Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Discussing all things Ravenloft
User avatar
alhoon
Invisible Menace
Invisible Menace
Posts: 8804
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:46 pm
Location: Chania or Athens // Greece

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by alhoon »

Thanks. I didn't remember that as I said. I'll correct the Wikipedia article.
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
My DMGuild work!
User avatar
Bluebomber4evr
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 450
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 9:08 pm
Location: United States of Whatever
Contact:

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Bluebomber4evr »

alhoon wrote:The REAL question is:
Did Death, the requiem Death, managed to break out of Darklordship, out of Ravenloft, out of time, go to Prime Material Barovia and made a deal with Strahd?
If you read the comments that Mangrum made about my question, then the (non-canonical) answer would be the reverse of what you're suggesting: The Red Death was one of the Dark Powers, tempted/made a deal with Strahd, then was kicked out by the other Dark Powers for being aggressively evil, then ended up on the Gothic Earth when Imhotep did his summoning.
Bluebomber4evr: The Justice, not you, since 2002.
Ravenloft: Prisoners of the Mist Persistent World for Neverwinter Nights: www.nwnravenloft.com
User avatar
Hazgarn
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 342
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:17 am
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Hazgarn »

Zilfer wrote:
Dark Angel wrote:Alhoon, you either are or would be a big fan of the tv show, Lost. Did anything ever come about concerning the spirit of Strahd's right hand man, Alec?
THIS SO MUCH THIS!?!?! What happened to the body?!?!?!?! I've wanted to use Alec in a campaign but i'm not sure what to do with him. A haunt from Strahd's past? Perhaps a match in swords play? Revanent? Living breathing one brought back to life by the mists? Key to salvation is where it began? Anyways yes I would LOVE to see that answered.
I thought five or six times about asking this. It drove me absolutely bonkers after I read the novel. I mean, really, when does a body ever just vanish?
Deranged Comics Fan
Strife-monger
Daughter of a Troll
Ryan Naylor
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1285
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 10:55 pm

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Ryan Naylor »

When a time travelling lich needs someone to inhabit, and then takes it back to the future with him.
User avatar
Resonant Curse
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 399
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:28 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Resonant Curse »

Hazgarn wrote:
Zilfer wrote:
Dark Angel wrote:Alhoon, you either are or would be a big fan of the tv show, Lost. Did anything ever come about concerning the spirit of Strahd's right hand man, Alec?
THIS SO MUCH THIS!?!?! What happened to the body?!?!?!?! I've wanted to use Alec in a campaign but i'm not sure what to do with him. A haunt from Strahd's past? Perhaps a match in swords play? Revanent? Living breathing one brought back to life by the mists? Key to salvation is where it began? Anyways yes I would LOVE to see that answered.
I thought five or six times about asking this. It drove me absolutely bonkers after I read the novel. I mean, really, when does a body ever just vanish?

All the time in Ravenloft?
User avatar
Hazgarn
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 342
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:17 am
Location: Sacramento, CA
Contact:

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Hazgarn »

Resonant Curse wrote:All the time in Ravenloft?
Oh, sure bodies get eaten, or stolen, or get up and walk away on their own, or were never actually there in the first place, but really generally when a body is gone something still happened to it to make it gone. Vanishing is very different. Vanishing can't be the period of the sentence, it's a comma. Vanishing is a detail that's just waiting for another shoe to be dropped...
Deranged Comics Fan
Strife-monger
Daughter of a Troll
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

Who/what is the White Rose (as mentioned on the sidebar in the Gaz on Sithicus)?

What really happened with I2/the Alchemist?

Which timeline is the "real" Ravenloft timeline, the 4e one with the Shadowfell (which IIRC has Azalin's forces in other domains like he never came back) or the Swords and Sorcery one?

What is the Godbrain's backstory? How are its motivations different from most of its kind? (We have an entry in one of the Book of S__s as a I recall, but no canon origin.)

What/where are the mysterious midnight black colored beholders up to? (I, Tyrant but never mentioned in any Ravenloft product to my knowledge)

How did a beholder arrive on Gothic Earth? (a Dragon magazine issue with some monstrous enemies of Gothic Earth)

Did T'Laan sink into Ravenloft? If so, what became of him? (one possible ending for the Spelljammer Adventure Crystal Spheres)
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

What happened to Henri Dubois? (Jackie Renier's would-be lover who disappeared following a botched attempt by her to infect him with lycanthropy.)

Where did the evil presence lingering in the manor on Gryphon Hill come from? What exactly is it, and what does it want?

Who/what is the Phantom Lover? What did he/she/it do to become a darklord?
jamesfirecat
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 637
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2014 11:30 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by jamesfirecat »

The Lesser Evil wrote:Who/what is the White Rose (as mentioned on the sidebar in the Gaz on Sithicus)?

I think one of the Dragonlance books says that after Soth died a second time during War of the Souls, because he died refusing to serve Tahkisis, seeking redemption/finally realizing how much he'd been fudging things up for himself Paladine gave him an afterlife of basically showing up wherever people are in serious trouble as he used to look when he was human (though fully armored /wearing helmet so it's impossible to see his face) and being given a chance to save them but needing to go as soon as they were no longer in danger.

I think that's pretty much dead on for the White Rose's MO (last time I checked) though I'm drawing that information about what happened to Soth post death from TV tropes so allo wme to pass you a salt shaker along with it. That said, I also like the argument that if Soth was once spending so much time inside the mirror's that his domain was falling apart, it might make sense that even after he stopped using them some of the idealized self image/history he was trying to build up for himself might have taken on a life of its own and escaped out into the world.


Either way in my cannon the White Rose is either Soth post heel face turn (with the Dark Powers allowing him to come back to Ravenloft because the only thing that pisses Inza off more than not just someone doing good for selfless and pure reasons, is someone who has realized that you can stop being a an evil jerk any time you want, and start doing good stuff for selfless and pure reasons instead.) or simply an idealized "after image" of Soth. Since either way he isn't allowed/doesn't want to speak/it doesn't really make much difference.



Granted none of this is confirmed so you can make up your own answers but I feel mine makes sense/is very thematically appropriate.

edited by Joël for Grand'ma's rule : Don't say anything you wouldn't in front of your Grand'ma. Putting ** to hide a few letter of swearing isn't accepted. Keep this place friendly to all. Thanks.
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

What happened to the meazel in the Darkonese sewers? (We have two conflicting reports- his undead version in Gaz 1 and the mist-trapped one in VRGtoMists.)

Where is Senmet hiding following his failed coup attempt?

What is the full story of Baltoi? (How did a major evil power imprison her there, what trouble did she cause in the demiplane before coming to Lamordia?)

What is the true nature of Ezra?

How/why did the Three Furies wind up in Ravenloft?
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

What were the whispers inside Lady Heather Shadowbrooke's head? The ones telling her to kill the rest of the druid circle, were they merely products of a latent madness or a product of some other dark and unnatural influence upon her? (Children of the Night Vampires p. 71) What exactly transformed her into a vampire?
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

(Children of the Night: Vampires p. 91-92)
VIEW CONTENT:
What was the Gentleman Caller's ultimate purpose (if any) in transforming Marla into a penanggalan and having her turn on the rest of the nuns in the Sisters of Grace hospice? How did the GC transform Marla?
User avatar
alhoon
Invisible Menace
Invisible Menace
Posts: 8804
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:46 pm
Location: Chania or Athens // Greece

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by alhoon »

Well, GC is evil so that would explain why he does evil stuff.
The Lesser Evil wrote:What happened to the meazel in the Darkonese sewers? (We have two conflicting reports- his undead version in Gaz 1 and the mist-trapped one in VRGtoMists.)
VRGttM was non-canonical. :)
"You truly see what a person is made of, when you begin to slice into them" - Semirhage
"I am not mad, no matter what you're implying." - Litalia
My DMGuild work!
User avatar
The Lesser Evil
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 1544
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2004 3:17 am

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by The Lesser Evil »

I think, at least according to the Mistipedia, it's questionably canon. If the OP wants that left out as it will interfere with whatever project's being worked on (if any), I'll won't mention stuff like that again.

As for the GC being evil, sure that's one possible explanation, but it's not necessarily a definitive (or a fun) one.

Back to mysteries, what is the exact nature of the city of Shay-lot and the civilization that spawned it? (Shay-lot mentioned in Children of the Night: Werebeasts p. 91, 94-95).

Which order of Sri Rajian monks created Picalinni's Pallete (CoTN:Werebeasts p.74) ? What did Picalinni do to offend them so?

Masque of the Red Death:Red Jack (p. 2-3) Who or what killed Jeanne Witherspoon? (All we have to go by is "something unnamed".)
User avatar
Gonzoron of the FoS
Evil Genius
Evil Genius
Posts: 7555
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2003 8:02 pm
Gender: Male
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Unsolved Mysteries: Ravenloft

Post by Gonzoron of the FoS »

The Lesser Evil wrote:I think, at least according to the Mistipedia, it's questionably canon. If the OP wants that left out as it will interfere with whatever project's being worked on (if any), I'll won't mention stuff like that again.
The author said that putting Salizzar in VRGttM was an oversight and would likely have been corrected in the final book had it been published. Take that as you will.
Back to mysteries, what is the exact nature of the city of Shay-lot and the civilization that spawned it? (Shay-lot mentioned in Children of the Night: Werebeasts p. 91, 94-95).
Take a look at the Drowning Deep section of our Nocturnal Sea Gazetteer for one answer (by Chris Nichols, one of the Kargatane. You might consider that Potential Canon.)
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
Post Reply