We’re I to be asked point-blank, I’d probably say that Ravenloft is conceptually my favorite official D&D setting. I see something of the subject matter that got me hooked on some my favorite stories. But there was always something that felt off about it when I read about it, and Van Richten’s Guide got me thinking about what that is. I really liked most of the book, the descriptions and implications of the Mists and Dark Powers as a whole were good, I liked the descriptions and tables of the types of horror (though I wish the last four got the full treatment), and the monsters were awesome. It was the domains themselves that struggled to keep my interest.
That’s not to say there weren’t some cool ideas there. I’Cath, Cyre1313, and pieces of others had genuine creativity behind them. But all in all the Domains felt one-note, and I was still trying to figure out why when I got Curse of Strahd on a whim.
I haven’t read all of CoS yet, but what I have read caused Barovia to burst off the pages and filled my mind with story potential. Even with the parts I wanted to change if I ever ran it, it was easy to know what changes I could make that would still fit the overall tone and concept. And I think the difference to the Domain descriptions in Richten’s was this: Strahd may have been the biggest piece of the puzzle that was Barovia, but he wasn’t the only one. The Abbot, Baba Lysaga, Patrina Velikonva, and probably others I haven’t seen yet or am forgetting all give the feeling of being trapped in much the same way as Strahd, their sins giving the Dark Powers the chains with which to bind them, becoming tools to inflict yet more suffering.
So ultimately I think my personal problems with the Domains as described were that they revolved too much around their Darklords leaving not that many other people to interact with the overall concepts behind Ravenloft. As such, if I run a game in the setting be it CoS or a homebrew, I’ll probably make it so the Dark Powers use everyone’s mistakes, sins, and regrets to keep them entrapped to their will, even usually good folk. The Darklords are at the center because they give the Dark Powers the most material to work with, but everyone’s part of their twisted game. To be fair, this idea isn’t exactly absent from Ritchen’s Guide, with the Dark Gifts, the brief introduction to the Shadowlands, and some information revealing that the wereravens have caused some collateral damage in their attempt to resist the Darklords, but I think it’d fit my style more if I leaned in further to that idea.
thanks for listening to my TED talk. I’ll be glad if this gave you some ideas.
So for the most part, everything in a Domain is created specifically to be something that influences the Darklord and while there might be outsiders or things that originated with the darklord? After a certain time period, it's existenence is purely at the Dark Powers whims specifically to keep the facade alive to torture the Dark Lord. Time doesn't flow the same way, or events play out over and over again.
All Domains of Dread are there to keep the Dark Lord from going COMPLETELY insane, but they'll be on the edge all the time. The illusion of hope is the greatest delusion of all when it comes to this type of setting. Other NPCs simply are inconsequential to the Dark Powers. They're part of the game for sure, but the threat to them isn't a threat. What does a pawn on a chess board do if not moved by its master and told what it's commands are? Those are what the NPCs are in a Domain of Dread. They don't have free will, they aren't real people BUT they are as real as the PCs need them to be. Real enough to force moral choices. Real enough for them to interact with the Darklord and continue the charade.
I've always played this setting as a complete test on the moral character of the PCs then with obvious temptations of power because at the end, the Dark Powers are always looking for playthings and new toys. Strahd is a great example of it. Strahd could be viewed in certain circles as a man who is cursed and is redeemable but its worth noting that Tracy and Laura intended him to be without redemption. His origin being he sold out his family to be with his brothers wife, who would rather end it all than be with that man. If the PCs take pity and try to help an obviously evil soul, the Dark Powers will not let that happen and will intervene in ways to make Strahd turn on them, forever paranoid that people there are going to take him away from his beloved. If the PCs aren't willing to play the game in such a manner that suits the Dark Powers whims and fancies? They might just shunt them out of the realm entirely. At the end, the reason they are in that Domain of Dread is to give hope to the Darklord and then for it to be taken away in a way that causes them to fall once again.
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We’re I to be asked point-blank, I’d probably say that Ravenloft is conceptually my favorite official D&D setting. I see something of the subject matter that got me hooked on some my favorite stories. But there was always something that felt off about it when I read about it, and Van Richten’s Guide got me thinking about what that is. I really liked most of the book, the descriptions and implications of the Mists and Dark Powers as a whole were good, I liked the descriptions and tables of the types of horror (though I wish the last four got the full treatment), and the monsters were awesome. It was the domains themselves that struggled to keep my interest.
That’s not to say there weren’t some cool ideas there. I’Cath, Cyre1313, and pieces of others had genuine creativity behind them. But all in all the Domains felt one-note, and I was still trying to figure out why when I got Curse of Strahd on a whim.
I haven’t read all of CoS yet, but what I have read caused Barovia to burst off the pages and filled my mind with story potential. Even with the parts I wanted to change if I ever ran it, it was easy to know what changes I could make that would still fit the overall tone and concept. And I think the difference to the Domain descriptions in Richten’s was this: Strahd may have been the biggest piece of the puzzle that was Barovia, but he wasn’t the only one. The Abbot, Baba Lysaga, Patrina Velikonva, and probably others I haven’t seen yet or am forgetting all give the feeling of being trapped in much the same way as Strahd, their sins giving the Dark Powers the chains with which to bind them, becoming tools to inflict yet more suffering.
So ultimately I think my personal problems with the Domains as described were that they revolved too much around their Darklords leaving not that many other people to interact with the overall concepts behind Ravenloft. As such, if I run a game in the setting be it CoS or a homebrew, I’ll probably make it so the Dark Powers use everyone’s mistakes, sins, and regrets to keep them entrapped to their will, even usually good folk. The Darklords are at the center because they give the Dark Powers the most material to work with, but everyone’s part of their twisted game. To be fair, this idea isn’t exactly absent from Ritchen’s Guide, with the Dark Gifts, the brief introduction to the Shadowlands, and some information revealing that the wereravens have caused some collateral damage in their attempt to resist the Darklords, but I think it’d fit my style more if I leaned in further to that idea.
thanks for listening to my TED talk. I’ll be glad if this gave you some ideas.
So for the most part, everything in a Domain is created specifically to be something that influences the Darklord and while there might be outsiders or things that originated with the darklord? After a certain time period, it's existenence is purely at the Dark Powers whims specifically to keep the facade alive to torture the Dark Lord. Time doesn't flow the same way, or events play out over and over again.
All Domains of Dread are there to keep the Dark Lord from going COMPLETELY insane, but they'll be on the edge all the time. The illusion of hope is the greatest delusion of all when it comes to this type of setting. Other NPCs simply are inconsequential to the Dark Powers. They're part of the game for sure, but the threat to them isn't a threat. What does a pawn on a chess board do if not moved by its master and told what it's commands are? Those are what the NPCs are in a Domain of Dread. They don't have free will, they aren't real people BUT they are as real as the PCs need them to be. Real enough to force moral choices. Real enough for them to interact with the Darklord and continue the charade.
I've always played this setting as a complete test on the moral character of the PCs then with obvious temptations of power because at the end, the Dark Powers are always looking for playthings and new toys. Strahd is a great example of it. Strahd could be viewed in certain circles as a man who is cursed and is redeemable but its worth noting that Tracy and Laura intended him to be without redemption. His origin being he sold out his family to be with his brothers wife, who would rather end it all than be with that man. If the PCs take pity and try to help an obviously evil soul, the Dark Powers will not let that happen and will intervene in ways to make Strahd turn on them, forever paranoid that people there are going to take him away from his beloved. If the PCs aren't willing to play the game in such a manner that suits the Dark Powers whims and fancies? They might just shunt them out of the realm entirely. At the end, the reason they are in that Domain of Dread is to give hope to the Darklord and then for it to be taken away in a way that causes them to fall once again.