Captain Pieter van Riese

"Captain Pieter van Riese," by Talon Dunning, used with permission

Pieter van Riese was, and remains, a ship's captain. He survived his death as a ghost, becoming also the darklord of the Sea of Sorrows. He captains the Relentless.

Captain Pieter van Riese is an outlander and originally hails from the Netherlands on Gothic Earth. A proud atheist in the same manner as Dr. Mordenheim, van Riese believed that man would no less than come to completely dominate Nature through civilization and knowledge. It was to this end he became obsessed with discovering the Northwest Passage to the Orient. Two failed attempts at chartering it started to wear at van Riese's mind. When the third attempt would seemingly fail as the crew all called for abandoning the mission., van Riese could take no more. He poisoned the crew's drink and killed them all as they were incapacitated. Captain van Riese then prayed to some dark power to to overcome Death so he could continue his mission. He died, but the Dark Powers answered his wish and made him a ghost.

Captain van Riese now sails the Sea of Sorrows undaunted by the concerns of the flesh. However, he only knows where he will meet land if he has been specifically hired to go there. He absolutely chafes at the need to serve another. Regarding those who serve him, he is an employer and a slavemaster. He can gain crewmen for the Relentless from those who kill and then are killed in the Sea of Sorrows as eternally undying slaves. Secondly, crewmen among the living can sign up for crew, supposedly even give away their souls for some great gift.

Although both Captain van Riese and Professor Erik van Rijn both hail from the Netherlands, the captain maintains that he has only spoken to the professor once or twice. He claims no knowledge of where Professor Van Rijn is or what he is up to.

During his time on the Sea of Sorrows, Captain van Riese has encountered and soundly defeated the pirate Urdogen the Red, teaching the latter a sound lesson in humility.

Data from the Ravenloft Catalogue

		Domains of Dread
		Domains of Dread - p75
		Domains of Dread - pp74-75 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - p93
		Secrets of the Dread Realms - p7 Domains of Dread - pp74-75 Ravenloft Campaign Setting:Domains and Denizens - pp29,93-94