RLR: Choose your domain 1 - Domains of the Core

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Which one of these domains would you choose to be included in Ravenloft Reanimated?

Poll ended at Tue Dec 30, 2008 4:21 pm

Nova Vaasa
4
25%
Odiare
3
19%
Richemulot
7
44%
Verbrek
2
13%
 
Total votes: 16

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RLR: Choose your domain 1 - Domains of the Core

Post by WolfKook »

We've voted, we've chosen, and we already have a list of 16 domains that will be included in Ravenloft Reanimated. But there are some domains that are still uncertain. Now is the time to choose which of those domains will make it to Ravenloft Reanimated.

First, we will start with those domains which belong (or could belong) to the canon core, and which got a greater score on the votation. We'll start with 4 of the 16 "uncertain" domains, and the idea is to choose just 3 of them.

And the candidates are:

Nova Vaasa: A place with two faces, ruled by the iron fist of Prince Othmar Bolshnik and -behind the shadows -by the malice and dark plots of the villain Malken.
Odiare: Home of Maligno, the only Ravenloft realm which comes from Gothic Earth, where children rule and grownups are not tolerated.
Richemulot: A land of secrets, where the cities are ready for the take, except for the strange amount of rats dwelling on its many corridors and tunnels.
Verbrek: An unforgiving forest where the wolf is king and the man is prey, and where the only rule is that of the Wolf God and his high priest, Alfred Timothy.

Please, take the time to vote for one of them and, if possible, to explain your decision. Why you vote for that domain and not for the others? Which makes this domain special? What would you change in the others to make them worthy of inclusion?
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Post by Sorti »

I cannot think of the Core without Richemulot.

Odiare is only a small city and hard to use, we don't really need it; any adventure in Verbek can be located in any forest with sufficient werewolves.

I'll miss a little Nova Vaasa, but I don't think it is really necessary.
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Post by Irving the Meek »

I love the Richeulmont and Jackie in concept, but I have to confess I've never used them. Nova Vaasa is also extremely interesting, but its execution has gotten far too complex for its own good. Any time that the question of "Who's the Darklord?" gets murky, you're in trouble. I have actually used Nova Vaasa before has a background; it's tech level and society are forked, though.

I'm torn, but I'm going with Richeulmont. I'd sure like to keep Nova Vaasa as a "wild card player", though....
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Post by Lucien Doomdark »

I'm not a massive Richemulot fan, but I don't feel Odiare justifies its own domain, Nova Vaasa is just a little too bland (personally, I'd be interested in combining Malken with Paridon and putting it on the Core), and Verbrek is again, surplus to requirements with both Arkandale and Kartakass.
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Post by Irving the Meek »

I agree that Pardion and Nova Vaasa should be merged. The whole domain needs to go up a tech level, and when I used Nova Vaasa it was the home of Gothic, bizaare crimes like Sherlock Holmes investigated. Add Analik Rey and maybe even Mordentshire and we're golden. That's a mighty big domain by the current Core maps, though... not that those maps actually mean anything.
Last edited by Irving the Meek on Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by WolfKook »

My vote went to Nova Vaasa.

As some have said, Odiare is just a town, that would be perfect as a pocket domain inside a bigger Core domain, probably Borca.

A similar thing happens with Richemulot, which has cultural elements that Dementlieu handles better, political intrigue that functions better in both Dementlieu and Borca, and an urban environment that, again, works just fine in those domains. IMO, the only thing that makes Richemulot special is the wererats, and the entire domain would be crushed if they moved on to Dementlieu.

Verbrek is a good domain concept, but the execution is lacking. I prefer the Lonesome Road's version of Arkandale much better.

So, I go with Nova Vaasa, which is for me one of the richest domains. I don't really like Malken, sir Tristan, or even Othmar that much, but the potential of this domain is huge, and I like the ideas which are already being discussed on this thread...
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Post by Guzrath »

I voted Odiare. :idea: :!:

I was torn between these domains as a group.

- I love Richemulot in all it's forms. The whole concept of a domain that was empty and still mostly is, gives so many implementation possibilities. The Aristocracy is a nice contrast....and I love cities with sewers. However, Richemulot would get it's vote.

- I partly like Nova Vaasa, but I think it's too big and has to be rewritten, but don't have much inspiration for it.

- Verbrek.....I don't have anything with Verbrek, never used it and I feel it can be a large forested area which can stretch in a few different domains.

- Odiare.... I dunno. It's small.... it's ...well, small.... but it has atmosphere. I've been using Odiare the pas 2 sessions and after looking on the net I cannot find any real updated info. The Domain is about 50 yrs old and there is nothing..... I think I found 2 posts on FoS about it. Haven't even found 3rd ed. stats for Maligno.
However.....I think the domain has great potential for atmosphere and has all the right elements for Ravenloft. It just needs to be taken a step further. What happens to the inhabitants after 50 yrs? Do they grow up and live happily ever after or does something else happen? What about Guiseppe after 50 yrs? Did he die?
I've tried to create an Odiare 50 yrs later and I think it has potential. So I voted. But I doubt it will get through. :D

Just think what you can do with 50 yrs of development ;) Free to change.
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Post by Irving the Meek »

There's an interesting point developing here that I'd like to explore: the notion that city-sized domains can be folded into larger domains.

That implies a slight adjustment to the metaphysics of Ravenloft that's not impossible to deal with, but does take some thinking.

Are the lords of "metropolitan" domains:

- Demilords? If so, we should spend some time defining just what that term means.

- Lords of "anchored" domains? That is to say, lords of their own domain, but domains that have multiple extremely stable Mistways to a specific location in a larger Domain?

- Something else?

We can work it out later, but if we nail down these metaphysics sticking fan-generated domains into the Core becomes much easier.
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Post by DasSoviet »

Well, in the real world, we have independent countries such as San Marino, Monaco, Liechtenstein, Singapore and Andorra... I don't see any reason why Odiare cannot be an independent microstate... boost the area to include some surrounding countryside, a few small villages, farmsteads, and forests, and it could work wonderfully!

Which is why I'd have to throw my vote to Odiare... Richemulot is definately my first choice here, but I don't see it coming in last. Nova Vaasa is another good domain, however it needs a significant amount of work to have it 'click'... it's a massive, Imperial domain, yet Darkon does it so much better, with a much more consistant theme et al. Verbrek... I can't see myself using in a campaign really... it might happen, but eh... ergo, Odiare I think would be the best place to park my vote. It's interesting, it has significant potential, and it's a domain I know I would use
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Post by Paladyn »

My Vote goes to Verbrek: I kinda always liked werewolves, ran several fast pacing and climatic adventures there and can not imagine Core without dangerous forest almost in middle.
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Post by Irving the Meek »

Hmm. What happens if we give Elena Faith-Hold Nova Vaasa? The domain itself is interesting and important; it's Malken/Tristen that's problematic. If we are using 4e as our model, there's no such thing as a "fallen" paladin per se anyways... hmm....
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Post by DasSoviet »

That's actually a pretty good idea, Irving... of course, we'd have to change her name, but Avonleigh is quite a bit like Nova Vaasa, good catch!

And even in Pathfinder, nothing's saying we can't update the Paladin variants from Unearthed Arcana to 3.75 and run with it that way... "Elina Tro-Försvara" as a Paladin of Tyranny works extremely well!
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Post by WolfKook »

With Nova Vaasa the main problem would seem to be the tech level. The idea of combining it with Paridon seems interesting, though it would need a lot of engineering, as would the choice of Elena as its darklord. I prefer the first idea better, though I'd rather take the best ideas from Nova Vaasa and apply them to Zherisia (Which would then grow and develop a lot as a domain), instead of putting Paridon in the midst of Nova Vaasa.

Odiare, and other city-sized and smaller domains could be absorved by other domains (After we put some thought on the metaphysics of it), as Irving proposed. The problem here would be where to include it, but I really guess that'll come later on in this project.

That leaves us with Verbrek, which Isabella recently proposed should be merged with Kartakass, triggering an interesting discussion that can be followed here.

In the end, it would seem that the only new addition would be Richemulot, with the other three domains participating in a "X kills Y and takes its stuff" game with other, already chosen, domains.
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

IMC I've always put Nosus in northern Nova Vaasa.

I'd give Tepest to Elena Faith-hold, but YMMV.
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