Bad Powers, Poor lords

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Mistmaster
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Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by Mistmaster »

The Darklords deserved theryr curse and punishment, more or less, right? Yes, they are tragic figures, but they freely choose to make theyr unforgivable crime, right?
And if that was a lie? and if every evil action who marked the path of the darklords had been decided by the Dark Powers?
What if Strahd was manipulated into becoming embittered? What if he was charmed into his obsession with Tatyana? What if he didn't have really a choise in killing his brother?
The same reasoning we could do about all the Darklords.
And if the goal of a campaign or more was to save them?
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alhoon
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by alhoon »

The actual goal of the campaign is for the DM and the players to have fun. :)
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by Gravesguard »

Sounds like a fun concept, especially for characters who kick butt for the lord.
Some seem pretty irredeemable however. Especially the Dreamlords. It'd definitely be a fun twist to throw at players who were familiar with the setting, to make them look at familiar enemies in a new light.
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by Mistmaster »

Gravesguard you hit the core of my reasoning, that was what I referred to.
Alhoon, my questions implied another question, which is: would you like to play a similar campaign?
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by ewancummins »

This campaign seems to pit the PCs against the Dark Powers.

Such a conflict suggests the Dark Powers would need to come into play in an overt fashion, and that suggests they would be further defined.
I'm not a fan of this approach to the Dark Powers. I prefer leaving their very existence open to question. I prefer leaving all that mysterious.

I also think the stories of the Darklords become a lot less compelling if they are merely unfortunate victims of powers beyond their control, and were not truly responsible for their own moral choices. Doomed or cursed from birth? Sure, in some cases. But how a doomed person chooses to meet his destiny should matter.
Do you choose good or evil? Courage or despair? The hard right or the easy wrong?


If the PCs are struggling to redeem somebody, it should probably be themselves. Fail a powers check-- and try to come back from that.

Easy is the descent to Avernus...

I may be misunderstanding the OP's concept.


And if he likes the idea--he should go for it. But since he asked for feedback, mine is that I'm skeptical about the idea.
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by ewancummins »

alhoon wrote:The actual goal of the campaign is for the DM and the players to have fun. :)
The questions you ask, have no answer besides what you give.

This.

My feedback won't be taken as a discouraging thing, I hope, but merely as one gamer's personal and subjective answer to an open question.
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.

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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by Mistmaster »

Feedback is always appreciated; but, in the perspective of veteran players, Ewancummings, don't you feel it would be a whole different prospective having to save Strahd, instead than Tatyana, once in a while?
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by ewancummins »

Mistmaster wrote:Feedback is always appreciated; but, in the perspective of veteran players, Ewancummings, don't you feel it would be a whole different prospective having to save Strahd, instead than Tatyana, once in a while?

Yes, it is different.
And that can be a lot of fun--taking something familiar and flipping it around.

In this instance, the overall concept does not work for me. But it might work well for you and for your players. I encourage you to try it.
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Re: Bad Powers, Poor lords

Post by Five »

Mistmaster wrote:The Darklords deserved theryr curse and punishment, more or less, right? Yes, they are tragic figures, but they freely choose to make theyr unforgivable crime, right?
And if that was a lie? and if every evil action who marked the path of the darklords had been decided by the Dark Powers?
What if Strahd was manipulated into becoming embittered? What if he was charmed into his obsession with Tatyana? What if he didn't have really a choise in killing his brother?
The same reasoning we could do about all the Darklords.
And if the goal of a campaign or more was to save them?
So, the PCs would be a group of grim-faced, high-powered social workers who work within the bureaucracy of good-aligned deities? Moral redeemers/saviours/shepherds of the Damned?

That would be an interesting take in an alternate Ravenloft sort of way. I see lots of skill checks (regardless of the system, Basic through to 5E) and some pretty intense roleplaying. Defensive-based, lots of doubt, sweat, tears etc.

So what, the Lords of Light have finally taken noticed of Ravenloft, the demiplane, and have smuggled (or empowered; depending on your RL edition) Paragons of Faith in to seek out and...heal the Land (if not only the Souls trapped within)..? What has finally drawn their attention? That carnival angel (can't remember her name now) managed to send out a request/report?

Is every single soul that is currently in Ravenloft trapped by the Dark Powers? If so, why are they being punished? Are the Dark Powers some sort of Sin Eaters? Unholy kidnappers ("scientists") that exploit the not so virtuous of those who cannot uphold the lofty ideals of the gods?

If/when the "Dark Lords" are...embraced...what happens to the domains? Do they dissolve into the Light? Return to their points of origins? Do the PCs receive this light as spiritual armour for the battles ahead (ala Highlander, only split amongst the group in a group is the whole kinda way (Voltron)? haha yeah, I aged myself but you should be able to grasp my meaning! Take away the giant robot and replace it with a giant paladin. Yeah. cough

Eventually the Dark Powers will be confronted (the question is is it on stage or off stage). What are they? How can they be stopped? Kill them with kindness? How would they fight back? Through the Dark Lords and through the Monster Manual is obvious, but can they directly confront the PCs? Or are they somehow bound by a universal divine law to only be able to make their play(s) through mortals?

Like I said, interesting concept. Moral High Road Campaign that is. I wouldn't completely convert my Ravenloft over to it personally, but I'd alternate universe it, for sure. A merging of time with a few souls caught in the slipstream...
"A very piteous thing it was to see such a quantity of dead bodies, and such an outpouring of blood - that is, if they had not been enemies of the Christian faith."

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