I'm not necessarily building domains of dread, in the thematic sense, but I'm applying the structure of the Mists, Domains, and Darklords (where in some cases the darklords are institutions, ideals, or systems) to the worldbuilding of my homebrew. I hope I can reflavor it enough that the players won't really notice, or if they do, they won't care.
Jules Verne meets Moby Dick meets John Carpenter. horror genre survival and cosmic.
An obsessive whaling captain traps his ship in an ice flow trying to break through to new waters. In the same ice a submarine captain came to the same fate as he followed the whaling ship in to sink it. Both ships have to battle the elements and a strange other worldly force to escape the ice. Neither have the resources left to escape on their own but their hatred for each other stops them from collaborating.
l’m also toying with an idea of turning Watership down into a Domain of Dread. survival and maybe body horror..
Two waring factions of Rabbitfolk in an underground burrow. Locked in eternal conflict with themselves, topside threats from Tabxi and Owlfolk and an encroaching Mycanoid threat .
Am starting a new campaign soon for my players. Have a few domains in mind to flesh out (One Note is fantastic for this). Going to have them level up and at certain points, they will find themselves shifting to a different domain. Was stuck for how I was going to do the transition, and then struck gold with an idea that just leapt up and screamed "Use me, I'm fantastic".
They are starting in a Mansion at a dinner party. After the opening set up (Weeping Angel 5e style) the house will become enshrouded in mist. They will wake in whatever domain I start them in. Thing is, they're still "in" the House. Each room is a different domain, the House itself being some Dark Power gateway. I'll figure that bit out when I need to. Levelling up and shifting realms moves them through the house, eventually they'll find the bbeg at the centre of it and have to figure out how to escape the domains and the house. Thankfully that's a long way off so I have time to figure it out as I go :D.
I like this! And maybe the hallways are filled with Mist, so they can't leave their room until they get transported from some other force.
Mist filled Halls is now going to be a thing!! Thanks for that. Considering also having monsters in the mist, so they don't linger in the hallways :D
Am starting a new campaign soon for my players. Have a few domains in mind to flesh out (One Note is fantastic for this). Going to have them level up and at certain points, they will find themselves shifting to a different domain. Was stuck for how I was going to do the transition, and then struck gold with an idea that just leapt up and screamed "Use me, I'm fantastic".
They are starting in a Mansion at a dinner party. After the opening set up (Weeping Angel 5e style) the house will become enshrouded in mist. They will wake in whatever domain I start them in. Thing is, they're still "in" the House. Each room is a different domain, the House itself being some Dark Power gateway. I'll figure that bit out when I need to. Levelling up and shifting realms moves them through the house, eventually they'll find the bbeg at the centre of it and have to figure out how to escape the domains and the house. Thankfully that's a long way off so I have time to figure it out as I go :D.
I like this! And maybe the hallways are filled with Mist, so they can't leave their room until they get transported from some other force.
Mist filled Halls is now going to be a thing!! Thanks for that. Considering also having monsters in the mist, so they don't linger in the hallways :D
Good idea!
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This isn't actually a signature, just something I copy and paste onto the bottom of all my posts. Or is it? Yep, it is. Or is it..? I’m a hobbit, and the master cranial imploder of the "Oops, I Accidently Destroyed Someone's Brain" cult. Extended sig. I'm actually in Limbo, it says I'm in Mechanus because that's where I get my WiFi from. Please don't tell the modrons, they're still angry from the 'Spawning Stone' fiasco. No connection to Dragonslayer8 other than knowing them in real life.
I have a domain of dread controlled by a death knight warrior who's domain is all haunted battlefields and burning castles, the remains of his conquest in life. The Darklord keeps to himself, and cannot leave the castle and city he dwells in, which are ruined versions of his family castle in life. The battlefields scattered throughout the domain are haunted by ghosts, skulks, and gallows speakers. It is said that secrets to the darklord's past and secrets to defeating him lie on these battlefields. Because of this, the darklord has declared the fields off limits, and the wild lands between them are guarded by his fierce army of undead. The Darklord's goal is to purge his domain of the ruins and resurrect it anew, recreating his glorious empire of old. The only thing that the darklord fears is the revenant spirit of his best friend, who he killed in his mortal life in his mad thirst for power. This revenant now haunts the domain, and the darklord knows it is searching for him, waiting to strike.
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I'm not necessarily building domains of dread, in the thematic sense, but I'm applying the structure of the Mists, Domains, and Darklords (where in some cases the darklords are institutions, ideals, or systems) to the worldbuilding of my homebrew. I hope I can reflavor it enough that the players won't really notice, or if they do, they won't care.
I have a couple of Domain ideas.
Jules Verne meets Moby Dick meets John Carpenter.
horror genre survival and cosmic.
An obsessive whaling captain traps his ship in an ice flow trying to break through to new waters. In the same ice a submarine captain came to the same fate as he followed the whaling ship in to sink it. Both ships have to battle the elements and a strange other worldly force to escape the ice. Neither have the resources left to escape on their own but their hatred for each other stops them from collaborating.
l’m also toying with an idea of turning Watership down into a Domain of Dread.
survival and maybe body horror..
Two waring factions of Rabbitfolk in an underground burrow. Locked in eternal conflict with themselves, topside threats from Tabxi and Owlfolk and an encroaching Mycanoid threat .
Mist filled Halls is now going to be a thing!! Thanks for that. Considering also having monsters in the mist, so they don't linger in the hallways :D
Good idea!
This isn't actually a signature, just something I copy and paste onto the bottom of all my posts. Or is it? Yep, it is. Or is it..? I’m a hobbit, and the master cranial imploder of the "Oops, I Accidently Destroyed Someone's Brain" cult. Extended sig. I'm actually in Limbo, it says I'm in Mechanus because that's where I get my WiFi from. Please don't tell the modrons, they're still angry from the 'Spawning Stone' fiasco.
No connection to Dragonslayer8 other than knowing them in real life.
I have a domain of dread controlled by a death knight warrior who's domain is all haunted battlefields and burning castles, the remains of his conquest in life. The Darklord keeps to himself, and cannot leave the castle and city he dwells in, which are ruined versions of his family castle in life. The battlefields scattered throughout the domain are haunted by ghosts, skulks, and gallows speakers. It is said that secrets to the darklord's past and secrets to defeating him lie on these battlefields. Because of this, the darklord has declared the fields off limits, and the wild lands between them are guarded by his fierce army of undead. The Darklord's goal is to purge his domain of the ruins and resurrect it anew, recreating his glorious empire of old. The only thing that the darklord fears is the revenant spirit of his best friend, who he killed in his mortal life in his mad thirst for power. This revenant now haunts the domain, and the darklord knows it is searching for him, waiting to strike.
Updog