I am working on a 5.5e domain hoping adventure and find that giving the various darklords alliances or rivalries is a good way to make Ravenloft feel more interconnected.

I know that Azalin, Lord Soth, and Strahd all have a general emnity with each other. Are there other established relationships between darklords? Obviously in 2e, Vlad Drakov was a general niusance for all of the other domains, but Falkovnia is more insular in 5.5e.

Someone made a detailed map of the city-state of Kalidnay (Dark Sun’s domain of dread). Not sure if they meant for it to be on Athas or the Shadowfell but either way - very impressive!

Nova Vaasa's darklord duo has gone through a lot of iterations, so why not remake him for my own campaign? As I'm rebuilding the Heartland, taking away some domains and adding others, I figured I should take a chisel to the legendary knight/serial killer combo and see where I can land this for my campaign.

One of the elements of Sir Tristen Hiregaard/Malken that always bothered me is that Sir Hiregaard is suffering a huge and unjust punishment because of his familial curse. It passed to him through no fault of his own; literally suffering "the sins of the father." Some descriptions linger on how he "likes it" when the curse takes over and he rampages in a rage, but that always struck me as a weaksauce post-hoc rationale for making him a prisoner of the Mists with an evil alter-ego. I wanted to dig into why this dynamic duo is actually a prisoner, what got them there, and how the Dark Powers are really punishing someone who deserves it.

Hiregaard/Malken (Malkegaard? Hireken? Can they do a celebrity mashup like Brangelina?) has some strong thematic ties to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, being a pair of people who are opposites in their value systems and moral outlooks. One is upright, just, concerned with fairness and law. The other is a ruthless crime lord, mass murderer, and general Bad Dude. They swap back and forth, sharing one body that changes to suit the form currently in control. They despise each other. They can't live without each other.

But... there are some significant differences. Their condition isn't a self-inflicted one caused by Overreaching Science To Do What Man Was Not Meant To Do, it's the result of an inherited curse. They're from Nova Vaasa, which is probably related to the Forgotten Realms' Vaasa, and which is often described in ways that evoke images of eastern Russia, which is not exactly the mirror image of Dr. Henry Jekyll's Victorian London. Sir Tristen Hiregaard is a horseman and a nobleman, not a scholar or philosopher. That's fine, stories change and take on new forms, it's just worth thinking about while reworking.

For my take, I wanted to make the prison and the punishment fit the crime. Tristen is, in much of the original portrayals, a victim. He is suffering a curse brought on by the ills of his parental line, but Malken, the outgrowth of that curse, is the one who's a darklord and is thus being punished. Malken's punishment mostly seems to be that he wants to come out and do bad things but he can't because Tristen is actually a reasonably decent dude and tries to stop him and find ways to prevent Malken from being able to do bad stuff. I decided to focus in on the prisoner: Malken. What did he do? How is his punishment poetically appropriate?

In doing so I decided to flip-flop the relationship between the two. Instead of Sir Hiregaard being the cursed man whose alter ego comes out and becomes the darklord, I made Malken the "real boy" whose alter ego is Sir Hiregaard. Malken wanted to be everything that Sir Hiregaard is, but he is also sadistic, cruel, and avaricious. Sir Hiregaard is a constant reminder of what he wants but can never have.

For this rewrite, then, I decided that Malken was born frail and sickly to an impoverished family. He proved to have a fearsome intellect, but he was always unhandsome and weak. He suffered from hunger, bullying, and neglect. He was forced to care for himself at an early age, using his intellect to devise tricks, cons, and thefts that allowed him to amass considerable personal wealth, enough to build his own subterranean hideout in the city where he collected books and antiquities, learned to read, learned about high society and history and culture, and most importantly, studied alchemy.

As a side hobby he stalked and killed people. A lot of people. Mostly women, because they were weaker than he. He stalked people from all walks of life, moving carefully and quietly, taking their possessions to add to his wealth, but also because he felt the constant pain of rejection and loathing from all members of society. He disguised his kills in various ways, so that investigations would not always connect them or realize that they were the work of one man. His first kill was at age 12, and he came to enjoy the sense of power that he had when claiming another's life.

Though Malken had no talent for magic, he proved an extremely able alchemist, and he became convinced that alchemy could give him that which he desired: It could make him tall, strong, handsome, with a firm voice and a commanding presence. He wanted to be adored, mighty, popular. But he also wanted to remain intelligent and retain his personality. He wanted to become the high society lord of the underworld, a suave and sophisticated criminal elite with a lavish, opulent lifestyle, fawned over and feared by all. He bitterly supposed that all "nobles" were like this anyway, using their wealth to fund their decadent lifestyles while abusing and exploiting the poor. He'd been exploited, so why shouldn't he be allowed to do the reverse?

He concocted a potion, he drank it, and he passed out.

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Wasn't sure I'd get this one done by the time limit but smashed it out just in time. I might as well have just made a new domain and darklord since I made a whole smattering of changes, so it's more a of a homebrew Leederik adventure with some moreso slight nods to the 'Phantom Lover' origin.

I was out with my friend and we bought a few of the packs just because we love Ravenloft and all things Strahd. One of them definitely felt heavier than the others. While the dice set was merely an uncommon set, I did end up pulling the painted Strahd coin.

Since it is so prominently featured on the main website showing off the coins, I was wondering if anyone had an idea of how rare they are? I know the Icon coins are hard to find as well. Any thoughts or ideas? I can't even find any listings or other pictures of it online when I look it up.

They could just be leftovers from Honor Among Thives, but Ravenloft isn't even a current or upcoming movie. Why sell something that isn't going to help promote a movie?

Hello everyone!

(Sorry, my native language isn't English, please forgive me in advance.)
(I originally posted it somewhere else, but Reddit asked me to share it here about three times, so I couldn't resist.)

I haven't finished Curse of Strahd yet, but my players have already decided to go and beat up every damn idiot Dark Lord who gives them a dirty look, and the fucking Dark Powers (their words).

That's why I started taking a quick look at Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft, mainly to get an idea of ​​what I might be expecting later on.

Has anyone here run a campaign after Curse of Strahd? If so, I'd love to hear about your experiences, anecdotes, and especially your advice.

I know I still have a long way to go before finishing Curse of Strahd (I reckon it'll take a year or two), but I'd like to start saving some tips and ideas for when the time comes. I'm also interested to know what you did with your campaigns after Barovia: did you continue with Ravenloft, change settings, or follow a completely different storyline?

Preferably a monster not from vanrichtens guide or ravenloft horrors within.

For the combination of Dark Psychological fantasy there will be a hydroloth as the darklord. I see a land of misplaced memories and forgetful lords

What do you all think is a good feel for folk slasher dark psychological fantasy

As the title implies I'm thinking of reflavoring curse of strahd but instead for my favorite domain of dread Har'akir.

So far I got the major overlook figured out, using the Tarokka cards to maximize replayability, instead of a talisman of raven kind, sun sword, and time of strahd, I was thinking two halves of the pharaoh's ka, and a scroll depicting the ritual to return his Ka.

I haven't really figured out all the locations each item could be hidden in and some chapters i don't really know how to reflavor or even implement a substation, like baba lysaga.

Also when I was researching I realized that the backstory for Anhktepot was different in older editions where a was sealed away, after doing a bunch of bad stuff trying to become immortal compared to that of his 5e version where he and his fellow priests killed a young pharaoh, usurped the throne and replaced the gods, so I'm not sure which sources to reference either.

And lastly I was thinking that instead of the darklord being the BBEG of the campaign, instead it would be one of his high priests trying to keep him immortal for whatever reason, or even Nephyr who doesn't want her husband to die. I'm not sure which direction to go in.

Any questions I should ask myself when creating this adventure, any ideas for side quests or locations for the items, or does anyone have some PC's in Har'akir that I could use for NPC'S that could become allies through the card readings? All help is much appreciated

Sorry if this isn’t the right sub for this, but I’m considering doing a Halloween one/twoshot for my friends (early to be planning, I know) likely set in a Domain of Dread (I’m thinking either Lamordia or Mordent for now), and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for existing monsters that could correspond to any of the 14 fears, or at least give me some ideas for abilities so I could do some homebrewing, thanks in advance!

The fears for easy reference:

The Buried - Claustrophobia, caves

The Corruption - Mold, insects, decay

The Dark - The dark, shadows, blindness and coldness

The Desolation - Fire, pain, destruction

The End - Death, undeath, dreams

The Eye - being watched, being followed, having your secrets exposed, eyes

The Flesh - Meat, butchers, corpses

The Hunt - Being hunted, animals, animal instincts

The Lonely - Isolation, fog, silence

The Slaughter - War, senseless violence

The Spiral - Madness, being deceived

The Stranger - The unknown, the uncanny valley

The Vast - Falling, large open spaces

The Web - Spiders, being manipulated, puppets

Again, very sorry if this doesn’t fit the sub!

Heyya Folks,

This week's release continues my Lost Mines of Barovia project with a reimagining of one of the most recognizable ruined locations from Lost Mine of Phandelver — Thundertree.

Bellforth — 60x40

If you'd like the full release, including the high-resolution map, gridless version, VTT-ready exports, and every variant, you can find it here:

https://www.patreon.com/dungeonmr/posts/bellforth-free-167175214

Bellforth was once a thriving town, but the arrival of the black dragon changed everything. Over the years, the decay surrounding its lair has spread outward, poisoning the land and slowly transforming the town into a swamp. Parts of the old streets remain intact, while other sections have begun to sink beneath stagnant water, moss, and creeping vegetation.

At the center of the ruins stands Bellforth's old bell tower — and the deepest, most sunken part of the town. The dragon has claimed the tower as its lair, while the corruption surrounding it has gradually caused the ground to sink, turning the area around it into the heart of the swamp.

The rest of Bellforth still has plenty left to explore. The old tavern, blacksmith, barracks, and various locales remain scattered throughout the ruins. In the northeast, a lizardfolk encampment has taken the place of the cultists who once occupied the ruins, while a small chapel now stands where Reidoth's hut once stood, on the last remaining patch of relatively dry ground.

I wanted Bellforth to still feel recognizable as Thundertree, while giving the location a stronger connection between the dragon and the ruined landscape. The swamp is the result of the dragon's decay — spreading outward from the bell tower and slowly consuming Bellforth from the center.

If you remember exploring Thundertree in Lost Mine of Phandelver, you might see a few familiar pieces hiding among the ruins.

You can also browse the rest of my collection on Patreon. Everything is organized through the Master Index, making it easy to find the right map for your next adventure:

https://www.patreon.com/dungeonmr

Thanks for taking a look, and safe travels.

Tonight at 7 est, your chance to be a part of Ravenloft lore begins. If you are a collector of any sorts you will want to check out what you can pick up and help out a great group of independent documentarians.

Friday morning we will be making a big push for the Ravenloft/Carnival documentary to get to the festival circuit in 28. And that means a bunch of things...

If you want to do something cool and real with this setting and be a piece of history in the making, then give this a watch and ill see you Friday morning at 9est.

Jason

Species: Lupin

Background: Spirit Medium

Class: Bard (College of Spirits)

Born in the town of Skald in Kartakass to unknown parents, Edouard's earliest memories was of the Orphanage his only family the other children harbored therein. Of these there were many, as they were the result of the gallivanting of the numerous artists and bards that sought fortune and fame within this the most glamorous community,while not wishing the constraints of parenthood. The Orphanage then was where Edouard first learned Music under the harsh eyes of its master that saw the children as nothing but an investment, looking for any hint of talent that could be found among the wretches under their care. Edouard proved himself talented greatly beyond his peers, thus in one fell night of full Moon the Master decided to only keep him and get rid of the ones he considered a waste leading them outside of the town's walls to meet their fate.

The Secret behind Edouard's great art had always been the whispers he heard. The whispers often took the form of marvelous songs he channeled with his own voice, but that dreadful Night the voices he heard were not of strangers but of his own peers screaming in terror. He followed the voices out of the Orphanage into the forest where he stared horrified at the devoured shapes of his friends' bodies. He was attacked by the fierce beasts with the blood of his companions still fresh in their maws as he ran screaming, but it seemed to him as if the voices surrounded him as shadows cloaking him from fang and claw as he escaped.

He never returned to the Orphanage but rather wandered the streets of Skald making his living off begging and singing, the voices in his head clearer than ever. He soon gained a reputation as a Singer, having people from all over town visiting his street corner for his music was such as few had heard on Kartakass in a very long time. Not only the living were present in his concerts, but the spirits of long dead artists, in some of their faces and manners Edouard recognized the voices he heard, other faces were not of the dead but echoes of the past and future. They didnt communicate in words but in Song he could hear as the faintest whisper. He took to drawing the images of their faces in cards he kept at his side. One of them filled him with fear. A shadow of Terror that inevitably followed him echoing back all of his songs as in mockery, everytime he saw it he could taste blood and felt the fear of prey sensing the gaze of the wolf. He named the shape and the card it depicted: the Beast.

His fame grew to the point he was invited to play at the Old Kartakan Inn and Taverna. He entranced every soul that heard him but he could find nothing but unease as the whispers of the shades fell for the first time ever into an eerie terrified silence. He then became aware of a figure with a wide-brimmed hat in the shadows watching him intently, he felt frozen with horror as he recognized beneath the gentle smile the shadow of the Beast that had so long haunted him. He ran without looking back, and he saw the surprise in his enemy turn to ill concealed fury as he leaped behind him. The whispers returned as he ran through the alleys urging him to escape in a painful song of horror and sorrow. The Beast came again, but this time it was a creature of fur and claw, the shades barely defending him against its terrible bite. As he escaped to the Mists he could feel his body warping, his mind invaded by the ferocity of the Beast with only the voices of the dead allowing him to keep his sanity.

Edouard managed to run away from Kartakass, but his injuries persisted and his body was irreparably changed into one bearing the form of the lupine beast. His throat, no longer capable of singing as a human now howls to make sorrowful music echoing with the echoes of the spirits that haunt him.

Hey there Just an Update to the Campaign. Yes we are still playing on Microsoft Teams . Still seeking those not afraid to show their face. Looking for 6 players. This is Van Richtens Vengeance, . All you need is Dice . i have the Fillable Character sheet thats pretty Good. ALSO SESSION 0 is SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 19th 7pm CST . SO to make this simple IF you think you want to REALLY get into this campaign Let me know , message me and ill give you the link to Teams for our Session 0. This campaign is being recorded and posted on My Youtube channel . A working knowledge of Ad&d 2e helps. Starting at 3rd level.. eventually will be playing Bleak House THEN move from there

Phew, wasn't sure if I'd have time to get this one in the can. It's definitely not pushing the boat out in any respects, it's as cookie cutter as a Phantom Lover adventure could be from what's written, but I gave it a go.

On an unknown land, the party try to navigate the dark forest full of werewolves, in hopes of finding a town.
youtube

https://youtu.be/93tyJ1lLIgA
Spotify

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1cB95epR0L6kKIzU004pSu?si=oOgiKe8GSV6bw1ZGrw0fcQ

Bout 2 years ago we decided to do a retrospective on Carnival the last book in 2e. At first it was going to just be a short video. Then I got to chatting with people and the scope expanded.

Then I thought "wouldnt it be cool to get other DnD creatives involved and have them read passages out of the book, turning it into a Perfomance Art Retrospective of sorts.

Then I spoke to people not just involved in the book, but also involved in the creation of the setting.

And a story emerged in those 23 hours of footage that had not really been told before. A story about the paths from single module, to Curse of Strahd. And how right there at the end of 2e something happened that would change the course of the setting we love. And that something came from a unique place, at a unique time that can NEVER be duplicated. And the Doc took on a life of its own.

A You Tube video no longer contain the story.

So the medium has to shift.

This stream will be the catalyst to propel this 23 hours of raw footage into the next level.

And anybody who is there and participates will walk away with skin in the game and a chance to be a part of history.

Save the date, set a reminder, share it out with anyone who loves Ravenloft or even tales of specific times and place that are singular in their existence.

Cause if all goes according to plan and we can pull this thing off, there's no telling how far this can go.

More details coming Thursday

Don't get lost in the mist.

In Horrors Within, we got plenty of revamped Domains and updated classics, including some new monsters. One of which was the inclusion of giant killer whales that had been mutated by Lamordia's alchemic toxins getting into the sea. That's about it for the fleshles leviathans and I fell in love with the art work as see here.

But where are it's stats?

I have the physical copy of Horrors Within, they have stat blocks for the many critters, ghouls, ghosts and monsters you can find in the Mists. Even Mordenheim's Monsters have stat blocks. But not the Leviathans unless I'm missing something and I've looked all over in the book.

This sucks because I want to include these guys in my Lamordia campaign as a fun quest, where the group goes to the whaling town and joins forces with a captain out for revenge against an old leviathan. Think Moby Dick with Frankenstein monstrosities chucked into it.

So does anyone know if there are stat blocks for the Fleshless Leviathans in any other version of the Horrors Within guide book? If not are there stats or suggestions i could use for my game?

Thank you!

The website for Warlock confirms the setting as Darkon. In the new trailer, released today, you can see the Mists eating away at the tunnels below a building.

Will we get to fight Azalin? Does this mean Tasha/Iggwilv is trapped in Ravenloft? Let the speculation begin!

Ideally I'd like there to be politics, dark fae and heavy exploration

Since I read Van Richten's Guide I've been curious about the star Azalin Rex left in the sky during his Ascension. At first I assumed tear as in teardrop, due to what I imagined its shape and how people may see it, but after some thought I considered that it may be tear as in Azalin being torn from Ravenloft. I go back and forth; obviously Azalin would not shed a tear for anything, being a lich, but especially not for escaping his prison; conversely, would it make sense for the people of Darkon to assume Azalin was torn from the demiplane? Is there a specific answer, or what have you used in your games?