You see, in Vallaki, the only thing that keeps Strahd's forces at bay is the happiness in the commoner's hearts. And the Baron has embraced that, magnifying it to degrees which bear little resemblance to a form of sane leadership. There are festivals every week, people are required to smile in public at all times, fighting in the streets is prohibited. Those that do not - or cannot - keep to these laws are branded Subversive Depressents, and executed during festivals.
On almost every corner in Vallaki, a mime performs all day and all night. The mimes act as spies and informers. Their eyes see everything, and common people slip them notes when the suspect friends, families, or enemies might be Depressents. But the mimes are mostly harmless, at least in a physical confrontation. They aren't trained in the martial arts, they aren't going to stand against a team of adventurers set on overthrowing the twisted government.
No, that honor goes to the Death Clowns. They are only seen just before an arrest. They suddenly appear out of thick crowds as their iconic music plays in the background - summoned with a snap of the finger. Commoners flee at the sound of the song, and tales of Death Clown sightings are spoken in hushed whispers, but only in the safety of home and hearth.And although the Death Clowns do have some powerful martial abilities, their true power comes from the ability to force status conditions on their enemies, paralyzing them with spasms of panicked laughter that cannot be contained.
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