13]

Unfortunately, Strahd's curse means that Ireena is cursed as well. The closer Strahd gets to Ireena, the more likely the Dark Powers will intervene to take her from him. Yes, Ireena may actively work against Strahd and yes, Ireena would rather take her own life than be with the vampire. But if all that failed and somehow Ireena agreed to marry Strahd and become his one true bride, the Dark Powers would still cause a random meteor to fall from the sky and land on poor Ireena.[14]

Happy Ending

While Ireena might come to accept that she is Tatyana's reincarnation, she should always retain her own personality. Little flashes of memory and knowledge from Tatyana's life may come back to her under various circumstances, but they shouldn't alter Ireena as a person. Therefore, Ireena should never fly off with Sergei in her happy ending.[15]

If Ireena were to avoid Strahd, she could potentially live out her life in hiding. This would be difficult, though, since Strahd has eyes just about everywhere. But it is possible.[16]

If Strahd is defeated, Ireena would be permanently free to live out her life. Even if that means Strahd is only replaced with another dark ruler, the new ruler wouldn't have the same obsession with Ireena.[17]