Ravenloft Reanimated Game of Conquest

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Ravenloft Reanimated Game of Conquest

Post by WolfKook »

When the designers at WotC were preparing the fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons, they started playing with the classes, and "X kills Y and takes his stuff" (As in "the ranger kills the scout and takes his stuff") became a common hearing.

In Ravenloft Reanimated we don't have to play with the classes, as we may play with other things which are vital to the setting. And yes, again, I'm talking about the domains.

So, the Ravenloft Reanimated Game of Conquest will consist in saying "X conquers Y and takes its stuff". That is, that one domain will absorb other, and use its flavor to enrich its own, or (in some cases, especially for small domains) that will take the other as a pocket domain (The exact proposition should be explained). If two people second (Or second and third, to be precise :wink:) the proposal, the decision will be made.

Right now, 26 of the original domains have been chosen to be translated to Ravenloft Reanimated. Those are:

Barovia, Blaustein, Bluetspur, Borca, Darkon, Dementlieu, Falkovnia, G'Henna, Ghastria, Har Akir, the Isle of Ravens, Kartakass, Lamordia, Mordent, Nidala, the Nightmare Lands, the Nocturnal Sea, Nova Vaasa, Paridon, Pharazia, Richemulot, Rokushima Taiyoo, the Sea of Sorrows, Souragne, Sri Raji, Tepest and Vorostokov.

That leaves out:

Aggarath, Avonleigh, Bleak House, Castle Island, Demise, Dominia, Estrangia, Eyrie, Farelle, Forlorn, Hazlan, I'Cath, Invidia, the Isle of Dr. Ramsay, Kalidnay, Keening, Kislova, Leederick's Tower, Liffe, L'Ile de la Tempete, L'Morai, Markovia, Necropolis, Nosos, Odiare, Ravallah (Donskoy), Sanguinia, Saragoss, Scaena, Sebua, the Shadow Rift, Shadowborn Manor, Sithicus, Staunton Bluffs, Thornewood (Davion), Valachan, Vechor, Verbrek, Timor, the Wildlands and the Winding Road.

So, let's the games begin!

Edit: Domains in italics (Those which weren't mentioned in 3rd Edition) were added to the list.
Last edited by WolfKook on Fri Mar 27, 2009 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by WolfKook »

I will start with my proposals, for your consideration:

Darkon conquers Keening and takes its stuff: The mount of lament would be part of Darkon. Tristessa would be an important character in Darkon, but would not have darklord status.

Darkon conquers Necropolis and takes its stuff: The two would not be independent domains anymore. Death would be a mysterious figure, but no darklord. Perhaps Necropolis would fuse with the City of the 1000 Dead (I guess that's its name), and Azalin would somehow lose part of his powers around it.

Har Akir conquers Sebua and takes its stuff: Ankhtepot and Tiyet would co-exist in a single, bigger, domain. As it would be mostly desertic, they wouldn't have to see each other. Ankhtepot would, obviously, be the darklord (He's a stronger character), but Tiyet would remain as a villainess. Plus, Tiyet would have more people to plot against, and the lost children would wander the desert of Har Akir...

Nidala conquers Avonleigh and takes its stuff: The phantasmal forest would be part of Nidala. Morgoroth would still be there, but not as a darklord.

Nidala conquers the Shadowborn Manor and takes its stuff: The manor would be in the phantasmal forest , but out of Elena's reach. Ebonbane would be able to leave the manor, just not on his/its own.

Tepest conquers Castle Island and takes its stuff: This one is pretty obvious, and it's even canon.

the Nightmare Lands conquer Vechor and take its stuff: Easan would live in the Nightmare Lands, and the entire island would be part of them (I don't have too much ideas on this one).

Vorostokov conquers Sanguinia and takes its stuff: This one would be more complicated, as the coexistance of Mircea and Zolnik would create problems as to who's the darklord and who's the lackey... But I like conflict, and this one seems like an obvious mix.

And, finally:

Arkandale conquers Verbrek and takes its stuff: Even though we haven't touched fan-made domains yet, This one is important, as the fan-made version of Arkandale would replace Verbrek's place in the domain roster.

So, what do you think? Are you pro- or against- my suggestions? Each of them would need two votes to be accepted as "Official RLR", but each vote against these changes would increase that number by one. Do you have any other suggestions? Even among already chosen domains, the game of conquest can still be played.
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

I think it is worth considering to change the traditional alignment of political boundaries and domain boundaries. So, for example, Azalin is the (nominal) ruler of Keening, but Tristessa is still the darklord. Or Forlorn is now considered a part of Barovia, although Tristen apBlanc is still the darklord of Forlorn.

I am in favor of:
Combining Darkon and Keening.
Combining Darkon and Necropolis (I think Necropolis should be changed quite a bit to make it more playable, too).

I would have Nidala conquer Avonleigh, the Shadowborn Manor, and Tepest. :-P If we cannot arrange for that, Tepest taking over Castle Island is fine too.

I am all right with the Nightmare Lands and Vechor combining. Throw Davion the Mad's dreamsphere in there too.

I would combine Verbrek with Invidia and put Arkandale over with the "New World Domains" (Souragne, Nueva Aragona, et al.).

I am NOT in favor of combining Vorostokov and Sanguinia.
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Post by Igor the Henchman »

WolfKook wrote:I will start with my proposals, for your consideration:

Darkon conquers Keening and takes its stuff: The mount of lament would be part of Darkon. Tristessa would be an important character in Darkon, but would not have darklord status.
Seconded. Keening's "undead fey" + "town of the dead" theme goes well with the generic undead theme of Darkon.
Darkon conquers Necropolis and takes its stuff: The two would not be independent domains anymore. Death would be a mysterious figure, but no darklord. Perhaps Necropolis would fuse with the City of the 1000 Dead (I guess that's its name), and Azalin would somehow lose part of his powers around it.
I'm hesitant. If Azalin is going to lose his influence in the area, and a clearly-identifiable evil entity rules over it, it might as well be a domain of its own. I agree that Necropolis has many problems, namely the "auto-death" effect and the fact that it took the place of one of the most interesting urban adventure locales in the setting: Il Aluk. The result is very much like if a Forgotten Realms author went and erased Waterdeep or something. I'm proposing making the living Il Aluk and the dead Necropolis into two separate cities. Necropolis might be Il Aluk's reflection on the shadow plane, or Darkon's mythical old capital, taken over by undead centuries ago and looming as a persistent menace ever since. Just put it somewhere where it wouldn't block the domain's most used roadway.
Har Akir conquers Sebua and takes its stuff: Ankhtepot and Tiyet would co-exist in a single, bigger, domain. As it would be mostly desertic, they wouldn't have to see each other. Ankhtepot would, obviously, be the darklord (He's a stronger character), but Tiyet would remain as a villainess. Plus, Tiyet would have more people to plot against, and the lost children would wander the desert of Har Akir...
Seconded. Har Akir has always had the "ruins of the past" atmosphere, so having it absorb Sebua's ruined landscape would only make both lands richer and more interactive.
Nidala conquers Avonleigh and takes its stuff: The phantasmal forest would be part of Nidala. Morgoroth would still be there, but not as a darklord.

Nidala conquers the Shadowborn Manor and takes its stuff: The manor would be in the phantasmal forest , but out of Elena's reach. Ebonbane would be able to leave the manor, just not on his/its own.
Seconded, although I would suggest keeping Ebonbane as a separate Darklord. He's after all very powerful, very evil, and a continual foil for Elena. Plus, there's his whole "Just you wait till I break free!!!" deal. Very darklord-ish.
Tepest conquers Castle Island and takes its stuff: This one is pretty obvious, and it's even canon.
Seconded.
the Nightmare Lands conquer Vechor and take its stuff: Easan would live in the Nightmare Lands, and the entire island would be part of them (I don't have too much ideas on this one).
Seconded! Brilliant move. I'd love to see the interaction between Vechor's alien civilization and Nightmare Land's equally alien Abber Nomads. The resultant realm would seem to suggest a "warped minds have power to alter the land" feel, which I think would work very well. I vote to keep the Nightmare Man as the suspected darklord, keeping the "but we don't know for sure" asterisk. Easan works just as well as a local menace, so reducing him from "darklord" to "powerful mad scientist" wouldn't hurt him much at all. Civilized natives might see him as a bringer of stability of sorts, accepting his capricious madness as a small price to pay to keep the horrors of the domain's inner reaches at bay.
Vorostokov conquers Sanguinia and takes its stuff: This one would be more complicated, as the coexistance of Mircea and Zolnik would create problems as to who's the darklord and who's the lackey... But I like conflict, and this one seems like an obvious mix.
After some pondering, I'll second that. I think it would result in a richer, more popular domain overall. But who would be the political ruler, Mircea or Gregor? And who would be the Darklord? Both interesting variations of a classic Gothic Horror creature, and I don't know which one to put on top. I'm hesitant to make them co-lords, too, as that would make the existing co-darklord domains feel less special. Historically, twin darklords have always shared some extra connection aside from living in the same place - like being family, or a creator/created deal.

My own proposition:

Dementlieu conquers Richemulot and takes its stuff
Dementlieu and Richemulot: both cosmopolitan-urban, both mystery-oriented, both heavy on class-conflict, both renaissance, both french. Both feature haughty nobles and masquerade balls and stuff. The only distinguishing factor is a subtle difference of theme: Dementlieu is light and carefree, Richemulot is dark and shadowy. Such flavor variation can easily exist within a single, larger domain. In my games, I play Pont-A-Museau as the "ex-capital", hence lots of empty ruins of past majesty, while Port-A-Lucine is the modern, more enlightened seat of power.
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Post by WolfKook »

Nathan of the FoS wrote:I think it is worth considering to change the traditional alignment of political boundaries and domain boundaries. So, for example, Azalin is the (nominal) ruler of Keening, but Tristessa is still the darklord. Or Forlorn is now considered a part of Barovia, although Tristen apBlanc is still the darklord of Forlorn.
I have my concerns about this, mostly because of the added level of complexity... Should we have a "PC version" of RLR, with political boundaries, and a "DM version" of it, with domain boundaries? Should we make the darklords of absorbed domains demilords? Or their domains pocket domains?

On other matters... Are you also proposing that Barovia conquers Forlorn and takes it stuff?
I would have Nidala conquer Avonleigh, the Shadowborn Manor, and Tepest. :-P If we cannot arrange for that, Tepest taking over Castle Island is fine too.
The joining of Nidala and Tepest (And Malosia :wink:) seems interesting, and would enrich both domains, which already share their religious views and their inquisitive ways. However, we would have to find a way to harmonize Elena's point of view with Wyan's... Or are they antagonistic to each other? If so, why doesn't Elena just crush the old man? He may be a beacon of light in the domain, and she might recognize him as such. Plus, he wouldn't have any strong feelings towards her (Something difficult to believe, given the circumstances). And what about the Hags? Should we get rid of them, move them to another domain, or to a corner of Nidala? I guess Elena would be the Darklord... She's a very strong character, even more when put alongside the hags.

But, even with my concerns, I'll second the proposal. I hope someone would be brave enough to make the write-up.
I would combine Verbrek with Invidia and put Arkandale over with the "New World Domains" (Souragne, Nueva Aragona, et al.).
Verbrek with Invidia? How so? I know Gabrielle has a thing for werewolves, so I guess that would work on the darklord level (Especially if you ignore the "Malocchio factor", which turns Invidia into a very different domain), and the raging passions of the invidians could reflect the inner rage of the werewolves, but I still don't see it, so I won't give my vote right away, but I might be convinced to. The question is: How would you put it together, Nathan?
Igor the Henchman wrote:I'm proposing making the living Il Aluk and the dead Necropolis into two separate cities. Necropolis might be Il Aluk's reflection on the shadow plane, or Darkon's mythical old capital, taken over by undead centuries ago and looming as a persistent menace ever since. Just put it somewhere where it wouldn't block the domain's most used roadway.
Wow!!! That sounds interesting! The disaster on Il-Aluk happened in the distant past, and the new Il-Aluk built on the old one, surrounding it. The new city is the metropolis we once knew, but it has a city of the dead inside of it... I like it!!! Would this Necropolis be fortified, or "open to the public"? What will followers of the death cults think about it? It would be interesting if Nykylai built upon this idea... I recall him having interesting ideas about Necropolis.
I would suggest keeping Ebonbane as a separate Darklord. He's after all very powerful, very evil, and a continual foil for Elena. Plus, there's his whole "Just you wait till I break free!!!" deal. Very darklord-ish.
Yeap, and making the Manor a pocket domain inside Nidala, as opposed to inside Avonleigh, would create a situation where both darklords could be very near to destroying each other, without ever being able to do so. I like it (Though I know it needs more elaboration).
After some pondering, I'll second that. I think it would result in a richer, more popular domain overall. But who would be the political ruler, Mircea or Gregor? And who would be the Darklord? Both interesting variations of a classic Gothic Horror creature, and I don't know which one to put on top. I'm hesitant to make them co-lords, too, as that would make the existing co-darklord domains feel less special. Historically, twin darklords have always shared some extra connection aside from living in the same place - like being family, or a creator/created deal.
I have the same problems. I guess Mircea would have to be the nominal ruler, but his rulership would be a distant one, so Gregor would have his space to bully people around and become the de-facto ruler of the settled lands. I'm not sure, though, on who should be the darklord, as both seem very compelling, and your point about co-darklordship is true.
Dementlieu conquers Richemulot and takes its stuff
Dementlieu and Richemulot: both cosmopolitan-urban, both mystery-oriented, both heavy on class-conflict, both renaissance, both french. Both feature haughty nobles and masquerade balls and stuff. The only distinguishing factor is a subtle difference of theme: Dementlieu is light and carefree, Richemulot is dark and shadowy. Such flavor variation can easily exist within a single, larger domain. In my games, I play Pont-A-Museau as the "ex-capital", hence lots of empty ruins of past majesty, while Port-A-Lucine is the modern, more enlightened seat of power.
I'll second that one, but I have some comments about it: First and foremost, who would be the darklord? Dominic is a great character, but so is Jackie... Also, what to make of Le Cerveaux? I guess the wererats would represent the lower castes of society, and the Reniers would be those of them who want to be nobles and play in politics... It would be interesting if the wererats were somehow immune to Dominic's mind games. Perhaps they just answer to the Pied Piper. :P
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Post by Rotipher of the FoS »

Jackie fed the Pied Piper to her rats, IIRC. Or maybe she ate him herself, I don't have Tales of Ravenloft in front of me to check.
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Post by WolfKook »

Rotipher of the FoS wrote:Jackie fed the Pied Piper to her rats, IIRC. Or maybe she ate him herself, I don't have Tales of Ravenloft in front of me to check.
Mmmmmm... It seems my sense of humor got slammed into the language barrier :cry:

De ahora en adelante solo haré chistes en español :)
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Post by NykylaiHellray »

Actually the idea of Necropolis being a shadowfell reflection has some very interesting potential.

This could mean that Necropolis is merged with the shadow rift (which I think show become ravenlofts shadowfell).



My idea was more turn it into a funeral city. Various death cults have taken over it and become a united politcal entity, remaking it as a city for the rememberance of the dead.

A city not unlike Necropolis Litharge of Sandman fame. Death has lost darklord status by sinking more into the city itself. Allowing the city to be absorbed back into Darkon.

The city would in my mind be a city of morticans. Like the Necropolitans from Liber Mortis.....or was that another book.

A city where the richest from around the lands of dread to have there dead interned (with transport provided by a Necropolis Railway provided by grand central).

As you would guess my idea is more or less a complete reboot of the city.


So depends which root you want to take. As the idea of Necropolis as a shadow city beneath the real living city is such a darkly nice idea.
A city where you could slip into its nightmare if certain conditions are met.
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Post by DocBeard »

As far as Vorostokov and Sanguina go, Vorostokov's more Siberian, especially with that psuedo-Mongolian Vos influence, while Sanguina would, logically, become Petersburgian Russia.

Mircea is still a recluse in a castle, but he's one that actively manipulates his boyarsky to improve the life of his citizens. This means he can't take the credit, since he's a horrible monster and would be lynched, and this drives him crazy. Ultimately what Mircea wants is recognition as a reformer, and his curse is never being able to escape a reputation as a horrible brutish tyrant of a ruler who has to manipulate his idiot boyars to do what he wants.

This creates conflict, especially if Mircea decides that the Voros boyars owe him loyalty and tribute, while keeping the Domains as separate places to adventure.
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Post by WolfKook »

DocBeard wrote:As far as Vorostokov and Sanguina go, Vorostokov's more Siberian, especially with that psuedo-Mongolian Vos influence, while Sanguina would, logically, become Petersburgian Russia.
I take it as a vote against it, which leaves us with 2 votes for, and 2 against, this one.

The absorption of Keening by Darkon, the fusion of Nidala and Avonleigh, and the absorption of the Shadowborn Manor, the fusion of Vechor and the Nightmare lands and the keeping of Castle Island inside of Tepest seem pretty much settled, unless there are voices against them.

The plans for Necropolis, the fusion of Har'Akir and Sebua, the fusion of Tepest and Nidala, and that of Dementlieu and Richemulot need one more vote to be arranged for RLR.

Also, someone suggested earlier that Paridon conquered Nova Vaasa and took its stuff. What do you think about it?

Even if not, Paridon and Nosos have always looked as a perfect match for each other, so I'd also propose that Paridon conquers Nosos and takes its stuff

On a special note, the domain list supposes that we won't play with domains which have already been erased in canon RL, as Cavitius, Daglan, Malkavnia and Tovag, or with domains which are already part of a larger domain, as Arak, Dorvinia, House of Lament or Risibilos. Or perhaps not? Does anyone wants to toy with them?
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Post by Nathan of the FoS »

I think someone had better compile a list of proposed changes--this is getting a little hairy.

I am against combining Paridon and Nova Vaasa. I am not yet decided on Paridon and Nosus, but I am leaning against that too. I am, however, in favor of formally combining Paridon and Timor.
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Post by NykylaiHellray »

I am in favor of combining Nosos, Paridon, and Timor. I also think it should have the name Shining Bay like QtR suggested.

Though I also feel it should be closer to the mainland. Or connected to the mainland by a bridge.
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Post by Igor the Henchman »

WolfKook wrote: I'll second that one, but I have some comments about it: First and foremost, who would be the darklord? Dominic is a great character, but so is Jackie... Also, what to make of Le Cerveaux? I guess the wererats would represent the lower castes of society, and the Reniers would be those of them who want to be nobles and play in politics... It would be interesting if the wererats were somehow immune to Dominic's mind games. Perhaps they just answer to the Pied Piper. :P
Darklord-wise, I projected making Dominic the current Darklord. When Jacqueline killed Claude Renier, Darklordship didn't pass to her, but part of his curse did - so she is still unable to hold on to her human form when in the presence of a man she loves (perhaps 'having trouble getting a date' is the general theme for Dementlieu's darklords?) Jackie still controls most of the "old blood" aristocracy and is the most powerful figure in Pont-a-Museau, but the greater political strength now rests with the D'Honaires. The Reniers dream to overthrow the Council of Brilliance and restore the old families to power - and the half-empty, vermin-ridden Pont-A-Museau stands as a testament of what Port-a-Lucine would become if they succeed. Jackie's own designs, of course, go much further than that.

In this situation, Dominic is still the manipulative schemer running the domain with whispers and nods. Only now, he must contend with the Brain to keep control of his capital, and with the Reniers to keep control of the domain as a whole. Unluckily for him, Jacqueline has her suspicions about his mind-control methods, so Dominic's Pont-A-Museau agents have been steadily vanishing.
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Post by Igor the Henchman »

NykylaiHellray wrote:
My idea was more turn it into a funeral city. Various death cults have taken over it and become a united politcal entity, remaking it as a city for the rememberance of the dead.

A city not unlike Necropolis Litharge of Sandman fame. Death has lost darklord status by sinking more into the city itself. Allowing the city to be absorbed back into Darkon.

The city would in my mind be a city of morticans. Like the Necropolitans from Liber Mortis.....or was that another book.

A city where the richest from around the lands of dread to have there dead interned (with transport provided by a Necropolis Railway provided by grand central).

As you would guess my idea is more or less a complete reboot of the city.
I'm not familiar with Sandman. I might give this my vote, but what adventure possibilities would this "Morticians' Necropolis" offer?
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Post by Igor the Henchman »

I'm opposed to combining Nidala and Tepest. The main similarity is the worship of Belenus and the "campagin against evil" idea, but Tepest has always been a sort of a sleepy quiet part of the world plagued by fey and goblin-kind, while Nidala is traditionally more epic, with eldritch magics, sentient fanatic ghouls and dragons and whatnot. Flavor and adventure-wise, Tepest is slightly richer than Nidala, and I feel that making it a subsidiary of Elena's realm would reduce its possibilities.

For the same reasons, I'm opposed to combining Paridon and Nosos. Paridon is the "Sherlock Holmes" domain, civilized and somewhat hospitable, with a sprinkle of monsters walking the streets disguised as men. Nosos, on the other hand, is the ultimate "city gone bad", what with the factories, the heaps of garbage, the poverty, the vermin, the monsters, the corruption, the vicious street gangs and the urban law-of-the-jungle mentality. As the Smelly Arm Pit of Ravenloft, Nosos is the epitome of the "Urban Hell" theme. As such, I think it has already conquered Nova Vaasa and taken its stuff.
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